Why would my ATI X800 XT recognize my dell 3007wfp as max 1280x800 res

Just built a new system, and had an old ATI X800XT card from my last build. I figured I would use the x800xt for the time being and save up for a very nice card instead of just buying a discount priced card to go in this system....

but ever since I installed it I havent been able to increase the res past 1280x800. When I originally installed XP I could increase it to 1920x1200 but the desktop would be larger than the monitor and would just pan. Then I just installed vista and I cant even increase any res past 1280x800. In the ATI Catalyst control center it recognizes that I have a Delll 3007wfp but it listes the "Maximum Reported Resolution" as 1280x800. Ive installed and reinstalled the dell and ati drivers, and have tried for a small time to use a program like Refresh Force and Powerstrip to force the resolution past that, with no luck at all. Even using powerstrip (which recognizes that the monitors top res is 2560x1600) to create my own driver and replace the dell driver, but Ive basically run out of possible solutions.

The strange thing is, on my old build with the same video card and different mobo (im currently using an ASUS P5QSE Plus), i had no issues with the resolution of this monitor.

on a prayer Im going to try and install windows 7 tonight or tomorrow and hope it magically allows me to set the correct resolution.

yeah.

random thought but it wouldnt make a difference if I used my the other dual-link dvi cable i have to connect would it? i use the current cable all the time on my macbook pro to run that at 2560x1600

Just check the DVI cable and the DVI ports on both the Dell and the Radeon XT. I'm guessing if you started having these problems with your new system, but using the same monitor and video card, then perhaps a pin is bent, dirt got on the connector, or the DVI cable is damaged. I'm thinking the video card itself is working just fine, but somehow it's not recognizing you're monitor as capable of it's true output.

Does dell have a driver for you monitor? try installing the ati drivers w/o catalyst software, then installing the dell monitor drivers.

As a side note i've installed windows 7 on my media server. it has a ab9-pro, q6600 and a ati x800xl. windows 7 beta actually has a wddm driver built into it.

I have the same issue: Radeon x800 GT with my 30" Dell monitor limits my resolution to 1280 x 800. My 20" Dell as secondary works at 1600 x 1200.

It appears Dell may have a driver for their 30" monitors (I have 3007WFP HC), but the link on the dell site is broken. I've never needed the driver before, and with other video cards I did not have this limited resolution. It must be an issue with the Radeon x800.

I found out through some other posts that this has to do with the DVI connection and whether it is "dual-link" or not. The x800 cards are apparently not dual-link and therefor cannot run the Dell 30" monitor which apparently requires a dual-link DVI connection to run at full resolution. Without dual-link the Dell 30" monitor only runs in a maximum 1280x800.

Its odd that the 30" has this limitation. I would understand that it couldn't run at maximum resolution without dual-link, but why wouldn't it be able to run at least as well as a comparable 20" or 24" monitor with the same connection. Wierd.

Conclusion: Replace that x800 with a newer video card - the monitor is really awesome when it is at full resolution.

Same problem with my PC (Win7, 64bit):

- one 30'' (Samsung 305T) connected via DVI: no desktop! (it seems that the 305T is unable to run 1280x800)

- one 30'' (prim.) and 22'': no problem, both monitors a best resolution (2560x1600, 1680x1050)

With Vista (64bit) and XP SP3 everything was ok!