# Reduce Eye Strain - Optimising X

## JuNix

DISCLAIMER: You may damage your monitor if you ask it to display at a refresh rate which is out of it's supported range. You have been warned.

I work in an office full of people using various Linux distributions. The number of people who are using X with unoptimised vertical refresh rates amazes me. So many people are staring at a screen all day long which is refreshing at 60Hz when with a bit of work they could configure their system to refresh at a much higher rate.

In general, the higher refresh rate you can get, the less eye strain it will give you.

1. Find out your current refresh rate.

There are various ways of doing this. Most modern monitors will tell you on the OSD (On Screen Display) if you go into the monitor's menu system. If your monitor does not have this feature, you may find out by running xvidtune from the command line

```

xvidtune

```

At the bottom right of the xvidtune dialog, it will tell you the vertical refresh rate in Hz.

If your vertical refresh rate is less than 70Hz, you could probably do with optimising your X configuration. This will involve you manually editing your X configuration file. This is less scary that it sounds, if you've never done it before. When I optimised my refresh rate, I got it from 75Hz up to 88Hz. The image is so much crisper and clearer and I recommend doing this.

2. Find out the specifications of your monitor.

Indeed, your monitor may already be running as high as it can go. You need the exact model number and manufacturer of your monitor. The model number is invariably found at the back of your monitor somewhere. You may have a manual for the monitor which tells you the specifications. You are looking for the the horizontal frequency range in KHz, and the vertical frequency range in Hz. Remember, "Google is your Friend" (tm), so a search string of "[manufacturer] [model number] refresh" will probably yield the results you need.

Look at the monitor specifications that you find. Look at your desired resolution and find out the maximum vertical refresh rate your monitor supports.

3. Back up your existing X configuration file

It's easy to break things, so have a copy of your old config before you mess with it.

```

cp /etc/X11/XF86Config /etc/X11/XF86Config.thisworks

```

4. Calculate your Modeline

Visit http://xtiming.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/xtiming.pl and enter in your monitor specifications. Attempt to push the vertical refresh rate as high as your monitor will go for your desired resolution. If you do it correctly, it will give you a Modeline. Copy that into your X buffer for later use. It may take a couple of attempts to configure it so that your monitor does not attempt to sync too high and switch itself off.

Now, most monitors go into standby whenever they are asked to attempt to sync at a refresh rate that is too high. However, some monitors will stupidly still attempt to display an image. The symptoms are a scrambled display and a high pitched whistling sound. If this happens, immediately switch to a text mode console (CTRL-ALT-F1), or power your monitor off, otherwise your monitor may be damaged.

5. Configure your Monitor

Edit /etc/X11/XF86Config and find the section titled Section "Monitor". Now change the entire section, use your common sense. Mine reads like this and notice that I have put my custom Modeline that I got from the X Timing website in.

```

Section "Monitor"

        Identifier  "Belinea"

        HorizSync   30-86

        VertRefresh 50-150

        Option      "DPMS"

        Modeline "1152x864@88"    135.02   1152 1184 1696 1700    864  868  880  900

EndSection

```

An interesting bit is the Option "DPMS". This is the bit that allows your the X server to put your monitor into standby if you don't use your system in a while. If this is not already in, put it in! The HorizSync and VertRefresh are the ranges you found earlier. The Modeline describes to the X server the frequencies and timings and the resolution of your custom made video mode. The name of the mode I have defined in the example is "1152x864@88" which is a unique identifier describing my preferred resolution at 88Hz (this is nice, clear and crisp). The Identifier you can change to describe your monitor (mine is a Belinea!)

6. Configure your Resolution and Refresh Rate

Still editing your XF86Config file...

Go to Section "Screen". If you changed the name of your Monitor earlier, ensure that your change is reflected here. Now find out how many bitplanes you are running in. In the config file, this is called the DefaultDepth. This is usually a value, maybe 8, 16 or 24. There are SubSections referrring to your Depth as well. For example

```

Section "Screen"

        Identifier  "Screen 1"

        Device      "Matrox Millennium G200 8MB"

        Monitor     "Belinea"

        DefaultDepth 16

        Subsection "Display"

                Depth       16

                Modes       "1152x864@88"

                ViewPort    0 0

        EndSubsection

EndSection

```

In this section you can see I have manually specified the Monitor I defined earlier in section 5 of this tutorial. My DefaultDepth is 16 (which gives me 64K colours). Now notice that in my Modes, I have manually specified my custom screen mode, which I found by visiting the X Timings web site in step 4. Notice also that I have removed the Subsections that describe other colour depths, although I only did that to make the example clearer. Importantly, in my Modes, I have removed references to resolutions that I will never use. Save your changes to the XF86Config file.

7. Restart X

At this stage, you should restart X. This involves more than just logging out! If there is not a menu option on your display manager to restart the X server, you may do so from the command line (/etc/init.d/xdm restart) or more quickly by using CTRL-ALT-Backspace.

Hopefully your screen will now display a nice crisp image at an optimum refresh rate. Obviously if you have gone too far with your refresh rates, you'll have to switch to a text console and look at backing out your change. If this happens, revisit the X timings web site and try with a lower vert refresh rate.

8. Optimising your Display

Well now you've got a nice higher refresh rate. Well done! It may not be very central on your screen though. Verify your vertical refresh rate by using the "xvidtune" utility again. Whilst in here, you could also move the image around, resize it etc. The "Show" button in xvidtune prints the new Modeline for any changes you make, if you care to make it permanent, you could modify your current Modeline (in /etc/X11/XF86Config) to reflect your changes (remember to restart X)

Or alternatively, you could muck around with your monitor controls to centralise your image. Whatever, I hope this has worked for you, and that your eye strain has been reduced.

9. It didn't work - how to restore your original config

It is entirely possible to get into nightmares with your X configuration. If you need to revert to your configuration before you started messing, you should

```

cp /etc/X11/XF86Config.thisworks /etc/X11/XF86Config

```

and restart X.

If you can't get it to work at all, I do recommend the Scitech SNAP graphics drivers. Take a look at these, at http://www.scitechsoft.com/

These drivers perform quite well, and the installation procedure automatically configures your X server to display at the optimum refresh rate. It even offers a utlity to change your refresh rates on the fly, and this auto-configures your XF86Config file for you. These drivers run on a 21 day evaluation period, so take a look at them.

----------

## Elm0

Nice guide thanks. Didn't know about the Option "DPMS" setting at all!

----------

## MrStaticVoid

Well this does not work one bit.  My montior remains at 60 Hz, even though I should be able to get it to 69 Hz.

The relevent sections of my XF86Config are as follows:

```
Section "Monitor"

        Identifier      "Kleer K7"

        HorizSync       30-70

        VertRefresh     50-120

        Option  "DPMS"

        Modeline "1280x960@69" 127.23 1280 1312 1792 1824 960 979 990 1009

EndSection

 

Section "Device"

        Identifier      "nVidia GeForce2 MX 400"

        Driver  "nvidia"

EndSection

 

Section "Screen"

        Identifier      "Screen"

        Device  "nVidia GeForce2 MX 400"

        Monitor "Kleer K7"

        DefaultDepth    24

 

        Subsection "Display"

                Depth   24

                Modes   "1280x960@69"

                ViewPort        0 0

        EndSubsection

EndSection
```

The logs say that it probes the monitor for video modes and rates, and then uses the rate from the probe.  What is up with that?

----------

## ranmakun

 *Mr. Static Void wrote:*   

> Well this does not work one bit.  My montior remains at 60 Hz, even though I should be able to get it to 69 Hz.
> 
> 

 

I've had some problems in the past with modelines calculated with that page, I used this page:

http://koala.ilog.fr/cgi-bin/nph-colas-modelines

That gave me much better results.Last edited by ranmakun on Fri Sep 26, 2003 4:00 am; edited 1 time in total

----------

## MrStaticVoid

That worked great...I love my new refresh rate.   :Laughing: 

----------

## Onion Avenger

I guess 1152x864@75 is the best I can get out of my monitor, but I was curious if I could squeeze any more.

In my XF86Config:

```
Section "Monitor"

    Identifier  "monitor"

    Option "DPMS"

    HorizSync   31.5 - 64.3

    VertRefresh 50-90

EndSection
```

So I looked up my monitor (some oldish KDS monitor) and it said to use a VertRefresh from 50-100.  So I did, and now my monitor can't do 1152x864 anymore!  It goes to the next in my list,  which is 1024x768.  So I change back to 50-90 and everything's back to normal....

Curious.  Why does this happen?  It seems like because I specify a greater valid range of refresh rates, it should allow it.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

--Richie, the Onion Avenger

----------

## JuNix

 *Onion Avenger wrote:*   

>  my monitor can't do 1152x864 anymore!  It goes to the next in my list,  which is 1024x768.  So I change back to 50-90 and everything's back to normal....
> 
> Curious.  Why does this happen?  It seems like because I specify a greater valid range of refresh rates, it should allow it.
> 
> 

 

Sorry it doesn't work for you.. X can be a bitch sometimes. X queries the monitor for it's capabilities and if it thinks that the mode you want is out of it's frequency range it skips it. 

For more hints to why it didn't work, read your /var/log/XFree86.0.log file.

----------

## revertex_dot_net

another interesting thing is set your monitor screen size (DisplaySize) in milimeters in the section titled "Section "Monitor"".

 its sets the screen perfectly centered and fits whole screen.

here follows the monitor section of my "XF86Config", optimized to my crappy 17" crt monitor, which some luck you can find this info about your monitor    :Shocked: 

```

#********************************************************************

Section "Monitor"

#********************************************************************

        DisplaySize   330   250 # mm

        Identifier   "LG StudioWorks 775N"

        VendorName   "LG"

        ModelName    "StudioWorks 775N"

#....................................................................

        Option       "CalcAlgorithm" "CheckDesktopGeometry"

        Option       "DPMS"

#       UseModes     "Modes0"

        HorizSync    30-70

        VertRefresh  50-160

#....................................................................

#       ModeLine   "1152x864/75Hz" 110 1152 1240 1324 1552 864 864 876 908 #kde line

EndSection

#********************************************************************

```

----------

## revertex_dot_net

another interesting thing is set your monitor screen size (DisplaySize) in milimeters in the section titled "Section "Monitor"".

 its sets the screen perfectly centered and fits whole screen.

here follows the monitor section of my "XF86Config", optimized to my crappy 17" crt monitor, which some luck you can find this info about your monitor    :Shocked: 

```

#********************************************************************

Section "Monitor"

#********************************************************************

        DisplaySize   330   250 # mm

        Identifier   "LG StudioWorks 775N"

        VendorName   "LG"

        ModelName    "StudioWorks 775N"

#....................................................................

        Option       "CalcAlgorithm" "CheckDesktopGeometry"

        Option       "DPMS"

#       UseModes     "Modes0"

        HorizSync    30-70

        VertRefresh  50-160

#....................................................................

#       ModeLine   "1152x864/75Hz" 110 1152 1240 1324 1552 864 864 876 908 #kde line

EndSection

#********************************************************************

```

----------

## revertex_dot_net

another interesting thing is set your monitor screen size (DisplaySize) in milimeters in the section titled "Section "Monitor"".

 its sets the screen perfectly centered and fits whole screen.

here follows the monitor section of my "XF86Config", optimized to my crappy 17" crt monitor, which some luck you can find this info about your monitor    :Shocked: 

```

#********************************************************************

Section "Monitor"

#********************************************************************

        DisplaySize   330   250 # mm

        Identifier   "LG StudioWorks 775N"

        VendorName   "LG"

        ModelName    "StudioWorks 775N"

#....................................................................

        Option       "CalcAlgorithm" "CheckDesktopGeometry"

        Option       "DPMS"

#       UseModes     "Modes0"

        HorizSync    30-70

        VertRefresh  50-160

#....................................................................

#       ModeLine   "1152x864/75Hz" 110 1152 1240 1324 1552 864 864 876 908 #kde line

EndSection

#********************************************************************

```

----------

## revertex_dot_net

another interesting thing is set your monitor screen size (DisplaySize) in milimeters in the section titled "Section "Monitor"".

 its sets the screen perfectly centered and fits whole screen.

here follows the monitor section of my "XF86Config", optimized to my crappy 17" crt monitor, which some luck you can find this info about your monitor    :Shocked: 

```

#********************************************************************

Section "Monitor"

#********************************************************************

        DisplaySize   330   250 # mm

        Identifier   "LG StudioWorks 775N"

        VendorName   "LG"

        ModelName    "StudioWorks 775N"

#....................................................................

        Option       "CalcAlgorithm" "CheckDesktopGeometry"

        Option       "DPMS"

#       UseModes     "Modes0"

        HorizSync    30-70

        VertRefresh  50-160

#....................................................................

#       ModeLine   "1152x864/75Hz" 110 1152 1240 1324 1552 864 864 876 908 #kde line

EndSection

#********************************************************************

```

----------

## revertex_dot_net

another interesting thing is set your monitor screen size (DisplaySize) in milimeters in the section titled "Section "Monitor"".

 its sets the screen perfectly centered and fits whole screen.

here follows the monitor section of my "XF86Config", optimized to my crappy 17" crt monitor, which some luck you can find this info about your monitor    :Shocked: 

```

#********************************************************************

Section "Monitor"

#********************************************************************

        DisplaySize   330   250 # mm

        Identifier   "LG StudioWorks 775N"

        VendorName   "LG"

        ModelName    "StudioWorks 775N"

#....................................................................

        Option       "CalcAlgorithm" "CheckDesktopGeometry"

        Option       "DPMS"

#       UseModes     "Modes0"

        HorizSync    30-70

        VertRefresh  50-160

#....................................................................

#       ModeLine   "1152x864/75Hz" 110 1152 1240 1324 1552 864 864 876 908 #kde line

EndSection

#********************************************************************

```

----------

## revertex_dot_net

another interesting thing is set your monitor screen size (DisplaySize) in milimeters in the section titled "Section "Monitor"".

 its sets the screen perfectly centered and fits whole screen.

here follows the monitor section of my "XF86Config", optimized to my crappy 17" crt monitor, which some luck you can find this info about your monitor    :Shocked: 

```

#********************************************************************

Section "Monitor"

#********************************************************************

        DisplaySize   330   250 # mm

        Identifier   "LG StudioWorks 775N"

        VendorName   "LG"

        ModelName    "StudioWorks 775N"

#....................................................................

        Option       "CalcAlgorithm" "CheckDesktopGeometry"

        Option       "DPMS"

#       UseModes     "Modes0"

        HorizSync    30-70

        VertRefresh  50-160

#....................................................................

#       ModeLine   "1152x864/75Hz" 110 1152 1240 1324 1552 864 864 876 908 #kde line

EndSection

#********************************************************************

```

----------

## Phreakazoid_

I've always found that the auto-detection selects the best refresh rate for me.

That is:

```
XFree86 -configure
```

Gets everything right for me, except for the resolution I want to use (it gets the highest supported by the monitor, which doesn't look all that flash).  But just edit the Screen section with

```
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
```

or similar, in each Display subsection.

*shrug*

----------

## hatem

Hmm... No matter what I do, it skips the first resolution under "Modes" (the one that I calculated the modeline for) and goes to the next one in the list (and runs at 60hz instead of 85hz [which is the reccomended refresh rate for my monitor]).

Here are the relevent parts of my XF86Config:

```

Section "Monitor"

   Identifier   "Monitor0"

   VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"

   ModelName    "Monitor Model"

   HorizSync    31.5 - 70.0

   VertRefresh  50-100

   Option      "DPMS"

   Modeline "1280x1024@85" 188.40 1280 1312 2024 2056 1024 1043 1057 1076

EndSection

```

```

Section "Screen"

   Identifier "Screen0"

   Device     "Card0"

   Monitor    "Monitor0"

   DefaultDepth 24

   SubSection "Display"

      Depth     24

      Modes     "1280x1024@85" "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600"

   EndSubSection

EndSection

```

If it helps, I'm using a Samsung SyncMaster 753DF 17" monitor. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

----------

## ranmakun

Are you sure that the modeline is ok?, what happens if you only have the mode you want in your screen section?

```

Section "Screen" 

   Identifier "Screen0" 

   Device     "Card0" 

   Monitor    "Monitor0" 

   DefaultDepth 24 

   SubSection "Display" 

      Depth     24 

      Modes     "1280x1024@85"

   EndSubSection 

EndSection 

```

----------

## hatem

Yes, the modeline seems to be the problem. If I comment out all the other modes, X doesn't start. 

It says something like:

 *Quote:*   

> Screen(s) found but no usable configuration.

 

I generated the modeline using the website above. Maybe I put the wrong information in? I'll try again and see if I get a different modeline.

----------

## hatem

Hmm... I tried a modeline from the site that ranmakun suggested  ( http://koala.ilog.fr/cgi-bin/nph-colas-modelines ) but it still wouldn't work.

Here is the new modeline:

```

ModeLine "1280x1024" 156.28 1280 1336 1616 1728 1024 1026 1038 1064 #85Hz

```

What am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance.

----------

## MrStaticVoid

Did you change your Modes line to include "1280x1024" instead of "1280x1024@85"?

----------

## hatem

Yes, I did. Here are the updated parts of my XF86Config:

```

Section "Monitor"

   Identifier   "Monitor0"

   VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"

   ModelName    "Monitor Model"

   HorizSync    31.5 - 70.0

   VertRefresh  50-100

   Option      "DPMS"

   ModeLine "1280x1024" 156.28 1280 1336 1616 1728 1024 1026 1038 1064 #85Hz

EndSection

```

```

Section "Screen"

   Identifier "Screen0"

   Device     "Card0"

   Monitor    "Monitor0"

   DefaultDepth 24

   SubSection "Display"

      Depth     24

      Modes     "1280x1024" #"1280x960" "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600"

   EndSubSection

EndSection

```

Am I doing something wrong?

----------

## ranmakun

That site I suggested tries to "squeeze the most refresh rate at the highest resolution", as it says in the page. Maybe it's too much for your monitor, you could try to make your modeline using the last option in the page, where you can relax the timmings by a given percentage. I've used that and could make modelines for a low end 14" monitor.

If that doesn't work you could also try the page suggested by JuNix.

Also make sure you are entering the correct values for your monitor specs?

----------

## hatem

I did some searching on google and found a more detailed spec sheet for my monitor ( http://www.samsungusa.com/cmc_upload/product/brochure/753DF.pdf ). It seems that the highest refresh rate it can do when running 1280x1024 is 65hz   :Sad: . 

In order to run at 85hz (which is what the manual reccomends) I have to lower the resolution to 1024x768. Didn't think the resolution made a difference. Oh well... Thanks for trying to help out.

----------

## ZothOmmog

When I try this, I get a discolored bar across the left edge of my screen, regardless of where I get my modelines.

Any suggestions for getting rid of this?

----------

## torchZ06

one thing that helped me was a utility called gtf that's built into X.  from what i can tell from google searches, GTF is a VESA standard for cross platform video display where timing params can be calculated from 3 or 4 known values:

http://www.vesa.org/summary/sumgtfv11.htm

http://www.die.net/doc/linux/man/man1/gtf.1.html

here's an example:

```
sledgehammer ACPI # gtf 1920 1200 85

  # 1920x1200 @ 85.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 107.10 kHz; pclk: 282.74 MHz

  Modeline "1920x1200_85.00"  282.74  1920 2072 2280 2640  1200 1201 1204 1260  -HSync +Vsync

```

see my post here for more info:

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?p=1311543#1311543

FWIW, none of the modelines that i got from either of those two sites worked very well for me, but the ones from the gtf utility were dead on.

----------

## codergeek42

 *torchZ06 wrote:*   

> one thing that helped me was a utility called gtf that's built into X.  from what i can tell from google searches, GTF is a VESA standard for cross platform video display where timing params can be calculated from 3 or 4 known values:
> 
> http://www.vesa.org/summary/sumgtfv11.htm
> 
> http://www.die.net/doc/linux/man/man1/gtf.1.html
> ...

 WOW   :Shocked:   :Shocked:   :Shocked:   :Laughing:   :Cool:  That gtf thing is friggin AWESOME. Than you, torch206!

----------

## torchZ06

 :Laughing:  i know exactly how you feel!  after all this time i finally got my display lookin how i wanted it to... and i couldn't believe it was right there all along

glad it helped

 :Very Happy: 

----------

## JuNix

Reawakening an old thread eh? Good tip! Thanks )

----------

## drescherjm

I have a pc with an S3 based card and I can't seem to get it to use a refresh rate other than 60Hz. I tried xvidtune and it says "Video modes not tuneable on this chip". When I change the resolution with Kde display resize and reshape it says that I am running 85Hz but the monitor filckers and the osd says its in 60 Hz mode.

Here is my monitor, device and screen sections of XF86Config:

```

Section "Monitor"

    Identifier  "My Monitor"

# HorizSync is in kHz unless units are specified.

# HorizSync may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a

# comma separated list of ranges of values.

# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY.  REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S

# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.

#    HorizSync   31.5 - 82.0

# cgt- 07/06/04 try these for the KDS VS190p

HorizSync   30-96

#    HorizSync   30-64         # multisync

#    HorizSync   31.5, 35.2    # multiple fixed sync frequencies

#    HorizSync   15-25, 30-50  # multiple ranges of sync frequencies

# VertRefresh is in Hz unless units are specified.

# VertRefresh may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a

# comma separated list of ranges of values.

# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY.  REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S

# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.

# cgt- 07/06/04 try these for the KDS VS190p

#    VertRefresh 50-90

    VertRefresh 50-160

EndSection

Section "Device"

    Identifier  "* Generic VESA compatible"

    Driver      "vesa"

    #VideoRam    4096

    # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Screen sections

# **********************************************************************

# Any number of screen sections may be present.  Each describes

# the configuration of a single screen.  A single specific screen section

# may be specified from the X server command line with the "-screen"

# option.

# cgt- 07/06/04 somewhat working but with horrible refresh

Section "Screen"

    Identifier  "Screen 1"

    Device      "* Generic VESA compatible"

    Monitor     "My Monitor"

#    DefaultDepth 24

    DefaultDepth 16

    Subsection "Display"

        Depth       8

#        Modes       "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

        Modes       "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

        ViewPort    0 0

    EndSubsection

    Subsection "Display"

        Depth       16

#        Modes       "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

        Modes        "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

        ViewPort    0 0

    EndSubsection

    Subsection "Display"

        Depth       24

#        Modes       "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

        Modes       "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

        ViewPort    0 0

    EndSubsection

EndSection
```

----------

## torchZ06

john,

here is my xorg.conf

```
# generated by X -configure

# modified by ppk 3jul2004

Section "ServerLayout"

   Identifier     "X.org Configured"

   Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0

   InputDevice    "Logitech Mx510" "CorePointer"

   InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"

EndSection

Section "Files"

   RgbPath      "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"

   ModulePath   "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"

   FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/misc/"

   FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/TTF/"

   FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/Speedo/"

   FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/Type1/"

   FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/CID/"

   FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi/"

   FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi/"

EndSection

Section "Module"

   Load  "extmod"

   Load  "dri"

   Load  "dbe"

   Load  "record"

   Load  "xtrap"

   Load  "glx"

   Load  "speedo"

   Load  "type1"

   Load  "freetype"

EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

   Identifier  "Keyboard0"

   Driver      "keyboard"

EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

   Identifier  "Logitech Mx510"

   Driver      "mouse"

   Option       "Protocol" "IMPS/2"

   Option       "Device" "/dev/input/mice"

   Option       "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"

EndSection

Section "Monitor"

   Identifier   "Sony GDM-FW900"

   HorizSync    30-121

   VertRefresh  48-160

   Option        "DPMS"

   DisplaySize  482 308

   Modeline "1920x1200_85.00"  282.74  1920 2072 2280 2640  1200 1201 1204 1260  -HSync +Vsync

EndSection

Section "Device"

   Option     "HWcursor"   "false"

        Identifier  "GeForce FX 5200"

   Driver      "nvidia"

   VendorName  "nVidia Corporation"

   BoardName   "NV34 [GeForce FX 5200]"

   BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"

EndSection

Section "Screen"

   Identifier "Screen0"

   Device     "GeForce FX 5200"

   Monitor    "Sony GDM-FW900"

   DefaultDepth 24

   SubSection "Display"

      Depth     24

      Viewport  0 0

      Modes   "1920x1200_85.00" 

   EndSubSection

EndSection

```

try using the built in GTF utility gtf to generate some modelines for your monitor:

```
ppk@sledgehammer ppk $ gtf 1024 768 75

  # 1024x768 @ 75.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 60.15 kHz; pclk: 81.80 MHz

  Modeline "1024x768_75.00"  81.80  1024 1080 1192 1360  768 769 772 802  -HSync +Vsync

```

then insert them as shown in my xorg.conf

good luck

----------

## drescherjm

Thanks. I'll try that.

----------

## koroumel

This post finally let me have tha same resolution as I did in Wee&Doze! Great tip, thnx!

----------

## vdboor

Have you tried installing ddcxinfo-knoppix? This tool queries all possible modelines from your monitor! I increased the refresh rate of my monitor from 85 to 100Hz.

imho is copy-pasting a lot easier then playing with xvidtune...  :Rolling Eyes:   :Wink: 

(unfortunately, I disabled some modelines again after about a month, I heared some high frequency noice coming out of my monitor.. Don't know why, but it is just bad luck imo) edit: fixed this by removing some high mode lines that I didn't use anyway..  :Smile:   :Confused: 

----------

## drescherjm

Thanks for the tip.

----------

## roothorick

Because of a thing called DDC that's always probed by default, if you attempt a modeline that your monitor can't do, and your monitor is DDC-capable (everything modern is), X will blatantly refuse to use that modeline, and the only sign of this is an error in your XFree86.log (or whatever the X.org equiv is, and actually, you might not even get that). However, if you have a DDC-capable monitor, there's a big shortcut you can use:

I don't set up modelines for my SAMTRON 75E, I just tell X I want 85Hz VSync or higher, and let DDC and good ol math do the rest:

```
Section "Monitor"

    Identifier  "Generic Monitor"

     VertRefresh 85

    Option      "dpms"

EndSection
```

My monitor is capable of 1280x1024 @ 60Hz, and can't reach 85Hz until as low as 1024x768. With this configuration, X automatically creates its own modeline for 1024x768@85Hz, and away I go!

----------

## vdboor

great! everyone seams to learn new things here..  :Smile: 

cheers!

----------

## torchZ06

 *vdboor wrote:*   

> Have you tried installing ddcxinfo-knoppix?

 

i tried to install that, but it failed to compile-- no error message too.  :Sad: 

maybe it's a problem on amd64, but it wasn't flagged as ~ though....

thanks for the tip though, cause i'll try it out on my x86 box  :Smile: 

 *Quote:*   

> My monitor is capable of 1280x1024 @ 60Hz, and can't reach 85Hz until as low as 1024x768. With this configuration, X automatically creates its own modeline for 1024x768@85Hz, and away I go!

 

roothorick, that's pretty cool-- i wasn't aware that was the default when you only specify a vert refresh.  only problem is with newer CRTs you'll probably get some huge resolution like 2048x1536 or the crazy 2304x1440 on my sony, so if you wanna step it back to something a bit more conservative, like 1920x1200  :Very Happy:  , then i guess there's no free lunch-- ya gotta type it all in.

cheers

----------

## Mad_Tiger

In this page (http://koala.ilog.fr/cgi-bin/nph-colas-modelines); what am i suppose to enter here?

Max Bandwidth:

Min Bandwidth:

BTW i got this screen and this video card.

----------

## dhurt

 *torchZ06 wrote:*   

> one thing that helped me was a utility called gtf that's built into X. 
> 
> <snip>
> 
> FWIW, none of the modelines that i got from either of those two sites worked very well for me, but the ones from the gtf utility were dead on.

 

Thanks so much for this utility.  I knew that my monitor was displaying crappy, but I had no idea how bad it was until this fixed it.  I can verify that the two sites gave me garbage for the modeline.  Both would calculate the pixel refresh wrong.  They would give 135.8 which was too high, 135.5 is the correct value, and my monitor would not display it.  Thanks!!!

----------

## torchZ06

 *dhurt wrote:*   

> Both would calculate the pixel refresh wrong.  They would give 135.8 which was too high, 135.5 is the correct value, and my monitor would not display it.

 

exactly.  in my case the values the sites calculated required an extremely high dot clock-- 350MHz i think.  my monitor would do 380MHz so no problem there, but my geforce2 GTS would only go to 300MHz @ 24bit color, so i went out an bought a GeForceFX 5200 which did support the required dot clock, but the screen those numbers generated was fugly!  it seemed to be squashed barely covering 60% of the CRT and i couldn't get it to expand enough with xvidtune.  so i knew there had to be a better way...

funny thing is the man page for gtf says it was written by andy ritger and i remember stumbling across a web page years ago by none other than andy ritger (yea,i've got a good memory).  i was trying to solve the same problem then, but i didn't know much about xfree (or even linux for that matter) at the time so i never fixed it.  i don't know if gtf was around at that time, but IIRC there was a calculator similar to those other pages on his page way back when and it probably would have given the correct numbers.  oh well, i guess good things come to those that wait  :Smile: 

glad to have helped!

----------

## Malakai

 *ranmakun wrote:*   

>  *Mr. Static Void wrote:*   Well this does not work one bit.  My montior remains at 60 Hz, even though I should be able to get it to 69 Hz.
> 
>  
> 
> I've had some problems in the past with modelines calculated with that page, I used this page:
> ...

 

Umm, something has to be wrong.

Windows tells me the max refresh for my monitor at 1280x1024/1280x960 is 85hz, and xorg-x11 with no predefined modelines also defaults to 85hz for both resolutions.

However, the colas modeline generator, with the exact info from viewsonic's own spec sheet (I have a G90fb) says that I can do 1280x960 at 97hz.

Is it possible that windows is wrong AND xorg's original vertrefresh guess are so far under what it can do?

```

Section "Monitor"

        #DisplaySize      360   270     # mm

        Identifier   "Monitor0"

        VendorName   "VSC"

        ModelName    "G90fb-2"

        HorizSync    30.0 - 97.0

        VertRefresh  50.0 - 180.0

        Option      "DPMS"
```

The bandwidth is 200mhz as well.

I tried it with the modeline, and it indeed ran at 97hz at 1280x960, it didn't make any noise or shut down or anything. Will running this at 97hz end up killing the monitor in a week or something?

One thing I do know, I'd love to be running 97hz right now instead of 85 :O

edit: with the exact same info into the other modeline generator (the sourceforge one), it says I can do 95hz. Just FYI

Here is my monitor's specs:

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktopdisplays/crtmonitors/graphicseries/g90fb/

In the pdf, it says I can do 1280x1024@90hz, so windoze and xorg's guesses are both under, hmmm...

edit2: and that knoppix program says I can do 100  :Sad: 

----------

## Dolio

Malakai:

As far as I know, Windows only allows certain standard resolutions/refresh rates. You'll never get it to run at 97 Hz, or such, so that's not a good indicator.

1280x1024@85 is a sort of "approved" standard mode.  One of the buttons on my monitor lists possible refresh rates. There are user timings and factory timings.  Factory timings seem to be the standard ones:

1280x1024@85

1280x1024@75

1024x768@85

And so on.  However, my monitor is capable of doing better than that. For example, I'm currently running at 1440x1080@85, and I can do 1280x960@95 and so on.  These aren't factory timings, though, so I don't think XOrg/XFree will use them by default. If you want to fully use your monitor's capabilities, you need to specify your own modelines and use "non-standard" user timings.

----------

## Malakai

 *Dolio wrote:*   

> Malakai:
> 
> As far as I know, Windows only allows certain standard resolutions/refresh rates. You'll never get it to run at 97 Hz, or such, so that's not a good indicator.
> 
> 1280x1024@85 is a sort of "approved" standard mode.  One of the buttons on my monitor lists possible refresh rates. There are user timings and factory timings.  Factory timings seem to be the standard ones:
> ...

 

Thanks for the info. I used gtf and got a modeline for 1280x960@90hz, and everything is quite crisp and refreshing.

Much nicer than it was in windows. I figure I'll stay at 90 for now to be safe, as I cannot afford a new monitor if this one dies. I will note however that for 24 hours straight the monitor did 1280x960@95hz without a single hiccup.

----------

## BlindSpy

This guide looks awesome! - im just posting here so that I can find it when I get home from work =)

Its interesting though, I've never seen any X configs with modelines before. Whats the first float number after the identifier of the mode line?

----------

## queequeg

Thanks TorchZ06 for showing me this thread.

It was exactly what I wanted

Queequeg

Kewords: stretch shrink display left right center up down tune video card gui config .conf modeline

----------

## kavau

 *JuNix wrote:*   

> The number of people who are using X with unoptimised vertical refresh rates amazes me. So many people are staring at a screen all day long which is refreshing at 60Hz when with a bit of work they could configure their system to refresh at a much higher rate.

 

This is a bit OT, but I think some people are just insensitive to screen flicker. Many people are quite stunned when I tell them "hmmm... looks like your screen has a refresh rate of only 70Hz." Usually I'm quite on-spot.  :Smile:  When I change their refresh rate to 90Hz or so, they usually say it looks a bit nicer, but they don't really notice much difference...

For myself, I refuse to work behind a CRT monitor these days.

----------

## b0fh

So I wanted to tune my video-setings too, although I get 85Hz@1280x1024.

I calculated this modeline:

```

Modeline "1280x1024@96" 230.00 1280 1312 2184 2216 1024 1042 1058 1076

```

(my monitor can do 30-107KHz horiz., 50-160Hz vert. at a "video bandwith" of 230MHz).

But X won't go up with this mode, it says in Xorg.0.log:

```
(WW) NVIDIA(0): Not using mode "1280x1024@96":

(WW) NVIDIA(0):   horizontal sync width (2184 - 1312 = 872) greater than 256

```

What's the problem? Can't my graphic card (geforce ddr) handle this?[/code]

----------

## Ateo

Excellent tip. Thanks so much!

----------

## cptmorgan

Ive searched google high and low and cant find specs for my monitor.  Anyone want to help ??? 

Sony CPD-4201

Thanks

----------

## Ateo

 *cptmorgan wrote:*   

> Ive searched google high and low and cant find specs for my monitor.  Anyone want to help ??? 
> 
> Sony CPD-4201
> 
> Thanks

 

You really only need 3 specs. You have those specs if you have X/xorg configured. horizontal/vertical refresh and resolution (ex: 1024x768). That is all the information I entered and it worked perfectly.

----------

## Viha

Thanks for the gtf tip from me too. I had tuned my monitor settins in windows at 1280x960 res from 85Hz to ~95Hz and I knew that I needed to get this right in linux and X if I were to continue using it (spent the last 5 months on windows only).   :Very Happy: 

----------

## torchZ06

 *b0fh wrote:*   

> 
> 
> But X won't go up with this mode, it says in Xorg.0.log:
> 
> ```
> ...

 

b0fh

what util did you use to calculate that?  if it was one of those online "calculators" i would be surprised if it worked at all.  i never had any luck with any of them.  i remember getting that error.  if you look at the modelines that gtf generates they all have "-HSync +Vsync" on the end of the modeline to i'm guessing "normalize" or scale the values back into the proper range (if you do a search on vesa timing formulas you'll get the equation and see why you have to do that)

anyway here's what gtf  says to use:

```
bash-2.05b$ gtf 1280 1024 96

  # 1280x1024 @ 96.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 103.87 kHz; pclk: 182.81 MHz

  Modeline "1280x1024_96.00"  182.81  1280 1376 1520 1760  1024 1025 1028 1082  -HSync +Vsync

```

good luck

----------

## whblackhorse

help!!!!!!

neither the online "calculators" nor gtf seems would help me

i cant set my monitor refresh rate beyond 60hz

i am really confusing

here's a digest frome my Xorg.0.log

i'am a newbie and i just don't know what happens

my monitor is Samsung 763mb and my card is gforce4 mx 440

```
(II) NVIDIA(0): Monitor0: Using hsync range of 30.00-70.00 kHz

(II) NVIDIA(0): Monitor0: Using vrefresh range of 50.00-150.00 Hz

(II) NVIDIA(0): Clock range:  12.00 to 350.00 MHz

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1280x960" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "640x480" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1280x1024" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "640x512" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1280x1024" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "640x512" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1600x1200" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "800x600" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1600x1200" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "800x600" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1600x1200" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "800x600" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1600x1200" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "800x600" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1600x1200" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "800x600" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1792x1344" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "896x672" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1792x1344" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "896x672" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1856x1392" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "928x696" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1856x1392" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "928x696" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1920x1440" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "960x720" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1920x1440" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "960x720" (hsync out of range)

(WW) (1400x1050,Monitor0) mode clock 122MHz exceeds DDC maximum 110MHz

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1400x1050" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "700x525" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1920x1440" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "960x720" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "2048x1536" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "2048x1536" (hsync out of range)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "2048x1536" (bad mode clock/interlace/doublescan)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1400x1050" (width too large for virtual size)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1280x1024" (width too large for virtual size)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1280x960" (width too large for virtual size)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1152x864" (width too large for virtual size)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "1152x768" (width too large for virtual size)

(WW) NVIDIA(0): Not using mode "700x525" (height 1050 is larger than

(WW) NVIDIA(0):      EDID-specified maximum 1024)

(WW) NVIDIA(0): Not using mode "576x384":

(WW) NVIDIA(0):   horizontal sync start (589) not a multiple of 8

(WW) NVIDIA(0): Not using mode "360x200":

(WW) NVIDIA(0):   horizontal sync start (378) not a multiple of 8

(**) NVIDIA(0): Validated modes for display device CRT-0:

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Mode "1024x768": 65.0 MHz, 48.5 kHz, 60.2 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "800x600": 56.3 MHz, 53.7 kHz, 85.1 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "832x624": 57.3 MHz, 49.7 kHz, 74.6 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "800x600": 49.5 MHz, 46.9 kHz, 75.0 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "800x600": 50.0 MHz, 48.1 kHz, 72.2 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "800x600": 40.0 MHz, 37.9 kHz, 60.3 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "800x600": 36.0 MHz, 35.2 kHz, 56.2 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "640x512": 54.0 MHz, 64.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "640x480": 36.0 MHz, 43.3 kHz, 85.0 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "640x480": 31.5 MHz, 37.5 kHz, 75.0 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "640x480": 31.5 MHz, 37.9 kHz, 72.8 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "640x480": 25.2 MHz, 31.5 kHz, 60.0 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "640x480": 54.0 MHz, 60.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "720x400": 35.5 MHz, 37.9 kHz, 85.0 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "640x400": 31.5 MHz, 37.9 kHz, 85.1 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "576x432": 54.0 MHz, 67.5 kHz, 75.0 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "640x350": 31.5 MHz, 37.9 kHz, 85.1 Hz

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "512x384": 47.2 MHz, 68.7 kHz, 85.0 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "512x384": 39.4 MHz, 60.1 kHz, 75.1 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "512x384": 37.5 MHz, 56.5 kHz, 70.1 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "512x384": 32.5 MHz, 48.4 kHz, 60.0 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "512x384": 22.4 MHz, 35.5 kHz, 86.9 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "416x312": 28.6 MHz, 49.7 kHz, 74.7 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "400x300": 28.1 MHz, 53.7 kHz, 85.3 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "400x300": 24.8 MHz, 46.9 kHz, 75.1 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "400x300": 25.0 MHz, 48.1 kHz, 72.2 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "400x300": 20.0 MHz, 37.9 kHz, 60.3 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "400x300": 18.0 MHz, 35.2 kHz, 56.3 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "320x240": 18.0 MHz, 43.3 kHz, 85.2 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "320x240": 15.8 MHz, 37.5 kHz, 75.0 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "320x240": 15.8 MHz, 37.9 kHz, 72.8 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "320x240": 12.6 MHz, 31.5 kHz, 60.1 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "320x200": 15.8 MHz, 37.9 kHz, 85.3 Hz (D)

(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "320x175": 15.8 MHz, 37.9 kHz, 85.3 Hz (D)

(II) NVIDIA(0): Virtual screen size determined to be 1024 x 768

(**) NVIDIA(0): Display dimensions: (330, 250) mm

(**) NVIDIA(0): DPI set to (78, 78)

```

here is a digest from xorg.conf

```
Section "Monitor"

   #DisplaySize     320   240   # mm

   DisplaySize   330 250 # mm

   Identifier   "Monitor0"

   VendorName   "SAM"

   ModelName    "SyncMaster"

   HorizSync    30.0 - 70.0

   VertRefresh  50.0 - 150.0

   Option       "DPMS"

   VertRefresh   85

   ModeLine "1024x768"     65.00   1024 1044 1180 1340    768  775 781  806 -hsync -vsync

#   Modeline "1024x768_85.00"  94.39  1024 1088 1200 1376  768 769 772 807  -HSync +Vsync

   

#   ModeLine "1024x768"   44.90   1024 1032 1208 1264 768 768 776 817 +hsync +vsync interlace

#   Modeline "1280x1024"  159.36  1280 1376 1512 1744  1024 1025 1028 1075  -HSync +Vsync

#   Modeline "1024x768@85i" 42.91 1024 1056 1216 1248 768 784 790 807 

#   Modeline "1024x768"     42.91   1024 1048 1208 1296    768  772 778  807 

   

EndSection

Section "Device"

        ### Available Driver options are:-

        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",

        ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz"

        ### [arg]: arg optional

        #Option     "SWcursor"              # [<bool>]

        #Option     "HWcursor"              # [<bool>]

        #Option     "NoAccel"               # [<bool>]

        #Option     "ShowCache"             # [<bool>]

        #Option     "ShadowFB"              # [<bool>]

        #Option     "UseFBDev"              # [<bool>]

        #Option     "Rotate"                # [<str>]

        #Option     "VideoKey"              # <i>

        #Option     "FlatPanel"             # [<bool>]

        #Option     "FPDither"              # [<bool>]

        #Option     "CrtcNumber"            # <i>

   Identifier  "Card0"

   Driver      "nvidia"

   VideoRam    65536

   VendorName  "nVidia Corporation"

   BoardName   "NV18 [GeForce4 MX 440 AGP 8x]"

#   ChipSet     "GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X"

   BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"

   Option       "EnablePageFlip" "true"

   Option       "AGPFastWrite" "true"

   Option       "AGPMode" "4"

   Option      "EnableDepthMoves" "true"

EndSection

Section "Screen"

   Identifier "Screen0"

   Device     "Card0"

   Monitor    "Monitor0"

   DefaultDepth 24 

   SubSection "Display"

   Depth   24   

   modes   "1024x768" "800x600"

   ViewPort   0 0

   EndSubsection

EndSection

```

the commented and uncommented Modelines are generated by either online calculators or gft,but none works

Any idea or suggestion?

----------

## wpoely86

I have an ATI 9600 Mobility (r350/M10) with a TFT ( 1920x1200)

I can run on 1920x1200 and 1600x1200 with the following

modelines:

ModeLine "1920x1200" 279.34 1920 2000 2400 2560 1200 1202 1214 1240 # 88 Hz

ModeLine "1600x1200" 237.44 1600 1672 2032 2176 1200 1202 1214 1240 #88Hz

But when i try 800x600 it doesn't work. My cards has a clock range from 20-350 and the frequenties range are( found on the internet):

HorizSync 31.5 - 110

VertRefresh 28 - 90

This are the mode lines i tried:

ModeLine "800x600" 64.51 800 840 1040 1120 600 602 614 640 -HSync +Vsync 

Modeline "800x600"  38.22  800 832 912 1024  600 601 604 622  -HSync +Vsync

ModeLine "800x600" 50.17 800 840 1040 1120 600 602 614 640  -HSync +Vsync

Can anyone think why this don't work ?

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## Twelc

Very interresting - thanks  :Smile: 

But what about laptop ? - in some cases, people do not get the required information...

...and the frequency should be 60Hz

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## torchZ06

 *Quote:*   

> But what about laptop ? - in some cases, people do not get the required information... 

 

you'd be surprised what google will turn up if you look for stuff like "dot clock" "pixel clock" "max horizontal refresh" and the like.

one guy on this post or a similar one suggested leaving the horiz. refresh line commented out and for the vertical just specify what freq. you want.  ie, put down say 85Hz and X will automatically pick the best resolution that it can drive at 85Hz.... on your laptop i don't know how it would react to 60Hz being specified, but you could always try gtf with the 3rd arg being 60.... 

```

ppk@sledgehammer ppk $ gtf 1024 768 60

  # 1024x768 @ 60.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 47.70 kHz; pclk: 64.11 MHz

  Modeline "1024x768_60.00"  64.11  1024 1080 1184 1344  768 769 772 795  -HSync +Vsync

```

----------

