Re: How to play with modelines for monitor display?
From: Floyd L. Davidson (floyd_at_barrow.com)
Date: 06/26/04
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Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 16:05:33 -0800
Christina Stuart <cs@gmu.edu> wrote:
>Thank you very much for your reply. I added the following line
>next to Modes in my XF86Config-4 file:
>
>Section "Screen"
> Identifier "Screen0"
> Device "nVidia Corporation|NV25 [GeForce4 Ti4600"
> Monitor "Sony CPD-17SF2"
> DefaultDepth 16
> Subsection "Display"
> Depth 16
> Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
> Virtual 1024 768
> EndSubSection
>EndSection
>My screen is not virtual any more. I also noticed my refreshing
>rate was increased from 75Hz to 85Hz.Could you explain to me why?
>Why things on monitor look bigger when the number becomes smaller?
>
>What is DefaultDepth? May I change it to further improve my image quality?
Yeow, you ain't just full of questions, are you! :-)
The DefaultDepth matches a subsection "Depth" value, and that
specifies how many bits are used for colors. The bigger the
better. Monochrome is 1. An 8 bit depth uses a set of 256
colors, and can't share them between programs, so you get some
real strange results if you use it (the current window has the
right colors, and everything else gets a bit loony).
16 bits is enough, but you can almost certainly specify either
24 or 32 and get even better color. Try it, and then look in
the log file the X server puts into /var/log to see what it says
happened. Most likely one or the other will be supported, but
not both.
The "Virtual" values define the largest Mode value that will be
accepted. You could accomplish the same effect by removing
those which specify resolutions larger than your desired
resolution.
The reason that fonts get smaller is because they specify now
many pixels to use for a character. For example a fixed pitch
font might use a block of pixels 8 across and 12 down. If your
screen has 1600x1200 resolution, there would be 1600/8 columns
and 1200/12 rows with that font. And if you changed the
resolution to 800x600... your 8x12 bits are each twice as much
of the screen, 800/8 for columns and 600/12 for rows. The
physical size of the screen didn't change, but the area of the
screen that a single pixel colors is necessarily twice as big
for the 800x600 resolution. Hence an 8x12 block is twice as big
too, and all of your fonts are twice as big.
However, you paid good money to get a monitor with higher
bandwidth and smaller dots on the screen, so it is in some ways
a shame not to use it. Most monitors won't do 1600x1200, but
today almost all of them will handle 1280x1024. Given that you
are using 1024x768, there isn't much to be gained by going to
1280x1024, and learning how to change fonts to make things
readable probably is more than the one afternoon you wanted to
devote. However, if your monitor can support 1600x1200, you
probably should take the time!
Refresh rate are a subject that requires a whole article. Ask
again if you really want to wade through it. Same with changing
fonts. (If you are relatively young an your eyes can read smaller
fonts, you can calculate how many years before you have to learn
about fonts if you want a high res image! Somewhere between 45 and
55 many people lose the ability to read smaller fonts...)
-- FloydL. Davidson <http://web.newsguy.com/floyd_davidson> Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) floyd@barrow.com
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