Setting the resolution on a second monitor

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estesfolkbus

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Apr 19, 2014
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I just bought a second 27" monitor for my computer. Both are Samsung displays, the original one is an SA550 and the new one is an SD590. I didn't have any trouble extending the displays, but I can't set the resolution on the new display to the recommended 1920x1080.

I'm on Windows 7. Going to the control panel, when I select the second monitor, it only offers me resolutions up to 1600 x 1200. Is there a way to change what settings it's offering me?

I'm wondering if this may be a limitation of the graphics card. I believe this one is an ATI Radeon HD3200.

If that's the case, how difficult is it to get it replaced with a different graphics card?
 
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estesfolkbus

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Apr 19, 2014
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I do - I just installed the driver with the new monitor today. But now I'm wondering if it is because I'm using a VGA connector for the second monitor. My computer only has one HMDI output, so I had to use the VGA connector on the computer for the second monitor. Could that be the reason?
 
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estesfolkbus

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Apr 19, 2014
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No. There are only HDMI and VGA outputs in the back of the computer. So I'm thinking that you just can't go above 1600 x 1200 with a VGA, and that may be why it isn't being offered in the screen resolution dialog box. Is that correct?
 
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estesfolkbus

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Apr 19, 2014
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When I just HDMI cable into the new monitor, it set correctly. What I am finding is that Windows considers the monitor that I plug the HDMI into to be monitor #1. Monitor #1 can always be set to the correct 1920x1080, and monitor #2 can always be set to a variety of resolutions, with the highest being 1600 x 1200.

So if I plug the HDMI cable into the old monitor and the VGA cable into the new monitor, then the old monitor is called monitor #1 and can be set to 1920x1080 and the new monitor is called monitor #2 and can only be set to a max of 1600x1200.

If I plug the HDMI cable into the new monitor and the VGA cable into the old monitor, then the new monitor is called monitor #1 and can be set to 1920x1080 and the old monitor is called monitor #2 and can only be set to a max of 1600x1200.

Also, whichever monitor I plug the VGA cable into looks distorted and visibly less clear than the monitor that I plug the HDMI cable into.

Does that tell you anything? I remain pretty stumped.
 
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daswilhelm

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Jan 28, 2012
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sounds strange, but still sounds like a driver problem to me. if you have the latest version, i would assume its a problem that was never addressed considering the age of the card. i would assume a newer card will work better, but that doesnt mean your hardware is bad necessarily. i would try to find another gpu to test with.
 
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estesfolkbus

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Apr 19, 2014
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Fixed!

Before I got this 27" monitor, I was using a 46" TV as a second monitor in addition to using it as a normal TV. Due to the TV's distance from the computer, I had to use a 10' extension on the VGA cable. I had the same exact resolution issue when I was using the TV, but I had chalked it up as something weird as a result of using a TV instead of a normal computer monitor. So when I hooked up the 27" monitor, I just used the same VGA cable, totally forgetting about the extension.

I remembered the extension this morning, and when I removed it, the resolution problem went away.

daswilhelm, thanks for all the help.
 
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