Friday, September 02, 2005

Fine Tuning Your Monitor

Windows by default will try to auto-discover the correct resolution and refresh rate for your monitor. If its unable to figure it out, it will default the the monitor to a moderately high refresh rate (85Hz) for CRTs and a lower refresh rate (60Hz) for LCDs (note: LCD monitors are not effected by refresh rates, so by setting the refresh higher then 60Hz can slow down the graphics).

If you need to manually adjust your CRT monitors resolution, color depth, or refresh rate you need to access the Display properties control panel (note: for LCD monitors don't change the native resolution).
  • Right-click on an empty area of the Desktop, and select Properties
  • Click the Settings tab
  • From here you can set the monitor resolution and color depth by adjusting the slider or changing the dropdown menu.
  • Press the Advanced button, and select the Monitor tab
  • Form here you can adjust the monitor's refresh rate. For CRT monitors, a general rule of reference, make sure its set faster the 60Hz to avoid seeing flicker on the screen. Check your monitors manual to find out what refresh rates it supports. Be careful not to refresh rate that is too high this canoverdrive your monitor, and could possiblily damage it.
  • Press the OK buttons when done.

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