Technical > PC Hardware Discussion/Reviews > How will this monitor look when hooked up to laptop?

How will this monitor look when hooked up to laptop?

Your dad's laptop will probably be capable of handling higher resolution monitors. I have my laptop (1366x768) hooked up to an external LCD monitor using a DVI connection and it outputs at its native res of 1920x1200.

reply to peggypwr1
That is odd, we bought a 20 inch monitor, hooked it up and the image looked very fuzzy and stretched out. Max resolution I could set it to was 1280 x 768?

Laptop is from 2003.

Check and see if there is a driver update. Make sure the monitor is connected when you boot.

There is a good chance the video card won't support the monitor resolution, especially if this was an inexpensive laptop. Laptops don't need to support more than their LCD, at least that's how most are designed. They don't expect you to run a larger screen.
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When will the people realize that with DRM they aren't purchasing anything?

reply to peggypwr1
Are you using a fn function key combination on the laptop to change modes? If you are still getting an image on your laptop as well then you are probably in clone mode.

If you go to Start/Control Panel/Appearances & Themes/Change the screen resolution are you seeing 2 screens? If you are only seeing one then it sounds like the system is not recognizing that an external monitor is hooked up.

reply to peggypwr1
Hello,
Both monitors do show up in the Start/Control Panel/Appearances & Themes/Change.

It labled them 1 and 2. I was able to drag one program to the other screen which is pretty neat, but the max resolution on my laptop looks like crap on the 20incher. I have already returend the 20 incher and was hoping the 18.5 incher at 1366 resolution woukd like at least much cleaner.

reply to peggypwr1


asdfdfdfdfdf, on a side note, if I choose to buy a PC system already put together like a HP or Gateway Media Center PC, I understand the motherboards on some models are made by the system manufacturer themselves, not the MBs you buy off Newegg. Can I still add another SATA HDD?

Frys has some good deals on HP media center PCs, with TV tuners etc, I just want to know if I can open it up and add my previous HDD so I can transer fils or use it as a slave drive.

It probable won't be powerful enough for gaming, but the multimedia capabilies make these pre built systems more practical for me right now.

reply to peggypwr1
"I understand the motherboards on some models are made by the system manufacturer"

No they are made by standard motherboard manufacturers but they are often slightly modified variations on retail motherboards designed to the specs of the builder so you are correct that they aren't the exact models you buy retail.

"Can I still add another SATA HDD?"

Most systems should have a good 4+ sata connectors so the answer would generally be yes but it would be best to check the specific model you are looking to buy to be absolutely sure. They should be able to tell you at the store how many sata connectors are on the board.

For hp models you can go here and enter the model number to get the motherboard specifications for that model or you could post the brand and model number here and we could see what we can find. :

»welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html

Did you decide you didn't feel comfortable building yourself?
If your budget is the same as you started with on your thread in the gaming tech forum then you need to be careful because many of the systems in that price range are not going to be much superior to what you have now. For example they would typically have low end dual cores and integrated graphics. Some of the lower end hp models are 6150 graphics which is essentially the same as what you have now.
If the budget is too tight right now it might be best to do nothing and wait until you can get a system that does what you originally wanted.

reply to peggypwr1
If your dad is simply wanting a bigger monitor to look at instead of the laptop screen then I would check the laptop manual for the fn key combination to put the system into single display mode which should blank the laptop screen and only run the monitor. This will increase your chances of being able to set the resolution beyond that of the laptop screen.

reply to peggypwr1
So the 1280 resolution will look fine on a 1366 screen right?

They have some good deals on newegg.

reply to peggypwr1
"So the 1280 resolution will look fine on a 1366 screen right?"

I can't promise that because people's perceptions can vary significantly. What looks fine to one person may look like garbage to another. Ideally you want to run the thing at native resolution. That will give you the best chance of having the sharp clear image you want.