Hi Linux gurus,

I admit up front I'm a noob on the linux front so feel free to roll eyes but I would appreciate an answer as simple as possible.

I'm trying to get my Philips 200W to work at its native 1680x1050 res with a GMA950 on-board VGA chip. I know there are hacks and tricks with some 915resolution tool. I tried that but to no avail. Mandriva always switches back to 1600x1200 or allows only other non-widescreen res. I also tried to edit the xorg.conf file according to what other users posted on the www.

I also tried the hack where you fool it into its native res with "1600x1200"="1680x1050" or something like that...

I downloaded the 'latest' Intel drivers.

Nothing works

Please have mercy with somebody on the steepest learning curve of his life. (Ah yes, steeper than SAP)

cheers
CP

could you post you xorg.config file

# File generated by XFdrake.

# **********************************************************************
# Refer to the XF86Config man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# **********************************************************************

Section "Files"
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
FontPath "unix/:-1"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
#DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort)
AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse does not work
#DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
Load "v4l" # Video for Linux
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx" # 3D layer
Load "dri" # direct rendering
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "ch(fr)"
Option "XkbOptions" "compose:rwin"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "Philips"
ModelName "200W 1680x1050"
HorizSync 31.5-90
VertRefresh 60
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "device1"
BoardName "Intel 915"
Driver "i810"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "monitor1"
DefaultColorDepth 24

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1680x1050"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "layout1"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
Screen "screen1"
EndSection

*******************************************

cheers mate!

im not saying this will work but try upping the h-sync value it worked for me a few times, not unless you know for certain that these are the maximum values

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "Philips"
ModelName "200W 1680x1050"
HorizSync 31.5-100 <----- or 120, 150 but increase small amounts at a time
VertRefresh 60
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

and maybe change it from 24 bit color to 16 bit. it may be a limit of the i810 driver i use this driver but my crappy old monitor only supports 1024x768 so i can't tell you.

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "monitor1"
DefaultColorDepth 16

Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1680x1050"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection

ok just booted over to windows to see the maximum resolution it offers and that would be 1920x1200 then 1600x1200 then 1400x1050 and 1280x1024 1280x768 and so on
maybe the resolution isn't supported and you will have to stick with a lower resolution



Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1600x1200" <----- or 1400x1050
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection

it is dependant on your video card
----------------------------------
edit opps sorry was reading your first post in the thread and saw that this is not what you wanted lol sorry m8

Cheers mate. I'll try that.

XP does support 1680x1050 on the GMA950 just fine. It's crisp and clear. It seems Intel don't really bother coming out with a Linux driver that actually does out of the box what it does in XP and even OSX for Intel...

Nope. No luck with your suggestions. The TFT stays stubbornly on 1600x1200@75hz.
I'm wondering how the other fellows who apparently got 1680x1050 to run on laptops did it :?

Here's an update - for those still interested.

I've spent quite some time fiddling with this bloody resolution and here's the lowdown:
1. Intel does in fact not bother releasing a distro independent driver for their GMA950 - or 945 or 810 or whatever this chip is officially called. Their shy attempt at a Linux driver is for RHEL and might or might not work with any given distribution - RHEL included...
2. 915resolution hack only works with VESA in my case which makes smaller fonts look horrible and gives a headache after a while. On top of that it makes my video and TV hardware useless since VESA provides no proper video overlay support.
3. There is apparently no publicly available GMA950 3rd party driver that supports 1680x1050@60hz natively. 1400x1050 seems to be hitting the ceiling as for wide-screen. Above that and everything becomes 'virtual'.
4. If you are in the process of acquiring a new system with a 1680x1050 monitor that you would like to run Linux on I would strongly recommend to stay away from anything sporting the GMA950 chip.
5. I'm actually wondering how the fellas with the new Intel MacBook who want to use Linux on their machine handle this. AFAIK the new MacBooks all have GMA950 chips.
6. try before buy


cheers
cp