External resolution out of T43 for a widescreen

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buddyh · #1 Post by **buddyh** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 1:05 am

Just bought a T43 SXGA 14.1" 1.86Ghz

I am thinking of also getting a widescreen flat panel monitor from Dell (either a 20" or a 24").

Widescreen resolutions are of course tad bit diff. from standard 4:3
When I look a the options that T43 displays in the settings tab for an external monitor they are of type 4:3

Will this automatically adjust when connected to a widesceen external dispaly?

Thank in advnace.

#2 Post by **BillMorrow** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 2:00 am

please rephrase..

JHaislet · #3 Post by **JHaislet** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 4:01 am

My T43 & Dock II is outputing DVI @ 1920x1200 to a Dell 2405FPW.
Works great and the resolution is native, so it's proportionally correct.

As far as just using the analog VGA output on the T43 w/out docking station, I've got no idea, as I've never used the VGA output (packed away the VGA cable the same day I got the 2405FPW.

buddyh · #4 Post by **buddyh** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 8:04 pm

THanks JHaislet!

This is excellent information. Right on the money. I am considering the exact same monitor and I do have the Dock II for T43.

Is the monitor 24" "too" large? How are you liking it? Do you have to turn your head side-to-side to see across the screen?
Anything I should (re)consider before I go for the 24"?

Thanks again.

JHaislet · #5 Post by **JHaislet** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:32 am

I do a lot of work in MS Word 2003 (and excel) with two documents side-by-side on the 2405FPW. Zoomed in at 125% on each document in Word, both fit side by side on the screen and there is about a 1-inch margin on both the left & right sides of each document.

When I first got it around September, my initial thoughts were "holy crap this thing is huge". That went away after a couple days and it seems perfectly normal now.

Initially it felt like I was hunting all over the screen, but that too went away after about 12hrs of use

I've been really happy with mine and it's WAY too [censored] bright! (but that's a good thing) as it's easier to dim the brightness & up the gamma & contrast than going the other way & trying to make it brighter. I actually have the brightness set on 0 using the monitor controls and adjusted it to my liking using the ATI Catalyst Control Panel.

BTW, using "Large Fonts" in Windows Display Settings, the screen fits 15 icons vertically (1200) and 25 icons horizontally (1920), which works out to 375 icons on the desktop

How's that for real estate

BTW, Dell occasionally runs these at 35% off. Check the major "hot deals" websites and be patient. I probably waited about 6wks to order mine and snagged it brand new from Dell for $779 + tax (I actually live about 5 minutes from Dell).

Being right down the street, I ordered it Monday night w/free shipping & DHL delivered it 9am Tuesday morning!

BTW, the connection options for this monitor are awesome! While I've only used DVI so far, it has VGA, composite, component, S-Video, picture-n-picture (one from computer & one from composite/component/s-video) and picture-by-picture. I honestly haven't had a chance to try these out, but it has more physical & unique display connections than most TV's!

Also, the 8-in-1 media reader on the left side is pretty slick (I think it supports 8 formats, maybe it's 6), but I use it all the time with my camera's compact flash & SD cards, very convenient & fast as it's Hi-Speed USB 2.0, as well as a 4-port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 hub (2 ports next to the DVI connector & 2 ports on the side with the flash media reader).

The included stand is also neat. It slides the screen up & down in an extremely smooth action, and the whole screen can pan side to side as well as front to back, and can be physically rotated from landscape to portrait mode (use ATI Catalyst to flip the output around).

Oh, there's also a black rubber tube on the back of the stand that all your cables can pop into. With 3 USB, DVI & power cables all coming out of the back, it keeps everything nice & neat.

I think that pretty much covers the basis. Having Media Center 2005 on my T43 also allows the 2405FPW to work as a 24" LCD tv in my bedroom. If you haven't noticed, I use this thing a lot!

BTW, I've included a screen shot with two Word doc's tiled vertically @ 125% each. You might need to do a little scrolling, but click on the picture again after you click on the thumbnail, so it will display it in it's true 1920x1200 resolution, so you can get a good idea of the screen size.

Herr Yunta · #6 Post by **Herr Yunta** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 2:35 pm

Why are you running MCE on your laptop?

smugiri · #7 Post by **smugiri** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:42 pm

Forget all the other questions: post more of that "Family Law" assignment!!

Reading about John and Sara's lives is great fun!!! I have to have more than just page 1 and 2.

buddyh · #8 Post by **buddyh** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:08 pm

JHaislet

Thanks again. Very cool.
I see what's going on at Dell's website. They are running a promo on the 20" right now.
I'll wait when they flip it to the 24".
Thanks for the insight, you've not only answered all my questions but helped me potentially save some money too.

JHaislet · #9 Post by **JHaislet** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:40 pm

Herr Yunta wrote:Why are you running MCE on your laptop?

For a couple reasons really.
1) Because I can & it works

2) Already had the Dock II with a spare PCI slot
3) Had an extra Hauppauge PVR-150MCE
4) Already have another MCE 2005 machine in the living room with two tuners that records everything & found a simple program that allows it to seamlessly stream shows to the T43 MCE...All the shows in the livingroom show up under "Recorded TV" on the T43 MCE, just as if they were recorded locally; yet physically, they're stored on the other computers drives. This way, MCE takes up almost no room on the T43.
5) Wanted to use the 24" LCD as more than just a monitor

6) Really like the MCE remote & it's functionality in MCE...It just plain works...Hauppauge’s remote wouldn't work 100% with other applications for watching tv/videos and required constant tweaks to the text files that interpret the commands.

On a side note, I'm thinking about picking up the USB2 version of the Hauppauge tuner and removing the PCI card, and then possibly disabling the fan inside the Dock II as it's starting to get a little noisy (the tiny one that's burried inside the Dock's PSU).

Also thought about just mounting a small external ~40mm fan over the exhaust port on the Dock II (and unplugging the internal PSU fan) and either powering it via the 5v rail on a USB port or from a wall wart depending on the voltage needed for it to be silent. I'll probably hold off on this though until the 1yr warranty on the Dock II is up.

buddyh · #10 Post by **buddyh** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:11 pm

Hey JHaislet
...noticed from your screenshots, you may be taking doing some coursework.
Have you checked out CourseCafe.com
Social bookmarking for students.

buddyh · #11 Post by **buddyh** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:12 pm

Hey JHaislet
...noticed from your screenshots, you may be taking doing some coursework.
Have you checked out http://www.CourseCafe.com
Social bookmarking for students.

buddyh · #12 Post by **buddyh** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:12 pm

Hey JHaislet
...noticed from your screenshots, you may be taking doing some coursework.
Have you checked out http://www.CourseCafe.com
Social bookmarking for students.

buddyh · #13 Post by **buddyh** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:15 pm

Hey JHaislet
...noticed from your screenshots, you may be taking doing some coursework.
Have you checked out http://www.CourseCafe.com
Social bookmarking for students.

chan_man · #14 Post by **chan_man** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:28 pm

I have used both the Dell 20 inch and the 24 inch wide screen, definitely go with the 24 inch. It has built in card readers on the left side, has component video inputs in additon to S-Video so it can double as a TV or plug in a DVD player and watch movies between long software runs. Just press the video select button to switch. I tried running my T41 with the 24 inch via the video connector and just get 1600 x 1200 so the image is stretched.. did not try the DVI connector with the dock. may be worth trying although not sure it my T41 has this support.

As for viewing a wide image, it is not bad, lots of room for the many windows you have open.

I also bought this for around 780 which is the lowest that I have ever seen this. I ended up with the 24 inch after I sold my 20 inch for 500 so it was not a bad upgrade.

The best source for these Dell deals is
http://www.bensbargains.net or http://www.hot-deals.org

JHaislet · #15 Post by **JHaislet** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:45 pm

I also keep an eye on stuff using http://www.cheapstingybargains.com
It used to be known as Cheap Stingy [censored], but they changed their name a couple months ago.

I've got a trash e-mail account setup where they can notify you daily or weekly of all the new monitor deals for 23" & greater LCD's. This worked great so I wouldn't have to constantly be looking for it & possibly miss it with all the crap they have.

Also, sometimes Dell will introduce a limit on how many folks can get it at that price (usually around 5,000 from what I saw), so don't go buy the expiration date, as it can end sooner from my experience.

BTW, thanks for the link to CourseCafe. That's the first I've seen of that site. I'll have to look into that this weekend. Usually when I'm briefing cases & doing stuff for class I use Westlaw & Wikipedia.

buddyh · #16 Post by **buddyh** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 3:00 pm

JHaislet
Thanks for the website for bargains. I was going to be asking you, how do I watch out for the sale event for Dell 24".

Btw, if you can shed some light on this, I would again greatly appreciate it -
I actually do not have a Dock II. I believe what I have is a port replicator. It does however have a DVI port on it. Will this work just as well when connecting to the 24"?

If you use wikipedia etc, CourseCafe can be great to keep your links/bookmarks sorted by courses and share them with others, and see what others are saving.

JHaislet · #17 Post by **JHaislet** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 3:40 pm

I'm not sure about the standard port replicator. It is my understanding that the notebook attached determines the maximum resolution put out on the DVI port. My T43 has the ATI x300 64MB graphics and it can drive the 2405FPW just fine with the Dock II. I would assume as long as you had at least an x300 64MB graphics card, it "should" work fine with the port replicator...however I've never tried it with the replicator.

Search around on the boards as I'm sure SOMEONE has used a T43/port replicator & 1920x1200 DVI before, as I know there are at least 6-8 forum members running a 2405FPW or similiar hi-res DVI displays.

chan_man · #18 Post by **chan_man** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:01 pm

I have the port replicator with the DVI-D connector on it. I was playing around with the setup attached to a KVM and all of a sudden, my T41 offered me the 1900x1200 resolution using the standard VGA connector.. will wonders never cease. I do not know if this will happen every time but at least I know it does work.

As for deals on the 24" Dell, a deal came out today for 799. This is the lowest it has come in close to 6 months.

sugo · #19 Post by **sugo** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 12:51 am

For people who just use the VGA out, I suggest giving Omega a try. The following resolution is available (among many others) for the external monitor

1680 x 1050
1920 x 1200

buddyh · #20 Post by **buddyh** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:06 pm

Howdy JHaislet

Well....I am now setup with a Dell 24" LCD on my T43.
What an amazing piece of hardware - the Dell 24".

I am running it at 1920x1200.
However, when I undock, my laptop screen resolution goes haywire...get's set to something other than the 1400x1050.

I'm sure you've got this figured out...how do I have the laptop resolution default back to 1400x1050 when undocked and when docked go to 1920x1200.
Thanks so much!

JHaislet · #21 Post by **JHaislet** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 12:04 am

Congrat's on the 24" Dell! The extra connectors really came in handy over the last couple of days. I just built a Via EPIA SP-13000 mini-ITX computer, and I had it hooked up via VGA, S-Video, and Composite all at the same time to the Dell, testing & tweaking each output. It was nice to be able to flip between that system & the T43 with the push of a button.

I also didn't realize how much I'd use the built-in flash reader & side USB 2.0 ports until after I got it (for which I keep flash drives in for backup).

I WAS using IBM/Lenovo's Presentation Director for resolution management. I setup a profile for 1600x1200 (highest PD supports), then saved/exported that profile to the desktop, then opened it with notepad & edited the 1600 to 1920 and saved. Then re-import the saved profile to PD & now it will support the 24"

Right now though, I actually uninstalled PD a couple weeks ago and mine still works great (go figure). I'm using Centrino Hardware Control, along with Windows standard power profiles. I run two seperate profiles (max performance when on AC, max battery when on battery).

I'm not really sure how, but Windows seems to "remember" how I last had my notebook when it was on battery or AC, and it automatically configures it to that setting (it changes resolution to 1400x1050 & disables the Intel2915 card). When I pop it back in the dock, it automatically re-enables the wireless & sets the desktop at 1920x1200.

For what it's worth, I don't have any of IBM's power management stuff currently installed (uninstalled that a couple weeks ago as well).

Those couple of programs from Lenovo were hogging at least 10-12 processes and that seemed kinda resource intensive, since they really don't do much. Besides, 75+ active processes is WAY too much for a laptop, even one running Media Center.

buddyh · #22 Post by **buddyh** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 2:05 am

man...you rock!
Funny...how it did not even occur to me that I can now also hook up my desktop directly to the 24" via the analog VGA, since I am using DVI for the T43.
No more two diff. monitors and turnnig different ways to access the two machines.
This is awesome!
Thanks for the cue on the edit profile on the Director...just did it.

Not as daring as you to try to eliminate the Director just yet

- though the memory hog and the number of processess it uses is starting to bug me.
I am already up to ~400mb in RAM when I am finished booting up.

External resolution out of T43 for a widescreen

External resolution out of T43 for a widescreen

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