Video card won't do 2560x1080

[HugoLeote]

My desktop EliteDesk 800 G2 won't do 2560x1080 with a ultrawide monitor (LG 29UM59-P). It's limited to 1920x1080.

I already tried a clean reinstall of the following display drivers provided by HP:

- Intel Windows Win 7 x64 Graphics Driver - 15.40-64bit

- Intel Graphics Driver RS2 -15.46- 64bit

I also installed monitor .INF provided by LG.

Oddly enough, when booting Windows into safemode, default resolution is 2560x1080 (using "generic monitor") - however, performance is rubbish.

This seems like an Intel display driver issue.

Thanks in advance.

[WAWood]

@HugoLeote

Hello;

Allow me to welcome you to the HP forums!

As far as I know, the problem is with Win7 video drivers -- as 4K video came out long after Win7.

You would probably have to be running Win10 to get the video drivers needed for 4K resolution.

But ... others may have more information and come along with that.

[HugoLeote]

I can't change to Windows 10, because this PC belongs to the company where I currently work.

Many of my workmates use HP Compaq 8200 running Windows 7 (32-bit) and they are able to get 2560x1080 flawlessly.

Perhaps their graphic cards are better ? Or is this 64 bit related ? 

[DGroves]

your system specs clearly state the video is from the onboard intel CPU chip which has embeded graphics

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04786146

this chip has a physical (hardware) limitation in reguards to video resolutions it is unable to do 2560x1080

as that is not a supported resolution

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04802690#AbT1

since i do not own/service this model i am unable to say if it can be made to run a custom resolution

you might be able to install a PCI-E video card that supports the resolution your screen requires

check with HP to see if a addin video card is available for your computer model, and if so what resolutions it supports

[HugoLeote]

Hello DGroves,

Thank you for your research. 

I still find it interesting how the card is able to display 2560x1080 when booted into Windows safe mode - although with horrible, non-accelerated performance.

Out of curiosity, I will try booting a live Linux distro and see what happens. If that doesn't work, I'll seriously consider getting a low profile graphics card.

Again, thank you for your valuable insight.

---

[HugoLeote]

Update: as I suspected, Ubuntu 16 is also limited to 1920x1080.

[DGroves · Accepted solution]

as is stated , 2560x1080 is a NON STANDARD RESOLUTION you will need a video card that supports custom resolutions

and even if the card can be made to support the resolution the video display still might not have support for it

during boot the video card query's the attached display device for it's available video modes

LCD panels unlike crt displays use panels that are configured at the factory when made for a specific resolution

display makers then add circuits (d-scaler boards) of various abilitys which attempt to display non native resolutions

these scaler boards also have various limitations,... so you should check the lcd model specs and see if the display will have support for your 2560x1080 if not, then the video card will be unable to overcome this