As a surprise a couple of months ago my husband bought me a new Dell 17 inch monitor. Though nothing was wrong with the 15 inch ViewSonic I had, he felt it was time for me to have a larger monitor. Not only for gaming, but for all the graphic images I do. Plus he is a sweet guy, and wanted to do something nice for me. Aawwww!

Getting a new monitor really has made a difference for me in a few ways. Doing graphic work it has made it so I see more of the image and detail. As far as in gaming it has given me more map area to look for a potential frag. Let's just say the new monitor is helping me get my "Foejo" on in-game. Much to the dismay of my group I game with my scores seem to be getting better.

Just like with any other new toy you want to find out how to best use it to it's full potential. So I went in search of the best ways to set up the new montior with tips, tricks and hints on making the most of the new landscape.

Listed are a few I found, and some I already knew. No doubt that there are plenty more, especially from all of you guys here. So please feel free to share any you might know as well. Now some of these may seem very basic, but it can never hurt to go through them, if nothing else but as a refresher.

*Check your screen resolution. What I have found is that this is all a matter of personal tastes, and bigger is not always better for everyone. My new monitor is set to 1280x1024, and this is the first time I have used this resolution. Have to say I see much more on the screen, and doing a lot less scrolling has it's benefits. When I do graphics it is especially nice to see more details in a wider window. Previously the largest resolution I had used was 1024x768.

*Check your refresh rate. Lower rates cause a perceptible level of monitor flicker which will often result in eye fatigue, or even headaches. Most new monitors should be set to the highest level allowed (not sure what is the current standard), but mine is currently set to 75hz. Which is the highest for this monitor.

*Set up your color quality. The standard these days, and generally best settings now on most systems is 24 or 32 bit. The rule of thumb here is go for the larger/higher number. It will result in richer, more true to life colors. If you want to see the difference try one, and then the other. The color depth change is noticable.

*Use Clear Type Font. Microsoft states, “With Windows XP, ClearType delivers improved font display resolution over traditional anti-aliasing.It improves readability on color LCD monitors with a digital interface, such as those in laptops and high-quality flat desktop displays. Readability on CRT screens can also be somewhat improved.”

Okay, all that sounds great to me, so let's give it shot. This can be achieved a couple different ways as shown below.
Option 1)
Right click on a blank area of the Desktop and choose >Properties Click on the Appearance Tab > Click Effects and Check the box: Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts. Then in the drop down box select: Clear Type

Option 2)
Click Start > Control Panel > click Appearance and Themes, and then > Display. On the Appearance tab > click Effects, and Click to select the Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts check box, and then click ClearType in the list.

*Clean the desktop. Sometimes I just want to clean off my desktop to make it look streamlined. Get rid of all the icons, or even just the text. Getting rid of the icons is easy to accomplish. Right click on a blank area of the Desktop and choose> Arrange Icons by > and uncheck show desktop icons. If you want them back just go and check the Show Desktop Icons, and they will appear just as before.

*Get rid of text in icons. This is pretty cool, but you should make sure you know what your icons are before you do this one. Once the text is gone they can be hard to dicipher.

First you have to Right click and choose >Rename > Erase all text > Make sure the NumLock key in on. Hold down the Alt key while typing 0160 on your number pad > After typing in 0160, let go of the Alt key. YouÂ’ll see a blank space inserted with your cursor > Press Enter to save the new name.

This method gets more complicated when you want to remove the text of multiple icons. Windows needs each icon to have a unique name, the above instructions will only work for one icon. The solution is to enter the ASCII code following directions above, then repeating steps again within the same icon (which will move the cursor two spaces). As long as each icon has a different “name”, you’ll get the same results.

*Last some new wallpapers. Made some simple papers for me, and thought I would share. There are 5 wallpapers that I added to my PR gallery for more ease of download. See attachments for what the wallpapers look like, and then you can snag them at these links.
*Psycholdelic Wallpaper
*Ball Wallpaper
*Fireball
*Underwater Wallpaper
*All about the O Wallpaper

Thanks for reading!

In upcoming Daily Disturbance posts from me:
* Bookmarks: What's in your browser?
* Games People Play
* Remember when?

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Great Write up.
Having a larger monitor really makes using the computer much nicer.
I have a 19" CRT Flat screen.
I run all my games at 1600x1200.
It is hard to find wallpapers that are at that resolution.
There are some nice anime wallpapers sites that have cool wallpapers that arent at the proper resoliton and it sometimes makes me wish i had lower resolution, but than I found a good site that has every wallpaper they have at 1600x1200.

I spend alot of time gaming, so upgrading to a 20 inch last year did wonders for my accuracy

Amazing how it only takes a few inches more to please certain women...

J/K Enjoy!

I've also got a 19" CRT....problem is, due to its age, the resolution is really only good at 1152x(insert vertical res here) x85Hz. Shame really, but I got it free so I cant complain

good writeup foe,just one tip i would like to pass down to you about hiding the icons. right on your taskbar and make a toolbar for your desktop that was you can easily acess your desktop and keep everything streamlined on your desktop. that was you can allyas have the icons without right clicking the desktop to show them.

Ya know...I was expecting some...."rude and perverted" comment on this thread...lol Guess no one said i yet

Ive had my monitor at 75Hz, but it kept doing this jumpy thing..So I turned it down to 70Hz and it works fine. I run my desktop at 1152x864. My games run at 800x600 to 1024x768 (depending on the game of course and the demands it makes on my card) Or they even run at desktop resolution.

First time I saw that line, I was thinking OMG!, what is she up to now? Since then I have been laughing every time I see it here
I have a 19" Trinitron CRT screen, and it still does the job for me. Refresh rate is set to 100Hz and works fine, and I usually run 1152x864 resolutions. 32 bits colour is on, but I also use my NVIDIA Desktop Colour Correction to make the colours look sharper and better.
Just set the res to Foe's, to see what it is like. The text on the net gets a little small for me, but by holding CTRL while scrolling the wheel, I can adjust it to be what I want when I read something.
Another thing to think of, is that the screen can't show higher FPS than the Hz it is set for, unless you turn vertical sync off.
2 more inches.................................

BTW, thanks for the signature picture, Foe

Sorrow
lol! Now what would make you think I am up to something?

That is a good tip on scrolling while using the CTRL button. Had not heard that before so I had to try it myself. Handy!

You're very welcome for the sig

I'm rocking a 21" crt, but I might have to downgrade to an LCD. I didn't have any deskspace in college. I'll miss it to death

Great Tips Foe! I've never thought about removing the text names from the icons on my desktop...but I have trained myself to get rid of unused icons and clean things up a bit

I know a lot of people like 1280x1024, but if you do the math it's not the proper 4:3 ratio. using 1280x960 will give you the proper screen ratio and won't stretch some things out.

That said, I run 1600x1200 @ 100Hz with my 19" trinitron. Does wonders for your desktop space.

It's not the size of the boat in the storm it's the motion of the ocean

Oh wait we're talking about monitors

I went from a 15" CRT to a 21" Panasonic S21, love it.

Great tips! I'm definitely going to try that "remove icon text" one -- I don't need my Recycle Bin labeled as such!

By the way, since LCD's have a fixed number of physical "dots" (the native resolution), they'll always look best when run at the native res (a.k.a. max res) or exactly half. For instance, if the LCD has a native resolution of 1600x1200, it should be run at either 1600x1200 or 800x600, but nowhere inbetween. Otherwise you get pixel interpolation, which is a fancy way of saying blurry text.

Also, some LCD's need to be adjusted so they don't wash out light colors. For instance, you should easily be able to tell the difference in color betwen the light gray background around your avatar and the white background of your post. If they look the same, play with the brightness/contrast controls.

Duplex has a good point about the 1280x1024 resolution. If you're running that res, try this: in Photoshop, hold down the Shift key while using the Ellipse tool to draw a perfectly round circle. At 1280x1024, it'll look like a wide oval (if you don't see it, tilt your head 90° to the side). Not a huge deal, but something to keep in mind when designing graphics.

Very true FF. Perhaps I will change my res to the exact 4:3 ratio when imaging.

Thanks for the other information and tips all.

If you still have that 15" monitor and a dual head card you should run dual monitors.

I have a pair of Sony 17" LCDs and the second monitor is great when multitasking. I either leave my email client up or play some tuneage (video effects) on the second monitor all the time. Its great to have a couple programs running but not have to alt-tab back and forth.

I'm currently running a 19" HP CRT and an old 15" Phillips CRT.........I can chat with PR members on MSN in the smaller monitor and view PR on the larger monitor.......heh

Great post, me however.....2 x 19" View Sonic e90's....3584x1344 desktop resolution...heheh

I also use a nifty program calle ultramon, anyone using dual monitor setup should use it.

Great write up. Unfortunately this is a case where size DOES matter.

I've had a boat full of monitors over the years and right now on my desk I have 2 21" LG Studioworks CRT monitors and a Sun Microsystems ( Sony rebadge) 19" CRT and I would not swap them for the world. In the study room I have a Mitsubishi 19" LCD but to be honest I never use that PC at the desk, I just access it from here. I do all my work and gaming here in my office on the 21" CRTs and I would not have it any other way.

Quote: Originally Posted by _Sexy_Pants_ I'm rocking a 21" crt, but I might have to downgrade to an LCD. I didn't have any deskspace in college. I'll miss it to death

Is looking for a larger desk a viable option?