Vista Resolution education - Im confused ?!?!?

[agunslinger]

Ok, so I just bought this mew XPS 720 with 8800 GT 512mb video card with Vista Ultimate and a 22" Samsung monitor with 1600x1200 resolution. On my XP Pro system, this video card and monitor display desktop, applications, game GUIs, etc in a beatiful small style when set to high resolution: small icons, smaller text, tight graphics.

On the Vista system, even at max resolution everthing displays at what the old system displayed at like 1024x768. Desktops icons and text kinda big, websites a little large. In my favorite game Day of Defeat:Source the on scree GUI HUD text is actually fat large bold. With a 1600x1200 monitor and an 8800 GT card set to max I was expecting small tight graphics. What am I missing?

Runnign latest NVidia drivers for Vista form thier website. Its gotta be something unique (and buggy to Vista). Thoughts? Condolensces?

 

[cboath]

You can change the icon size more in vista than in xp with right clicking, choosing views and then classic, medium, or large sized. Some machines come from the factory using medium or large.

You can change the default text size by right clicking and choosing Personalize and then on the top left there is an option for changing the DPI. I've never had to use either - even when i bumped up from a 19" crt to a 24" flat panel.

 

[agunslinger]

Thanks for the reply! The DPI is set for its max already.

 

[Peter]

... and that's the problem. Setting a larger DPI than the monitor actually has ENLARGES the fonts.

 

[cboath]

Yeah, the default scale of 96DPI is what you'd be after.

 

[taltamir]

the icon size is bigger to make it readable. resolution isn't "higher means smaller icons". Resolution is the amount of dots that make up your picture. The more dots, the higher quality your image is.

Vista just has the ability to display larger icons at higher resolutions, giving large beautiful icons. (instead of small pretty ones or large ugly ones).

And as said by others, you CAN change the icon size.