Change your screen resolution

Support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020

We recommend you move to a Windows 10 PC to continue to receive security updates from Microsoft.

Screen resolution refers to the clarity of the text and images displayed on your screen. At higher resolutions, such as 1600 x 1200 pixels, items appear sharper. They also appear smaller so more items can fit on the screen. At lower resolutions, such as 800 x 600 pixels, fewer items fit on the screen, but they appear larger.

The resolution you can use depends on the resolutions your monitor supports. CRT monitors generally display a resolution of 800 × 600 or 1024 × 768 pixels and can work well at different resolutions. LCD monitors, also called flat-panel displays, and laptop screens often support higher resolutions and work best at a specific resolution.

The larger the monitor, usually the higher the resolution it supports. Whether you can increase your screen resolution depends on the size and capability of your monitor and the type of video card you have.

To change your screen resolution

Open Screen Resolution by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, and then, under Appearance and Personalization, clicking Adjust screen resolution.

Click the drop-down list next to Resolution, move the slider to the resolution you want, and then click Apply.

Click Keep to use the new resolution, or click Revert to go back to the previous resolution.

Native resolution

LCD monitors, including laptop screens, typically run best at their native resolution. You don’t have to set your monitor to run at this resolution, but it’s usually recommended in order to ensure you see the sharpest text and images possible. LCD monitors generally come in two shapes: a standard proportion of width to height of 4:3, or a widescreen ratio of 16:9 or 16:10. A widescreen monitor has both a wider shape and resolution than a standard ratio monitor.

If you’re unsure of your monitor’s native resolution, check the product manual or go to the manufacturer’s website. Here are typical resolutions for some popular screen sizes:

19-inch screen (standard ratio): 1280 x 1024 pixels

20-inch screen (standard ratio): 1600 x 1200 pixels

22-inch screen (widescreen): 1680 x 1050 pixels

24-inch screen (widescreen): 1900 x 1200 pixels

When you change the screen resolution, it affects all users who log on to the computer.

When you set your monitor to a screen resolution that it can’t support, the screen will go black for a few seconds while the monitor reverts back to the original resolution.

Change Screen Resolution, Color Calibration, Calibrate ClearType Text in Windows 10

It is very important to have the correct screen resolution settings on your Windows PC as it facilitates a better display of content and the clarity of images. Higher is the resolution, the sharper are the images and contents on your PC. While, Windows, however, has its own set default scaling settings and colors for each display in your PC, which are usually the best for your system, you can always adjust it according to your own preferences.

Change Screen Resolution on Windows 10

In this post, we will learn about how to how to change the Screen Resolution, Color calibration, ClearType Text, Display Adapter, Text sizing, and other Display settings in Windows 10. Adjusting the screen resolution is easy, and you can get to the Screen Resolution settings via Display Settings:

1. Open Settings
2. Click on System settings
3. Select Display from the left side
4. Scroll down till you see Display resolution
5. From the drop-down select the screen resolution you want.

Let us see this in more detail.

Go to your Desktop, right-click your mouse and go to Display Settings.

The following panel will open. Here you can adjust the size of text, apps, and other items and also change the orientation. To change the resolution settings, scroll down this window and select the drop-down menu for Display resolution.

1920 X 1080 is the recommended screen resolution for my PC. It may be different for you.

However, you may want to modify if you want the items in your PC to appear larger. Please note that the lower is the resolution, the larger is the content displayed on your screen. From the available options in the drop-down menu, select the one you want and click Apply.

If it is not the optimal setting for your system, you will see an Optimal Resolution Notification like this.

You may ignore the notification and confirm your Screen Resolution changes by clicking on Keep The Changes. or you may select another screen resolution. You will get just 15 seconds to confirm the changes or else it will revert to the default display settings.

While here in the Advanced Display settings panel, you can also change the following settings.

Change Color Calibration in Windows 10

You can also calibrate your display. Windows provides you with a Display Color Calibration Wizard, which helps you set up your computers brightness, gamma, contrast & color settings easily. Using this wizard, you can improve the color on your display and make sure that the colors appear accurately, in Windows 10/8/7.

Search for DCCW or Color Calibration in the search bar of Settings and click in the Calibrate display color option.

This will open the color calibration wizard where you just have to follow the instructions and adjust the settings.

The wizard will guide you to set the color, gamma, brightness, contrast, color balance and also make the text on your screen easier to read.

You will then reach a window shown below where you can adjust how the colors appear on your screen by moving the red, blue, and green sliders.

Calibrate ClearType Text in Windows 10

Make the text on your PC clearer by checking this small box under the Clear Type Text section.

Search for ClearType text in the search bar of Settings and click in the Adjust ClearType text option.

This will open the Text Tuner where you have to follow the instructions and keep clicking on ‘Next’ button to tune the text on your monitor.

Date: July 14, 2020 Tags: Screen Resolution

How to change your screen resolution in Windows 10 to customize your display

Whether you’re playing a game, visiting a website that looks better in a certain resolution, or you simply prefer your computer screen to have a particular layout, Windows 10 allows you to customize your screen resolution to your liking.

While the standard and recommended screen resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels, there are actually 16 resolutions to choose from based on your personal preference.

Changing your screen resolution in Windows 10 can be done via the Display Settings option on your computer. From there, you can try out each of the offered resolutions to see which one best suits your needs, and you can follow the same steps again at any time to change it back.

Here’s how to do it.

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How to change your screen resolution in Windows 10

1. Click the Windows button in the lower-left hand side of your screen.

2. In the search box, type «display.»

3. Click «Display settings» to open the app.

4. In the Display screen, scroll down to the «Scale and layout» section.

5. Click the box under «Display resolution» to see your available options.

6. Click on the screen resolution you want, then either click «Revert» or «Keep changes.»

It should also be noted that you can change your screen layout from landscape to portrait or vice versa under the same «Scale and layout» section depending on your needs or preferences.

These options may only be available on certain machines, so if certain resolutions or layout options do not appear, this is because they’re not compatible with your device.

How To Change Screen Resolution In Windows 10

Last Updated on July 14, 2020 by admin 16 Comments

The display resolution or screen resolution is generally responsible for the clarity of texts and images displayed on the screen. At lower resolutions, texts and images appear larger, but fewer items fit on display. Likewise, at higher resolutions, images and texts look sharper, but more items fit on the screen as they appear smaller.

When you install the Windows operating system and install your graphics driver, the driver automatically sets the recommended resolution. Most users will never need to change the recommended or default screen resolution. However, at times, while playing a game or running software, the game or software might automatically adjust the screen resolution, forcing you to restore the original screen resolution manually.

Last evening, while writing how to set a custom resolution on Windows 10 PC, I noticed that the Screen resolution option is missing from Windows 10’s desktop context menu. As you likely know, in earlier Windows versions, the Screen resolution option would appear when you right-click on the desktop.

In Windows 10, Microsoft has renamed the Screen resolution option in the desktop context menu to Display settings. In other words, when you right-click on the desktop, you’ll see the Display settings option instead of the Screen resolution option. This is because Microsoft has moved most of the settings to the new Settings app to make changing Windows settings easier both on traditional PCs as well as touch-based devices. And because screen resolution settings have been moved, changing screen resolution in Windows 10 is not as easy it was before.

While right-clicking on Windows 10 desktop and clicking Display setting opens Display settings in the Settings app, first-time users will find it challenging to locate the option and change screen resolution in Windows 10.

Change display resolution in Windows 10

Complete the given below instructions to view and change Screen resolution in Windows 10.

Tip: If you want to know your current screen resolution quickly and easily, open whatsmyscreenresolution.com address in your web browser to know your display resolution.

Method 1 of 2

Step 1: Right-click on desktop and then click Display settings to open the same.

Step 2: To change the current screen resolution, click on the drop-down box located under the Display resolution section (see picture) to view all supported resolutions, and click on one of the listed resolutions to select it.

And if you have two or more screens connected to your PC, please select the display (on the same page) before changing the resolution. For more details on the external monitor screen resolution, refer to our how to change external monitor screen resolution in Windows 10 guide.

We recommend you select the recommended screen resolution unless you want to run a game or software at a lower or higher resolution.

Step 4: You’ll see the following screen with fifteen seconds to confirm the new resolution. To set the new resolution, click the Keep changes button. And if you find that the new resolution isn’t perfect, click the Revert button to restore the previous screen resolution.

And if you want to select a custom resolution, check out our how to set custom screen resolution in Windows 10 guide. Good luck!

NOTE: If you are running an older version of Windows 10, click the option titled Advanced display settings to view your current screen resolution and change it.

Method 2 of 2

Another way to change resolution in Windows 10

For NVIDIA and Intel graphics only

Step 1: Right-click on desktop and then click NVIDIA Control Panel. If you have Intel graphics, you’ll see Graphics Properties option.

Step 2: Once NVIDIA Control Panel is launched, in the left-pane (see picture), click Change resolution to view your current resolution as well as available resolutions. Select an available resolution and then click the Apply button.

If you are on Intel, after launching Intel HD Graphics Control Panel, click Display tile to view resolution settings, select a resolution, and then click Apply button.

Change Display Resolution in Windows 10

Screen resolution refers to the clarity of the text and images displayed on your screen. At higher resolutions, such as 1920 x 1080 pixels, items appear sharper. They also appear smaller so more items can fit on the screen. At lower resolutions, such as 800 x 600 pixels, fewer items fit on the screen, but they appear larger. It is measured horizontally and vertically in pixels. In this article, we will review three methods which you can use to change the screen resolution in Windows 10 including the GUI, and from the command line.

The supported resolutions vary with each monitor and video card combination. Old CRT monitors generally have a display resolution of 800 × 600 or 1024 × 768 pixels and also support a set of different resolutions with a satisfactory screen refresh rate. Modern LCD monitors and laptop screens often support higher resolutions, such as 4K and 8K. They work best at a specific resolution which is called ‘the native resolution’. In Windows 10, it is marked as «(Recommended)» in Display Properties.

In Windows 10, you can change the screen resolution individually for each display connected to your PC. However, please keep in mind that you need a screen resolution of at least 1024×768 to access the Microsoft Store and run Store apps. Also, changing the screen resolution will affect all users registered in the OS. It is a global option.

In previous versions of Windows you could use the classic Control Panel. The Display option could be used to change parameters for connected monitors. This has changed with recent Windows 10 versions. The Display options were moved to the modern Settings app.

To Change Display Resolution in Windows 10,

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to System -> Display.
3. On the right, go to the Display section.
4. If you have multiple monitors connected to the computer, select the required display.
5. In the Resolution drop down list, select the desired screen resolution you want to set for the selected display.
6. If the selected screen resolution works as expected, select Keep changes in the next dialog. You will have 15 seconds before it automatically reverts back to the previous screen resolution.

Here is an alternative method that allows choosing the desired screen resolution from the list of display modes.

Change Display Resolution with Display Mode

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to System -> Display.
3. On the right, click on the Advanced display settings link.
4. On the next page, click the link Display adapter properties.
5. On the Adapter tab, click on the button List All Modes .
6. Select a display resolution and display mode, and click OK.
7. If the selected display mode works as expected, select Keep changes in the next dialog. You will have 15 seconds before it automatically reverts back to the previous screen resolution.

Tip: Starting with May 2019 Update, Windows 10 comes with support for the variable refresh rate feature. The appropriate options can be found in Settings. See the following post: Windows 10 Version 1903 Supports Variable Refresh Rate.

Also, it is possible to change the screen resolution from the command line. Windows 10 doesn’t include built-in tools for this task, so we have to use QRes — a tiny open source app.

QRes is a small application that allows changing the screen resolution and display mode with command line arguments. It can change color depth, screen resolution, and the refresh rate. The core application qres.exe is a small (32 kB) executable file.

Change Display Refresh Rate in Windows 10 from Command Prompt

1. Download Qres from HERE.
2. Extract the archive contents to a convenient folder, e.g. c:\apps\qres.
3. Unblock the files.
4. Open a new command prompt in the destination folder.
5. Type a command like this qres x=800 y=600 f=75 . This will set the 800 x 600 resolution and the 75Hz refresh rate.
6. 
7. Replace x and y with desired values, e.g. 1920 for x and 1080 for y ,

So, with QRes you can create a shortcut to change your screen resolution and/or its refresh rate, or use it in a batch file for various automation scenarios.

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About Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer from Russia who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

3 thoughts on “ Change Display Resolution in Windows 10 ”

Good alternatives! Thanks Sergey!

What would be great, is to be able to SAVE all the existing open windows’ screen sizes, so when you change back to Hi Res, you won’t have to resize back up. It is likely the most irritating part of reducing resolution, when Windows decides that it must reduce each screen size. But, when returning to normally Hi Res, it leaves the user to resize each one individually. It shouldn’t, and doesn’t need to work like this!

How do I select on which monitor (1, 2, …) to change the resolution?