Wide screen monitors at non-native resolution question

[geepondy]

My sister purchased an inexpensive Dell 23" monitor with a 16:9 native resolution of 1920x1080. When I went into the windows display options, I was dismayed to see that this was the only 16:9 aspect ratio available. None of the lower resolutions were even close to be 16:9, hence when choosing one of them, images looked squished and stretched. Is this the norm with wide screen monitors? Is it the monitor that determines the available resolution, the video card or both? She has an older PC with cheapo Intel onboard graphics. Is there anything that can be done to provide lower correct aspect resolutions?

Also I have a much more modern machine with a 9600GT video card and hope to purchase a Dell U2410. Will the only 16:10 ratio available for that monitor to be the native 1920x1200 resolution?

 

[lopri]

If you have ForceWare installed, right click on the Desktop -> NVIDIA Control Panel -> Display -> Change flat panel scaling. There are normally 3 options.

1) Use NVIDIA scaling
2) Use the monitor's scaling
3) No scaling

I'm guessing you can get the 1920x1080 through NVIDIA scaling. Also it doesn't hurt to try installing the monitor drivers (preferably the latest one from Dell) if you haven't already. Depending on the monitor, NV control panel even give custom resolution option as well.

 

[BernardP]

Please give more details. If your sister has Intel or ATI graphics, you will have to install PowerStrip to create the 16:9 resolution you want. If graphics are NVidia, as Iopri explains above, she's in luck as the NVidia Control panel can be used to create and scale just about any custom resolution.

If your sister only has Intel integrated graphics, it would be a useful investment to add an NVidia videocard to her system to avoir fiddling with PowerStrip.

As for yourself, with your 9600GT, you are OK with any 16:9 resolution you want to create.

 

[Painman]

Many monitors have builtin scalers, though the cheaper the monitor, the less likely it is to have one. Have you looked through the monitor's OSD for any scaling options?

 

[geepondy]

Guys in terms of the clarity of the scaled display which of course is interpolated and not as good as the native, is there a difference upon whether it is a monitor profile scaled display or one forced upon it by the video card?

 

[Turbonium]

If you have ForceWare installed, right click on the Desktop -> NVIDIA Control Panel -> Display -> Change flat panel scaling. There are normally 3 options.

1) Use NVIDIA scaling
2) Use the monitor's scaling
3) No scaling

I'm guessing you can get the 1920x1080 through NVIDIA scaling. Also it doesn't hurt to try installing the monitor drivers (preferably the latest one from Dell) if you haven't already. Depending on the monitor, NV control panel even give custom resolution option as well.

FYI: NVIDIA has the scaling option only if you're using DVI output, not VGA (at least with the drivers I have installed: 6.14.11.9062).

 

[BernardP]

True: Nvidia scaling works only with DVI output. You best bet is to get a low-end NVidia card as an add-in. Check the available interface on the motherboad: AGP or PCI-E?

 

[Turbonium]

True: Nvidia scaling works only with DVI output.

Does anyone know why this is the case? Is the hardware just incapable of outputting, in analog format, a scaled image with black bars on either side?

Or put another way: is there a hardware-level difference in the method in which an image is produced between that destined for an analog vs. digital output?