Picture distortion for new 22" Widescreen

[changicms]

Hi folks, I need help..

Today, I just bought a 22" lcd with a res of 1680 X 1050. My PC is a laptop that runs on a mobility radeon 9200 and is 15" widescreen. But when I connect the LCD to my laptop, things are squashed (a circle looks like an egg). I've tried all possible res combo from 800 X 600, 1280 X 800, 1600 X1200, and it's still the same.

Figuring that I might need to update my driver, I tried downloading catalyst 6.8 and 6.5. None of them worked. Apparently, this is an old driver with no support for newer LCD models.

So, I guess I've to junk away my laptop and get a new PC with the latest GPU?

Other than getting a new PC, is there a way to make things look right in the correct aspect ratio. I won't mind having empty black spaces around it. Meaning that if I set a 1280 X 800, the total screen size would be exactly 1280 pixels wide. Because currently, even if I set at 1280 px wide, it will stretch the full length of the LCD.(I hope u guys can understand what I'm saying :tongue2: )

Thanks and regards..

[airbornflght]

did the monitor come with an install disk of any kind, or did the laptop recognize it as new hardware? Your gpu may just not support those resolutions, I will check it it does.

[changicms]

did the monitor come with an install disk of any kind, or did the laptop recognize it as new hardware? Your gpu may just not support those resolutions, I will check it it does.

the lcd only came with a simplified manual in a cd. it's a taiwanese brand called chimei, model is CMV 221D. however, it does states some graphic cards capable of supporting its res but not mine. my pc is a compaq presario x1097ap. thks!

[changicms]

i think i've resolved it. i downloaded a tool called powerStrip. it allows me to set a user-defined res of 1680 X 1050 and add it as a new monitor profile. after which, i can select 1680 X 1050 in the display settings.

problem solved, but i'm thinking, is there an easier way to add a new resolution profile instead of using a 3rd party tool?

[Thrax]

For the most part: No. Particularly on laptops.

[Sledgehammer70]

well your graphics card does not natively support widescreen formats, hence why you needed a 3rd party setup. I am not to sure about ATI cards but Nvidia allows you to add custom settings very easily.