Posted: 12/30/2011 6:52:53 PM EDT
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I'm running a tower configured PC that is about 8-9 years old with a 17" monitor. The resolution on my video card only goes to 1280 x 1024 as opposed to the more current monitor offerings of 1920 x 1080.
I have been told by the sales folks at a couple of computer stores that if I buy a new monitor (22-24" LED or LCD) that it will not look right and the colors will be messed up etc. Both tried to sell me a new PC. I'm not sure if that is correct or not. If a buy a new monitor, will the display look like crap with my old PC? Any options here? I was told a new video card might not work either (compatibility issues). |
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Sounds more or less correct. If your video card only outputs 1280x1024 it will look bad on a 1920x1080 screen. This is because it will simply stretch the 1280x1024 output to fit the larger screen, so it will be fuzzy and distorted. As old as your computer is, you're probably stuck with a PCI video card, or at best AGP. Either one is pretty far outdated, and may have compatibility problems.
At the same time, my old p2 could go up to 1600x1200. Are you sure you have your video card drivers installed? If you are just running windows default video drivers, they can leave you limited on resolution. In theory an old ancient computer should be able to run 1920x1080 in 2d. You would just not be able to run 1080p video, or games with any sort of quality. |
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