Frame Rate

[VegasFlyBy]

Just got myself a new 21" widescreen monitor (1680x1050 resolution). Does anyone know if resolution setting is going to affect frame
rate? I wish i knew more about this stuff to answer my own questions :-) Thanks for the help.

[psolk]

Short and simple, yes. The long answer would be to get into all of the different variables such as cpu, RAM , vid card etc... but the truth of the
matter is that yes, a higher resolution typically yields lower frame rates. There is more that has to be drawn on the screen
Hope that helps and congrats on the new monitor, sounds like a beauty. What refresh rate do you get at that resolution?
-Paul

[VegasFlyBy]

Refresh rate? I'd be happy to tell you, but you'll have to tell me what it is!

[psolk]

OK, so this is something you want to be very aware of with a monitor of that size. Resolution refers to how much information is fit on the screen or
the actual screen size. Refresh rates are referring to how quickly the screen refreshes or as I like to think of it, the sharpness of the picture.
refresh rates start at about 60 Hertz and go up over 100 hertz. The higher the refresh rate, the sharper the image. My monitors for example will run
at extremely high resolutions but they have to drop down to a refresh rate of 72 Hertz to do it whereas at 1280*1024 I can run at 100 Hertz. I
prefer the lower resolution with a higher refresh rate so that everytihng looks extremely crisp and sharp. If you ever see a flickering in your
monitor, that is the refresh rate as well. To check:
Right Click anywhere on your desktop and click properties. Click on the settings tab and then advanced. Click on the monitor tab. Malke sure there
is a check in the box that says hide modes this monitor can not display and then look at the drop down menu. You will see how to check but most
monitors default to 60 hertz with Windows and you have to crank them up yourself...
That is refresh rates 101
-P

[VegasFlyBy]

Hey psolk...thanks for the info. Here's a link to the monitor I just bought.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/produ...ry_id=4058

Maybe you can take a quick look and help me set it up to so that it will work at it's best? Right now I have it set to max res. under control
panels and in FS9 and am getting around 25 fps in FS9. Under the Advanced/Monitor tab it says 60Hz and the box is checked. However
the specs for the monitor I bought say 75Hz x 83kHz. Thanks!

[nem]

Actually with most CRT monitors it's the lower the refresh rate, the sharper the picture. Because the higher the refresh rate, the more blur you get if the monitor doesn't manage to align the pictures in the sequence to (near) identical positions. Which all models I've seen so far fail to do at
higher refresh rates.

Maybe with real quality devices (Eizo, Samsung, Sony) this might not be an issue, but I fail to see how a higher refresh rate could add to the
crispness.

BTW, that link leads to an error page.



Post Edited ( 07-21-05 02:14 )

[psolk]

Nem,
I have always used dual high end matching Samsung monitors hence my logic. A monitor in my opinion is something worth spending the money on and I
assure you on a quality monitor, you want a higher refresh rate. There are CRT monitors now supporting 160-180 hertz. A higher refresh rate leads
to a more stable image with less flickering. I just think a stable image at 100 hertz is much sharper than a shaking image at 60 hertz.
Just a few quick blurbs to back up my statements...
From healthycomputing.com
Refresh rates: High refresh rates help eliminate screen flicker. For most people, a rate of 72Hz to 75Hz is enough to achieve the desired results; a
rate less than 70Hz will result in obvious flicker and can lead to eyestrain and headaches. Some cards support refresh rates of up to 120Hz; if you
need this kind of rate to provide an extremely clear and stable image, make sure that your monitor can support it. Before you rush to the store to buy
a graphics accelerator card, look carefully at your current system and how you use it. Consider your color depth and resolution requirements. If you
have a 14- or 15-inch monitor, you'll probably use 800x600 resolution; the preferred resolution for a 17-inch monitor is 1024x768. Power users with a
21-inch display will want 1280x1024. The higher the resolution you want, the more video memory you'll need.

From
computer.howstuffworks.com
Refresh Rate
In monitors based on CRT technology, the refresh rate is the number of times that the image on the display is drawn each second. If your CRT monitor
has a refresh rate of 72 Hertz (Hz), then it cycles through all the pixels from top to bottom 72 times a second. Refresh rates are very important
because they control flicker, and you want the refresh rate as high as possible. Too few cycles per second and you will notice a flickering, which can
lead to headaches and eye strain.
Because your monitor's refresh rate depends on the number of rows it has to scan, it limits the maximum possible resolution. Most monitors support
multiple refresh rates. Keep in mind that there is a tradeoff between flicker and resolution, and then pick what works best for you. This is
especially important with larger monitors where flicker is more noticeable. Recommendations for refresh rate and resolution include 1280x1024 at 85
Hertz or 1600x1200 at 75 Hertz.

From Wisegeek.com
The refresh rate indicates how many times per second the screen is repainted. Though monitors differ in their capabilities, lower resolutions normally
have higher refresh rates because it takes less time to paint a lower resolution. Therefore a setting of 800 x 600 might have a refresh rate of 85Hz,
(the screen will be repainted or refresh 85 times per second), while a resolution setting of 1024 x 768 may have a refresh rate of 72Hz. Still higher
resolutions usually have refresh rates closer to 60Hz. Anything less than 60Hz is generally considered inadequate, and some people will detect
“flicker” even with acceptable refresh rates. Generally speaking, high-end monitors have higher refresh rates overall than lower-end models.
Not sure what you are basing your info on...
Just my .02,
-Paul

The link works for me and based on your monitor specs:
Factory Preset Resolution Modes: 720x400 @ 70.1 Hz, 640x480 @ 59.9 Hz, 640x480 @ 75 Hz, 800x600 @ 60.3 Hz, 800x600 @ 75 Hz, 1024x768 @ 60 Hz, 1024x768 @ 75 Hz, 1152x864 @ 75 Hz, 1280x1024 @ 60 Hz, 1280x1024 @ 75 Hz, 1600x1200 @ 60 Hz

I would run 1280*1024 275 hertz and you should be very happy.



Post Edited ( 07-21-05 03:15 )

[VegasFlyBy]

Thanks for all the help and advise. Played around with all the settings and got what I think looks great. 1360 x 768 @ 75Hz.

[nem]

Yup, link works now.

@psolk: please note that I never said that the refresh rate doesn't control flicker. Of course it does. (As all the excerpts you posted clearly
and correctly state.)
And if you only used high end CRT monitors so far, which manage to keep a sharp picture at high refresh rates then that's great for you. But on
most monitors a higher refresh rate means a blurrier picture, for the reasons I described. (Which are also logical, if you think about it.)

@Vegas: since you got a TFT you don't need to worry much about refresh rates anyway. Even at 60 Hz most people don't see flickering with a TFT - then
again they don't have the crispness-isue, so crank it up to whatever you like.

[psolk]

Thanks Nem,
Your logic does make total sense if the monitor can not handle lining up all of the associated pixels at a higher refresh rate. I have seen other
monitors where the icons do look blurry and almost like a double vision. I guess that is what you are referring to and to be honest, I never tied that
to refresh rate. You learn something new everyday, that is why I love computers so much...
I am a bit spoiled with the monitors but at least I work my butt off and spoil myself... No handouts here

Vegas, sounds like Nem might have more experience than me with TFT as well so his advice might be more relevant than mine which was geared
specifically to high end CRT monitors....
Thanks guys,
glad you are happy Vegas, that is most important

Thanks for the info Nem, I always appreciate picking up something new...
-Paul

[nem]

Yup Paul, that's exactly what I meant. I must admit that I never could (or wanted to ) afford real quality CRTs, so I always was stuck with
devices where the best trade-off between flicker-free (which of course is a criterium very dependant on the viewer, I know people who can actually
stare at a 60 Hz CRT screen for hours - I'd get a headache almost immediately) and a crisp picture was in the region of 72 to 80 Hz maximum.

Since I've finally got a TFT now these are worries of the past though. The only thing you could miss whith a TFT (especially if you're coming
from a high quality CRT) is a certain lack of brilliance. (Can't understand people who actually settle for a TFT TV to watch pale looking movies. )

[psolk]

Yeah, I am still stuck on my tubes still for some reason. Even the TV I recently got is a 51 inch Sony HD widescreen bit I chose to go with a
glass projection. My room is set up so you sit straight on anyway which is really the only thing you lose with the projection is the viewing angles.
Supposedly there is a next gen coming out in the flatscreen market that my buddy just saw at a show in Honk Kong. They are specifically designed to
address the brilliance factor you were describing and he said they were absolutely amazing and night and day from what we have today.. I can't wait
for those but I think it is just going to continue to get better on the flat screen front and eventually I will want to move. I have a 17 inch
flatscreen in the bathroom upstairs and I do love it...
-paul

[nem]

Yeah they'll definitely improve, no doubt. But for movies right now I'd go for anything but TFT.