Automatically select the highest refresh rate?

When I put my current system together, Nvidia didn't have anything I liked
in the mid-price range so I bought an ATI 5770. It was an OK card, but
I've always used Nvidia products in the past and prefer their drivers,
plus the 5770 had a noisy fan.

Finally the fan noise got to me, and since the reviews of the GTX 460 all
said the fan was silent and that Nvidia could now output sound over the
HDMI cable (instead of the sound card cable kludge), I decided to purchase
one.

I've been pleased with the card, but ATI had a feature that I liked and I
was wondering if there was a way to achieve the same thing with my GTX460.
The ATI card would automatically switch to the highest refresh rate for my
monitor. My LCD monitor will support 75Hz at lower resolutions (native is
1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz, but will do 75Hz @ 1280 x 1024) and with the ATI card
it would automatically reset the refresh rate to 75Hz when I switched the
resolution. With the Nvidia card, I have to change the resolution to 1280
x 1024, then change the refresh rate to 75Hz. Of course it automatically
changes back to 60Hz when I change back to my native resolution, but it
would be nice to have it automatically switch to the higher refresh rate
when I lower the resolution. Any way to make that happen?

"Foke" wrote in message
...

When I put my current system together, Nvidia didn't have anything I liked
in the mid-price range so I bought an ATI 5770. It was an OK card, but
I've always used Nvidia products in the past and prefer their drivers,
plus the 5770 had a noisy fan.

Finally the fan noise got to me, and since the reviews of the GTX 460 all
said the fan was silent and that Nvidia could now output sound over the
HDMI cable (instead of the sound card cable kludge), I decided to purchase
one.

I've been pleased with the card, but ATI had a feature that I liked and I
was wondering if there was a way to achieve the same thing with my GTX460.
The ATI card would automatically switch to the highest refresh rate for my
monitor. My LCD monitor will support 75Hz at lower resolutions (native is
1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz, but will do 75Hz @ 1280 x 1024) and with the ATI card
it would automatically reset the refresh rate to 75Hz when I switched the
resolution. With the Nvidia card, I have to change the resolution to 1280
x 1024, then change the refresh rate to 75Hz. Of course it automatically
changes back to 60Hz when I change back to my native resolution, but it
would be nice to have it automatically switch to the higher refresh rate
when I lower the resolution. Any way to make that happen?

Why bother? Is the image any better at the 75Hz refresh rate on an LCD
monitor? I can see the 75Hz refresh rate being relevant if you were using a
CRT display.

In message Foke
was claimed to have wrote:

When I put my current system together, Nvidia didn't have anything I liked
in the mid-price range so I bought an ATI 5770. It was an OK card, but
I've always used Nvidia products in the past and prefer their drivers,
plus the 5770 had a noisy fan.

Finally the fan noise got to me, and since the reviews of the GTX 460 all
said the fan was silent and that Nvidia could now output sound over the
HDMI cable (instead of the sound card cable kludge), I decided to purchase
one.

I've been pleased with the card, but ATI had a feature that I liked and I
was wondering if there was a way to achieve the same thing with my GTX460.
The ATI card would automatically switch to the highest refresh rate for my
monitor. My LCD monitor will support 75Hz at lower resolutions (native is
1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz, but will do 75Hz @ 1280 x 1024) and with the ATI card
it would automatically reset the refresh rate to 75Hz when I switched the
resolution. With the Nvidia card, I have to change the resolution to 1280
x 1024, then change the refresh rate to 75Hz. Of course it automatically
changes back to 60Hz when I change back to my native resolution, but it
would be nice to have it automatically switch to the higher refresh rate
when I lower the resolution. Any way to make that happen?

Why do you care? As a rule there's no advantage to using anything other
than the default refresh rate with an LCD.

On Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:31:40 -0800, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In message Foke
was claimed to have wrote:

When I put my current system together, Nvidia didn't have anything I liked
in the mid-price range so I bought an ATI 5770. It was an OK card, but
I've always used Nvidia products in the past and prefer their drivers,
plus the 5770 had a noisy fan.

Finally the fan noise got to me, and since the reviews of the GTX 460 all
said the fan was silent and that Nvidia could now output sound over the
HDMI cable (instead of the sound card cable kludge), I decided to purchase
one.

I've been pleased with the card, but ATI had a feature that I liked and I
was wondering if there was a way to achieve the same thing with my GTX460.
The ATI card would automatically switch to the highest refresh rate for my
monitor. My LCD monitor will support 75Hz at lower resolutions (native is
1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz, but will do 75Hz @ 1280 x 1024) and with the ATI card
it would automatically reset the refresh rate to 75Hz when I switched the
resolution. With the Nvidia card, I have to change the resolution to 1280
x 1024, then change the refresh rate to 75Hz. Of course it automatically
changes back to 60Hz when I change back to my native resolution, but it
would be nice to have it automatically switch to the higher refresh rate
when I lower the resolution. Any way to make that happen?

Why do you care? As a rule there's no advantage to using anything other
than the default refresh rate with an LCD.

I'll answer here, since you and Homer brought up the same issue.

First off, at lower resolutions than native the image *is* better at 75Hz,
and you're on the right track mentioning a CRT, but image quality isn't my
primary concern. And DevilsPGD, you are correct that as a rule there is
no advantage to a higher refresh rate on an LCD monitor. But there is one
area where you want a higher refresh rate and that's why special gaming
monitors have refresh rates up to 240Hz.

The reason I want a higher rate is because I need to play UT with vsync
turned on, and when you turn on vsync in a game then your framerate = your
refresh rate. I would rather play at 75fps than at 60fps. It's the
reason I lower my resolution. The game plays fantastic at 1920 x 1080
with everything maxed out (it's an older game) but when you're playing a
twitch shooter, those extra 15fps make a noticeable difference, and I'll
take all the edge I can get.

So, is there a way to automatically set the refresh rate to the highest
possible setting like the ATI drivers do?

"Foke" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:31:40 -0800, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In message Foke
was claimed to have wrote:

When I put my current system together, Nvidia didn't have anything I
liked
in the mid-price range so I bought an ATI 5770. It was an OK card, but
I've always used Nvidia products in the past and prefer their drivers,
plus the 5770 had a noisy fan.

Finally the fan noise got to me, and since the reviews of the GTX 460 all
said the fan was silent and that Nvidia could now output sound over the
HDMI cable (instead of the sound card cable kludge), I decided to
purchase
one.

I've been pleased with the card, but ATI had a feature that I liked and I
was wondering if there was a way to achieve the same thing with my
GTX460.
The ATI card would automatically switch to the highest refresh rate for
my
monitor. My LCD monitor will support 75Hz at lower resolutions (native
is
1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz, but will do 75Hz @ 1280 x 1024) and with the ATI card
it would automatically reset the refresh rate to 75Hz when I switched the
resolution. With the Nvidia card, I have to change the resolution to
1280
x 1024, then change the refresh rate to 75Hz. Of course it automatically
changes back to 60Hz when I change back to my native resolution, but it
would be nice to have it automatically switch to the higher refresh rate
when I lower the resolution. Any way to make that happen?

Why do you care? As a rule there's no advantage to using anything other
than the default refresh rate with an LCD.

I'll answer here, since you and Homer brought up the same issue.

First off, at lower resolutions than native the image *is* better at 75Hz,
and you're on the right track mentioning a CRT, but image quality isn't my
primary concern. And DevilsPGD, you are correct that as a rule there is
no advantage to a higher refresh rate on an LCD monitor. But there is one
area where you want a higher refresh rate and that's why special gaming
monitors have refresh rates up to 240Hz.

The reason I want a higher rate is because I need to play UT with vsync
turned on, and when you turn on vsync in a game then your framerate = your
refresh rate. I would rather play at 75fps than at 60fps. It's the
reason I lower my resolution. The game plays fantastic at 1920 x 1080
with everything maxed out (it's an older game) but when you're playing a
twitch shooter, those extra 15fps make a noticeable difference, and I'll
take all the edge I can get.

So, is there a way to automatically set the refresh rate to the highest
possible setting like the ATI drivers do?

I knew about Vsync. It's just that you didn't say that was the reason why
you required the 75 Hz refresh rate.

No, I haven't seen anywhere within the NVIDIA Control Panel where you can
set a corresponding default refresh rate for a specific resolution.

"Foke" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:31:40 -0800, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In message Foke
was claimed to have wrote:

When I put my current system together, Nvidia didn't have anything I liked
in the mid-price range so I bought an ATI 5770. It was an OK card, but
I've always used Nvidia products in the past and prefer their drivers,
plus the 5770 had a noisy fan.

Finally the fan noise got to me, and since the reviews of the GTX 460 all
said the fan was silent and that Nvidia could now output sound over the
HDMI cable (instead of the sound card cable kludge), I decided to purchase
one.

I've been pleased with the card, but ATI had a feature that I liked and I
was wondering if there was a way to achieve the same thing with my GTX460.
The ATI card would automatically switch to the highest refresh rate for my
monitor. My LCD monitor will support 75Hz at lower resolutions (native is
1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz, but will do 75Hz @ 1280 x 1024) and with the ATI card
it would automatically reset the refresh rate to 75Hz when I switched the
resolution. With the Nvidia card, I have to change the resolution to 1280
x 1024, then change the refresh rate to 75Hz. Of course it automatically
changes back to 60Hz when I change back to my native resolution, but it
would be nice to have it automatically switch to the higher refresh rate
when I lower the resolution. Any way to make that happen?

Why do you care? As a rule there's no advantage to using anything other
than the default refresh rate with an LCD.

I'll answer here, since you and Homer brought up the same issue.

First off, at lower resolutions than native the image *is* better at 75Hz,
and you're on the right track mentioning a CRT, but image quality isn't my
primary concern. And DevilsPGD, you are correct that as a rule there is
no advantage to a higher refresh rate on an LCD monitor. But there is one
area where you want a higher refresh rate and that's why special gaming
monitors have refresh rates up to 240Hz.

The reason I want a higher rate is because I need to play UT with vsync
turned on, and when you turn on vsync in a game then your framerate = your
refresh rate. I would rather play at 75fps than at 60fps. It's the
reason I lower my resolution. The game plays fantastic at 1920 x 1080
with everything maxed out (it's an older game) but when you're playing a
twitch shooter, those extra 15fps make a noticeable difference, and I'll
take all the edge I can get.

So, is there a way to automatically set the refresh rate to the highest
possible setting like the ATI drivers do?

I use this with win XP: http://www.pagehosting.co.uk/rf/

Doug

On Sun, 05 Dec 2010 14:46:06 -0500, Chuck wrote:

On 12/3/2010 8:22 PM, Foke wrote:
On Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:31:40 -0800, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In Foke
was claimed to have wrote:

When I put my current system together, Nvidia didn't have anything I liked
in the mid-price range so I bought an ATI 5770. It was an OK card, but
I've always used Nvidia products in the past and prefer their drivers,
plus the 5770 had a noisy fan.

Finally the fan noise got to me, and since the reviews of the GTX 460 all
said the fan was silent and that Nvidia could now output sound over the
HDMI cable (instead of the sound card cable kludge), I decided to purchase
one.

I've been pleased with the card, but ATI had a feature that I liked and I
was wondering if there was a way to achieve the same thing with my GTX460.
The ATI card would automatically switch to the highest refresh rate for my
monitor. My LCD monitor will support 75Hz at lower resolutions (native is
1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz, but will do 75Hz @ 1280 x 1024) and with the ATI card
it would automatically reset the refresh rate to 75Hz when I switched the
resolution. With the Nvidia card, I have to change the resolution to 1280
x 1024, then change the refresh rate to 75Hz. Of course it automatically
changes back to 60Hz when I change back to my native resolution, but it
would be nice to have it automatically switch to the higher refresh rate
when I lower the resolution. Any way to make that happen?

Why do you care? As a rule there's no advantage to using anything other
than the default refresh rate with an LCD.

I'll answer here, since you and Homer brought up the same issue.

First off, at lower resolutions than native the image *is* better at 75Hz,
and you're on the right track mentioning a CRT, but image quality isn't my
primary concern. And DevilsPGD, you are correct that as a rule there is
no advantage to a higher refresh rate on an LCD monitor. But there is one
area where you want a higher refresh rate and that's why special gaming
monitors have refresh rates up to 240Hz.

The reason I want a higher rate is because I need to play UT with vsync
turned on, and when you turn on vsync in a game then your framerate = your
refresh rate. I would rather play at 75fps than at 60fps. It's the
reason I lower my resolution. The game plays fantastic at 1920 x 1080
with everything maxed out (it's an older game) but when you're playing a
twitch shooter, those extra 15fps make a noticeable difference, and I'll
take all the edge I can get.

So, is there a way to automatically set the refresh rate to the highest
possible setting like the ATI drivers do?

Have you tried setting up custom resolutions and rates?

I fooled around a little bit with custom resolutions in the Nvidia control
panel, but it seemed to be more of a hassle to retrieve a custom profile
than the two-step process in Windows of setting resolution and then
refresh rate.

But, I did notice while playing around in the Nvidia control panel that I
could select both the resolution *and* the refresh rate at the same time.
I had been using the Windows 7 interface and it was a two-step process, so
using the Nvidia control panel instead is a definite improvement.

On 12/5/2010 8:58 PM, Foke wrote:
On Sun, 05 Dec 2010 14:46:06 -0500, wrote:

On 12/3/2010 8:22 PM, Foke wrote:
On Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:31:40 -0800, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In Foke
was claimed to have wrote:

When I put my current system together, Nvidia didn't have anything I liked
in the mid-price range so I bought an ATI 5770. It was an OK card, but
I've always used Nvidia products in the past and prefer their drivers,
plus the 5770 had a noisy fan.

Finally the fan noise got to me, and since the reviews of the GTX 460 all
said the fan was silent and that Nvidia could now output sound over the
HDMI cable (instead of the sound card cable kludge), I decided to purchase
one.

I've been pleased with the card, but ATI had a feature that I liked and I
was wondering if there was a way to achieve the same thing with my GTX460.
The ATI card would automatically switch to the highest refresh rate for my
monitor. My LCD monitor will support 75Hz at lower resolutions (native is
1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz, but will do 75Hz @ 1280 x 1024) and with the ATI card
it would automatically reset the refresh rate to 75Hz when I switched the
resolution. With the Nvidia card, I have to change the resolution to 1280
x 1024, then change the refresh rate to 75Hz. Of course it automatically
changes back to 60Hz when I change back to my native resolution, but it
would be nice to have it automatically switch to the higher refresh rate
when I lower the resolution. Any way to make that happen?

Why do you care? As a rule there's no advantage to using anything other
than the default refresh rate with an LCD.

I'll answer here, since you and Homer brought up the same issue.

First off, at lower resolutions than native the image *is* better at 75Hz,
and you're on the right track mentioning a CRT, but image quality isn't my
primary concern. And DevilsPGD, you are correct that as a rule there is
no advantage to a higher refresh rate on an LCD monitor. But there is one
area where you want a higher refresh rate and that's why special gaming
monitors have refresh rates up to 240Hz.

The reason I want a higher rate is because I need to play UT with vsync
turned on, and when you turn on vsync in a game then your framerate = your
refresh rate. I would rather play at 75fps than at 60fps. It's the
reason I lower my resolution. The game plays fantastic at 1920 x 1080
with everything maxed out (it's an older game) but when you're playing a
twitch shooter, those extra 15fps make a noticeable difference, and I'll
take all the edge I can get.

So, is there a way to automatically set the refresh rate to the highest
possible setting like the ATI drivers do?

Have you tried setting up custom resolutions and rates?

I fooled around a little bit with custom resolutions in the Nvidia control
panel, but it seemed to be more of a hassle to retrieve a custom profile
than the two-step process in Windows of setting resolution and then
refresh rate.

But, I did notice while playing around in the Nvidia control panel that I
could select both the resolution *and* the refresh rate at the same time.
I had been using the Windows 7 interface and it was a two-step process, so
using the Nvidia control panel instead is a definite improvement.

The 240hz business is both interesting and confusing to me. Our 42" LCD
TV is rated at 240hz, and is decent for first shooter games, using the
external digital inputs.
Yet, when you look at P/C monitors, most of the current crop and video
cards don't have any specs in the EDID tables that would seem to make
use of the 240hz. I suspect it's sort of an internal spec that relates
to the physical LCD panel and the supporting circuitry, and is divorced
from the "standard" input data coming from an external device. (P/C,
Game Box, etc.)

Another thing I noticed on my LCD monitor was that there are VISA timing
specs that are listed as not supported. These (After looking them up)
have to do with dynamic on the fly timing adjustments, and certain
algorithms that would allow a display to automatically adjust for both
standard and non standard timing, etc. between or beyond those commonly
used.

On Mon, 06 Dec 2010 02:49:15 -0500, Chuck wrote:


The 240hz business is both interesting and confusing to me. Our 42" LCD
TV is rated at 240hz, and is decent for first shooter games, using the
external digital inputs.
Yet, when you look at P/C monitors, most of the current crop and video
cards don't have any specs in the EDID tables that would seem to make
use of the 240hz.

There's a decent article about higher refresh-rate LCD monitors he

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mon...-sm2233rz.html

If your PC monitor doesn't support the higher refresh rates then there
will be no supporting data for higher rates in the EDID table.

On 12/6/2010 11:28 AM, Foke wrote:
On Mon, 06 Dec 2010 02:49:15 -0500, wrote:


The 240hz business is both interesting and confusing to me. Our 42" LCD
TV is rated at 240hz, and is decent for first shooter games, using the
external digital inputs.
Yet, when you look at P/C monitors, most of the current crop and video
cards don't have any specs in the EDID tables that would seem to make
use of the 240hz.

There's a decent article about higher refresh-rate LCD monitors he

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mon...-sm2233rz.html

If your PC monitor doesn't support the higher refresh rates then there
will be no supporting data for higher rates in the EDID table.

Samsung's PX2370 23" looks like a comparable and slightly faster (2ms)
monitor. LED backlight, though!
The cost benefit, at ~300 is not there for me.
The Xbitlabs writeup seems to agree with my previous comment concerning
where 240 or 120 Hz ratings come into play.