What's The best Resolution for Half-Life 2?

michaelsil1

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Not that my system can handle it but, I'm curious as to what is the optimal resolution setting? :farmer:
 
The BEST resolution is the highest one your system can handle without lagging a lot.
 
the only real limit is the monitor, a 17" .21dpi monitor theres no point in going over 1024x768 and for a typical 19" its best is 1280x1024, this is due to the physical limits of the monitor being less or nearly the same as those resolutions, and before a bunch of ppl post saying otherwise - i've checked the numbers twice and for 17" .21dpi = 800000 and the max number of pixels renderable on screen is only very slightly more than 1024x768 = 786432 so there :p

if you see that the next step up 1280x1024 = 1310720 you can see that most of the gain won't be directly visible, though there may be a perceived gain due to indirect things like lighting effects etc.
 
1280*720 on a 19" TFT or a videoprojector. Thats how I'm playing it. I love widescreen! 6x AA and 16 AF (X800XT-PE:))
 
um javabyte the amount of pixels your lcd monitor can display is simply is max res.. so if u have a max res of 1280x1024 = 1310720. The size of the screen makes no difference, as a 1" screeen with max res 1600x1200 would display the same number of pixels as a 30" with same res. Therefore, its best to play at the highest res your monitor can handle
 
ISIS dude your wrong, allow me to explain, if the physical monitor has .21 dpi (that dots per inch) and is 17" (thats 17" diagonally measured viewable area) you have a physical limitation on how many pixels can be seen on the screen, 1024x768 is the resolution i agree with you there thats what it is, however i think now you can see that there are two factors that determine visual quality here; one is the resolution the other the size and DPI of the monitor

OK so DPI is really the measure between tridot clusters but thats not really relevant and only confuses matters
 
Uh.. the best resolution is the one that looks best and performs best on YOUR computer. What other answer is there?
 
michaelsil1 said:
Not that my system can handle it but, I'm curious as to what is the optimal resolution setting? :farmer:
I keep mine at 1024x768 in windowed mode, don't see the need to have it any higher. Only play RPG's at higher resolutions where possible.
 
actually re-reading it i did kinda confuse myself earlier, i'm pretty sure i've got it right now though (for those that are interested)

If the physical monitor has .21 dpi (thats not dots per inch*) and is 17" (thats 17" diagonally measured viewable area) you have a physical limitation on how many pixels can be clearly seen on the screen, however i think now you can see that there are two factors that determine visual quality here; one is the resolution the other the size and DPI of the monitor

so your 1" screen would have to have 786432 DPI!!
1024 x 768 requires a monitor with a resolution of 75.3 Dots per inch on a 17" monitor and 85.3 on a 15" (also 19" = 67.4) , so you would need a magnifying glass to see something in the distance at 1024 resolution on a 15", the human eye here adding another factor into the equasion, although a 15" may be able to do 1280x1024 theres no point because at the size we would not see it.

*DPI given by monitor manufacturers is really the measure between tridot clusters but thats not really relevant and only confuses matters, this is quite obviously to confuse the buying public while still giving some comparable value.
 
JavaByte said:
the only real limit is the monitor, a 17" .21dpi monitor theres no point in going over 1024x768 and for a typical 19" its best is 1280x1024, this is due to the physical limits of the monitor being less or nearly the same as those resolutions, and before a bunch of ppl post saying otherwise - i've checked the numbers twice and for 17" .21dpi = 800000 and the max number of pixels renderable on screen is only very slightly more than 1024x768 = 786432 so there :p

if you see that the next step up 1280x1024 = 1310720 you can see that most of the gain won't be directly visible, though there may be a perceived gain due to indirect things like lighting effects etc.

What's the .21dpi? I thought monitors ran at 72 or 96. I think I'm getting the wrong end of the stick there =)
 
sorry damn 15 minute editing thing got me, my other post explains better
 
I have it at 1600 x ..um.. something else. In widescreen 16:10 windowed. Easy chatting alt-tabbing etc, as well as you see more than other folks in MP.
 
javabyte are you talking about CRTs?
with nearly all lcd screens with max res of 1280x1024 have the same number of pixels, the dpi is irelavent
 
ok here's a very simple little guide that should make more sense than the other posts

1024 x 768
on a 14 inch monitor = 106 dpi - too small too hard to see details
on a 15 inch monitor = 97 dpi - pretty good but maybe have to sit close to the screen in a darkened room
on a 17 inch monitor = 82 dpi - prefect
on a 19 inch monitor = 71 dpi - getting a bit blocky, maybe if you sit far away
on a 21 inch monitor = 64 dpi - legoland you should definatly try a higher resolution

1280 x 1024
on a 14 inch monitor = 132 dpi - nope this is never gonna work, only do this to amuse yourself then put it to a sensible resolution
on a 15 inch monitor = 121 dpi - see above
on a 17 inch monitor = 102 dpi - just about but maybe have to sit close to the screen in a darkened room
on a 19 inch monitor = 89 dpi - Perfect
on a 21 inch monitor = 80 dpi - Pretty damn good

as a general guide the recommended resolution is 72-96 DPI and that goes for CRT/LCD and pretty much anything else, for those with a 14" 800 x 600 = 82 dpi, but don't use that on a 17" cos thats 64 dpi
 
i play at 1024x768 because any higher and things get too small
 
You can hardly tell the difference between resolutions anyway..
 
1280x960 on my 17in.

How can you POSSIBLY play at 1024x768 on a 17in?!? LOW RES. most17in monitors support 1280x1024, 1024x768 is the typical native res of 15 in monitors....
 
A2597 thats really the point though, whats the maximum supported isn't necessarily whats best viewing, while a 17" @ 1280x1024 (102dpi) is achievable, theres just not enough screen to render that with clarity of fine/distant details.
Although it's undoubtably a case of personal preference and choice, i can say with some authority that as the human eye has physical limits and 102 DPI is not easily viewable in a still image not to mention a moving one, that 1024x768 on a 17" is better.
However that does not take indirect effects into account - such a lighting effects that are rendered better (with more raytrace points being in the viewport) and the effect on other things such as aniosotropic filtering etc.
 
Never liked high res. Everything seems small on my 19in. Best res in my opinion is 1024
 
sup2069 -
the 1280x1024 @ 66Hz is a bit poor but like i said 1024x768 should be the best res. on a 17" anyway (all things being equal), so i'd run yours at that and that should be a lot easier on you eyes, 1024x768 @ 87Hz is a much more flicker free resolution in addition to what i said in the other post above about best DPI* ;)

*not to be confused with DPi which is dot pitch
 
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