just got a gateway 21 inch widescreen and after some time doing a bit of tweaking to get it looking/running right i flew a test flight last night. simply amazing using the VC. everything is much larger and really gives a sense of being there. what i don't understand is i was running at 1024x768 on my 19 inch CRT monitor which was very smooth. if i went higher in resolution the sim would slow down as in less frame rates. now with this LCD 21 inch widescreen the instruments are slightly distorted UNLESS i use it's native resolution which is 1680x1050 which for some reason straightens them out to where they look completely normal AND also makes flying as smooth as in my CRT at 1024x768. now that can't be right. i mean how does it run as smooth at such a maxed out resolution? shouldn't i be getting some sort of catastrophic slide show with frame rates like 2 or 3 FPS? i'm sure i would on my other monitor at least i think i would. to be honest i was about to take it back but decided to try its native resolution as a last resort and to my suprise everything looks and runs great. i just don't want to get over excited and then in a day or two cut on my machine, hear a funny noise and see a puff of smoke come out the back. been there done that. william

i've noticed this as well. I have fs9 on two machines...one using a 23" cinema display, the other the 30" cinema. i thought by running fs9 at a lower res (1600x1200 or lower), the sim will be smoother. But it's just the exact opposite. At lower res, the game will stutter, all the menus are slow, and just doesn't run smooth. At the monitor's native res (1920x1200 for the 23" and 2560x1600 for the 30"), fs9 runs smooth as butter...i always get a constant 28 fps (i have it locked at 28)...no stutter, loading, etc...and the menus and response time is instant. anyways, enjoy your new discovery. You'll never go back to low-res again! :)-fz

hi, that's really good to hear. wasn't sure if it was normal or not but i do feel better knowing i'm not the only one so i guess that's just the way this new hi-tech stuff works. just did another test flight but it was actually just to fly at night and soak in the night sky. really beautiful. the dark blue of the oncoming night is fantastic, much different than what i'm used to. the whole experience is different as i'm noticing scenery i hadn't noticed before like ditches and smaller hilly areas. the whole landing experience is much more intense and realistic. thanks again for letting me know. enjoy! william

I run FS9 on a Dell 2405 WS and I love it. It brings a whole new feel to flying. Dan

yep you cant beat a 24" especially with track IR now that is WOW!

I Thought the Cinemas could only be used on Macs. I am wrong or are you using a Mac with a windows emulator?

all the new generation cinema displays (the silver ones) will work on the PC if you have a video card that outputs to DVI. I also have 3 older generation 23", but you'll need apple's converter to make them work on a PC (but it works super well; converter runs about $100 each). The 30" will work on the PC, but you'll need a high end card to get it to run at 2560x1600. I'm running them off of two 7800GTXs. To get dual 30", you'll need two 7800s. One 7800 can support only one 30" and one additional 23" (where as the apple version can feed 2 30" on one card). Hope i'm making sense here.I just love the cinema displays. I highly recommend it. Playing fs9 on a 30" screen w/ TrackIR will give you vertigo...haha..-fz

2 30" screens. Wow! Thanks for the info, Ive been looking into a 30" monitor. I considered the Dell, but didn't know the Cinemas were a viable option for PC. They are so much nicer than the Dell in my opinion. I currently have 2 19 inch monitors in span mode which gives me a wide viewslightly wider than the 30" but not as tall. The only problem with this is the bezel in the middle of the screen when trying to land. So if I get a 7800GTX and the 30 inch Cinema. Could I use my current 6600 video card and 19" as extra monitors for the CDU,GPS,Radio stack,etc? My Mobo has two pci express slots (Asus A8n Sli deluxe) so I know the cards will fit but how do you set this up in Windows/FS? Basicly my question is how do you get multiple pci express cards to work with Windows/FS? I'm not interested in Sli. I'm interested in Multi monitors, Namely 30" for Main view and 2X 19 inch for extra instrument views. Would my Amd 3700+ cut it or would I have to upgrade the cpu also. Wow, Im getting carried away, should hould I just wait for FS10? OK got to feed the addiction, got to go get me some payware add on. Just kidding (maybe). I'm really serious about this setup, any input will help.

LCD screens almost always work best if you run them at their native resolution. Anything else can produce weird results. I say "can" not "will" because I have seen some that will look decent at a non-native resolution but I think that is the exception and not the norm.

>I Thought the Cinemas could only be used on Macs. I am wrong>or are you using a Mac with a windows emulator?dell now makes cinema displays, using the same company that makes them for apple

Same company, really? So the Dell is a Cinema only cheaper. The styling of the Apple units is still nicer albeit at a higher price. Anyways I have got to save up for one of these babies, not to mention the graphics card to drive it. I think I may wait for FS10. By the time it comes out there will probably be even beter graphics and cpu options if Moore's law holds.

it is a great display. I am thinking about the 24 inch for 800 bucks, too bad the 30 inch is over 2 grand. way too much money for that.

or get 3 19" LCDs and get this baby and you'll be in FS Heaven!http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/th2go/home.cfm

Checked out the Matrox website, and is not out yet and could not find the price. Looks interesting as I would have to buy only another 19 inch monitor to have three. The question is how much would a third screen affect performance.Probably would still need to upgrade video card as the one I have has it's handful with 2 screens.

well they say its gonna cost approx $300 USD, out end of April early May.