New Monitor Blues.....

[PhotoAl]

My old CRT monitor finally passed away so I bought a new 23" LG HD LCD Monitor. It seems to be a very nice monitor but I guess I didn't know enough about high resolution and aspect ratios before I made the purchase. AFter I got it home and hooked it up I found that the on-board graphic controller in my computer has maximum resolution of 1280 X 1024. As I understand it, I can purchase a new video card that should allow me to take advantage of the higher resolution capabilities of the new monitor. However, will the higher resolution solve the distortion problems caused by the 16:9 aspect ratio? The monitor does have a 4:3 aspect ratio setting that is compatible with my digital photos, but when I set it for the 4:3 ratio, I'm losing about 2 inches of screen display on both sides of the monitor. My teenage daughter (who already knows absolutely everything) tells me to just live with it and switch the monitor to the 4:3 setting when I'm working on photos. Does that sound right, or will a new video card allow me to use the full screen without distorting the photos? Appreciate any insights, even if it is "yes your daughter is correct". Thanks!

[zemlin]

What kind of computer do you have? It could also be that you need to install/update the driver for your on-board graphics. Knowing what kind of machine you have will also play into what kind of graphics card you need to get, if that's the best answer.

I also have teenage daughters ... so I know this is dangerous territory ... but I would have to disagree with your daughter. With the proper hardware and drivers (and it doesn't need to be expensive), you can use the full, native resolution of the monitor without distortion.

[verdesardog]

Good luck, for sure there is a learning curve when going from a crt to lcd screen.

[PhotoAl]

Thanks for the quick response. I'm using a shuttle computer that only has 2 expansion slots. One is an AGP slot and the other is a PCI slot. About the only thing I do on this computer is Photoshop and email so I don't need much, but I'm thinking an AGP video/graphics card may be the way to go.

[zemlin]

Yes - AGP would be the right answer. Don't be concerned about getting one with a large amount of on-board memory - that does not apply to 2D graphics. AGP graphics cards are getting scarce though. Newegg has a number of GeForce-based cards for around $30 Just make sure that whatever you buy will support the native resolution of your monitor.

[JDArt]

If your graphics card supports the monitor's native resolution, there should be no issue with distortion.