Why 1280x1024?

Duner · Mar 21, 2005

Hi all, I was just wondering. Why is 1280X1024 such a popular resolution? As far as the resolution "ladder" goes, this shouldn't even be on the list.

Here's what I mean. As times/technology changed, resolutions increased

320X240
640X480
800X600
1024X786

All of the above have aspect ratios of 4:3

Then the next jump goes straight to 1280X1024 which has an aspect ratio of 5:4

Then next most popular jump goes all the way to 1600X1200, which takes us back to the 4:3 ratio.

I'm just curious why 1280X1024 is so popular and why it's the only "mainstream" resolution that's not 4:3.

David · Mar 21, 2005

Im not entirely sure either - perhaps for widescreens?

Blackmage · Mar 21, 2005

Nah Cant Be WideScreen is 16:9, is there an actual 4:3 Res between 1024*768 and 1600*1200 ?

David · Mar 21, 2005

1280x960 is 4:3 but I dont know why 1280x1024 seems to be used more.

LtBlue14 · Mar 21, 2005

No idea why it was created, or why so many LCDs use it. On my CRT I always used 1280x960 since higher than that gave me 60hz, and of course it was a 4:3 screen.

slyon · Mar 21, 2005

any 19" lcd higher than 1280x1024 ?

LoneWolf121188 · Mar 21, 2005

aren't newer monitors more square than rectangular?

dukat · Mar 21, 2005

i think its originaly meant for lcd screens, but many people use it with crts cause they dont know any better :shrug:

i always use 1280*960 on my 19" crt

Albaholic · Mar 21, 2005

I always wondered about that res myself

willkill1337 · Mar 21, 2005

I think probably because it is quite a large jump between 1024x768 and 1600x1200 and people find 1600x1200 a little too high a resolution for casual like desktop usage so people want to find a compromise between that and 1024x768.

Whereas I have gone from a 15" ****ty Packard Bell monitor that only displays 1024x768 at 60hz which gets PAINFUL to a 17" monitor that is 6 years old and was to be thrown away from a school, which does 1024x768 @ 75hz

and will do 1240x1024 @ 60hz.

So I have only ever used 1024x768 in recent times really and I like it and hey it is a LOT better than 800x600 as you can fit the whole width of an A4 page on it in Word.

Hey if I ever had a nice rig and plenty of money I'd actually contemplate buying a monitor.

attack · Mar 21, 2005

This is a very interesting question....I think willkill has a good explanation. Can someone with a 17 or 19" LCD with 1280x1024 native res take measurements horizontal and vertical? (need to measure because when dimensions are listed they include the bezel).

My 2001FP is 16"x12" so it's a 4:3 but it also runs 1600x1200
I'd be interested to see if 17" LCD's are 4:3 in dimension but run the 5:4 resolution.

slyon · Mar 21, 2005

run at 5:4, does it mean that when you draw a circle, it will looks like oval ? i haven't really had one , and i can test how it looks like.

Paul1 · Mar 21, 2005

I don't know why it's so popular. I found it very annoying to say the least. I'm perfectly satisfied with 1152x864 resolution.

Super Nade · Mar 21, 2005

Folks,

Have any of you tried 1280 x 720, i.e a ratio of 1.6? If Monitors like the newest Mac ones (I'm guessing), have a H/W ratio of 1.6. This number gives you the best visual effect.

This ratio of 1.61 is called the "Golden Ratio". With a squarish monitor however, it may not look that good.

More info about the Golden Ratio:-
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/GoldenRatio.html

LtBlue14 · Mar 21, 2005

Have any of you tried 1280 x 720, i.e a ratio of 1.6?

Well, that's a widescreen res (and not even a 16:9 one), so it's not a prudent choice for most people I don't think. Plus the whole golden ratio thing is a bit odd...not really something to choose a resolution by if the resolution isn't a standard one.

As for WillKill's explanation, it doesn't explain why 1280x1024 came into popular use instead of 1280x960, which is the proper 4:3 res. We also don't know why LCDs tend to choose 5:4 instead of 4:3.

run at 5:4, does it mean that when you draw a circle, it will looks like oval ? i haven't really had one , and i can test how it looks like.

It only means that if your screen isn't a native 5:4 screen. Most CRTs are 4:3, so it is the case that on most CRTs 1280x1024 will result in circles looking like ovals.

I'd be interested to see if 17" LCD's are 4:3 in dimension but run the 5:4 resolution.

Amazingly, I've heard rumors that this is true of some LCD monitors. If this is true it just means the LCDs are not being run in their native res. You probably know this so I'm probably preaching to the choir, but it cannot be the case that an LCD's screen is 4:3 yet it runs 5:4 resolution natively since 'native res' on an LCD refers to physically how many pixels the monitor has.

Even a bit of google searching didn't yield an answer to this question, just lots of other people wondering the same thing =(

attack · Mar 21, 2005

Most wide screen LCD's are moving to the 16:10 resolutions. the apple HD displays, and dell 2005 and 2405 are 16:10...I absolutely love teh widescreen ratio...and with a forumd edicated for widescreen gaming makes it even better. Movies (although 16:9) look much much better...HL2 is amazing because you actualy see more...and I've seen WoW played on a 2001 and 2005 and it's no doubt which is better (2005).

That said someone with a 17" LCD....cmon break out your ruler!

LtBlue14 · Mar 21, 2005

Oh wow, I hadn't heard about the 16:10 LCDs. How do game companies typically deal with widescreen resolutions? Is it an advantage, or do they restrict your vertical viewing angle? It would be a big advantage in a lot of multiplayer games if they just gave you a wider viewing angle...

attack · Mar 21, 2005

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/
HL2 lets you see more horizontal and doesn't clip anything verticaly. WoW does the same I believe...The only game I play is CS:Source...don't have much free time unfortunatly. But checkout the link and you can search for a game...they work with run arounds and other things to make it work if the game doesn't support it normaly.

Audioaficionado · Mar 22, 2005

Wow, I never really thought much about running my 19" CRT at 1280x1024. Now that I changed it to 1280x960 it seems better.

Super Nade · Mar 22, 2005

Now that I've tried 1280 x 1024 I think it looks great !

I had to resize using Irfanview, but this looks cool.

Edit*
17 inch LCD here.

Why 1280x1024?

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