LCD Native Resolution??

[Rick67]

Can someone please explain why Native Resolution is listed in the specs for some of these LCD displays? If I don't run the monitor in native resolution will it not look as good? I'm eyeballing the Sony SDM-N80 and it has a native resolution of 1280x1024 and a max resolution of 1600x1200. Doesn this mean they recommend running at 1280x1024 or does it really matter? The reason I'm concerned is because I play most of my games in 1024x768 and I don't want to be forced to use 1280x1024 if I don't have to (performance hit is too big). Thanks,

 

[c0rv1d43]

LCD displays have fixed pixel sizes. Since the fixed pixel size means that there is a specific number of physical pixels horizontally and vertically on the screen, that number constitutes the "native" resolution. This is important because that is the resolution at which the LCD screen will produce it's optimal image. Think about it this way. On a CRT the pixel sizes can change when you change resolutions. That's not possible on the LCD. Instead it has to use an interpolation method, to produce diagonal lines, for instance. That makes the edges of objects look jagged, or at least more jagged than normal. With some more recent LCD displays this situation has improved for two reasons:

1. The pixels have gotten smaller (with higher native resolutions), resulting in smaller jaggies.

2. The interpolation algorithms have become more sophisticated, making better use of a few geometric tricks and color depth among other things to make interpolated images look smoother.

Interpolation works best when a whole multiple of pixels is being used to produce the image. So, if your native resolution is 1600x1200, then a resolution of 800x600 on that screen will have smoother edges than 1024x768. (The 800x600 resolution setting will use 4 physical pixels to produce each apparent pixel in the image.)

I'm not familiar with the Sony display you mentioned. You should note that the aspect ratio of a 1280x1024 system is different from all of the other standard resolutions in use. That means that none of the other resolutions will be able to use a whole number multiple of pixels to produce a single apparent pixel -- unless you set the system so that the image does not "stretch" to fill the screen. When you run that system at 1600x1200 you will have to "scroll" the desktop to see all of it. That's because the LCD can't use less than a physical pixel to represent an apparent pixel.

I hope my explanation isn't as muddled as my head is at the moment.

- Collin

 

[Dre]

Short explanation:

The native resolution of an LCD is it's optimum resolution. If you run any other resolution, it looks anywhere from blurry to crap.

I have a Planar 17.4" LCD which has a native resolution of 1280X1024 and with the Geforce2, I am able to run any game at the native resolution. The only thing I don't use is 32 Bit color, but I really can't tell the difference. With your geforce3 Ti 500 you really don't need to worry.

 

[imgod2u]

I have the Sony SDM-N80. It has an option to allow you to zoom using an even ratio of pixels to pixels, it will crop the monitor so you'll see black bars on top and bottom or side to side depending, but if image clarity is that important, sacrificing an inch off the image size on your monitor really is worth it. When scaling to resolutions such as 800x600, I find it very useful. I'm waiting to put together a new system with a Geforce 3 Ti 500 once I have to budget so I won't have to scale down to lower resolutions.

 

[Rick67]

Man those were great explanations! So if I run all of my games at 1024x768, should I get an LCD that has a native resolution of 1024x768? So if I have a LCD that has a native resolution of 1280x1024 and I want to play a game @ 1024x768, I can get just as good of a picture as native as long as I don't mind having black bars around the picture?

 

[Dufusyte]

Running games in non-native resolutions can actualy be a good thing because the "blurriness" can actually improve the image, removing jaggies. Free fsaa.

Text will look bad though. Then again, text in games with fsaa always looks bad.

 

[dullard]

<< Man those were great explanations! So if I run all of my games at 1024x768, should I get an LCD that has a native resolution of 1024x768? So if I have a LCD that has a native resolution of 1280x1024 and I want to play a game @ 1024x768, I can get just as good of a picture as native as long as I don't mind having black bars around the picture? >>



If they are first person motion games - like Quake - the blurriness is quite helpful. If they are 2D games the text and pictures look like crap if not at native resolution. I'd suggest getting a monitor with the resolution you plan to use for most programs.