When it comes to creating a comfortable working environment on your computer, adjusting the display resolution is an important aspect. Display resolution refers to the amount of information shown on your computer monitor. The higher the resolution, the more densely packed together the pixels are in the monitor, providing a more crisp, sharp, and detailed image. However, higher resolutions can make everything appear smaller and difficult to see for some individuals, and can also be harder for your computer to run smoothly.
Therefore, in this tutorial, we will explain how to adjust the necessary settings on your Windows 7 computer to achieve the optimal display resolution and refresh rate. A big part of setting up screen resolution, that is often overlooked, is making sure the appropriate “refresh rate” is set for your monitor.
To start, close down any open applications so you can see the desktop. Right-click on the desktop and select “Screen Resolution” from the menu. The “Screen Resolution” window will open where you can see a representation of your monitor.
Next, to change the resolution, click to select the drop down next to “Resolution:”. The resulting menu will list all the resolutions your monitor supports from low to high. Change the slider to a resolution of “1280 X 720”, and click the “Apply” button. Make sure to click “Apply” instead of “OK” as the former will revert back in 20 seconds if a problem arises. Click the “Keep Changes” button.
Now it’s time to set an appropriate refresh rate for your monitor. Click the “Advanced settings” link, which will open the advanced settings properties window. Click the “Monitor” tab, and under “Monitor Settings” you will see “Screen refresh rate:”. Change the drop-down menu to your highest supported refresh rate, which is usually 60 Hz for new LCD monitors. For CRT monitors, make sure to set it to at least 85 Hz to avoid eye strain caused by screen flickering.
Click the “Apply” button, and the “Display Settings” window will open asking if you want to keep the display settings. Click the “Yes” button, followed by the “OK” button to close the display properties window.
Now that we have the resolution set to a high enough level to provide a clear and detailed image, you might want to adjust the size of items on your screen to make them easier to read while still maintaining an optimal resolution. Click on the “Screen Resolution” window and then click the text link “Make text and other items larger or smaller”. This will open the appearance and personalization display screen.
Adjusting the settings here changes the size of icons, text, and other items while still preserving the display resolution. You can make everything a little bit larger by clicking to select the radio button next to “Medium – 125%”, and clicking the “Apply” button. You will receive a new window stating “You must log off your computer to apply these changes”. Click the “Log off now” button and log back into your computer.
Now that we have logged back into our system, we can see that the size of the icons, taskbar, start menu, and window menus are all larger, while the resolution is still the same. With these simple steps, you can optimize your display settings and create a more comfortable and productive working environment on your Windows 7 computer.