Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

[Ognacy]

Hi there,

I am upgrading my display and I am thinking about a larger, hi-res LCD. I am considering Apple CinemaDisplay HD30" or Dell 3007WFP. Both look similar with Dell leading in specs, e.g. refresh latency (14ms vs 16ms) and Apple in looks and users' reviews :-)

Does any of you run BF2 on a wide-screen monitor? How well does it fare? Is 14 or 16ms enough for gaming? Which of the two would you recommend? Thanks for any advice.

I am not a competitive player, but I do like my games run smoothly and look nice. Also, if anyone is running at 2560x1600 - what graphic card are you using and at what setting?

cheers,
Ognacy

[Lugal317]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

I would never want to run on a 14ms monitor, my buddy has a 12ms 19" and you can see the ghosting. Can't see any on my 2ms. If you want your game to look smooth and nice, you aren't going to get it with a 14ms monitor.

Also, I'm pretty sure widescreens aren't supported by BF2, so you won't be able to utilize the extra space.

My $.02

[Bungalow_Bill]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

Widescreen monitors are a very good investment, and I'd recommend any one who is serious about digital media or the future of gaming to get one (you can, for example hook an Xbox 360 up to either of those monitors via component ins). However you will not get a proper aspect ratio in BF2 (with no way to force it that I know of).

Don't judge a monitors performance purely on the advertised response time, because you'll quickly find this specs are often incorrect and you'll see some panels that say they are 4ms, but actually display more like a 8 or 12ms.

The best way to pick a monitor is to actually view one in person for yourself, because simply put some people claim to notice ghosting and others do not when looking at the same panel. I have access to two Dell monitors, both a 1905FP (19" 20ms) and a 2405FPW (24" 8ms). I can't see any ghosting on the 19" display, and this is from a former hardcore CRT user who would get annoyed playing on any CRT with a less than perfect refresh rate. One thing I will say about my LCDs though, is Dell does make quality displays and they have an absolutely beautiful image with bright colors and a sleek and functional design.

If they didn't screw up the 30" incher somehow, and they have adhered to the same standards they did with the monitors that currently I own, I'd say go with Dell.

[Sgt.BoscoBA]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

Thats funny!! I have a HP 23" HD Monitor and dont get ghosting at all. I know the picture will never be as crisp as my CRT but F it.. Im TV guiding and all in widescreen and its the ****! Color is great, quality is VERY good for an LCD but price was high. We have had some issues with our apple 30s at work. 2 have been sent back for dancing pixles. Work fine now but it was a pain. Def dont go higher than a 12ms LCD. I believe at 12 and under they are rated well for gaming and multi-media. In closing, very happy with mine. I have the option to use either and CHOOSE the LCD for better all around game experience. Everyone who has come to see my **** left wanting the same. You can trust ol BA on that!

[Sgt.BoscoBA]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

OH and it IS widecreen supported. I have screenshots if wanted. My boss pooped when he saw my pics of monitor with game running on it. LOL

[Sgt.BoscoBA]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

Maybe Im wrong but with game goes wide screen on my 23... I was just reading the last post about aspect ratios. Mine might just be off in ratio but the entire screen is filled with game image.. No black boxes as with my 360 and some of the backwards comp. games. I do agree you need to look at what you get first. I looked for a while and almost got the dell too but I wanted the HDTV Hybrid. Im loving the 5 Ins.. MAC, PC, TV and 360 all on one monitor..God my desk is full!! LOL

[Lugal317]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

OH and it IS widecreen supported. I have screenshots if wanted. My boss pooped when he saw my pics of monitor with game running on it. LOL

When did they add widescreen support?

[Lugal317]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

Widescreen monitors are a very good investment, and I'd recommend any one who is serious about digital media or the future of gaming to get one.

I agree that you will benefit from a widescreen monitor in the FUTURE. However, why not wait until the future rolls around so that you can get a really good widescreen monitor. Lord knows in 2 years we'll have 2ms widescreens. Likewise, all games in 2 years will have widescreen support.

[The Soup Nazi]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

I own an Apple 23" Cinema Display and get absolutely no ghosting whatsoever. I chose the Apple due to its superb luminosity and color quality- this was after researching many different displays and actually going to the stores and looking at the differences.

Anyway, I play at 1920x1200 with 4x AA and maintain a steady 70+ fps. This is with 2x nVidia 7800 GT's in SLI, however.

To bump up to the 30" Cinema Display with a whopping 2560x1600 native resolution, you're going to need a whole lot more power than even my machine could deliver. I'm not even sure 2x 512MB 7800GTX's in SLI could do the job properly. Who knows, though...

Although there is no in-game option for widescreen support, you can add this to the end of a shortcut: "+widescreen 1 +szx 1920 +szy 1200" and it should work. Aspect ratio doesn't seem to be a problem on my end, either. *shrugs*

[Sgt.BoscoBA]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

Like the statement above, ms count not really accurate. Its the same as me beating the pants off other peoples benchmark scores with the same equipment. Everyone has a different view of whats acceptable and whats good quality. I am a motion media designer whom uses LCDs all day to produce high end graphics (and play games). I dont think we have to wait 2 years to get a good LCD and I dont think it matters if games dont support now. They run on the wide screen in full. Deal with a small aspect ratio difference. No biggie. Not to turn this into a ****ing match, just speaking from real world exp.

[Ognacy]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

Many thanks, guys. I've seen these 2 LCDs but not side-by-side (well, at least here Apple does not sell in any other channel than its partners so no chance to get Dell and Apple at the same shop :-) ). I guess I am going with the Dell after all, as it is both cheaper and specs are better. Prolly Apple would be better for photoshop, though.

cheers,
Ognacy

[Sgt.BoscoBA]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

Nah, as I said I do motion graphics and work looks great on my HP. Im sure the Dell will look slick. You are really going to be happy with the look of the game and of everything else. Im running a 6800 series card but will be upgrading soon. (7800 series) 512 video ram is so sweet!! Good luck brother.

[jdrou]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

Widescreen is not supported in BF2. On a widescreen display attempting to use a widescreen resolution one of two things will happen depending on your settings:
1. a 4:3 image will be stretched to fit the screen
2. the image will fill the screen without distorting but the top and bottom of the image will be cut off

What I normally do on my 1920x1200 widescreen is set the display settings so that images smaller than native LCD resolution are not stretched to fullscreen. Then I run at 1600x1200 with black bars on the sides of the image.

[FreakinSyco]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

Widescreen is not supported in BF2. On a widescreen display attempting to use a widescreen resolution one of two things will happen depending on your settings:
1. a 4:3 image will be stretched to fit the screen
2. the image will fill the screen without distorting but the top and bottom of the image will be cut off

What I normally do on my 1920x1200 widescreen is set the display settings so that images smaller than native LCD resolution are not stretched to fullscreen. Then I run at 1600x1200 with black bars on the sides of the image.

Wrong. I run a Dell 2005FPW 20.1in widescreen and play fullscreen NOT strechted. Heres how you do it:

You need to create a shortcut icon somewhere that you can edit. This will not work by autorunning BF2 from the CD.

Rightclick the shortcut and click properties. We need to change the "Target:" field.

Originally its going to say something like this: "C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\BF2.exe"

We need to add this text to the end of it: +menu 1 +widescreen 1 +szx 1680 +szy 1050

Your final product will look like this:

"C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\BF2.exe" +menu 1 +widescreen 1 +szx 1680 +szy 1050

That will get the program running in full screen mode. I forget why I added the +menu 1 for.. it does something. And I'm not sure if the +widescreen 1 is neccasary.. but it works for me.

Heres an ingame 1680x1050 shot. The map and menus are slightly stretched horizontally, but none of the in-game rendered content is stretched (scopes are round etc..).

http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs71&d=06104&f=screen003.jpg

EDIT: Another pic, thru the scope to show its not streched:

http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs71&d=06104&f=bf2widescreen.JPG

[The Soup Nazi]

Re: Question about BF2 and wide-aspect LCDs

Many thanks, guys. I've seen these 2 LCDs but not side-by-side (well, at least here Apple does not sell in any other channel than its partners so no chance to get Dell and Apple at the same shop :-) ). I guess I am going with the Dell after all, as it is both cheaper and specs are better. Prolly Apple would be better for photoshop, though.

cheers,
Ognacy

I'm sure the Dell will be just fine for whatever you need to do. I bought the Apple because I'm a fan of the brushed metal look and the fact that it not only has a 2 port USB hub, but a 2 port Firewire hub, as well. Apple was the only company at the time putting out displays with those options.

Note: and I kinda shot myself in the foot by buying the 23". The 30" was already available, but there were only about 2 PC compatible video cards that could power it. And both, if I recall, were professional cards for CAD, modeling, etc. Now that the higher end (gaming) nVidia cards (7800 GT's included) support Dual-Link DVI, I kind of wish I would've waited so I could have a 30". The problem, as I suggested before, is that even 2 7800 GT's in SLI probably couldn't run BF2 very well at 2560x1600.

I don't so much care for the display's buttons being on the side, however. I have to lean over the desk to see what I'm pressing. :p

As for distortion in BF2, I don't notice any. This is what I see:
http://graphicintegrity.net/temp/bf2/screen007.png - 3.2 MB - 1920x1200 @ 4x AA