X60plus graphics driver

Hi,
I've got my X60plus in Nov. 06. I've always had display problems. At the highest resolution I have to use 131% DPI in order to get a 100% display in Word and desktop publishing; that means lots of other windows don't display properly! My driver version is 8.282.0.0. Confusingly, on the Samsung download site, I find ver 8.233.0.0; and the ATI website recommends vers 8.288 and Catalyst software 7.1 BUT doesn't include the X1700 driver. I'm totally confused. Has anybody come to grips with this particular graphics driver?

 

First, don't use the NP-X60plus downloads. They are the same as the previous X60 and even have completely the wrong firmware. Use the NT-X60plus downloads. You will see that the graphics driver there is 8.2 83.0.0. (Ignore the bit about Korean language - they are multi-language packages).

Second, I think it is wrong to blame ATI for the problems which arise when you change the display from the standard DPI setting. I believe this is a feature of how Windows up to and including XP handles the screen layout. I understand that Vista is rewritten in this respect with the theory being that 10 point print will appear as 10 point print independent of display size and resolution. I am using the 120DPI setting and there are some formatting problems with some applications, but not to the extent of making things unusable.

It is possible to hack the .inf files for Catalyst 7.1 so that it supports the X1700. It is necessary to add "71D5" in the lists of devices (there is a place somewhere which gives step-by-step details). I did this a while back but saw no benefit from the newer drivers and have gone back to 8283. If this is all that is required then I am sure ATI would have done it.

My own complaint about the X1700 driver is that there is no sign of PowerPlay. ATI's key selling point about the X1700 was reduced power consumption using PowerPlay 6. I hope that now a Vista driver has been pushed out the door then the driver development team has been giving attention to this matter. The February 07 release of Catalyst is due out soon.

In the mean time, I would suggest that you experiment with a lower DPI setting. I found that with the high resolution display and ClearType enabled small print is more readable than on a lower resolution display.

Hope this helps,

John

 

PS: It's not just Samsung being late on the X1700. It is a common complaint. For example, read here.

 

John, thanks very much for your link to the NT! download page - that certainly clarifies matters. I've contacted ATI and Samsung about driver updates for the X1700 that might fix the display quirks - I'll post the answer if there is any. Generally I find that Microsoft software displays okay at the higher DPI settings, it's Samsung's own programs, Serif, some pop-up boxes and Spybot that look out of synch.

 

the only other machines with the x1700 are asus machines. In the asus forum a lot of owners had this question and they figured out how to mod the inf file.

 

I have X1700 in my Packard Bell and got drivers for it on vendors page, but for some reason they do not support the openGL quite correctly.

Well if you want to try them out you can download them here.
But they have it for windows vista only.

Hope it helps.