Resolution problems

[Taco_assassin]

So for one of my classes we built a desktop. This is a list of what they sent us.
MSI - a55m-p33 MOBO
AMD A3- 3300 APU
4 gb ddr3 -13333 pc3 10600 crucial RAM
APEX Micro ATX steel case.

I'm running windows 8.1 64bit on it. I got it free through school. My problem is that I can't get any tiles to open on any other resolution besides 1024x768.
That's just to ugly for me. All drivers are in place and up to date. I've checked that multiple times. I've even checked and yes, even the monitor drivers are up to date. The monitor itself is a 22" AOC capable of 1920x1080, and it is windows 8 compatible. I have no idea why i cant get the full resolution out of this. My old ass laptop with windows 7 gave me better graphics than this. Anyone have any ideas? I'd prefer not to have to get a graphics card because then I'd also have to upgrade the power supply too. If that's my only option though I would.

[RaTix]

Does this help?

[Cottoinc]

So here are two tips I learned then working with Win 8.1.

How to setup auto login.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/fl/auto-logon-windows-8.htm

How to boot straight to desktop.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043243/how-to-boot-to-desktop-mode-in-windows-8-1.html

You say you have the AMD A3- 3300 APU. Can you double check that. You maybe able to pair a low end GPU that might not need any more power. The AMD APUs can be crossfired with some of the GPUs. Here is a list and see if your CPU is on it. http://www.cpu-world.com/info/AMD/Re...-graphics.html

If you have the A4-3300 APU you can pair it with this GPU Radeon HD 6450. You can get a good one on newegg for $60.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150658

[Taco_assassin]

@Ratix - that didn't help. for whatever reason, it doesn't let me select anything in that last part.
@Cotto- you are correct. I'm running an A4-3300. There are cards that I can pair with it, but I am wondering if it just makes more sense for me to upgrade all the things I can so at least i last a bit longer than the planned obsolescence you get with technology. At least if I do that, I can attempt something other than porn, and surfing.
It will take up to an A8-3870k on this mobo with 16g ddr3 RAM, and it will still pair with an extra AMD GPU card. Think it's worth it?
BTW, the highest PSU i've seen for a micro ATX case is a 450W.

[Cottoinc]

I was not sure how far you wanted to go with this. What I suggested would meet the base requirements of most games.

Use PC Part Picker and show me a build you might be interested in. http://pcpartpicker.com/

As for the resolution issue what does it say the desktop resolution is set at?

[Deslock]

@Ratix - that didn't help. for whatever reason, it doesn't let me select anything in that last part.

RaTix, do you think his problem might be in the version of 8.1 he has, because you know they give schools gimped versions of their software ? That the software version he has won't let him select the last part of that video you posted. I'd have to say if it's not there, there's a reason for it ?

[norm]

Thank you for calling the DSA tech line, this is Norm how may I assist you today?


I understand your pc will not output at the proper resolution. I think we can help you with that today, but first I need a little information from you first.


lol

So here's some odd things to check that I've run across with monitor resolution.

In Windows 7 there was an issue with VGA cables and 1920x1080 output. If you are using a VGA cable try a DVI if you have it.

Another thing to check is the actual settings for your video driver. AMD's Catalyst had some weird issues with sometimes not detecting your monitor's refresh rate and only allowing a lower resolution to be shown. I've seen a couple of issues with Intel and Nvidia drivers not playing well with a monitor's driver and switching the monitor to generic would "magically" solve the problem.

Another thing to test is if you have another monitor to test your pc on. You may even try your tv if it has the inputs you need.


Past that only other things I can think of off the top of my head is there was an issue with the video driver and the update tot he new version. If so maybe uninstalling it and just running the new version might work.


I don't know if that will help, but it might narrow down what the issue is.

[Taco_assassin]

So for whatever reason AMD's Catalyst Control Center wasn't as forthcoming with where I could play with settings like this. I found two places but there was a third. I had the monitor set at max resolution which looked great. After finishing up some schoolwork at about midnight last night i decided to reboot after installing hardware monitoring app. After the reboot, all i got was black screen. After spending all day troubleshooting i went and got a DVI cable and now I have picture again, but at quite lower resolution than I want. Oddly enough, VGA no longer puts out a signal even at the lower resolution. Once I saw everything was working on DVI i shut down and put the VGA back on and restarted and nothing! black screen again. I've never seen anything like that. Soooooo I've taken the upgrade route since I've managed to find the highest processor this MOBO can take and a decent corresponding GPU card on ebay for less than store retail. Hopefully I'll at least be able to get the resolution I want. Maybe I'll even play some games.
@Cotto- I got an A8-3870 and a Radeon HD 6670 to take advantage of the dual graphics on that chart you linked to.

[Cottoinc]

It should be interesting to see how it tuners out.

[RaTix]

Figured I'd just repost what I had before the SQl server mishap/reset.

I'm not sure if in your troubleshooting you updated the BIOS at all, but that might be why the VGA stopped working. There's usually a setting in the Bios to switch the main video output to like VGA/DVI/PCI, or Onboard/PCI/AGP, etc.. Might want to check those just to be sure.

[Taco_assassin]

@Ratix - I did check the bios once I got a dvi cable to see if that's what went wrong. Unfortunately it wasn't so I have no idea what took out the VGA signal. DVI looks nice anyway.
@Cotto - The graphics card finally came in. Install went off without a hitch. Once i booted back up and installed drivers AMD Catalyst Control Center asked me if i wanted to use dual graphics or just the card as soon as it opened so that was cool. I had that set up from the bios, but I suppose it's good to see it just automatically did it. Everything looks as nice as i expected. Now I just wait for my 16gb of ram to come in and I can really see what a game looks like.

[Cottoinc]

Nice!

What are you looking to play?

Do you have a Steam account yet?

[Taco_assassin]

I do have a steam account. Now if I could just remember my login info lol


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