Can you damage your monitor or vidcard by running different resolutions?

[MichaelD]

I feel like King Dork asking this question, but it's been on my mind.

I want to have my desktop/regular applications at 1164 or 1280, but my games run like crap at those resolutions (I like my eye candy/decals/etc!).

Can I hurt anything by running the desktop at 1164 or 1280, but gaming at 1024? Please don't laugh too hard...I just spent a lot of dough on a new monitor and don't want to frag it. Thanks much.

 

[Supradude]

too my knowledge,... no, cause it seems logical that when you run a game the computer just "refreshes" the resolution to the game res. and when you exit, it goes back to your desktop res. i seem to recall a "blink" when i start and quit Q3 that is identical to the one in display properties when you apply res. changes... but to be sure, i'd wait on a few more replies... = )

 

[SiliconVandal]

No, it doesn't damage the monitor.

 

[esung]

no.. been doing that for quite a while. just make sure that the refresh rate is appropriate for your monitor at the given resolution though. (you don't want to run 150hz at 800x600 when your monitor can only handles 100hz at 800x600, it might run, but it'll probably shorten the life of your monitor)

 

[thorin]

Nope changing res' won't hurt your monitor.

Thorin

 

[Dufusyte]

In the old days, monitors allowed you to set their refresh rate to values that they could not handle, and they would self destruct. Modern monitors, however, will just give an "Out of Range" error if you give them some funky setting that they cannot handle.

So feel free to experiment. Monitors these days are very fault tolerant.

 

[cavingjan]

Shouldn't cause a problem. You also already change resolution at least three times. Your system boots into 640x480 then to your desktop resolution and at shortdown it goes back to 640X480.

 

[bacillus]

provided your monitor supports the resolutions, you'll not do it any harm!

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks for all the replies guys! I'm gonna go home and set all my programs/games/apps to a different resolution and see what happens! JOKE. See 'ya.

 

[MGMorden]

It'd actually be kinda hard NOT to change resolutions. Your text mode at bootup is one res, and then the windows startup screen is another res, and you desktop is always going to be higher than that. Monitors are made to change resolutions often.

 

[Rand]

It won't cause any problems at all. you can switch resolutions and refresh rates for different applications as often as you wish. Remember the monitor already boots and shuts down at 640x480 before changing to your Windows resolution as is.

I've been using different resolutions for gaming vs. Windows use for a long time. I use Windows at 1280x1024 and game at 1024x768 or 800x600 and it causes no problems whatsoever.

 

[MangoDude]

you can't hurt anything

 

[thorin]

"Your system boots into 640x480 then to your desktop resolution and at shortdown it goes back to
640X480. "

OMG I hope no one's computer here does a shortdown

Just kidd'n

Thorin