Widescreen monitor - Windows doesn't give options for widescreen screen res

[GaZ_D200]

Just bought a 22" widescreen monitor to replace my old 17" CRT, and all is great except the computer doesn't seem to have noticed there's been a change. Display properties is just giving me the same old set of screen resolution options - no 1680x1050 to be seen

So I went to the manufacturers site and downloaded the driver for it, but it's just three really small files, with no mention of where to put them and how to activate them.

Any clues? Cheers in advance. If this helps the monitor is Hyundai N220W, and I'm using onboard graphics not a dedicated card

[GaZ_D200]

Ok I know I haven't given this very long but as well as being a *bump*, this reply will contain extra info 

One of the "three really small files" is a .inf which I undersatand is a driver file minus the fancy set up app. Sooo, I tried to "add hardware" and browsed to the location of the file by using the "have disk" option. I attempted to open it and was greeted with "The specified location does not contain information about your hardware"

[patio]

Your onboard video may not support that resolution...more info on the machine OS, etc.

[GaZ_D200]

OS: XP Home Service Pack 2
Graphics: S3 ProSavageDDR
Monitor: Hyundai N220W

Can't think what else would be relevant so hope that's of help.

If it is that the resolution isn't supported, does that mean I need a graphics card? If so I have just bought a Matrox G2+ PCI card, which I did try to install at the same time but I gave up on because I couldn't find drivers for it and it came up in really low res, really jerky, and didn't show the bottom bar. Do you know if that card would be sufficient?

[patio]

That card looks to be a bit older and may or may not get the job done...but wait for one of our Resident Video Experts such as Calum to stroll in with more advice...

[Betaa]

if you wish to run a monitor of the size successfully you can buy a very cheap video card with a max resolution of 1680X1050 may i ask what the native resolution is and i can help you pick out a cheap one.

[GaZ_D200]

if you wish to run a monitor of the size successfully you can buy a very cheap video card with a max resolution of 1680X1050 may i ask what the native resolution is and i can help you pick out a cheap one.

It is 1680x1050. I was looking at this what do you think?

Link Edit

[Betaa]

another question
tell me which connectors you have on your motherboard

PCI
PCI-E x16
PCI-E x1
AGP

[Betaa]

for AGP i would recommend
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102081
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131070
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814141026   <----Higher bandwidth which will allow for faster transfers and faster performance.

for pci i would recommend
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133007

[GaZ_D200]

I have a spare PCI and AGP, quite an old system though so no PCIE

Cheapness is the key here so how does that one look that I posted? Would it do the trick? Cheers

[Betaa]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131014&Tpk=nVidia%2bGeForce%2bFX5500%2b8x%2bAGP

cheaper and not from ebay.

[GaZ_D200]

I ain't waiting on US shipping. And with that in mind does my ebay one look suitable? If not i'll look up your suggestions on UK sites.

[Betaa]

yeah its basicly the same thing

[GaZ_D200]

Cool I'll get that ordered then!

Stupid question time... Is installing graphics cards easy? Is it simply a case of plug the card in, plug the monitor in, switch on and hope for the best?

Also do they usually auto detect or am I likely to need drivers? Sorry for asking silly questions but I don't wanna do all this then realise I can't see anything because drivers aren't installed. If that makes sense

[GaZ_D200]

One more thing...

Is AGP the better choice? I'm guessing so as it's dedicated to graphics whereas PCI is all-purpose... correct?