I recently bought a new 22" monitor for my laptop.

Now the resolution on my labtop doens't match up to the resolution with the better monitor.

So do I need to get a better graphics card so that my screen looks crisp?

If so...what is the best external graphics card to get for the money?

NCSUBODOG

8/21/2007 3:27:49 PM

i have very little experience with hooking up large and/or high-end monitors to laptops with low/mid-range video, but i'm thinking there's not much you can do about it for less than $rhodeisland

8/21/2007 3:29:07 PM

uh, as far as i know you can set the resolution to the LCD monitor higher, than when you unplug it you'll have to switch your normal laptop screen back to it's original resolution

it seems to be just a simple resolution change, not anything wrong with your graphics card

8/21/2007 3:44:44 PM

^ doesn't the video card in the laptop dictate the max resolution it can output, whether to an external monitor or the built-in one? if they've got it maxed out, how would they increase the resolution output if the integrated video doesn't support it?

8/21/2007 3:58:40 PM

^that's assuming the problem he's having is b/c it can't support the 22" LCD, but reading his post it sounds like the LCD is fine, but he's having issues because it's messing up the screen on his laptop

i'm looking for a bit more clarification i guess

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 4:07 PM. Reason : .]

8/21/2007 4:07:02 PM

To clarify:

My larger screen doesn't look that clear because its so large and I think my laptop is having problems handling that ie it needs a larger resolution to match the larger screen.

I could be wrong.

Brad

8/21/2007 4:08:24 PM

Have you even tried adjusting the resolution in control panel??

8/21/2007 4:15:26 PM

What's the LCD's native resolution? Are you sure it's set to that?

I don't think a new graphics card would affect clarity.

8/21/2007 4:16:37 PM

i don't think any external graphics card supports greater than 1280x1024, i'm assuming the new monitor is 1680x1050 or higher, you may be able to find a newer video card for your laptop but it may be very limited.

i know the Matrox DualHead2Go supports those high resolutions, but it's costly:
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/products/dh2go/home.php
http://shopmatrox.com/usa/products/categories.asp?CategoryID=80&Column=2

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 4:20 PM. Reason : ,]

8/21/2007 4:20:05 PM

here are the numbers on the new monitor:
1680 x 1050
700:1
D-Sub DVI

here are the number on the old monitor:
15.4” WXGA High-Definition BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800) Display

So let me know if this is ok or if there is anything I can do.

the picture quality isn't bad....i just want to make it the best that it can be!!!!!

8/21/2007 4:23:34 PM

so you went into the display properties for the 2nd monitor and changed the resolution to 1680x1050?

8/21/2007 4:54:43 PM

Well I tried and the screen went crazy.

So I reduced it to the max my computer could handle.

I want my computer to be able to handle 1680x1050.

How do I do that?????

Brad

8/21/2007 5:02:23 PM

http://www.microsoft.com/AtWork/stayconnected/multiplemonitors.mspx

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 6:59 PM. Reason : /]

8/21/2007 6:58:02 PM

define "crazy"

The only way to get a crisp picture on an LCD is to run it at its native resolution. If your card can't run it at that resolution, there's not much you can do. As someone said above, external video cards are teh suck.

8/22/2007 10:33:27 AM

Do you have it set to mirror your desktop on the second monitor, or are you extending the desktop to the second monitor? Mirroring with different resolution screens will cause the issues you're describing. There's a couple ways to avoid this, and the easiest is to check the little "extend my windows desktop to this monitor" box in the same place you choose resolution.

8/22/2007 10:52:56 AM

laptops also have a video output button typically that allows you to hook up projectors, LCD's, etc... if you switch your laptop to output to vga, then your desktop will appear on the LCD and your laptop screen should go black, then on your LCD change it to 1680x1050 and you should be good to go. the only downside of course is you have to change it back before you detach the LCD.

this is the only method in which i know of that you can view your desktop on the 22" without having to extend your desktop.

8/22/2007 12:26:53 PM

^Yeah, good point. I didn't bother mentioning it since every laptop brand does their presentation mode stuff a little differently. I know where they are on thinkpads, dells, and apples but it's a little different on each one.

8/22/2007 1:17:37 PM

Thank you!!!

I will try these when I get home.

Brad

8/22/2007 2:17:34 PM

What kind of laptop is it?

8/22/2007 3:01:23 PM

it's typically like Fn+F7 or Fn+F8 if your laptop has a Fn (Function) button

8/22/2007 4:16:36 PM