Widescreen Gaming Forum

I have an NVIDIA 6800GT and a Dell 2405FPW over DVI.

I can't get widescreen resolutions other than

1680x1050 and 1920x1200, now both are just WAY too high for gaming.

But when I try to add the custom resolution it says

"The custom resolution cannot be added"

So how the heck do I get nicer resolutions for gaming like 1280x800??

Even unticking unhide modes the monitor doesn't support only enables a couple resolution above 1920....

What's funny is that my second screen can run 1280x800 fine and the option is on that but not my 2405FPW. Even funnier is that if I run clone view with my CRT and 2405FPW, I can then run 1280x800 because it's using the resses available to the CRT.


HELP!

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I had that exact same problem last time I installed XP. At first I thought it was because of the driver since I went with a newer version after install so I went back to the same one I used before and the same thing happened there too. I got frustrated when it didn't work so I started to spam(holding enter) a couple of times that day and all of a sudden it worked and it was added successfully. I have no clue why it didn't work at first and then worked all of a sudden but I got my own custom res after some spamming. Hopefully someone can explain that situation but in the meantime spam the hell out of that adding :D.

You're right, the last time I got it working I just spammed the crap out of it. Specifically I got it working by adding the res to my 2nd monitor, but that's not working anymore...


Someone out there must have a specific and reliable work around!!

I found the solution and documented it here.

http://www.wikitechia.org/wiki/The_custom_resolution_cannot_be_added

If adding custom resolutions isn't working, here's a surefire way to add 1280x720 and also 1920x1080 into your list of resolutions with a nvidia and 2405 combo. Note that these are not actually custom resolutions, therefore they will both be displayed correctly in 16:9 using the 2405's monitor scaling (custom resolutions like 1280x800 must be nvidia scaled to maintain aspect ratio). Just do this:

1) Make sure you have the latest series 90 forceware drivers with the new control panel
2) Find the nvidia setting that says "this digital display is an HDTV" or "treat as HDTV" or whatever and turn it ON
3) Now go into the "TV and video" settings and you'll see a list of HD signals. First, select 720p and press apply. The monitor will be set to 1280x720 60Hz and this setting (in all color modes) will be permanently added to your list
4) Now select 1080p and click apply (DO NOT select 1080i). 1920x1080 59Hz will be permanently added to your list
5) Now go back and UNcheck the box that says "treat as HDTV"

Now you have 1280x720 and 1920x1080 added to your list as if they were always there. All color modes should be supported, monitor scaling should be supported (i prefer the 2405's scaling over nvidia's since it seems to maintain deeper blacks, noticeable in text), and all games that support native widescreen like Half-Life 2, Oblivion, and World of Warcraft should now show these resolutions in-game.

I have a 7800GTX and a 2405, but nvidia's drivers should act the same way. Though I get to play games at 1920 so I don't really have to worry about it (except Oblivion, which I have to play at 1280x720 if I want to keep ultra high settings).