New Monitor Help

RLMac

Hi all,

I'm hoping to get some help with a new Westinghouse 22" wide screen monitor I just purchased. First I have to say I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to this stuff.

Here's the machine. Asus P4C-800E MB/P4-3.0ghz/Radeon 7000 series video card.

Here's the problem. When I set the resolution to 1680 x 1050 (native) I'm only allowed med. (16 bit) color. If I set it to high (32 bit) the resolution is forced to 1280 x 768. Is my video card lacking?

Here's a screen shot I took of my desktop, something going on there also. http://img245.imageshack.us/my.php?i...5222251yq3.jpg

Any help is appreciated,thanks,
Rick

>GSXR<mrbusa

What drivers are you using?
Are you sure your GPU is capable of running that resolution?
I looked for a specific 7000 series card that supported that resolution and didnt find any. Under the adapter tab in your cards driver settings when you list all modes is that specific resolution listed in the dropdown menu?

RLMac

Apparently that's the problem. It lists 1680x1040 high color (16 bit). Would this have something to do with what I'm seeing in the desktop pic? Any suggestions for a decent replacement card? I'm not a big gamer I just want to take full advantage of the nice big screen.

Thanks,
Rick

hackerx

for under $100 u could get urself a 7300 gt which will support that screen.

>GSXR<mrbusa

I would not even begin to take on the challenge of picking a card out for you. If I was you I would search for allot of reviews related to the cards in your price range. If you want to watch TV or other media from an external device on your wide screen then you can either get an all in wonder card or get a cheaper GPU and also buy a dedicated tuner card to use as a PVR. It all comes down to how much you want to spend. I personally am partial to ATI.

When you are running your native resolution in 16bit color does your desktop look normal?
Is that screen shot from the native res or the forced?

RLMac

It looks the same either way.

Rick

RLMac

Any opinions on the ATI 9550? I see Best Buy has them for $66.

Thanks,
Rick

>GSXR<mrbusa

If that is around your price range then i would say go for an online purchase like this one. I will leave the searching for supported wide screen resolutions to you. I do not own a wide screen monitor but there are allot of tweaks to get certain resolutions working with certain drivers and certain cards.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102410
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814195027

Are you sure the drivers you are using support your card?

As far as your card not displaying at least a normal looking desktop in any resolution, i'm just not sure. You should be able to get a standard resolution to display but just not fill the wide screen.

RLMac

Thanks for the helps guys. I purchased the 9550 and all is well. Everything looks much better. Colors are nicer, text is crisper etc.

I'm sure there are probably better monitors out there but for $200 at BB on Black Friday this is hard to beat.

Thanks,
Rick

H3X4D3C1M4L

If you're not a gamer you could have gotten away with getting something even less. Even the cheapest of the cheap video cards these days can suppoirt up to 2048x1536 at 85Hz