Travel Technology - Monitor compatibility?

I need to get a new monitor for my home desktop. The machine itself is 6-7 years old, but I'm not quite ready to replace it yet. I'm thinking I want to get a big flat panel display (22"+), but do I have to worry about compatibility? How do I know what displays my PC will be able to support? Is there a size limit? A resolution limit? What about widescreen ratios?

Specifically, the machine is a Compaq Presario 5320 running XP Home.

Odds are that the computer you have uses a 15-pin D-Sub VGA output (blue, shown here (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf-JAVA/Doc/images/c00304815.jpg) or here (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph03739&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=93212&rule=19139&lang=en)) for the monitor. Most of the fancy new monitors use DVI outputs (white) for the connection to provide higher video quality. The good news is that most of the monitors I've seen support both DVI and VGA right now, so you should be OK on that front.

Without sufficient video RAM there may be issues with supporting the higher video resolutions; not too sure on that one.

I'm stuck in a nightmare with monitors at 640x480 right now on Windows XP with 1g RAM and 2.6 ghz processor.

I try to nudge it to 800x600 and it goes all blurry. The monitors are ancient.

Aside from graphics cards and output it is mainly the monitor that determines the resolution.

I know you said you're not ready to replace your computer itself yet, but If I were you I'd at least consider the option and shop around. Chances are you can find a monitor and computer package for not much more than you'd pay for a monitor alone.

A 6-7 year old machine will not handle the 'preferred' resolution of a 22" monitor. You might get 800x600 but since the monitor is not 'optimised' for this resolution, it might not be as sharp as you'd like.

Time to consider a PC/monitor upgrade - they really can be found cheaply now if your budget is tight.

My current monitor (which seems to be dying) is a 17" CRT

I run it at 1152 x 864, but it can display up to 1280 x 1024 without issues. So I'm certainly not limited to 640x480 or even 800x600. My hesitation on a new machine isn't so much the cost as the hassle. I have a lot of software installed, and re-installing on a new box is always a time consuming nuisance.

Although, since I'm not sure I want to upgrade to Vista, maybe I should get a new XP box while there are still a few available...

I would write down all the resolutions your machine supports. It appears to support a few more then most of us were probably expecting.

When you monitor shop, make note of the prefered resolution usually on the box. If your video card supports it, you are probably OK. If not you should keep on looking to see one that matches what you are capable of .

If you didnt go widescreen then it's probably much easier, but if you go wide, you want everything to be on the screen at once and not have it stretched out.

I would write down all the resolutions your machine supports. It appears to support a few more then most of us were probably expecting.

When you monitor shop, make note of the prefered resolution usually on the box. If your video card supports it, you are probably OK. If not you should keep on looking to see one that matches what you are capable of .

If you didnt go widescreen then it's probably much easier, but if you go wide, you want everything to be on the screen at once and not have it stretched out.

So, whatever options are listed in the Display Properties => Settings => Screen Resolution is what I'll be limited to on the new monitor too? (I don't mind installing software drivers if that will expand that list, but certainly don't want to deal with installing a new hardware video card.)

Pretty much, what the pc puts out is a function of the video card, what the monitor needs is a function of the monitor. It is possible your drivers for the video card have been updated with additional resolutions though.

According to HP's website (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00009492&lc=en&cc=us&lang=&product=93212&dlc=), the Compaq Presario 5320 with its stock video card can push a monitor at a maximum resolution of 1600x1200.

1600x1200 happens to be a common native resolution for 20" LCD monitors.

The widescreen issue is a big unknown. As widescreen monitors weren't common when you purchased your computer, I'm not sure the video driver would support a wide resolution. That said, a common native resolution for 22-inch LCD monitors is 1680 x 1050. If you do the math, that's fewer pixels than on a 1600x1200 screen.

If you don't want to replace the video card and want a widescreen, find a place with a good return policy or some place that will let you haul your computer in and give it a try.

So, whatever options are listed in the Display Properties => Settings => Screen Resolution is what I'll be limited to on the new monitor too?

CRT monitors are great in that things look sharp at a variety of resolutions. With LCD monitors, there's a "native resolution" in which things look sharpest. You generally can't display a higher resolution than the native resolution of a panel, and setting an LCD to something lower than its native resolution will give you a less than ideal picture--things won't be sharp.

So if you get an LCD monitor, you'll be able to set it to any resolution up to the native (a.k.a recommended) resoution of the screen, but things will look best at the native resolution.

So, whatever options are listed in the Display Properties => Settings => Screen Resolution is what I'll be limited to on the new monitor too? (I don't mind installing software drivers if that will expand that list, but certainly don't want to deal with installing a new hardware video card.)
More often than not, the options listed in Display Properties will be limited to the ones your monitor can display (though some arcane process that I don't fully understand).

It may be the case that under Display Properties => Settings => Advanced Settings will be available and tehre will be an option somewhere in there, maybe Adapter => List All Modes, that will give you a list of all resolutions, color depths and refresh rates supported by your video card. I also seem to recall that my old machine used to have a "list all modes" option that would enable Display Properties => Settings => Screen Resolution to even display modes that my current monitor wouldn't handle.

Anyway, your first choice would be to get a monitor that has a native resolution that is supported by your video card.

Oh, if you really want to do your homework, you should think about upgrading your video driver before checking the supported resolutions. Those very old drivers were written before widescreen monitors became common.

Finally, if you're *really* tricky, you might be able to edit your video configuration to get support for "odd" resolutions. I remember having to do this for an old 1600x1024 monitor I used to have.

If you're going to splash out on a nice new monitor, why not pick up a cheap AGP graphics card at the same time? You'd probably only have to pay around $30 to get a card far better placed to drive a nice new monitor than the 16Mb nVidia Vanta you have right now.

Of course once you start down that road, a new computer starts to look even more appealing...

but it can display up to 1280 x 1024 without issues. So I'm certainly not limited to 640x480 or even 800x600.

Most 19" LCD screens are native 1280 x 1024.

Methinks your issue will the change in aspect ratio - from 4:3 you're currently using to the 16:10 of the newer widescreens - eg 19" widescreens are 1440 x 900.

It may be the case that under Display Properties => Settings => Advanced Settings will be available and tehre will be an option somewhere in there, maybe Adapter => List All Modes, that will give you a list of all resolutions, color depths and refresh rates supported by your video card. I also seem to recall that my old machine used to have a "list all modes" option that would enable Display Properties => Settings => Screen Resolution to even display modes that my current monitor wouldn't handle.



I found that button, thanks!

It looks like it will support a widescreen, but only at 1280 x 960. There's nothing over 1280 x 960 in a 4x3 ratio, and nothing over 1280 x x1024 in normal.

Now that I know what it can handle, I'll guess give it some thought (new monitor, or new monitor and card, or whole new machine).

If you're going to splash out on a nice new monitor, why not pick up a cheap AGP graphics card at the same time? You'd probably only have to pay around $30 to get a card far better placed to drive a nice new monitor than the 16Mb nVidia Vanta you have right now.

Of course once you start down that road, a new computer starts to look even more appealing...

Would the 6 year old PC have an appropriate AGP slot?

Would the 6 year old PC have an appropriate AGP slot?

It has a 4x AGP slot.

You may find that more modes become available by upgrading the driver for the video card.

Alternatively get a cheap (~$30) AGP video card that will support the necessary higher resolutions.

Overall the bigger issue you're likely to encounter is the overall load that running at a higher resolution puts on the PC - in general Windows will run slower on an older PC when you push the resolution up...

either the monitor should come with a cd, or you can get a driver off the company web site to drive the monitor. i bought the least expensive 22" i could find. a V7. i have just about the cheapest compaq money can buy. an sr 1620. it comes with an ati chip. the drivers are on the ati site. i run 1680 x 1050.

there is a 2200 x sometning option, but that will not light up

i did add a meg or two to the machine.