Top tips: How to change your monitor screen resolution. Best tips: How to change your monitor screen resolution How to set a higher resolution

14.01.2024 Hard disks

Today we will learn how to change the screen resolution in Windows 10 in several ways and look at the problems associated with this. These include: the inability to change the resolution, small or too large font after changing it, blurred fonts, etc. Finally, it is suggested to watch a video that shows how to change the resolution using the operating system.

Resolution is the number of dots (pixels) that determine the size of the image on the screen of any display. The first number indicates the width of the image, and the second number indicates its height.

So that the image does not look too large, or, conversely, small, this parameter should be set to a resolution equal to the physical one (the number of elements of the display matrix that form the image). This information is indicated in the monitor manual, on the display box, and is often displayed on the screen if the latter’s settings are incorrect.

Let's use the Windows 10 settings dialog

The method that operating system developers propose to use and change the display resolution in Windows 10 is the simplest. This is the operation of the new system settings window.

1. Press Win→I to open the “Options” window.

2. Go to the “Devices” section.

3. On the “Screen” tab, go to “Advanced settings”.


The three previous items can be replaced by calling the Desktop context menu and selecting “Display Settings”.

If there are several information output devices, you must select the one you need in the window.

4. In the list, select the option marked “Recommended” (this is the native, physical resolution of your display) and press “Enter” or “Apply”.

After this, you should evaluate the image quality and, if something happens, the settings can be restored within 15 seconds with a single click. It is not recommended to do this when choosing the native resolution value; in just a couple of minutes the eyes will get used to the new parameters and the picture will not seem unusual, low-quality, too small, etc.

The same thing, but through the Control Panel

In Windows 10, this parameter is changed in the usual way from the “seven”. This is done in the Control Panel.

1. Call it via Win→X.

2. Set up a way to visualize elements in the form of icons.

Or simply find the “Screen” icon through the search bar in the top right corner.

3. Click on this icon.


5. Select a display if there are several of them.

6. Specify the value for each of them.

7. Click “Apply” to write new settings to the Windows 10 registry.


Changing the resolution through the video card settings program

You can change the display resolution using a program that is installed along with the driver for the video adapter.

Let's look at how this is done using AMD as an example.

1. Call the “Set up Radeon” command through the Desktop context menu.


2. Click “Settings”, then “Advanced settings”.


3. We accept the terms of the license agreement.

4. Add a custom permission by clicking “Create”.

5. Specify any values ​​manually and click “Check” to test the new resolution.


What’s interesting is that in this way you can achieve any resolution in both planes, even non-standard ones.

With nVidia video cards, the same is done through the NVIDIA control panel, which is called up through the desktop context menu.


Possible resolution issues in Windows 10

“Ten” automatically selects the physical resolution of the display and supports high values ​​for this parameter, including 4K and 8K. But in certain cases, this function may not work and the list of supported values ​​may not include the “native” one for the display. Then click “Graphics adapter properties” at the bottom of the advanced display options window.


Then click “List of all modes”. In the dialog that appears with a list of available settings, select the desired option and click “OK” until all windows are closed if the selected value is satisfactory.

Additionally, you should visit the device support site to see if it has a new version of software for managing the operation of the graphics adapter (you can also check the update through the video card control panel).


It may be necessary to completely remove the old version of the software to integrate the new driver into the system. In this case, you should use the DDU utility, which also supports Intel video cards.

Visit the support resource (developer) of your display for the latest driver for it. Windows 10 does not always cope with the task of updating monitor drivers through Update Center.

Problems often arise when using cheap Chinese cables for connecting a video card and monitor or adapters. Try to get rid of them or change the connection interface if possible.

The image quality of the background image may be low due to the low resolution of the background image itself; it should be replaced with a larger one and the result checked.

Typically, the operating system itself determines the resolution for a particular monitor model. However, the automatically selected parameters do not always suit the user. For example, on a 21-inch monitor I couldn’t get used to the small icons for a long time, so at first I independently changed the resolution to a slightly lower one, which suited me. Today I will tell and show how to do this correctly using the Windows 7 operating system as an example.

There are three ways to solve this issue, but not everyone can use one of them. I'm talking about changing parameters using a proprietary utility, which can be installed along with the drivers. However, many users simply refuse to install it, so this method is not relevant for them.

Method one

For example, let's take an Ati Radeon video card, along with which the proprietary Catalyst Control Center utility is installed, through which you can change various parameters. We launch the program (usually it is located in the tray), select the “Desktop Management” section, the “Desktop Properties” subsection. Here you will see the current desktop settings, including the screen resolution, which you can change to the one you need.

Second way

The next option is even simpler compared to the first. We go to the desktop, click on the right mouse button, after which a menu appears, in it select the “Screen resolution” item.

A window will open.

Here we “play” with the screen resolution - select and click OK.

Third way

Finally, the same thing can be done through the control panel.

Click the “Start” button and find the “Control Panel” item. Here we select the “Screen” section.

A window will open with the ability to enlarge icons on the desktop. On the left side of the screen there is an item “Setting screen resolution”, by clicking on which you can change the resolution.

As you can see, this process is very easy and simple even for a beginner. But what you shouldn’t do is change the refresh rate - it is optimal for the monitor, and if you set it to a mode that it does not support, the device may fail. Fortunately, this rarely happens in practice and concerns mainly CRT monitors, which are currently almost out of circulation.

To make your computer screen settings as comfortable as possible for your eyes, you need to know how to change the screen resolution of your personal computer or laptop monitor.

Screen resolution is an indicator that determines the clarity of the display of all icons, pictures, that is, graphics in general. It is important to determine what will be best for the monitor.

The recommended one is always indicated in the device instructions. You can also view it on the Internet; to do this, you only need to determine the screen size (number of inches diagonally).

Changing an extension using built-in OS features

The higher the resolution, the better the clarity of the display. For example, a 22-inch display will have a standard resolution of 1680*1050, which is optimal and maximum for this screen.

All available sizes are available in the settings; it is advisable to choose the largest one offered.

Follow the instructions to change the image resolution of your display:

  • Go to the operating system desktop. Right-click on it and select screen options, as shown in the figure below;
  • In the window that opens, you can adjust the size of text, icons and other system elements in real time. You can also adjust the screen orientation. To go to the selection tab, enter the word “resolution” at the top in the search bar;
  • Select “change screen resolution”;

  • Click on the drop-down list as shown in the figure and select the standard recommended one. Save the new settings.

Important! It happens that the recommended resolution is higher than the display. That is, the size of the final image does not correspond to the screen size, so some elements of the desktop may disappear from the user’s field of view. Adjusting your monitor will resolve this issue. In the selection options, choose not the recommended one, but the one that fully displays all the elements of the desktop. At the same time, all graphics must be clear.

Several common types of expansion and corresponding display sizes:

  • 1024*768 – perfect for screens of 15 or 17 inches. In a display with a resolution of 1024*768 pixels, the color depth is 16 bits;
  • 1280*1024 – intended for displays whose size is 19 inches;
  • Types of monitors measuring 24 inches most accurately convey the image at a resolution of 1920*1080. All displays with these parameters are FullHD.

Adjusting the screen refresh rate

The higher the display refresh rate, the correspondingly better the image quality. That is why, in addition to size, it is necessary to pay attention to this parameter.

To change the refresh rate follow the instructions:

  • Go to the control panel. In the search bar, enter “Screen” (without quotes);
  • In the proposed search result, select the item that is responsible for the screen refresh rate, as shown in the figure;

  • Set the refresh rate to the highest possible. This will eliminate possible periodic flickering of the monitor.

NVIDIA Software

How to find out the right resolution for your display? This can be done on the official website of the manufacturer or in the instructions that come with the device.

On the boxes of monitors and laptops from Samsung there is information on how to set the correct resolution and what to do if the real one does not match the declared one.

Using a special program that is preinstalled on all computers equipped with an Nvidia family video card, you can also adjust the resolution of the user's monitor.

Follow the instructions:

  • Open the main Nvidia graphics settings window by right-clicking on the desktop, as shown in the figure;

The Carroll program is software that is designed to change absolutely all monitor parameters in one single window.

This utility is perfect for Samsung Syncmaster family monitors.

You can also use this application to find out the recommended resolution and the required update frequency.

Anyone who constantly works with a computer knows that an incorrectly configured image on a laptop screen or computer monitor can cause discomfort. In this case, the eyes are the first to suffer from fatigue. And here the question quite naturally arises of how to adjust the screen resolution on Windows 7 to suit you in order to make your work more comfortable. This will be discussed further. There are several simple ways that will allow even inexperienced users to configure it.

Screen resolution: what does this parameter affect?

For some reason, most users usually associate screen resolution only with the detail of the graphic image, completely losing sight of the fact that this parameter affects some other aspects.

Yes, indeed, when the resolution increases, the picture becomes more natural, while when the value of this parameter decreases, it looks made up of squares. However, if you look at the problem of how to adjust the screen resolution on Windows 7 on a laptop or computer monitor, you will notice that in some applications even the workspace may increase, and previously hidden controls appear.

This situation can be observed in many applications. For example, in the FL Studio music sequencer, at a low resolution, the synthesizers and effects used simply do not fit on the screen (several monitors are required), and when the work area is increased, the problem disappears. The same applies to design programs like AutoCAD, when there is no possibility of installing additional monitors.

What settings should I use?

Of course, the question of how to adjust the screen resolution on Windows 7 manually, if the system has not done it automatically, is a priority, but you should not forget about parameters such as refresh rate, color rendering or image contrast. They play an important role.

What refresh rate is is not difficult to understand. It is enough to move a couple of meters away from the monitor, and horizontally changing stripes will immediately become noticeable. When viewed closely at a distance of about 30-50 cm, they are not visible, but this has a negative effect on the eyes. The same applies to the strong saturation of the color scheme, because too poisonous colors also cause discomfort. So, when talking about how to adjust the screen resolution on Windows 7 or any other operating system, you should take these parameters into account. But let's move on to the setup.

How to adjust screen resolution on Windows 7 in the simplest way?

In any Windows system, such configuration is carried out using OS tools very simply. First, you need to right-click on a free area of ​​the “Desktop” to bring up the context menu, in which there is a line at the bottom to go to the appropriate settings.

Actually, the very problem of how to set the screen resolution on Windows 7 comes down to choosing from the drop-down list of supported values ​​exactly the one you want to set at the moment. To make settings easier, you can use a special slider by moving it up and down. When the desired value is selected, the settings should be saved with the “Apply” button, after which the screen will go dark for 1-2 seconds. Nothing wrong with that.

If the user's settings are satisfactory, you can finish there. Otherwise, they should be changed. Typically, you can leave the recommended values ​​or set a higher resolution if it is supported. Only after this the elements of the graphical interface will become smaller, and people with low vision will have to change the same size of the taskbar or icons on the “Desktop” themselves.

In the question of how to adjust the screen resolution on Windows 7, one cannot ignore the refresh rate, which, as mentioned above, also has a strong effect on vision. These settings can be found in the additional parameters section, which is called up by clicking on the hyperlink of the same name. On the "Monitor" tab there is a drop-down list in which the current value is set.

For laptops, 60 Hz is usually used, but on desktop monitors you can set both 100 and 120 Hz, if such values ​​are supported. In general, the higher the set value, the less eye fatigue.

How to adjust screen resolution on Windows 7 after reinstallation?

It also happens that after reinstalling the system, the screen resolution is not automatically adjusted. There is only one reason for this - the absence or incorrect installation of a video driver.

There is no point in installing it from the “Device Manager” (if the system did not automatically detect it, it will not detect it in the future). Therefore, the installation must be done from the original driver disk, using packages like Driver Pack Solution, or simply downloading the original driver from the graphics adapter manufacturer’s website.

Control programs for Radeon and NVIDIA video cards

The question of how to adjust the screen resolution on Windows 7 for Radeon and NVIDIA accelerators is much easier to solve. As a rule, the system contains special programs for controlling accelerators and their settings in a pre-installed form. If there are none, you can install them additionally (PhysX, Catalyst, etc.). Their tools have more options, and the settings are much more subtle, since you can also change the aspect ratio.

Such utilities are especially useful when setting the best image parameters in computer games.

Instead of a total

That's all there is to it in a nutshell regarding the basic screen resolution settings. It remains to add that if discrete video cards are installed on board, it is better to abandon settings using the system and use “native” utilities. By the way, for the same integrated Intel chipsets there are also such programs, although they are not particularly different from the Windows tools.

From settings screen resolution The clarity of text and images depends. Typically, the larger the diagonal of the monitor, the higher the screen resolution (DPI) it supports. However, the ability to increase screen resolution is also affected by the video adapter (video card).

As stated above, more high screen resolutions details look sharper. This is especially noticeable on LCD monitors of desktop computers and laptops. On such monitors, the clearest picture is obtained when setting the so-called own or "native" screen resolution. In this case, one pixel (point) on the screen corresponds to one physical pixel on the monitor.

With CRT monitors the picture is somewhat different. There the screen resolution is lower (often 1024 x 768 pixels) and the setting of a “non-native” screen resolution is not so noticeable due to the peculiarities of the image output technology.

Reference: The “native” screen resolution is always indicated in the documentation for your display. Almost all modern monitors display a message on the screen indicating optimal (“native”) settings in case the system is configured to output in a different mode. Also, sometimes the native resolution is indicated in the settings available through the monitor's OSD menu.

What is the actual picture setup like?

Beginning with Windows 7, the system, immediately after installation is completed, tries to configure the most optimal screen parameters(screen resolution, refresh rate and color depth). These parameters can vary greatly, both for different types of monitors (LCD monitor or CRT display), and for different models even from the same screen manufacturer.

Install some additional drivers for video cards and especially monitors in the first stages (immediately after installing the operating system) it is not necessary. But this does not always happen, unfortunately.

There are times when automatic setting crashes. The OS runs with a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 (and sometimes 800 x 600) pixels. In this case, you can try to configure all the settings manually.

Manually adjusting screen resolution

To change settings displaying an image on the screen you need to do the following:

  1. Press the button " Start", select " Control Panel»;
  2. Enter the section " Design and personalization" and select the command " Setting the screen resolution»;
  3. In the first drop-down list next to the words “ Screen"The name and model of your monitor must be indicated. If it says " Universal PnP Monitor" or " Universal non-PnP monitor", try selecting your monitor from the drop-down list. If your monitor is not on the list, then further steps are indicated below in the article;
  4. A little lower in the window opposite the inscription “ Permission» Click on the drop-down list and use the slider to set the desired screen resolution. If there is no “native” screen resolution, then most likely your monitor has been identified incorrectly (see point 3 above) or there are problems with setting up the video adapter (for example, the drivers were not installed or were installed incorrectly);
  5. After changing the screen resolution using the slider, you need to click the " Apply»;
  6. After everything, you need to click on the “ Save" to confirm the selected new screen resolution or the " button cancel changes" to return to previous settings.

Reference: If you select a screen resolution that is not supported by your monitor, the screen may go blank. In this case, you need to wait a few seconds, after which the original screen resolution will be restored.

Manually adjusting the monitor did not help. What to do?

Usually you need to install drivers for video cards from the manufacturer. They can be found either on disk, if you had one when you purchased the video card, or downloaded from the Internet. It is better to give preference to the website of the manufacturer of your video adapter. From other sites it is very easy to download some malicious program instead of a driver.

Install the driver and reboot. Nothing changed? Then we try to repeat all 6 points that were described above.

Video card drivers are installed, but the picture is not clear

If after all the manipulations nothing helps, then you most likely have in the parameter “ Screen" indicated " Universal monitor (not) PnP" The OS simply doesn't know what resolution your display supports.

In this case, some computer forums and websites recommend trying to install a driver for the monitor. Maybe this helped someone. But more often than not, such drivers simply do not exist. Especially it concerns Windows 7 or newer Windows 8 or Windows 10- monitor drivers are simply not needed for these OSs (especially for older monitor models).

A simple and quick solution to the screen customization problem

The problem is almost always fixed very, very simply. See:

  1. Your video card most likely has two DVI outputs. Try connecting the cord to a different connector;
  2. If the monitor is connected via a DVI-VGA adapter and step 1 does not help, try another adapter. It happens that you come across “inadequate” adapters;
  3. If steps 1 and 2 did not help, you should check or replace the cord;
  4. If possible, you need to get rid of the DVI-VGA adapter altogether. Connect immediately via DVI or HDMI interface, if available on the video card and monitor;
  5. There are even recommendations online to reverse the cord (insert the connector from the monitor into the video card and vice versa). It didn't help me, but it still might;
  6. On the contrary, connect via an adapter DVI-VGA. I had a real case when the video card had 2 outputs - VGA and DVI. IN Windows 10 The monitor was detected only after connecting the monitor via an adapter. Nothing else helped.

After completing each of these six steps, you need to reboot and repeat manually setting the resolution again, if this did not happen automatically.

In 8 out of 10 cases, it is enough immediately after installing the OS not to waste time fiddling with drivers, but to make sure that the whole point is that the OS was unable to automatically detect the monitor model (installed “ Universal PnP Monitor" or even " Universal non-PnP monitor") and complete the last 4 steps.