[SOLVED] Can a monitor show more resolution than its limit?

[Avik Basu]

It's a weird question, I know. I have a Dell IN2020M monitor and ever since I bought it I had connected it to my GPU using VGA through a VGA-to-DVI converter that I had gotten with an XFX GPU. The monitor's specs show that its maximum resolution is 1600x900. Now, yesterday I bought a VGA-to-HDMI converter. And after connecting the monitor at first didn't do anything. Just a black screen. Loose connection. After fixing that when the picture came I saw that all the display settings were messed up. The horizontal and vertical position, the resolution, color, everything. When I went to change the resolution I found it automatically set to 1920x1080. After fixing the display settings I checked some of my games and their resolution too could be increased to 1920x1080.

So I'm wondering, how does a monitor whose resolution is limited 1600x900 go beyond that? And, is it safe to use the higher resolution?

 

[Lutfij]

It's likely that the OS tampered with your display settings. Windows 10 is known to do this, by setting a resolution it thinks is best for your display. The answer is yes, with the new OS, if you have options higher than the monitors native resolution, it will go there but your experience will vary greatly.

While you've taken the effort to state what's happening, you forgot to state the specs to your build and the version for your OS, if I've assumed right that you're on Windows 10.

 

[TerryLaze]

So I'm wondering, how does a monitor whose resolution is limited 1600x900 go beyond that? And, is it safe to use the higher resolution?

By having every pixel show a percentage of a second pixel to make up for the missing ones. You get a higher resolution but at a worse quality.

 

[Avik Basu]

It's likely that the OS tampered with your display settings. Windows 10 is known to do this, by setting a resolution it thinks is best for your display. The answer is yes, with the new OS, if you have options higher than the monitors native resolution, it will go there but your experience will vary greatly.

While you've taken the effort to state what's happening, you forgot to state the specs to your build and the version for your OS, if I've assumed right that you're on Windows 10.

Sorry about that. And, yes, I'm using Windows 10 Pro 20H2. But I did not have the higher resolution option when I was using the DVI converter. It's showing only after I started using the HDMI converter.

My specs are:-

AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Asus B450-E Gaming motherboard
G.Skill Trident Z 3200MHz 2x8GB RAM
Asus GTX760 DC2 2GB DDR5 GPU
DELL IN2020M 20inch monitor

 

[SkyNetRising]

Now, yesterday I bought a VGA-to-HDMI converter.
So I'm wondering, how does a monitor whose resolution is limited 1600x900 go beyond that? And, is it safe to use the higher resolution?

Blame your adapter. It isn't reporting supported resolutions properly.

Your monitor should have DVI input also. Use HDMI-DVI adapter instead.

 

[RAIDGoblin]

By having every pixel show a percentage of a second pixel to make up for the missing ones. You get a higher resolution but at a worse quality.

exactly, using the settings on the PC you can drive a monitor to a higher resolution, but the specified monitors native resolution is the number of pixels available on the screen, the monitor isn't capable of showing more than that and you're screen will look best at that resolution, if the video output is set any higher the monitor will appear to look worse

 

[Avik Basu]

Blame your adapter. It isn't reporting supported resolutions properly.

Your monitor should have DVI input also. Use HDMI-DVI adapter instead.

Found this one. Will this do?

For reference, this is the monitor's page.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Found this one. Will this do?

If this it the graphics card, you're having, then use
DVI-DVI cable or
HDMI-DVI cable (in your link).

 

[Avik Basu]

If this it the graphics card, you're having, then use
DVI-DVI cable or
HDMI-DVI cable (in your link).

This is my card. But I'm planning on upgrading to one of the newer ones as soon as the prices come down and stocks go up. And all the models I have seen of the newer ones, whether Nvidia's 30 series or AMD's 6000, all have either HDMI or DP ports. I haven't seen DVI in any of the latest models. So HDMI-DVI will probably be the better option.

I have also noticed a loss of sharpness after using the HDMI converter. My monitor's sharpness was at 50% before and at 100% now and it still feels a bit off. Is this because the adapter is reporting the wrong resolution or is this an HDMI thing? I can't say I've ever noticed a sharpness issue in any other screens. But those are FHD certified running through certified cables and none using an adapter. This is happening in 1600x900 resolution. In 1920x1080 it's a little better but still feels off.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I have also noticed a loss of sharpness after using the HDMI converter.
My monitor's sharpness was at 50% before and at 100% now and it still feels a bit off. Is this because the adapter is reporting the wrong resolution or is this an HDMI thing?

That's because HDMI-VGA adapter is making digital to analogue conversion.
HDMI-HDMI and HDMI-DVI cables provide pure digital signal. There is no conversion involved.

 

[Avik Basu]

I connected the monitor using the HDMI-DVI cable and it's working. No more 1080p resolution and the picture looks sharp. Thanks for the help @SkyNetRising.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Great. 👍