please explain

kind of off topic but why or does a larger resolution make gameplay better say 1024 by 768 is better than 800 by 600 please explain why better in game i know on desktop i think it is crisper and everythign is smaller but i dont think i notice a diff in a game.

In game only the HUD will get smaller (unless you set its size bigger...)
The rest stays the same but will get "crisper" as you put it.


People dont like jaggies so they play with as high resolution as they can and turn on antialiasing.

800 to 1024 is not much difference - 800 to 1600 is tho


*bold is the answer to your question

I play all my games in 600x600...don't like the others.

is that 800x600 or do you have an interesting setup?

i use 800x600 myself

LOL! Sorry...was lying on my side when I typed that.

I guess I'm way too obsessed with resolution. I use a lot of Grapics programs for poster's CD's that kind of thing, ocasionally I do it on the side for money so I have to be concerned about stuff like that, I guess it translated into my gaming as well.
Note: I you just want to get rid of "Jagies" run at a lower resolution, but turn on your anti-aliasing, this way you won't slow down your gameplay, but it will ook smoother

You know, one ting bugs me, On the "faster" quality compareed to the more detailed"Quality" I kinda dig the faster one for one simple fact: Its brighter! I mean as far as faster and higher quality....theyre botht e same fo me cause my machine is a beast. But yeah, Why is the "faster" quality so much brighter than the detailed one?

It could have something to do with your Gamma correction. My PC does it too so when I turn up the res. I turn up the Gamma also.


Ren

1280x1024 for me baby! I can't bring myself to use anything else while staring at the beams of crystal light

I'll play with the highest Anti-Aliasing I can and then up the res as much as I can without it slowing it down. AA is far superior to resolution in terms of making a game look pretty.

God, how can you stand to play in 800x600?

You just gotta find what's best for you and your computer. I know some people who can play fine with 15 FPS, while others need atleast 40+ FPS. Higher resolution is generally considered better because it puts more "dots" (pixels) on the screen. If you have more pixels, images can be more detailed. You start to lose "jagedies" and the picture becomes much more clear. A few of the drawbacks of a high resolution are small text / UIs, slowing down your game, and taxing your video card / monitor. Another thing to consider is that when you use a higher resolution, almost everything becomes smaller. So, if you have a small monitor, you will not want to use a high resolution as it will strain your eyes.

Like I said, it all comes down to personal preference. Some of my friends can play games with 15FPS, but I can't because it makes me dizzy. I also have a 21 inch monitor so I like to set the resolution relatively high (1280x960). With a combonation of needing high FPS and high resolution, my gaming experience can get pretty expensive!

I disagree 100%.

[Edit 2: To the OP, the reason why you do not see such a dramatic improvement in game is because Guild Wars has an amazing graphics engine. Some of the newer games look really good on even low resolution, no AA settings. Another example of this is Doom 3. The Windows desktop is not one such graphical achievement. ]

-Virt

I play 1024X768 full screen, it looks great, and runs great. What does the anti-aliasing do ? I'm not really positive. Does it just increase the textures detail?

Anti-aliasing decreases the appearance of "jagidies". For example, next time look closely at what is supposed to be a "straight" line in a game, but goes at a diagonal angle. Like say, a gun barrel or a window frame. You will see that the line isn't exactly straight becaus the computer has to draw multiple little small lines at different spots to make you think it's angled. The best way to see this effect, if you have no clue what I'm talking about (and I don't blame you, I am a terrible explainer) is to open up MSPaint and draw a line that is not either straight up and down or left and right. Then zoom in. You will see what I'm talking about. This same effect happens in games. Anti-aliasing reduces this effect, but at a great cost to FPS. Often it is just better to raise your resolution, as this has a better cost:effect ratio. One of the only exceptions to this rule is if you have a brand new card, an Ati Radeon X800 or Nvidia 6800. These cards are much better at anti-aliasing than previous cards and do not have such a sevre drop in FPS with anti-aliasing enabled.

[Edit: This "jagadie" effect is clearly visible on the girls bow in your signature.]

-Virt

Another very obvious example is on the tall, straight post with a fire on top of it in the background of the GW log on screen.

Anything higher than 800x600 looks too tiny to me...sorry. It is just what I am used to and a personal preference.

thats the resolution i use when playing on my 27" tv. there are some issues with the interface settings when i switch between computers though..

1024X768 fo' life >_<

You simply cannot compare a computer monitor with a TV, unless that 27" TV is digital. I cannot play at 800x600 either. Its simply too big IMO.

i use the s-vid out, so at least it is better than composite. its the computer i use for a pvr and it seems to run fairly well. my only beef, as mentioned, are interface quirks.