I have always used a CRT. My present one is about a 16". I am finally upgrading to a Flatscreen.

Presently, I am looking for something between $200-$300 that is between 23" to 25".

Questions:
When I play a game like EverQuest, will it stretch out and distort the screen? Will I get a wider field of view? Will it have empty black bars on the side? Someone told me I could put my chat boxes to the side in the last case.

Any suggestions for a decent monitor at that price range? What should I look for? I have a Staples and Best Buy Local to me.

Thank you.
-Worthy.

Depends on your video card as much as your monitor, really.

But in general, no you won't have black bars on the side or a stretched image. It's not a TV. Just set the resolution to the display's native and you should be fine.

My best suggestion for a good display at that price range is newegg.com. Skip Staples and Best Buy.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007617%20600030619&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=RATING&PageSize=20

Newegg is a great source for this kind of stuff. The link is for 24" montitors.

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Larreth Wolfsong (long retired)
Lanys T'vyl, Everquest

Zinky, Lvl 60 Warlock
Thunderhorn, WoW

Hmm.. I am curious then. My present CRT is pretty small. A 16" Diag measurement gives me 11.5" Wide by 8.5" Tall actual display.(Not counting the unused outside black area on the CRT.) It looks like a LOT Wider display even by the ratio of the screen. Will I get a greater field of view in the game if I set the resolution to the displays native?(i.e. the difference between Widescreen and full screen on DVD's.)


I am not too tech smart, so, just wondering.
Thanks.

Yes. If your video card can run at the monitor's native resolution.

If you haven't upgraded your PC in the last... uh. Few years, I guess then you may not be able to run games at the monitors native resolution at settings worth using. The real question is what video card do you have?

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

I absolutely love my Asus VE276Q

CRT's are almost all a 3:4 aspect ratio -- that is to say, the viewing aperture is 3 inches tall for every 4 inches wide. Flatscreens will typically be either 9:16 or 10:16, but your video card knows what to do with that -- you'll just have a wider view of the world. Everquest, World of Warcraft, LOTRO and Rift will all handle this gracefully.

Wow, they can do that? You'd think we were in the year 2011 or something.

Tiger direct is great also om prices. After Christmas a few years ago I picked up a 30'' Sony for 300 bucks. Gotta love after Christmas deals.

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