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    :: Games on widescreen - stretched? ::

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by artem1985il, Jul 7, 2004.

  1. artem1985il

    artem1985il Notebook Consultant NBR Reviewer

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    I am buying HP's zx5000 next month with their 15.4" 1280x800 widescreen. If I play games that don't have a wide screen option on this notebook at 1024x768 - is the image going to be stretched horizontally to fill the screen or will it have black stripes on the sides? And in general, how do games look at 1024x768 on this screen?

    Thx
     
    artem1985il, Jul 7, 2004
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  2. mathlete2001

    mathlete2001 Notebook Deity

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    I don't really notice the stretching. It isn't that big of a deal. What you can do is download the omega drivers (www.omegadrivers.com). You can decide whether to stretch to fit, stretch while maintaining ratio (black bars on left and right, no distortion) or leave it as a small section of the screen. This way you can choose, and eliminate one of the problems with widescreens.

    GPU cooling (100°C->75°C)* Inspiron 8600 * 1.8ghz Pentium M * 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo (337/242 -> 400/300) * 2x256 MB DDR2700 SDRAM * Aquamark 3: 24058 * 3DMark'03: 3404 * 3DMark'01 SE: 13120
     
    mathlete2001, Jul 7, 2004
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  3. Quikster

    Quikster Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

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    also, pretty much all current games either by default or patch support wide screen modes.

    zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856
     
    Quikster, Jul 8, 2004
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  4. suantaik

    suantaik Newbie

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    What about gaming at 1920x1200? I am in the market for a new laptop and need the extra screen real-estate. But I'm not sure how gaming will be at this resolution. Is it not possible for the laptop to switch to a lower resolution when playing games and then back to the default like a desktop can? Would all games stretch or will some just appear in the center of the screen in their normal aspect ratio (like watching regular TV on a widescreen TV)?
     
    suantaik, Jul 12, 2004
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  5. artem1985il

    artem1985il Notebook Consultant NBR Reviewer

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    <blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by suantaik
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 8, 2015
    artem1985il, Jul 13, 2004
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  6. SupraSkylineSTI

    SupraSkylineSTI Notebook Geek

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    What is better for gaming on my HP R3000T, a (1280x800) screen,
    a (1680x1050) or a (1920x1200) for gaming ?
    PLease Tell Me
    THANX


    When someone annoys you it takes 42 muscles to frown about it but it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and punch the crap out of them
     
    SupraSkylineSTI, Jul 16, 2004
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  7. artem1985il

    artem1985il Notebook Consultant NBR Reviewer

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    <blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by SupraSkylineSTI
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 8, 2015
    artem1985il, Jul 16, 2004
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  8. animekenji

    animekenji Notebook Guru

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    They don't actually look stretched. Remember, 1280 across is also used in 1280x1024, a standard resolution. What does sometimes happen, is that the game will look squashed, vertically. The difference between 1024 and 800 is 224 pixels or around 22%. This is offset somewhat by the fact that an LCD monitor has much clearer, crisper output than a desktop CRT, but some 'squashiness' is still noticable. I play Everquest (which supports the 1280x800 resolution) everyday and hardly notice it, and I also play Doom3 in 1024x768 which IS stretched to fill the screen, but again, it is hardly noticable. I have also run the Far Cry demo, which still looks awesome in spite of the non-standard screen resolution. I really don't think you will notice much of a difference.
     
    animekenji, Aug 19, 2004
    #8