Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Display adapters normally support a variety of resolutions; however, what a display can handle is
usually much more limited. Therefore, the specific resolution you use is normally dictated by the
display, not the adapter. A given video adapter and display combination will usually have an
allowable maximum (usually dictated by the display), but it can also work at several resolutions less
than the maximum. Because LCD and LED monitors are designed to run at a single native resolution,
they must use electronics to scale the image to other choices. Older LCD panels handled scaling
poorly, but even though current LCD and LED backlit panels perform scaling fairly well, you are
almost always better off selecting the single specific resolution that is native to the display you are
using. However, if the native resolution of the display is exceptionally high, you can choose lower
resolutions to achieve larger and more readable icons and text.
Aspect Ratio
