HP bios update for 1680 x 1050

Recommended by Wim's BIOS...

by **Jimboa** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 3:21 pm

I replaced my 4:3 monitor with a 1680 x 1050 widescreen and now it seems that I need to update my bios to support the new resolution. From what I have read in many different forums, HP does not like to make these types of changes in their bios (more sales when something doesn't work).

Here's my mobo and chipset:

Asus A7V8X-LA (HP Kamet2-GL6E)
Via KM400
Via VT8237

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get this to work? I have not tried the HP bios update yet (doubtful that it would work anyway)

Jimboa

by **edwin** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 4:50 pm

That KM400/Unichrome chip is too old for any wide-screen support. Time for a separate graphics card. Your board has got an AGP slot so should be possible to find a half-decent card for it.

by cp » Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:57 pm

the chip surely supports the resolution, there's nothing magic to it. but..

I need a weird mode!

Sure!

In stark contrast to any of VIA's code, this driver can handle any mode you feed it. That is, as long as the memory bandwidth is available, and your CRT supports it.

Quote from : http://unichrome.sourceforge.net/faq.html

oops...maybe you should install the latest windows driver. if it still doesn't work you could try:
http://entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm

by **edwin** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:40 pm

I see. I can't find any proof this original Unichrome can indeed handle wide-screen. We'll see if PowerStrip can cure this. I can't find anything beyond 1400x1050 in the latest driver either...

by **Jimboa** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:37 pm

OK, not to sound like I'm inexperienced (which I am) or scared (which I am) about messing with this, but, what is the easiest, least dangerous and / or cheapest way to get this to work? I looked at the links you suggested (excuse any misspellings in this note because my head still hurts and my eyes are still crossed) but didn't really understand what they were talking about or how they might help me (OK so I'm really inexperienced).

I did a quick graphics card search and found a cheap ($14) ATI Rage XL. I'm not a gamer but I do use SolidWorks on this machine. The IGP has worked fine for me up until now. Should this card fix my problem? Also, what do I need to watch out for if I install it? Will it automatically recognize the monitor?

Thanks

by cp » Fri Aug 03, 2007 4:07 pm

technically all vga cards with free adjustable pll (all, except some old ISA vgas) can generate every mode that you want. but there are some restrictions. the RAMDAC speed limits the maximum pixelclock the vga can generate and thus the maximum resolution at a given refresh rate. 1680x1050@60Hz needs a pixelclock of 146.25MHz. the ATI Rage II and the S3 Virge DX have a 170MHz RAMDAC. later chips (and cards) have even higher rates.
next limiting factor is the available video ram. 1680x1050 needs ~7MB in 32bit truecolor, ~5MB in 24bit truecolor, ~3.5MB in 16bit highcolor and ~1.8MB in 8bit color mode. so 8MB would be enough to have 1680x1050 in highest colormode. 8MB is kind of a joke for todays vga cards (and IGPs).
Now..the most important thing is: how does the vga chip know which mode to set? simple answer: it is told by the driver. the driver gets the screenmode from the user (or the OS maybe) and calculates the timing values (via the GTF - general timing formula..this is a VESA standard!) that would put out the appropriate timings to the vga connector. the driver would transform those values to register settings and write them into the vga chip (the manufacturer knows which registers affect which settings of the pll). yes, this is the way it should be (and it is done this way in the linux drivers if the manufacturer provided datasheets)...and now there are the drivers (mostly Windows) made by the manufacturers for their own chips. sometimes they use their own fixed, hardcoded resolution tables, sometimes they use Windows own modelines, sometimes they use the modelines that the connected monitor supplies.
to cut a very long story short: if you really need this particular resolution try PowerStrip. if it doesn't work you can write S3Graphics and tell them you need drivers that support this particular resolution..but i wouldn't wait for an answer.

by **Jimboa** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 4:43 pm

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I downloaded Powerstrip but I could not get the issue fixed. Powerstrip did not seem to allow me to alter the resolution. I did, however, get manage to get my screen to look like a tornado with my desktop getting ripped apart and put back together over and over again - That was cool.

I really appreciate your time in helping me out. I'm sure that you gave me the right fix but I just didn't understand what it was. I'm going to continue my quest for an inexpensive graphics card to put in. That's something that I'm pretty sure I can manage.

Jimboa