Correct display resolution is not shown

English Hardware
#1

Installed Tumbleweed. Screen resolution max is 1024x768, but my monitor supports 1280x1024. I’d like to use the higher resolution, but the highest I can choose is 1024x768.

Can I get 1280x1024 somehow? Everything on screen is too big.

#2

Which GUI are you using?
KDE? GNOME? something else?

Also, what hardware? Laptop? Desktop?
Graphic system?

#3

KDE Plasma. Its an IBM server with RADEON graphics. Using a Samsung 172T monitor

#4

More definitive information would be useful to start with…

inxi -SGa

xrandr
#5

System: Host: localhost.localdomain Kernel: 6.2.9-1-default arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.0.1 parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.2.9-1-default root=UUID=70b2af80-e4c4-47c4-a454-dad20902b54a splash=silent mitigations=auto quiet security=apparmor Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.4 tk: Qt v: 5.15.8 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 7 dm: SDDM Distro: openSUSE Tumbleweed 20230407 Graphics: Device-1: AMD RV100 [Radeon 7000 / Radeon VE] vendor: IBM eServer xSeries server mainboard driver: radeon v: kernel alternate: amdgpu arch: Rage-6 code: R100 process: TSMC 180nm built: 2000-07 ports: active: DVI-I-1,VGA-1 empty: none bus-ID: 01:06.0 chip-ID: 1002:5159 class-ID: 0300 Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.8 with: Xwayland v: 23.1.1 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X: loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa gpu: radeon display-ID: :0 screens: 1 Screen-1: 0 s-res: 2048x768 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 541x203mm (21.30x7.99") s-diag: 578mm (22.75") Monitor-1: DVI-I-1 pos: right model: IBM RSA2 serial: Reserved built: 2003 res: 1024x768 hz: 60 dpi: 87 size: 300x225mm (11.81x8.86") diag: 375mm (14.8") ratio: 4:3 modes: max: 1024x768 min: 720x400 Monitor-2: VGA-1 pos: primary,left res: 1024x768 hz: 60 size: N/A modes: max: 1024x768 min: 640x480 API: OpenGL v: 4.5 Mesa 23.0.1 renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 16.0.0 128 bits) direct render: Yes

xrandr Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 2048 x 768, maximum 4096 x 4096 VGA-1 connected primary 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm 1024x768 60.00* 800x600 60.32 56.25 848x480 60.00 640x480 59.94 DVI-I-1 connected 1024x768+1024+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 300mm x 225mm 1024x768 60.00*+ 75.03 70.07 800x600 72.19 75.00 60.32 56.25 640x480 75.00 72.81 59.94 720x400 70.08

#6

Ok, so that output shows that the monitor EDID appears only to report the highest display mode of 1024x768@60Hz. You can try using xrandr to configure and set a new display mode as required…
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Configuring_graphics_cards_and_monitor_settings
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/xrandr
This won’t survive a reboot though. To do that you can add the commands in ~/.xinitrc (or an autostart script located in the user’s ~/.config/autostart/
directory).

#7

Has that card ever supported a pair of 1280x1024 screens with any OS? I suspect either it doesn’t have enough RAM, or the support from the modesetting driver for that antique is limited. Can you get 1280x1024 from one display if you disconnect the other display’s cable from the GPU? What happens if you connect the second display’s cable after X has been started? Will X run if you use the radeon display driver from the xf86-video-ati package? I can’t remember for sure, but I think support for radeons that old may have been removed recently. I can’t remember if I ever had an RV100, and my RV200s all have only one usable output. My displays don’t have S-VHS inputs, which I wouldn’t want to use anyway, so I can’t even try to confirm the issue.

#8

It’s the kernel driver that reports the display capabilities, not the Xorg driver.

Do you mean SVGA or S-video perhaps?

Syncmaster monitors of this vintage are notorious for not annunciating their native display mode capabilities, especially when using VGA cables. FWIW, here’s an old thread where the OP found correct behaviour only after connecting via DVI instead…
https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=80271
…however, I’m sure that it can be coaxed into providing 1280x1024@60Hz with a little persuasion via xrandr.

#9

Sort of. I still equate SVHS with S-Video, which to my knowledge first came to market in the same product. Some brands in competition with JVC with those outputs used to use the term SVHS output to the exclusion of S-Video output, or vice versa - I don’t remember which did what first.

To clarify, old Radeons often had S-Video outputs to go with VGA, or with VGA and DVI, to support totals of 2 or 3 displays, however crude the resolutions S-Video could support.

#10

Ok, but best not to confuse them. S-VHS is an old video tape format from the 80s. S-video is a composite (Y/C) cable standard. The RV100 is old hardware for sure.

From what I can determine , there are two monitors connected?

ports: active: DVI-I-1,VGA-1

I assume that the Syncmaster is the VGA-connected display here?

 Monitor-2: VGA-1 pos: primary,left res: 1024x768 hz: 60 size: N/A modes: max: 1024x768 min: 640x480

VGA-1 connected primary 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 60.00*
800x600 60.32 56.25
848x480 60.00
640x480 59.94
#11

The issue is that the display is incorrectly identified. In settings > Display it shows IBM Brasil 15", which is incorrect. Is there a way to change the display to my syncmaster 172t?

#12

It’s a bit confusing. The inxi output shows two connected displays…

Monitor-1: DVI-I-1 pos: right model: IBM RSA2 serial: Reserved built: 2003 res: 1024x768 hz: 60 dpi: 87 size: 300x225mm (11.81x8.86") diag: 375mm (14.8") ratio: 4:3 modes: max: 1024x768 min: 720x400
Monitor-2: VGA-1 pos: primary,left res: 1024x768 hz: 60 size: N/A modes: max: 1024x768 min: 640x480
#13

The first “display” appears to b associated with an IBM Remote Supervisor Adapter II (RSA II). Not something I’m familiar with using. If you’re not using it perhaps it should be disabled.

#14

Researching the system docs, this RSA is actually an add-in PCI card, but there is no RSA PCI card installed. Also, RSA is part of the Baseboard Mgmt., which I disabled, and had no effect. I’m going to try a PCI video card and see if that helps. BTW: RSA is supported and detected by SUSE Linux, per IBM.

#15

When you get a dedicated video card, assuming that it only has HDMI or DP outputs, make sure to get a adapter cable to allow DVI input connection to the monitor.

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