Comments on: Widescreen laptop with widescreen-unfriendly video card?

Question: Widescreen laptop with widescreen-unfriendly video card?

saraswati — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 11:43:24 -0800

Strange problem with a new laptop (WXGA display) and a video card that goes from 1024x768 right to 1280x1024.

The specs:

Laptop: Gateway NX560XL
Video Adapter: ATI Mobility Radeon X1400
OS: Windows XP Professional SP2

How can I get the resolution to a more appropriate 1280x720 or 1280x800? 1024x768 looks pretty bad on the widescreen and 1280x1024 is too much for the laptop's owner.

By: SteveInMaine

SteveInMaine — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 11:48:05 -0800

If I'm not mistaken, 1280x1024 is the native resolution on this model, so you really can't change the overall resolution and still make it legible. What you can do to improve things a bit is make your screen fonts larger.

By: voidcontext

voidcontext — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 11:58:16 -0800

WXGA is a vague term. It can mean any of several settings.

If the native resolution of the device is truly not listed in your display settings, you need to find the correct display driver.

By: voidcontext

voidcontext — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 12:00:44 -0800

According to the spec sheet, 1280x800 is probably what you are looking for.

By: SirStan

SirStan — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 12:54:50 -0800

Install your vendor specific drivers, or download a hacked ATI mobile driver.

By: baylink

baylink — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 21:15:50 -0800

Second SirStan: if you have a widescreen LCD, and you don't have widescreen resolutions in your Settings panel, then you need to find 'drivers' (actually an INF file) that has that resolution in it, so that you can select it, and not have to deal with FatHead Syndrome.