Before I begin this guide, please keep in mind that there is no definitive "best" resolution when gaming. It all comes down to personal preference and testing many different options before finding one that works best for you! This just so happens to be what works for me.

Hello, if you clicked on this guide, you may be wondering what on earth this is about. 4:3 in 2024? Stretched res? What is this?

I'm sure the majority of you are playing TF2 in a 16:9 resolution, such as 1920x1080 for example. I have began using a 4:3 resolution, 1024x768, stretched to fill my entire 16:9 monitor.

Why would I do this? Well, it all comes down to personal preference and how I like my game to look.

Using a stretched resolution such as mine - which you will find in this guide, causes the player models to appear wider or stretched, making it easier to land my shots, especially when playing as the Scout or Sniper.

16:9 on top, 4:3 on the bottom

Taunting Sniper




Aiming down a Pyro




Does this look appealing to you? Then this guide will certainly help!

Go to your desktop, and right click.
You should see an option for the NVIDIA Control Panel (seen below). Click that option.



Your control panel should open.
Next, look on the left of the window, under "Select a Task...".
Look under "Display", you should see an option titled "Adjust desktop size and position" (seen below). Click that option.



You should now see more information and settings regarding your display on the right.
Take a look at the following screenshot, and copy the settings that I have shown:



And that's it for the NVIDIA Control Panel! Now let's move onto your in-game settings. We are almost done!

Open up your favorite game, Team Fortress 2!
Once inside, open your options menu and move over to "Video".
Take a look at the following screenshot, and copy the settings that I have shown. Namely the Resolution, Aspect Ratio, and Display mode.



And there you have it! Your game should now be in all of its stretched 4:3 glory.

This is the first Steam guide I have ever created. Much love to anyone that views it!

I just want to make it clear, playing the game this way will not instantly make you an invite-level player. It may, in fact, be more detrimental than it is helpful. But I see no harm in trying! I played TF2 for 2700 hours before exploring these settings. Personally, they have helped me a ton, but just know experiences will vary.

There are some drawbacks with playing the game this way, however. You do not get these wider player models for free! You are putting yourself in an FOV disadvantage when playing with these settings, as obviously a 16:9 aspect ratio will show more of the screen than that of a 4:3 one. But I personally find this obstacle negligible.

If you are on Intel graphics, please take note of this guide made by another player: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1725608772

I was inspired to make this guide from watching b4nny for many years, as he uses these settings for his own gameplay.

To view how to complete this guide in video form, please check out this video from b4nny himself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZqC1jZsDHY