2005FPW video card compatibility question

If you are never going to play any games you can get by with a nVidia 6200 which supports the native resolution of the 2005FPW.  I have to stress that this is only a monitor card and will not be effective for anything other than applications (no 3D games)

I have this monitor being run by a nVidia 6600 GT and it works great (1680x1050)  If I was in the market right now I would pick up the ATI X800 GT which is also a good mid-range card which can easily support the wide screen resolution.

If the budget does allow for a high end card there are many to choose from and all will support the 1680x1050 resolutions.

Are you sure your video card won't support that resolution? If you don't have the monitor and proper .inf files installed, the resolution won't show up in your list of available resolutions. If you want to see other resolutions your video card will support, go into your display properties on the settings tab and click the advanced button. Then go to the Monitor tab and uncheck the "hide modes that this monitor cannot display" box. You should then see a whole bunch of choices for monitor resolutions that you never saw before.

If that doesn't work, you can still try a program like Powerstrip (http://www.entechtaiwan.net/util/ps.shtm) and see if it will allow you to add that resolution.

If you want to upgrade to play games faster, go ahead and pick up a new card (I wouldn't recommend a 6200 for games either), but if you only need that resolution supported, there may be other ways of getting there.

Message Edited by Mattman_ on 08-19-2005 09:08 AM

Thanks for the suggestions. Just in case it helps someone elsewhere...

My original card is a voodoo 3 3000, which worked but not exactly right; it would display 1600x1200 but not the 2005's 1680x1050 (close, but no cigar--rough fonts and such). I did try updating drivers and resetting the resolution, and showing all possible resolutions, but that card just didn't quite like it. I ended up purchasing a radeon 9600 pro card; amazing how much that sharpened things for under $80. :-)

I had already installed the latest Dell drivers, so on startup all I had to do was change to the 1680x1050 resolution and life was (is) beautiful.

Dead pixels: One near the very top that blacks out on a blue screen only, and one just south of center that lights green when the screen is black (using dead pixel buddy). The top one I never notice, the other is a bit more bothersome. The funny thing is that it didn't show up initially (I suppose I could have missed it, but it really is obvious when you're even half looking on a black screen). It is only problematic when it's supposed to be black. Anyone else see stuff like this?

Thanks for the help!