Widescreen resolution

cottage · Dec 1, 2005, 06:26 PM

Sorry is this question has already been answered but I've been looking for a couple of days (here & elsewhere) without success.

I'm a little confused about ATI drivers. I want to purchase a new LCD widescreen monitor with a native resolution of 1680x1050. My graphics board is an ATI All in Wonder Radeon 8500 128MB. I'm using and older driver that has a maximum resolution of 2048x1536 but it does not show a 1680x1050 resolution. All existing resolutions are 4:3 aspect ratio. None of them are 16:9. I looked at the ATI site for new drivers but there is no specific info regarding 16:9 resolutions on the newer drivers. I contacted ATI tech support and they were helpful but vague on my specific situation.

Can anyone offer me advice on the capabilities of the newer drivers and support for the 1680x1050 resolution (or other options)?

P.S. I'm currently using Catalyst version 3.2.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Dec 1, 2005, 08:20 PM

Search through the Windows Radeon Display drivers forum to find out but Catalyst 3.2 is ooooollllddd.... might want to upgrade that pronto to the 5.x series at least

cottage · Dec 1, 2005, 09:43 PM

I'm still reading and searching but feeling like I'm not making much headway.

I've seen ZerOpoint (catalyst & Forceware) and Omega drivers that apparently are enhancements to the original ATI drivers. However, I'm struggling to find details about them. I see posts that briefly describe what's new but can't find a complete description of what is in the driver and to which graphic board they apply. The version numbering is also confusing me. The ZerOpoint version 0.511 appears to be the newest but has a lower number than 0.59, 0,58, etc).

I've also looked for a newbie primer but can't find one.

Can someone point me to some education. I'm willing to read and learn.

Basically, I just trying to get 1680x1050 resolution on an ATI All in Wonder Radeon 8500 128MB.

cottage · Dec 2, 2005, 03:37 PM

I'm still trying to get my desired resolution and have tried a number of things:
1. As H3X4D3C1M4L suggested, I updated my drivers to Catalyst 5.11. This went smoothly. However, my old version drivers 3.2 reported resolutions of up to 2048x1536, the new driver reports a maximum of 1024x768. I suspect that this is because that is the limitation of my current monitor.
2. I saw on another site that the Omega Catalyst 2.5.44 drivers had added 1680x1050 resolution. I downloaded the driver (from here) and installed it. I ended up with an overly bright screen (almost totally white) that was virtually impossible to read.
3. Being a little braver, I removed the Omega driver and installed the ZeroPoint Catalyst 0.5.6 driver and ended up with a totally black screen.

Each time I changed drivers, I removed the old drivers and all other ATI applications using the Add/Remove Control Panel application. I then rebooted into Safe mode, and ran Driver Cleaner Pro., then installed the new drivers.

Currently, I'm using the ATI 5.11 Catalyst drivers.

Soooooo......
I'm assuming that the 5.11 drivers only show available resolutions up to 1024x768 because that is the limitation of my monitor (my monitor model is reported in the Control Center). Since the old 3.2 drivers showed available resolutions up to 2048x1536, I know that the Radeon AIW 8500 graphic card is capable of higher resolutions. I can rationalize that the newer driver will have a 1680x1050 resolution if I install a monitor capable of that resolution. I asked ATI tech support this question and they were unable to give me a direct answer!!!!!!

They said it might work or I had the option of installing a "custom resolution" but couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me how to do this.

Therefore a couple of questions.....
1. Is there anyone out there running an ATI All in Wonder 8500 128MB card with the official ATI 5.11 Catalyst drivers (or older driver) running a wide screen monitor at 1680x1050 resolution?
2. Failing the above, can anyone give me a hint on what I may have done wrong attempting to use the Omega and Zer0point drivers?

Thanks in advance,

H3X4D3C1M4L · Dec 2, 2005, 08:35 PM

You could try finding a driver file for your monitor, its probable that the EDID data on your monitor is limited or not very well understood by the CCC (EDID is like auto plug and play for your monitor).

Try going to the monitor manufacturer's website

Dec 1, 2005, 06:26 PM	#1
cottage DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Widescreen resolution Sorry is this question has already been answered but I've been looking for a couple of days (here & elsewhere) without success. I'm a little confused about ATI drivers. I want to purchase a new LCD widescreen monitor with a native resolution of 1680x1050. My graphics board is an ATI All in Wonder Radeon 8500 128MB. I'm using and older driver that has a maximum resolution of 2048x1536 but it does not show a 1680x1050 resolution. All existing resolutions are 4:3 aspect ratio. None of them are 16:9. I looked at the ATI site for new drivers but there is no specific info regarding 16:9 resolutions on the newer drivers. I contacted ATI tech support and they were helpful but vague on my specific situation. Can anyone offer me advice on the capabilities of the newer drivers and support for the 1680x1050 resolution (or other options)? P.S. I'm currently using Catalyst version 3.2.

Dec 1, 2005, 09:43 PM	Thread Starter #3
cottage DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Still Looking I'm still reading and searching but feeling like I'm not making much headway. I've seen ZerOpoint (catalyst & Forceware) and Omega drivers that apparently are enhancements to the original ATI drivers. However, I'm struggling to find details about them. I see posts that briefly describe what's new but can't find a complete description of what is in the driver and to which graphic board they apply. The version numbering is also confusing me. The ZerOpoint version 0.511 appears to be the newest but has a lower number than 0.59, 0,58, etc). I've also looked for a newbie primer but can't find one. Can someone point me to some education. I'm willing to read and learn. Basically, I just trying to get 1680x1050 resolution on an ATI All in Wonder Radeon 8500 128MB.

Dec 2, 2005, 03:37 PM	Thread Starter #4
cottage DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Still trying I'm still trying to get my desired resolution and have tried a number of things: 1. As H3X4D3C1M4L suggested, I updated my drivers to Catalyst 5.11. This went smoothly. However, my old version drivers 3.2 reported resolutions of up to 2048x1536, the new driver reports a maximum of 1024x768. I suspect that this is because that is the limitation of my current monitor. 2. I saw on another site that the Omega Catalyst 2.5.44 drivers had added 1680x1050 resolution. I downloaded the driver (from here) and installed it. I ended up with an overly bright screen (almost totally white) that was virtually impossible to read. 3. Being a little braver, I removed the Omega driver and installed the ZeroPoint Catalyst 0.5.6 driver and ended up with a totally black screen. Each time I changed drivers, I removed the old drivers and all other ATI applications using the Add/Remove Control Panel application. I then rebooted into Safe mode, and ran Driver Cleaner Pro., then installed the new drivers. Currently, I'm using the ATI 5.11 Catalyst drivers. Soooooo...... I'm assuming that the 5.11 drivers only show available resolutions up to 1024x768 because that is the limitation of my monitor (my monitor model is reported in the Control Center). Since the old 3.2 drivers showed available resolutions up to 2048x1536, I know that the Radeon AIW 8500 graphic card is capable of higher resolutions. I can rationalize that the newer driver will have a 1680x1050 resolution if I install a monitor capable of that resolution. I asked ATI tech support this question and they were unable to give me a direct answer!!!!!! They said it might work or I had the option of installing a "custom resolution" but couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me how to do this. Therefore a couple of questions..... 1. Is there anyone out there running an ATI All in Wonder 8500 128MB card with the official ATI 5.11 Catalyst drivers (or older driver) running a wide screen monitor at 1680x1050 resolution? 2. Failing the above, can anyone give me a hint on what I may have done wrong attempting to use the Omega and Zer0point drivers? Thanks in advance,

Dec 1, 2005, 08:20 PM	#2
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	Search through the Windows Radeon Display drivers forum to find out but Catalyst 3.2 is ooooollllddd.... might want to upgrade that pronto to the 5.x series at least

Dec 2, 2005, 08:35 PM	#5
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	You could try finding a driver file for your monitor, its probable that the EDID data on your monitor is limited or not very well understood by the CCC (EDID is like auto plug and play for your monitor). Try going to the monitor manufacturer's website