Just recieved a Dell LCD 20" Widescreen. My old 21" CRT was starting to show only muted grays for its blacks (no contrast at all).The picture quality of the Dell is unbelievable. Beyond crisp. I had it side-by-side with my old CRT and I couldn't believe I had spent the last few months looking at a steadily degrading picture. Also, FS9 widescreen at 1680x1050 is great- The widescreen gives you a greater sense of peripheral vision, which really helps in the flare and adds a sense of speed.Any other widescreen fliers out there?

Looks very nice from the specs. I'm looking at itss 24" brother :(). Unfortunately (haha) this CRT still looks too good. I will definitely avoid making a side-by-side comparison!How about the "backlighting" problems (referred to in customer review of your monitor)? What do you think on your Dell??Noel

>Looks very nice from the specs. I'm looking at itss 24">brother :(). Unfortunately (haha) this CRT still looks too>good. I will definitely avoid making a side-by-side>comparison!Yeah. Just don't be like me and use your CRT about four years past it's prime ;)I looked at the 24" as well, but decided that my machine just doesn't have the horsepower to push FS9 and other games at its native resolution. the 20" is a good compromise from a price-point and size standpoint.>>How about the "backlighting" problems (referred to in customer>review of your monitor)? What do you think on your Dell??I've heard some mention of the issue on the widescreengaming.com forums. I haven't investiated it yet. I've noticed a tiny bit of light bleed a the top of my monitor against very dark backgrounds, but it's pretty subtle. I don't have any experience with LCD monitors so I am not sure what is normal and what's not.I have one stuck pixel, dead center. Can only see it if I look for it, and usually only against a particular color of background.

Yes I know about waiting too long on CRTs. I have a very old one here and it looks awful. But the one I'm using is only 2y old, and is very impressive--it was Sony's top o the line GDF-520 21" .22 grill pitch, 2048 x 1536, at $1700. I was lucky and got it free, brand new, from Sony when my 19" died after 34 months. It took lots of whining and writing to Sony national customer support, but in the end they gave me this 21" which has been flawless. Def a cut above other CRTs. Nice to see Dell has an LCD looking like stiff competition for this Sony. Plus . . . very fast response times, and perfecting max viewing angles! If this one dies tomorrow, I will def consider the LCD now that high res wide screen that is plenty bright is available. I figure a good LCD will last 10y probably, so I want to make sure it is super hi res, like the 24" dell, and has a max of 12ms RR. Lower wouldn't hurt.Noel

So do you have to be in MAC in order to use these resolutions?DO you need a special videocard?allen

>...Also, FS9 widescreen at 1680x1050 is great- The>widescreen gives you a greater sense of peripheral vision,>which really helps in the flare and adds a sense of speed.The widescreen doesn't give you any extra sense of peripheral vision - you are still running at 1680 x 1050 - you could of achieved the same effect on a 4:3 CRT and simply changed the view window size to give a black border top and bottom.You've gone from a 21" CRT (probably 20" viewable) to a 20" widescreen. Could of achieved the same thing by placing two strips of black card over the top and bottom of your CRT to get the letterbox view or changed the window dimensions as said. Or used it full at 1600 x 1200 and made use of the extra vertical resolution for more of the image than the TFT could give.Sorry, I don't mean to knock your purchase - I bet it's a stunning display, it's just I don't see all this fuss about widescreen displays. I'd rather have a 4:3 display of the same width but gain the extra height that it also gives you.

You make a good point Magic.

>The widescreen doesn't give you any extra sense of peripheral>vision - you are still running at 1680 x 1050 - you could of>achieved the same effect on a 4:3 CRT and simply changed the>view window size to give a black border top and bottom.*shrug* it works for me. I definately woudln't want to buy a CRT. I've got a garage full of dead CRT's, all fairly expensive models. I haven't had one that's lasted me more than 3 years, and usually at least a year of that lifecycle was spent with a slowly degenerating picture.>>You've gone from a 21" CRT (probably 20" viewable) to a 20">widescreen. Could of achieved the same thing by placing two>strips of black card over the top and bottom of your CRT to>get the letterbox view or changed the window dimensions as>said. Or used it full at 1600 x 1200 and made use of the extra>vertical resolution for more of the image than the TFT could>give.>I lost about 8% viewing area versus the 21" CRT, and about 10% screen resolution (assuming 1600x1200 versus 1680x1050). I've gained about 500% quality in image quality. I also no longer have this monolith on my desk that used to emit a humming sound and attracted apes (teaching them to use bones as crude weapons to kill each other). Also note that many games actually increase the horizontal field of view when displaying widescreen resolutions. Other games simply cut off the top and bottom. As widescreen gains more support, I hope the former catgory will become more prevalent. Unfortunately, I think FS9 cuts of the top and bottom but--nevertheless--the result for me is a greater sense of having a peripheral view simply because of the extra width versus height.I like the letterbox view. I'm a film geek, and I've been a widescreen proponent since the very early days of video. I've got a widescreen HDTV. I was an early adopter for the DVD format. I think the widescreen format is more dramatic looking, more movie-like. I belive that the widescreen format will also be the future for computers. Why would I want to go with 4:3 when there is no real advantage for me, and plenty of disadvantages?>Sorry, I don't mean to knock your purchase - I bet it's a>stunning display, it's just I don't see all this fuss about>widescreen displays. I'd rather have a 4:3 display of the same>width but gain the extra height that it also gives you.Admittedly, FS9 may not be the best use-case scenario for widescreen, but I (and others) do more than play FS9. To each his own. I wasn't trying to convert anyone with my post (though perhaps I am a bit with this one) .. I was specifically asking if anyone else was running FS9 on a widescreen LCD>

Hope I didn't cause any offense, didn't mean to.Personally, I'd prefer to stay with 4:3 computer displays. Granted, human vision is closer to widescreen than 4:3 but to me, if you are going to have something that takes up x inches in width, why limit your vertical height to fit in with widescreen rather than have those extra couple of inches vertically?Again, the perception of a greater field of view for games that play in 'widescreen' or your FS experience is just that, a perception. The exact same display could be experienced on a 4:3 display simply by cutting off the top and bottom.In addition, the other thing with computer displays at widescreen resolutions is that it takes things away from the 4:3 pixel ratio, i.e. pixels are no longer square. If the display is simply truncating higher resolutions then fine, otherwise you are getting non-square pixels resulting in distortion of images. Your gauges at 1680 x 1050 wouldn't naturally be square, your circles eliptical."Also note that many games actually increase the horizontal field of view when displaying widescreen resolutions" They are not increasing anything that you couldn't achieve with a CRT with a top and bottom border or with the advantage of extra detail shown in those areas.Again, not knocking the display. I very much accept it gives a beautiful display but, for me, I'd prefer if they kept the 16:9 'limit' to films and left us in the computer display field at 4:3.

Does this mean... 4:3 VCR's are better than 16: 9 Widescreen DVDs? you can see more on top and botton?:(

You don't really want me to answer that do you... ;)

>You don't really want me to answer that do you... ;):)

Hi Jimmy,I'm currently lkooking at a new monitor (LCD) too. I'm torn on the widescreen issue though. Is it possible to use a 4:3 LCD and have the video card or even the monitor make a 5:4 or 16:9 picture? (recognizing that there will be large black bars at the top and bottom of the 4:3 LCD). :)Thanks- Bruce.

Why would you want to sacrifice the top and bottom of your view just to give a pseudo widescreen 'effect'?I run in "widescreen expanded" ... all the advantages of widescreen with the addition of extra space at the top... ;)

There wouldn't be any advantage to running a 4:3 LCD in widescreen mode that I am aware of - not in FS9, anyway.If you primary use for your computer is FS9 I would say there probably isn't a compelling reason to get a widescreen monitor. If, however, you play a mix of other games and use your PC as a workstation, a widescreen monitor might be a good choice.