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Getting to this magical resolution is a fairly simple affair in a Windows XP environment, but in Linux you’ll need to get ready to configure your hardware a bit. I had katana running when I unceremoniously detached the 19″ CRT and replaced it with the Samsung 2232GW. Subsequent reboots had little effect on convincing Fedora that a superduper 1680×1050 capable display had been attached. Try as I might, it was simply impossible to gain a higher resolution than 1280×1024, the highest the CRT was capable of. Black screen and a muddled display where the most I got to see. A painful reset of the system was the only way out.

The problem, of course, lies with the nVidia Linux driver. It has the annoying habit of assuming control and constantly overwriting any setting change made. It seems to be impossible to generate a new screen definition within the driver’s control panel. At least, it’s something I didn’t manage. I stumbled into various forums and a lot of googling indicated many others with a similar issue, but no direct resolution, pardon the pun.

Here’s what worked for me.
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Computer monitors are hardly something I’ve ever spent too much attention on. The ones I’ve had have served for lengthy time periods. My trusty AOpen 19″ CRT has been connected to numerous PC‘s. Mel’s 17″ CRT was in desperate need of an upgrade – even a Windows XP user wants to see more of her screen

P4 is now kitted out with a stylish 19″ Samsung 932BF.

For katana, something a bit more impressive was called for. The 22″ Samsung 2232GW

Unpacking these was similar to removing pizza from a box, unlike the experience of old when 19″ and 21″ CRT boxes could hardly fit through a door and included instructions on how to invert the packaging to safely extricate the content. Then, there was the anticipation of the desk cracking once the CRT had been gingerly maneuvered into position. Like pizza from a box: lightweight and easy. Both feature the same chassis design finished in high-gloss black. Except for the small, round power button on the lower right of the screen there is no other distraction. It glows blue to indicate the power-on state and flashes when the monitor goes to standby.
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