Computer Monitors have dimensions for width and height expressed in pixels and the set of which is named the native resolution. The monitor’s native resolution is maximum resolution that the monitor can display.

Your computer’s graphics processor unit (GPU) which outputs the signal to the monitor can be set to output in many different resolution (pixel width by height) settings to match different monitors.

For greatest clarity, the GPU resolution setting should be set to be the same as the monitor’s native resolution because this is the resolution that it was designed for.

However, if you are having difficulty viewing the monitor, such as the text is too small, you can choose a lower resolution that has the same aspect ratio. The trade of of everything appearing larger on screen is that the things don’t look quite as clear and less will be displayed the screen.

The aspect radio is the width divided by the height, expressed as a decimal, but also often expressed as width:height. If your GPU setting is not the same aspect ratio of the native resolution of your monitor, then things will ook out of proportion.

Here are some common resolution settings: