Page width

As a point of discussion (adding to the “image size” thread currently active) I’m remaking my site, and putting more thought into page width.
My previous site is set to full width, APSwoodwork but I understand the option to set it to a predefined width is a choice; but which way to go?
I have an edge-to-edge slider that may look not as good with a margin each side.

Is the set width option just to control elements and page layout?
What are the pros and cons of each option?
All advise is always gratefully received from the Bloc rockers!
Thanks, Andy

Have you thought about setting the page width as a percentage? I’ve looked at this in the past, but it didn’t work on very wide screens with the content I had. It might be better in your case, though you may have to create custom classes that stop two column contents appearing wildly separated on large screen sizes.

A few months back I bought a 32" display and it has really pushed me to think about this sort of thing a lot more. I’m still finding that 1140px works well with what I’ve been doing to date, but I make sure to view everything at full browser width.

screenshot_1315

I’ve never considered %