Monitor Resolution & Game Resolution

[SillyBilly]

1) For performance which would be better in the game, High resolution or a lower one?

2) Does the desk top resolution and the in game resolution need to be the same?

3) How do you benchmark while running Quake2 and what program would I use?

I hope this is not to much to ask in one post!

[Yendor]

1.  The higher the resolution to which you set Quake (or any game for that matter), the slower your frame rate will be.
2.  No, they do not need to be the same.
3.  To measure your own fps in quake 2, start up the game, bring down the console via ~ and type:  timedemo 1  then type: demomap demo1.dm2. After Quake II rushed through the demo it prints the average fps. You can review it again by bringing down the console.

Cheers!  If your computer can't run Q2 well, it's probably not old enough   Just kidding - seriously, it's an old game, and the average new computer can eat it for lunch with one processor tied behind it's back.

[jägermonsta]

1.  The higher the resolution to which you set Quake (or any game for that matter), the slower your frame rate will be.

This is only true if your computer isn't capable of producing the resolution at a acceptable frame rate. For instance I can run Quake 2 at 800x600 and I'll get the same frame rate as I do running it at 2560x1600 on my 30" ...

2.  No, they do not need to be the same.

No they don't have to be the same but anyone who runs a resolution whether it be in a game or the desktop that isn't native to their monitor size is an idiot in my opinion...

[Yendor]

Of course - LCD monitors are only good to 60FPS anyhow, although modern cards are capable of 150FPS in Q2.  LCD monitors (and plasma screens) are the only types of display that have a "native resolution".  Traditional CRT monitors are equally capable of displaying any resolution up to the max that they are built for.

Running non-native resolution on an LCD is a nightmware of headaches for Windows, but in games, it's not so bad.  Q2 does not support the 1680x1050 of my widescreen, so 1280x1024 works fairly well - I don't notice the crappy blurring that I would get if I did that in Windows trying to use SolidWorks.