Gaming Res

I will be doing some hardxore gaming on my Alienware m5750. But screen res should I get? Alienware® m5750 17" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD
OR
Alienware® m5750 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD
??

Btw, I will be doing a full review with pics once I get the machine

I cant wait...

 

Since your getting a pretty high end card I would get the higher one. You might be ablt to play at it, and even if you cant you'll still have alot more screen space for more windows with a larger resolution.

 

My personal opinion is that you should base screen resolution on text applications rather than gaming. You will likely downsize the resolution to improve game performance anyway, and it is not very noticeable on games.

On the other hand, if you buy the low res and the text is too large, you're pretty much stuck with it (zoom settings notwithstanding). If you buy the hi-res and the text is too small, you can change the DPI to size it up, but this can be problematic in some programs.

 

get highest

 

WXGA+ is a little low for a 17". Go with the WUXGA, it should also have better quality.

 

ok, thanks. WUXGA it is. I cant wait to get it and do the review!

 

yeah I do gaming at 1024x768 in bf2 and 1200x800 in most others and it works perfect, anything higher and it would be too uncomfortable to me.

 

if i get the wuxga and find it to high of a res, i can set it to display a lower res, right?

 

You can set it to a lower resolution, but since it isn't the native resolution of the screen it won't look as good.

 

I find my 9400 downscales very nicely, though I never do because I just love WUXGA. If it were possible to have children with it I would

 

seek help....

 

The X1800 may not be able to run most recent games decently at 1900x1200... you'll end up downsizing anyway. That said, WUXGA looks like the best option.

C.

 

gaming at higher res means better quality.
make sure that your game's res is set to be the same as your system res to avoid freezes, hangs, crashes, etc.

 

is the mr x1800 soldered? the way you guys are talking i may need to swap it out. [for maybe a x1800 xt?] I want a extreme gaming experience. Or is the x1800 good for max performance? ive seen chaz's vid card guide, now im alittle worried...

 

yea i was worrying a bit myself about the 1800, im getting almost the exact same laptop as you..

 

You should be able to run most games maxed out on the MR X1800 256MB . . it is an extremely powerful chip. Probably won't be able to add AA in most new games, but you'll certainly be able to run above XGA (where the mainstream cards are stuck at today) in just about every game (even Oblivion and FEAR). Games like HL2/CS:S, UT2004 will be 100% playable at a WUXGA res, but don't expect to play the latest and greatest at that res.
People have been getting some very nice results overclocking that card, so it has great potential.

 

I concur… big time! Very few games can I run maxed at native. I would love a glossy 1400X900HQ screen!

The X1800 looks like a great chip. Congrats, Frostfire, on your new machine.