Size Matters

But so do resolution and aspect ratio. My new monitor arrived, but it doesn’t work well with my old, sad (DVI) computer. This works great:

The left monitor is generally RDPed into my work machine, which is sort-of visible behind the Amazon page. The right monitor is for internetty things.

This computer is aging; aside from the DVI video output, it has spinning rust disks. It has served me well, but backing it up before I moved, I noticed it has my tax returns since 2011 on it. Ten years is a long time for a computer – and it was only $600 at Sam’s Club at the time. I went a bit crazy with the new one. I’ll save the embarrassing details for when it arrives – in all its spinning RGB glory. The old monitors also need an upgrade. That arrived, first:

Unfortunately, whatever video hardware is in this computer cannot drive it properly. The entire point is that it is both of the others, so it has a 32×10 (as opposed to 16×9) aspect ratio. The best the computer can do is above, which is one of the small monitors stretched to twice its width. I have no idea if it is the video card, the DVI port, the DVI-to-HDMI dongle, the HDMI version, or whatever. I don’t really care – other than being sad that this spectacular monitor has become a decoration – displacing the festive Halloween decorations – on the credenza until the new computer arrives (scheduled to ship 1 Nov – it’s being built, now; I’m hoping that is a late, make-customer-happy-by-shipping-sooner date).