Vista - Dual Monitor from my Vaio laptop

I need more desctop space so I've connected a Dell 1920x1080 monitor to my Vaio laptop to run as dual monitor together with the inbuilt 1280x800 screen. This works very well as a continuation of my desktop apart from a big problem with resolution:

In Vista's Display Setting I am given a choice of the following resolutions for the second monitor:

1280 x 800
1280 x1024
1360 x 768
1680 x 1059

(plus many more smaller ones).

None of these are the same as the monitor size (which is 1920x1080), so when I select, say, 1680x1059 (the highest) from Vista's choice the picture spreads these 1680x1059 pixels evenly out over the whole monitor screen which has approx. 20% more pixels and is not even the same format. The result is a hopelessly blurred picture which is also strecthed out (from ratio 8:5 to 16:9). Can you imagine? It is impossible to do any graphic work when circles are oval shaped, square shapes look rectangular and you are not quite sure on which where the lines are.

How can I get the same perfect resolution on the big screen as on the laptop screen?

What graphics chip is on the Vaio? If it's either an ATI or Nvidia, you should check to see if you have the latest drivers for it.

You should be able to specify the secondary monitors (the 24") resolution in the cards control panel:
ie Catalyst Control Center for ATI > Display Manager or the Nvidia Control Panel for Nvidia.

Hi Smarteyeball,

These are the graphics card details (as far as I know):



NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS with Total Available Graphics Memory of 1023MB and dedicated Video Memory of 256MB


GeForce 8600M - Notebook and Laptop


GeForce 8600M - Notebook and Laptop

Supporting the latest games
With support for Microsoft® DirectX® 10 Shader Model 4.0 and High Dynamic-Range Lighting (HDR), the GeForce 8600M GPUs let you rip through all of today's most advanced and cutting-edge games and applications. Experience real-time photo editing, or immerse yourself in the most complex, true-to-life gaming environments ever experienced on your thin and light notebook PC. And since all GeForce 8 Series GPUs are designed to support Windows Vista™ you can rest assured that you'll be enjoying your notebook PC well into the future.

NVIDIA PureVideo Technology
The GeForce 8600M GPUs with NVIDIA® PureVideo™ technology deliver unmatched HD video performance to your thin and light notebook PC. Take your DVDs on the road with you and view stutter-free, incredibly life-like video without the annoying artifacts and imperfections of traditional PC-based video solutions.

NVIDIA PowerMizer Technology
Intelligent Power for a greener world! As the world is faced with ever increasing demands on its resources, every opportunity to eliminate wasted power can help. NVIDIA® PowerMizer™ technology is an intelligent power management solution that can effectively extend battery life and eliminate wasted power while providing performance on demand.


GeForce 8600M GS

Stream Processors 16
Core Clock (MHz) 600
Shader Clock (MHz) 1200
Memory Clock (MHz) 700
Maximum Memory 512MB
Memory Interface 128-bit


How do I check if this card will work? (clearly doesn't at the moment with me "in command")

Just to let you know, I've solved the problem completely by changing from the VGA-plugs that came with the monitor to a cable with HDMI and DVI connections.

What a differernce!