Monitor size Qs

[irishgrizzly]

I've got a 20" dell monitor and am tempted to replay this which a larger Dell and keep the 20" as a 2nd monitor. In terms of gaming – what size can I go up to with a 8800 graphics card. ie, at what size will games not support larger sizes and the card the splutter?

Cheers

 

[Maclarny]

The physical size of the monitor is not the issue. Rather, it is the resolution (the number of pixels crammed onto the screen at one time) that determines graphical performance. For instance, with your 8800 you could hypothetically buy a 32" LCD TV (which I have used before) and run that as your primary monitor at 1368 (pixels wide) x 768 (pixels tall) resolution with great performance. Conversely, you could buy a high definition 22" monitor and run that at say 1680 x 1050, and get much slower performance (but have it look much better).

 

[irishgrizzly]

Thanks Maclarny, I know it's all about the resolution. What is the max resolution supported by the 8800/mac os? I hear that at higher resolutions readability becomes harder with folders, menus etc.

 

[Maclarny]

You're right, the ability to read text and folders can become more difficult at higher resolutions on smaller screens. I don't really expect this to be a key problem for you. I'm guessing that your only limitation on the max resolution will be that of your monitor, not the 8800 or the operating system. A good resolution to use would likely be 1680x1050. Should be the sweet spot for performance and visuals.

 

[Mackilroy]

The 8800 can scale to whatever resolutions are currently available - however, that's not your issue, the issue is that current monitors available to the public max out at 2650x1600. And the 8800 GT can run that. So you could easily do a 30" with your 20" (I run two 20" screens with no lag during gaming or anything else) and still get acceptable framerates.