Larger monitor. Bigger better video card ?

[Phil]

Gents

I presently have

AMD Athlon 64 X 2 Dual Core 3.2MHz
Western Didgital 250GB Sata 16MB(X2)
Asus M2N-E AM2 PCIE MB
Atrix case
Echo Star 680-watt 24 pin dual fans
Corsair(2 X 1GIG DDR2-667) kit
Asus GeForce 7950 HDTV 512MB
Sound Blaster Audigy X-FI Platinum
ViewSonic VX922 19" LCD

The game graphics/colors are great.
Want a bigger monitor. Will I need to pump up to another Video card ?

Phil

[Denholm]

You could do better. However, you probably won't be pressed with the need to upgrade.

[batch]

your video card doesnt care what size monitor you have............ it only cares what resolution youre running at........

if you keep using the same resolution it doesnt matter what size you move to

[MrRiplEy[H]]

your video card doesnt care what size monitor you have............ it only cares what resolution youre running at........

if you keep using the same resolution it doesnt matter what size you move to

Unfortunately the LCD monitor will care about the resolution - the picture is far from sharp when running at non-native resolutions. Some monitors handle the conversion better than others so YMMV but as a rule of thumb its best to run at native.

[batch]

yes but hes already running an LCD monitor so he knows what resolutions work well...... granted different monitors like different things.......... but even the recommendation to run at the native resolution is not a rule written in stone.......... either way his 7950 should have no problems running a larger monitor

[gyrene81]

As long as the video card can handle the monitors native resolution it doesn't matter what size monitor he sticks on it.

Asus nVidia GeForce 7950GT 512MB 2DVI/HDTV HDCP PCI-Express Video Card
Specification
Mfr Part Number: EN7950GT/HTDP/512M
Chipset: GeForce 7950 GT
Engine Clock: 550 MHz
Video Memory: 512MB DDR3
Memory Clock: 1.4 GHz
Memory Interface: 256-bit
Bus: PCI Express x16
RAMDAC: 400 MHz
Pixel Pipelines: 24
Max. Resolution: 2048 x 1536
Connectors: Dual DVI, TV-out (HDTV ready)
Thermal: Fansink
Microsoft Windows Vista Ready
nVidia SLI Technology Support
Support HDCP - High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection
Microsoft DirectX 9.0, Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0 Support
Package: Retail
RoHS Compliant

[MrRiplEy[H]]

yes but hes already running an LCD monitor so he knows what resolutions work well...... granted different monitors like different things.......... but even the recommendation to run at the native resolution is not a rule written in stone.......... either way his 7950 should have no problems running a larger monitor

The recommendation to run at native resolution is as written in stone as it gets. There's no other way to get pixel perfect image from an LCD.

He will not be able to compare his current LCD to the new one in any way.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

As long as the video card can handle the monitors native resolution it doesn't matter what size monitor he sticks on it.

Gyrene for a person with such a history it's surprising that you should say so.

The larger monitor / higher resolution he will run the game, the higher processing power is required by his graphics card. Meaning his current card may run the game fine at 1024x768 but totally freeze up when booting up at 2560x1600. The only way to circumvent this is to run the new monitor at low resolutions but this is a horrible horrible thing to do image quality wise.

[Tigger29]

Really it all depens on the native resolution of the new monitor.  If it's.. say... 1680X1050, it probably won't be much of an issue, but if it's 2560X1600, that might be a problem.

I used to run AHII on a 7900GS pretty well at 1680X1050, even with AAX2 enabled... got a steady 50-60FPS (1024res@hires)... BUT that was before the updates.

I've since upgraded to a faster C2D and a 9800GTXv2

[ToeTag]

1024 x 768  works fine for me.  

I don't miss much as the image is so large.  A higher res might look a little better but it is max at it's current setting.  

So the question is what type of monitor are you going to be getting?  
What is its max resolution?  
Will your current card be able to run it?

[Phil]

Interesting answers  but still not sure if it was answered....
Keep in mind that I'm not a computer wizard

I've checked control panel and clicked on the Display icon. In the Settings I'm presently at 1152 X 864

Do I need to kick up or will my Asus Geforce 7950 HDTV 512MB give me enough power to give a 24" monitor its best
performance ?????????

Answers ? Keep 'em coming ! I'm reading....
ps. Keep them simple  
Phil

[ToeTag]

Answer my questions and you will get your answer. 

What is the maximum capable resolution that your monitor can handle.  Do a spec check from the manual or find it online.

What is the highest setting that you card can handle.  Manual or onlone search.

You can then determine what the highest maximum setting to change to based on the maximum setting that the card can push or the monitor can handle.  If the card can push more than you monitor can handle then set it to the monitors max setting.  If you monitor can handle more than your card can put out then set the resolution to the maximum setting that the card can handle. 

If you try to push the monitor to hard then you will get a black screen.  If this happens you must restart in safe mode to lower the resolution to a setting that your monitor will agree with.

[batch]

the answer is really one you have to decide for yourself........

a 24" monitor has a native resolution of 1920x1200

your current 19" has a native resolution of 1440x900 assuming its widescreen or 1280x1024 standard screen

youre currently running it at 1152x864 (lower than native resolution) and seem very content at the image quality

will you be able to run @ 1920x1200 using that card and play this game? probably not

will you be able to run at a lower resolution like perhaps 1680x1050 and be fine? maybe

obviously it depends on the ability of the new monitor to extrapolate to a lower resolution without a huge hit in quality loss...... every monitor is different

the bottom line is if you want PERFECT image quality then your answer is obviously no......... if you dont mind some minor imperfections such as you ALREADY have and seem quite content with then the answer is your probably fine

rather than 24" you could goto a 22" and reach a good happy medium most likely

[Phil]

Thanks Batch...
That was a good reply for me to understand....

 

[gyrene81]

Gyrene for a person with such a history it's surprising that you should say so.

The larger monitor / higher resolution he will run the game, the higher processing power is required by his graphics card. Meaning his current card may run the game fine at 1024x768 but totally freeze up when booting up at 2560x1600. The only way to circumvent this is to run the new monitor at low resolutions but this is a horrible horrible thing to do image quality wise.

You misunderstood me Ripley and I obviously misunderstood the whole resolution discussion pertaining to the game...I was simply referring to the monitors native resolution vs the video cards maximum resolution capability.

Personally I don't have a problem running an LCD monitor at lower than native resolutions...unless you get down to XGA modes. Doesn't do a thing to degrade the monitor in any manner...just a little hard on the eyes when you get things out of sync.