When would I NOT want a widescreen monitor?

[skyb]

I'm looking for a new LCD monitor. Mostly for Web surfing and word processing, with some strategy games like Civ 4. I'm not sure I like widescreens, but they seem to be taking over, so maybe I'm missing something. Am I better off with, say, a regular 20-inch regular or a 22-inch widescreen? A friend has recommended the Planar PL2010M-BK, which is a regular (squarescreen?) 20-inch LCD.

 

[jaguarskx]

You probably do not want a widescreen monitor if you were to play a game that does not support widescreen resolutions. This is typically for older games. What happens on a widescreen monitor in full screen mode is that the graphics will be stretched. An example is Diablo 2 which is limited to a max ratio of only 800 x 600.

X3: Reunion (a space combat / trade simulator) is one of the more recent games that does not support widescreen mode. This was eventually corrected in a recent patch.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines also did not support widescreen mode, even though it used the Source Engine (developed by Valve for Half-Life 2). I think an unofficial patch later solved this issue.

There are two workarounds for stretched graphics:

1. Play in Window mode.

2. Buy a monitor that has 1:1 pixel mapping support, or Aspect Ratio (or zoom). Easier said than done. Most monitors do not support 1:1 pixel mapping, I think a few supports Aspect Ratio, but I'm not sure. I only know of a handful of 24" or larger LCDs that support these modes.

1:1 pixel mapping. Whatever resolution you set the game to run, the monitor will display that exact number of pixels. If you play Diablo 2 at 800 x 600, then there the game screen will be centered on the monitor and it will be surrounds by black boarders.

Aspect Ratio / Zoom. This will display the correct aspect ratio of the game like Diablo 2, but it will fill up as much of the screen as possible with black borders on the left and right so that the image does not appear stretched.