BF2S Forums Advice on a monitor

Keep on an eye on overclockers this week only offers they sometimes have some really good monitors on offer (not this week though) just depends when you wanna get your monitor. Personally I use overclockers for all my computer components, as they offer good products at good prices, and they are based just down the road from me so I can pick up anything I want directly from their warehouse...

Either you've ran a 21" CRT monitor before or saw one in action.  I have been runnin' this trusty ol' Viewsonic 21" CRT for some years now (P225) and it's been quite wonderful.  My personal advice is to look into widescreen panels instead of going with one that does 1600x1200.  I know you'll be sacrificing some desktop space just go go wide but I personally believe that it'll be worth it in the long run.  It's just something extra for you to consider.

Viewsonic is a good company to go for.  They were the premiere company for CRT monitors that is well built.  But with LCD panels, that changes... the key factor will not be which brand you buy for the panel but what panel is being used and manufactured by whom.  Keep this in mind when looking up panels.  I'd help finding one... but sadly there are too many panel types and manufacturers that I have yet to memorize them.

EvilMonkeySlayer wrote:

Running your games at its native res of 1600x1200 may make your graphics card sweat a bit, especially if you haven't got a card like the X1900XTX or a 7900GTX.

agreed, but a monitor w/ a traditional aspect ratio will work much better than a widescreen monitor in bf2 as bf2 does not yet (nor do I see it ever) support widescreen tech

EvilMonkeySlayer wrote:

I myself am thinking of getting a second monitor and hooking that up, currently got a 19" Viewsonic VX924 and the monitor i'm considering buying is a VX922.

VX922 is amazing. I have one.

Murphy <s18> wrote:

i have been giving the widescreens a lot of thought and hooked up my pc to my hdtv for a look and i dont think my aesthetically bias eyes could cope with the pixel drop and as puckmercury said bf2 isnt really suited, however bf2142 might so thanks for the food for thought i may wait till i get my hands on that before buying a monitor!

Hmm... HDTV doesn't really bring out the most... but it does give one a sampler.  The problem with HDTV displays is the lower resolution that they provide.  A 20" widescreen panel has a typical native resolution of 1680x1050, a bit wider than the 1600x1200 desktop but "shorter".  Unfortunately, getting 1200 horizontal lines means stepping up to 23" or 24" panels and that may or may not be within your budget.

As for BF2's inability to properly support wide aspect ratio, there's a minor workaround to this problem.  Yet despite this, it doesn't stop people who already have a widescreen panel from enjoying the game.  For other titles, I'm sure that the wide aspect ratio is a welcome and refreshing change to traditional 4:3 'boxed' displays.  Personally I would have gone for a widescreen panel despite of BF2's lack of support for it.  One may never know when out of the blue a new patch introduces proper FOV support for true widescreen gaming.  I always consider that it is better to be prepared than be left out.

In the end, it's up to you and I'll respect your choice on going with a 4:3 20" panel.  As you said, it's a good food for thought.