LimingWang

Q: Higher Display Option for External Monitor

I recently got an external monitor with a resolution of 1980x1080 to connect to my 4K resolution iMac. I expect that when I connect the monitors, the external monitor should also display a resolution of 1980x1080, but for some reason, system preferences only lets me choose 1280x1024 or 800x600 for the display. If I choose "Default for display", the screen displays 800x600. Is there a way to make the external display have a better resolution?

Screen Shot 2016-05-10 at 3.01.40 PM.png

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on May 10, 2016 1:03 PM

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Q: Higher Display Option for External Monitor

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  • by norm123,

    norm123 norm123 May 11, 2016 1:46 PM in response to LimingWang
    Community Specialists
    May 11, 2016 1:46 PM in response to LimingWang

    Hey LimingWang,

    I understand that you are having issues with the resolution of your secondary display hooked up to your iMac. Let's go over some troubleshooting options to get you to the best resolution possible for it. 

    One thing I would look at is the type of connection you have. Are you using DVI, VGA or Thunderbolt? I would look to trying a different adapter or type of connection to see if that changes things. Another thing to try is to reset the SMC and NVRAM to reset that connection as well as the resolution settings for your iMac. Take a look at the at the article below to go over this and some additional troubleshooting steps to get you sorted out. 

    Get help with video issues on external displays connected to your Mac
    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201177


    Take it easy