Right click your desktop and click Screen resolution. Alternatively, you can click Start, type: screen resolution and hit Enter on your keyboard.

This will open the Screen Resolution item. Here you will see information about your Display, the current Resolution along with the orientation (normally Landscape).

If you would like to change the screen resolution, simply click in the resolutions available, as you can see, mine is set to 1680 x 1050 (recommended) highest, while lowest supported is 800 x 600. The higher, the better quality, most displays or graphics card only support a certain resolution, so yours might only stop at 1280 x 800 for instance. If you want to lower the resolution, simply drag the knob anywhere along the vertical line and Windows will adjust the display to support.

If you are satisfied with the results, click Apply and OK to confirm changes.

If you are sure your graphics card can power a much higher resolution and you are not seeing it as an available option, you may need to install updated drivers for the graphics card.

Also, some computers use something called shared graphics, which means the graphics in your system uses some of the main memory to help render the interface. So, if you have 2 GBs of RAM in your computer, some of it might allocated to graphics. Sometimes the manufacturer of your computer might be conservative and allocate just the bare minimum. If you would like to adjust this, consult the documentation that came with your computer, this often requires going into the BIOS settings for your computer.

If your computer has what is called a discrete graphics card or what is known as a dedicated video card from a known vendor such as AMD or Nvidia then you probably need to download the latest driver which can enable additional capabilities.

• AMD Graphics Drivers and Software
• Nvidia Graphics Drivers automatically detect Nvidia Products
• Intel’s Driver Update Utility helps you get latest drivers for graphics, audio, network, other components: http://is.gd/jQGR7

To find out more about your graphics card:

Click Start, type: dxdiag

Hit Enter on your keyboard

This will open the DirectX Diagnostics Tool window. Go to the Display tab, there you will see under Device information about graphics device you have installed in your system, such as the name, manufacturer, chip type. This information can be used to help find make and model on the manufacturer’s website. You will also notice under Drivers, the version installed, along with the last time it was updated and Driver model support. DirectX Features displays information about the capabilities of the card.

How to Change Screen Resolution in Windows is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

MacBook Air 11" versus Samsung Series 9 11"

Price

Surprisingly, the MacBook Air beats out the 11.6″ Series 9 in price. While Apple is typically known for higher prices, the 11 inch MacBook Air can be had for $999 from Apple, whereas the Samsung Series 9 11-inch notebook will run $1,199 from Samsung. You can find both of these models for roughly $50 off retail on occasion, but even with the discounts the MacBook Air is the clear winner.

Processor

The Samsung Series 9 has a 1.33GHz Intel Core i3 Mobile processor compared to the 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor found in the Base MacBook Air. While the MacBook Air has a faster clock speed, the Core 2 Duo is an older processor. This one is closer than you would expect because the 11.6″ Series 9 doesn’t use the new 2nd Generation Core i family of processors with faster speeds and greatly improved integrated graphics, but the Samsung Series 9 does come out on top here.

Storage

Both the base MacBook Air and the base Samsung Series 9 11.6″ notebooks come with a minimal 64GB of storage. Despite claims from Samsung that this means, “You’ll have room to bring it all with you,” users are likely to feel the strains pretty fast on both systems. Thankfully both of these notebook use Flash or SSD hard drives which deliver faster speeds and allow even slower processors to perform pretty amazingly. Storage is pretty much a draw when comparing these base models.

Display

Both of these notebooks use an 11.6″ display and deliver a relatively high, for this size, 1366 x 768 resolution that allows you to “see” more on the display. Both the MacBook Air and the Series 9 have a glossy display, but the Series 9 offers a 340 nit display for a “SuperBright” screen. Apple doesn’t list he nit rating for the display on the 11.6″ MacBook Air, which leaves us to go on the eye’s on comparisons we have had. Again, there’s not a clear winner here, so another draw.

Graphics

The MacBook Air comes with NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics with 256MB RAM and the Samsung Series 9 uses the integrated graphics that come with the first gen Core i family of processors. In this case, the MacBook Air takes an edge thanks to the more powerful discrete graphics, but the Series 9 fires back with Intel Wireless Display support. Ultimately, the more powerful graphics on the MacBook Air give it the edge, especially since you need a $99 adapter to use Wireless display.

RAM

The MacBook Air 11.6″ notebook comes with 2GB RAM as does the Samsung Series 9, but if you want to, you can upgrade the MacBook Air to 4GB RAM, something not possible on the Series 9 model. Even though you’ll need to pay more for the 4GB of RAM on the MacBook Air, it’s still the winner.

Battery

The Samsung Series 9 11.6″ notebook is rated for up to 7 hours of battery life compared to the 5 hours on the MacBook Air. Unfortunately, we can’t take Samsung at its word for 7 hours of battery life. This is another draw, since the end result with the Samsung Series 9 will likely be around 5 hours, and Apple is usually spot on with the battery life. Another draw here.

Finish

The MacBook Air has an aluminum unibody finish which is well known across the MacBook Pro line. This finish provides a strong body and a classy look for the MacBook Air. The Samsung Series 9 is made of duralumin, a material that Samsung claims is twice the strength of aluminum. This category comes down to personal preference. We do like the looks of the MacBook Air, but the Series 9 is just a sexier notebook in our opinion. We’ll call this one a draw as well, but deep down we know who the winner is.

Keyboard

Both of these notebooks have a chiclet style keyboard and offer a decently sized area for typing, but we have to choose the Samsung Series 9 as the winner because it has a backlit keyboard.

Connectivity and Ports

The MacBook Air 11″ has 2 USB 2.0 ports, a Display Port adapter, headphone jack and Bluetooth. The Samsung Series 9 has 1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, headphone, microphone, HDMI and built in network port as well as Bluetooth 3.0. In this case, the Samsung Series 9 has more ports, and more advanced tech. With just 64GB of internal storage, the USB 3.0 port will be very handy. The Samsung Series 9 is the winner.

Size

The Samsung Series 9 11.6″ notebook and the 11″ MacBook Air are pretty similar in size. As for the thickness, they both measure in at 0.65″ at the thickest. The Series 9 is slightly less wide, but a little more deep than the MacBook air. As for weight, the MacBook Air is 2.3 pounds and the Samsung Series 9 is 2.31 pounds. Unless you plan to measure and weigh your notebook every day, this is another draw.

Warranty

When you look at the long term longevity of a notebook, the inclusion of a longer warranty is important. Apple includes a one year warranty with the purchase of the MacBook Air. Samsung, however, includes a 3 year warranty with the Samsung Series 9, which is about as long as many consumers keep their laptops. The winner here is Samsung.

11″ Notebook Showdown Scorecard

MacBook Air – 3

Samsung Series 9 11.6″ – 4

Draw – 5

Overall 11″ Notebook Winner

It was a close one, and in the end it’s a photo finish. Despite the Series 9 having one more win than the MacBook Air 11″, the real winner will depend on which notebook fits your needs better. If price is key, then the MacBook Air is likely to be your choice, but if you want more ports, connectivity options and a newer processor then the Samsung Series 9 may be a better pick.

11″ Showdown: Samsung Series 9 Compared to the MacBook Air is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Mac OS X 10.6.7 can be downloaded  by clicking on the Apple in the upper left corner of your mac and choosing Software update. After the newest OS X version is found, you can download and install OS X 10.6.7.

The Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update for MacBook Pro is recommended for all early 2011 MacBook Pro models.  It includes general operating system fixes for Mac OS X Snow Leopard that enhance the stability, compatibility, performance, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

In addition to addressing the issues on the new MacBook Pro models, this update includes the following fixes;

• Improve the reliability of Back to My Mac
• Resolve an issue when transferring files to certain SMB servers
• Address various minor Mac App Store bugs
• Address minor FaceTime performance issues
• Improve graphics stability and external display compatibility

The Mac OS X fix is free and available to all current OS X Snow Leopard users. There is hope that this is the update could address some of the issues that a minority of users have had using their MacBook Air with external displays.

Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update Released with MacBook Pro 2011 Fixes, and more is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Fusion has both graphics and processor in one

Half of all notebooks are shipping this year with one of these two solutions, according to iSuppli. 63 Million of the 115 Million new notebooks will run cooler, longer and faster than similar computers previously shipped.

Benefits to Users

So why should you care? Do you like to play video games? This means that even though you don’t have a high-powered $1500 notebook, you should be able to fire up a lot of the video games on the market. We’ve seen $500-$700 computes with decent gaming prowess. While there will still be a place for cutting edge video cards inside notebooks to play the most intense and graphically rich games, the majority of mainstream games will work on these systems.

For those who don’t play games, there is still a benefit. If you like to video chat on your computer, the video encoding required for HD video chat cameras will be handled more easily with these computers compared to previous low-cost notebooks with integrated Intel graphics. That means your ugly mug will not be as ugly to your friends or family members as they Skype with you.

Intel Sandy Bridge incorporates both the CPU and graphics

Another task that will benefit from this shift is video encoding. If you like to shoot HD video with a high-powered camera or just a small one like the Flip Ultra HD, the process of actually exporting that video from the editing software should be cut down by enough to be noticeable.

Also, these task above won’t tax the battery as much as they once did. These processors, with the graphics built into them, are less power-hungry and run cooler. It only makes sense when you have one chip doing the work of what took two previously did that power consumption would be cut down significantly. This results in either longer battery life or no decrease despite more power.

In other words, if the computer would have been able to run for four hours with two separate chips – one for processing and one for graphics – it might run for 5-6 hours now. Or a computer that ran for 5 hours but didn’t have a graphics processor powerful enough for the above tasks, will now be able to do them. But the computer’s battery will still last the same length.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0razbZBWe0

Explanation of AMD Fusion Chip

This much of an improvement likely comes at a steep increase in price right? Nope! In fact because fewer parts are needed to make the computer, it is actually either cheaper or the same price. There should not be a price increase for this extra power. Its like getting sports car at the price of a compact!

Keep checking back with Notebooks.com to learn about more about these Intel Sandy Bridge and AMD Fusion computers. We’ve covered quite a few of them from both AMD and Intel being released or announced already and we will continue to let you know when they are being released.

Via DailyTech

Half of All Notebooks will Ship with a Graphics Enabled Processor in 2011 is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Apple had utilized NVIDIA’s solutions exclusively in the current generation pre-refresh MacBook Pros for dedicated/discrete GPU as well as integrated GPU power, but the Mac-maker may be dumping NVIDIA in favor of rival GPU-maker AMD, which had acquired ATI’s graphics business.

CNET again reports that “AMD ‘discrete’ graphics silicon is now offered in the larger, more powerful MBPs. As in previous MacBook Pros, the discrete graphics chip is only fired up when heavy lifting is needed. When power savings is paramount or high-end graphics processing is not necessary, the system defaults to Intel’s graphics.” The AMD discrete GPU will be found on Apple’s 15- and 17-inch systems, while the lower-end 13-inch notebook will utilize Intel’s integrated GPU solely.

Chatter of the AMD transition was reported late last year by Kevin, but at the time it was believed to be a negotiation ploy by Apple. The news has recently been brought up again by CNET earlier along with the site’s speculations that Apple will standardize its MacBook Pro offerings on Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors.

While Intel is claiming better performance with its integrated GPU solution, there still exists a need for a more powerful professional Mac notebook with discrete graphics. This space, will soon be filled by AMD if CNET’s postulations prove to be correct. As Apple is speculated to be announcing its MacBook Pro refresh today, we’ll have a few more hours to wait and see what the company’s official plans are for the MacBook line as it transitions to Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors.

AMD Discrete Graphics to Power New High-End Apple MacBook Pros? is a post by Chuong Nguyen from Notebooks.com.

The AMD Radeon HD 6000M GPU Family contains the following GPU models;

• HD 6900M – Gaming
• HD 6800M – Gaming
• HD 6700M – Performance
• HD 6600M – Performance
• HD 6500M – Performance
• HD 6400M – Mainstream
• HD 6300M – Thin and Light

AMD is positioning the new Radeon HD 6000M line to hit the numerous user groups including hardcore gamers, performance minded users, mainstream consumers and those looking for a thin and light computing experience.

For gamers, the AMD Radeon HD 6000M series is promising better tessellation, enhanced image quality and improved efficiency for DirectCompute and gaming.

The AMD Radeon HD 6000M GPUs will support AMD Eyefinity technology for a better multi-display experience and support DisplayPort 1.2 and HMDI 1.4a. The GPU series will also support AMD HD3D for a stereo 3D experience.

AMD Catalyst software for notebooks also brings a new experience to users with more efficient graphics switching, AMD PowerPlay technology to conserve power for longer battery life and what AMD is calling the next generation of Vari-Bright which the company claims can deliver up to 50% in power savings over the precious generation.

We expect to see several notebooks announced with the new AMD Radeon HD 6000M GPUs at CES 2011 in Las Vegas this week.

AMD Radeon HD 6000M GPU Announced at CES 2011 is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Sandy Bridge is the name Intel has given to its newest version of processors which will be officially unveiled in January. It not only includes the CPU but also the graphics engine in one small chip, saving room and money for manufacturers.

Up until now Intel graphics have been synonymous with lower performance in computers designed for simple office related tasks and low end laptops. So why would Apple be wiling to go in that direction when they are usually seen as a high end laptop manufacturer?

The reason is that the Sandy Bridge technology is said to perform better than the current combination of Intel Core 2 Duo processors along with the NVIDIA graphics found in Apple’s MacBook, MacBook Pro 13″ and MacBook Air models.

Apple likely chose to stay with the older Intel Core 2 Duo chips in order to maintain the size and cost of their less expensive models. Another factor was a legal dispute between Intel and NVIDIA that might keep manufacturers from using NVIDIA graphics with Intel CPSs. This new chip from Intel will allow Apple to continue to hit price points and space requirements in smaller models while offering better performance.

The CNET report also said that larger size MacBook Pros will possibly replace the NVIDIA graphics for AMD chips. However, they also pointed out that this could all be a negotiating ploy by Apple.

Apple Poised to Switch Smaller MacBooks to Intel Graphics is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

While the events at IDF are geared for developers and “geeks” we wanted to break down what the new Sandy Bridge processor platform means for you, the average consumer, so that you can make a smart shopping decision now and in the future.

What is Sandy Bridge, and why should I care?

Sandy Bridge processors are the next version of the Intel Core i processors that you’ll find inside many notebooks at Best Buy and other retailers. These newer processors have many differences from those currently on store shelves, but the biggest is that they are designed to give you more graphics power without paying extra for a discrete graphics solution.

Currently users who want to play modern games or edit HD photos and video faster pay a premium for a discrete, or higher end graphics solution from ATI or NVIDIA (you’ll know if your notebook has this by looking for a fancy name like GeForce or Radeon on a sticker on your palmrest). Next year when the new notebooks come out in January and February with Sandy Bridge processors they will have better graphics power that, in theory, will allow users to play games and other multimedia tasks without a discrete GPU.

According to Tom Piazza, an Intel Fellow, the graphics solution in the Intel Sandy Bridge processors will allow users to play mainstream games on their laptops, with the integrated graphics.

Credit: Laptop Mag

At the keynote Intel showed off a laptop running the recently released StarCraft II video game running on a Sandy Bridge processor without the need for a discrete graphics processor like those you’ll currently find in gaming notebooks like the Alienware M11x.

How will Sandy Bridge Affect the Price of my next notebook?

According to Laptop Mag, a developer said that you will save money on your next notebook purchase because you won’t need to buy a more expensive discrete graphics option. But it should be noted that there is no word on how the price of a Sandy Bridge notebook compares to the price of a notebook powered by a current gen Intel Core i processor with discrete graphics.

How will Sandy Bridge affect editing my pictures and video from my HD camcorder?

Yes! According to Laptop Mag, who was at the demo, Intel compared it to a notebook on store shelves today and saw that, “he Sandy Bridge system enhanced some photos more than twice as quickly as the original gen system. In the second, Sandy Bridge took mere moments to transcode 1080p video.”

What about battery life on Sandy Bridge processors?

According to Intel, users will experience better battery life thanks to optimizations in the processor, turbo mode and the integrated graphics we talked about. During the keynote and demonstration there was no specific information given about how much longer notebooks with a new Sandy Bridge CPU should last so we won’t be able to tell if the power savings will be noticeable until the systems arrive in early 2011.

Should I wait until Sandy Bridge processors come out before buying a notebook?

The easy answer for most consumers is, No. While the integrated graphics on Sandy Bridge processors next year will be more powerful than the processors on the market today there isn’t a significant reason for consumers to hold off on purchasing a new notebook, especially with many new laptop models just announced last week. On the other hand, if you are planning to purchase a notebook with your Christmas money, you may want to see what the companies show off at CES 2011 in early January.

via Laptop Mag and Intel

What is Intel Sandy Bridge, and What it Means for Consumers is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

In the past, consumers were forced to prioritize notebook performance or battery life, as one feature typically suffers significantly in order to accommodate the other. You could have long battery life from an underpowered notebook, or all the GPU power you desired from a notebook without extra long battery life.  As of today, those days are behind us.

A new technology for notebooks called NVIDIA Optimus is available today on systems from Asus. Just as a Hybrid car chooses between the gas-powered and electric car engine on-the-fly and uses the most appropriate engine, NVIDIA Optimus technology does the same thing for graphics processors.

NVIDIA Optimus is a game changer for the notebook PC industry. It intelligently and seamlessly manages graphics performance while extending battery life to provide the best notebook PC experience.”

- Dr. Jon Peddie, President of Jon Peddie Research, a pioneer of the graphics industry and a leading analyst

NVIDIA Optimus optimizes the mobile experience by letting the user get the performance of discrete graphics from a notebook, while still delivering great battery life. Optimus accomplishes this by automatically and seamlessly selecting the right graphics processor for the job between an NVIDIA discrete GPU or Intel integrated graphics.

Older technology called switchable graphics helped address the performance/battery life balance, but there were still several issues. Switchable graphics was pioneered by NVIDIA about 2 years ago and quickly adopted by other graphics companies. With switchable graphics, users have the advantage of having access to discrete and integrated graphics. However, they are required to manually switch between the two display adapters. Switching also often requires shutting down applications that are running and sometimes requires rebooting the system.  Also, with switchable graphics often users do not know or remember what state their notebook is in. The result:  users get frustrated and rarely switch.

Switchable graphics is a great idea in theory, but in practice people rarely switch between integrated and discrete GPUs.  The process is just too cumbersome and confusing.  Some buyers wonder why their performance is so poor when they think the discrete GPU is active, but, unknown to them, it isn’t.  Optimus fixes what is broken with switchable graphics.”

- Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates, one of the computer industry’s best-known market intelligence analysts

Optimus offers notebook users a far better user experience.  Optimus is automatic. Optimus determines the best processor for the workload and routes it accordingly, with the decision being entirely transparent to the user.

Optimus is switchable graphics done right.  No toggles, no reboots, no thinking.   Finally, there is an optimized notebook solution that painlessly gives notebook users both the performance they want and the battery life they need.”

- Rob Enderle, President and Principal Analyst of the Enderle Group, one of the most influential technology pundits in the world

With more and more processing being done on the GPU, the significance of Optimus becomes increasingly more important.  GPU Computing is the use of the massively parallel architecture of the graphics processing unit (GPU) as a computational engine that can be programmed with high level languages and APIs. We already have a great roster of applications that run on the NVIDIA CUDA architecture that consumers love. In fact, video is the killer application for the GPU, and a number of new video applications are able to tap into the computing power of the GPU thanks to CUDA.  Adobe has added support for GPU computing to their popular CS4 Suite, Flash 10.1 and their Mercury Playback Engine.

NVIDIA Optimus is designed to work in ways consumers expect hardware and software to work together, it’s simple and seamless. We worked closely with NVIDIA to enable Adobe Flash Player 10.1 to take advantage of GPU acceleration whenever possible.  As a result, consumers get the benefit of maximum battery life and the best multimedia experience when browsing the web.”

- David Wadhwani, general manager & vice president, Platform Business Unit, Adobe, which is redefining business, entertainment and personal communications by setting new standards for producing and delivering content

ASUS N61JV with NVIDIA Optimus

Notebooks with NVIDIA Optimus technology will be available shortly, starting with the Asus UL50Vf, N61Jv, N71Jv, N82Jv, and U30Jc notebooks.

We are all hands-on-deck to bring this innovative new technology into the consumer market.  NVIDIA Optimus is a unique approach that solves the problem of users having to choose between systems and graphics performance versus extended battery life. ASUS’ powerful multimedia N series and the thin and light UL series notebooks will adopt this new technology, and in doing so provide our users with powerful multimedia enjoyment at home or on-the-go.”

- P.C. Wang, Corporate Vice President & General Manager, Notebook Business Unit System Business Group of ASUS

Optimus is new and is a level beyond switchable graphics.  Optimus is able to automatically give users the performance they need while also maximizing battery life, transparently, and with zero effort.  It just works.

The genius of NVIDIA Optimus is in its simplicity. One can surf the web and get great battery life and when one needs the extra horsepower for applications like Adobe Flash 10.1, Optimus automatically switches to the more powerful NVIDIA GPU.”

-said Dr. Jon Peddie, President of Jon Peddie Research, a pioneer of the graphics industry and a leading analyst.

For more information on NVIDIA Optimus technology, side by side videos and additional details, visit http://www.nvidia.com/optimus.

Optimus Makes it Simple is a post by Rene Haas from Notebooks.com.

Notebooks equipped with an NVIDIA or ATI GPU can be significantly more expensive than base models.

It used to be that any question about graphics came back to whether or not the purchaser was a gamer, but not anymore.

You don’t have to take my word for it; check out what Sanford Russell, general manager of the CUDA group at NVIDIA has to say about what a GPU can do for you.

An NVIDIA GPU is for more than just games. It is the perfect processor for manipulating pictures, video and other visual data, and CUDA is what makes this possible. It’s great to see CyberLink at the forefront of this technology trend.

Having a GPU in your computer can improve performance when dealing with pictures and other media because the Central Processing Unit (CPU) which typically processing requests can offload some requests to the GPU which makes for a speedier experience.

One example of this technology is the new NVIDIA CUDA technology which is used by CyberLink’s newest MediaShow software. For example the new MediaShow 5 photo and video suite from CyberLink boasts a 50% faster analysis time when sorting and tagging photos on computers using a CUDA GPU.

What’s that mean in practical terms? According to CyberLink it means that with a CUDA GPU and MediaShow 5, “anyone [can] tag the faces in 1000 photos within 10 minutes.” If you take as many photos as my wife that can mean the difference between spending 30 minutes processing a week’s worth of pictures and blocking out an hour to tag the faces in her photos.

Another practical reason to get a GPU when buying a new computer is that it speeds video conversions by up to 10 times meaning that you’ll be able to convert a file for your Zune, PSP or iPhone quicker than someone without a GPU and an application like MediaShow 5.

So if you find yourself working with pictures all the time, converting video files or otherwise doing visually intensive work on your computer it’d be worth your time and money to look for a powerful GPU in your next computer. Keep your eyes peeled for computers like the Lenovo S12 which will soon ship with an NVIDIA ION GPU and other computers coming this fall which can take advantage of the CUDA processing power.

Do You Need a GPU? It’s For More Than Gaming! is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.