Installed new graphics card and now viewable area is reduced

The onboard graphics processor on my Powerspec PC was going bad so I installed a VisionTek Radeon graphics card. Here is what I have:

PC: Powerspec B722 Build 2

Graphics card: VisionTek Radeon HD 5450

(I tried to provide the links for those but it won't let me)

Per the instructions, after installing the new card, I plugged my HDMI monitor cable into the new HDMI port now on the back of the PC. It defaulted to very low resolution at first so I proceeded to download the appropriate graphics driver from the AMD website. That installation seemed to go fine and I was able to set the resolution to the recommended 1920x1080. However, the viewable area is now a bit reduced. My AOC monitor should have a viewable area of about 20.5"W x 11.5"H, but it is now at about 18.75"W x 10.5"H (about 83.5% of what it should be). None of the settings on my monitor pertain to or affect the size of the viewable area.

From the "AMD Drivers and Support" page I selected the following drop-down options for my graphics card:

Graphics -> AMD Radeon HD -> ATI Radeon HD 5000 Series -> ATI Radeon HD 5450

(even though I don't see "ATI" anywhere on my product packaging, I assume this is correct since there are no other configurations that yield "Radeon HD 5450")

Under "Windows 7 - 64-Bit Edition" I downloaded the "Catalyst Software Suite" (revision 15.7.1 WHQL) and installed it. As I mentioned, the graphics/display driver appears to be correctly installed, and while there are no other issues, the viewable area is reduced. The download for 32 bit seems to be the same as for 64 bit, so I don't believe that is the issue (I assume the installer would auto-detect the correct one). Despite the name "Catalyst Software Suite" I can find no consul/program to further configure display settings. I also tried downloading the other option there called "Radeon Software Crimson Edition Beta", but there is no consul for configuring display settings offered there either.

Prior to this graphics card installation I was able to use the "Intel HD Graphics" consul to adjust display settings for my previous onboard graphics.

I realize that Windows 7 is out of support, but going by the revision dates of those AMD software/driver suites, and the build date of my PC (and OS version), it seems to me that these should be compatible.

Anyone have any idea why I am not getting some sort of consul/app installed to configure display settings? Or, some other way I could get one?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answers

  • Ian
    Ian ✭✭✭✭✭
    Eighth Anniversary 5000 Comments 250 Answers 500 Likes
    edited April 2022

    Greetings. What's the specific model of monitor you have? May want to see if there is an "auto" or "auto adjust" button/setting you can press on the monitor physically or through the menus with the buttons on the monitor itself.

    You can also try changing screen resolution in Windows directly, see this guide for Windows 7. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/change-your-screen-resolution-5effefe3-2eac-e306-0b5d-2073b765876b

  • My monitor is an AOC E2429SWHE. Like I said, I have exhausted all of the display options by cycling through them using the physical buttons on the unit (and going through the product manual). None of them affects the size of the viewable area.

    Also, none of the display settings in the Windows control panel affects that either. Changing the text size or screen resolution alters what is displayed within the viewable area, but that area remains reduced to about 83.5% of what it should be.

    What's more, I don't believe it has anything to do with my specific monitor, since I share it with my work laptop on a KVM switch, and there is no issue there.

    So, I guess my main question concerns how to get a control panel/consul to adjust display settings for AMD graphics. As I stated in my original post, I previously could use the “Intel HD Graphics Control Panel” (by right clicking on the desktop and selecting “Graphics Properties”) before I installed this new AMD graphics card. But for some reason I can't seem to find the equivalent tool on the "AMD Drivers and Support" page.

    Does AMD offer a graphics control panel, and if so, what is it called, and how does one go about getting it?

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