Card Size

[Yates, Glen]

Well, I think it all depends on your specific application requirements,
target audience, etc.

On our last major project (2 years ago) we used 800x600, but suffered some
compromises in graphics quality i.e. we had to shrink some graphics down,
show only portions of a screen, etc. (It's a training application, so we
show screen shots from another app).

Now, this year we've moved up to 1024x768, and are much more happy with the
resulting look. And, with the popularity of 17" monitors, I expect we'll
stay at this resolution for some time.

Also, don't be stupid about screen sizes, always test your screen resolution
before displaying a card that may be bigger than it. Some apps, such as the
installer mentioned below, should be able to test the screen resolution, and
intelligently adjust itself to fit.

Just my 2 cents.

Glen Yates

> Just a consideration or two:
> 
> video projectors often don't go beyond 800x600, so if you need to 
> give a presentation, don't go beyond that.
> 
> The other day I needed to install some software on my Mac and it 
> conflicted with something. When I started up without extensions, the 
> monitor came up in default 800x600 resolution, and I couldn't hit the 
> OK button on the installer because it was not on my screen.
> 
> In other words: my vote is for 800x600.
> 
> -- 
> Victor Eijkhout <eijkhout at cs.utk.edu>