Really confused about ATI/nVdia 1:1 pixel mapping on widescreen.

[JSynnott]

Hey all,
at the moment I have an nVidia 6600gt and an LG L203WT(20 inch widescreen), which currently allow me to game at non-widescreen resolutions if necessary, by placing black bars on either side of the screen, instead of stretching the image to fit the monitor. The monitor itself does not have the option to do this, but the nVidia drivers force my monitor to do it.

I am about to upgrade my computer, and was deciding on which graphics card to get. At the minute, there is a one week deal which means there is an x1900xt going for about the same price as a 7900gt (£250), and as far as I am aware, an x1900xt is FAR superior to a 7900gt (correct me if im wrong).

I would jump at the opportunity to get this x1900xt, but the thing stopping me is that I have heard that ATI cards (or rather, the drivers), are not good at forcing 1:1 pixel mapping with certain setups, and quite often force the user to live with a stretched image.

Can anyone tell me whether the ATI drivers should allow me to 1:1 pixel map, since the nVidia drivers do? There is no way I want this card if it will force me to live with stretching, and I dont want to waste time/money sending back an item which is not faulty.

I would love it if this ATI card would support 1:1 pixel mapping. The offer currently on is absolutely amazing, and with the failure rate of the 7x00 nVidia series, I really think the x1900xt is the way to go. I'll be really greatful for any responses.

 

[JSynnott]

Ah darn, I've just found out that the one week deals last from thursday to thursday. I guess I'm too late to start discussing with people whether ATI is the way for me to go or not..

Thanks anyway though.

 

[JSynnott]

Hehe I wasnt being sarcastic!

I'm talking about the situations where you DO want black bars, for example in old games where widescreen is not supported. I'd rather have black bars down the side of my screen than have a stretched image. Some people seem to report getting their ATI cards to do this, whereas others seem to report not being able to get it to work. I wish I had some way of knowing whether or not it will work with my setup.

 

[JSynnott]

Thanks for the replies. I also post on the widescreen gaming forums, but there seems to be some confusion there also.
Apparently this is the screen I would be looking for in the ATi drivers:

"Centered Timings" is the option I would need to select. Then, if I made my resolution lower than native resolution, I shold see black bars on the sides of my screen, rather than an image stretched to fit.
It seems that this works for some users, and not for others.

 

[JSynnott]

Ah, are you running in analogue or DVI? I think you can only do the 1:1 stuff if you're connected via DVI.