An HD monitor issue and an ATI Radeon card upgrade question

[joea13]

Hey, everyone, I'm still relatively new to the tech-interest field, but I'm doing my best to gain knowledge while not annoying people too much with stupid questions, so please, bare with me.

Monitor issue: I have a Samsung SyncMaster PX2370 LED monitor. However, my computer's display refuses to fill the entire monitor. There is a black border around my computer display which appears between where the display ends and the edge of the physical screen. I'm sure there is some simple solution to fixing this, but if anyone can give any advice, I'd really appreciate it.

Video Card upgrade question: My pc runs two ATI Radeon HD 4850 video cards. If I wish to upgrade the graphics, can I switch out one at a time for newer, better cards, or do I have to change both at the same time? I just purchased an XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 card. Can I swap out just one of the cards for the new card and wait to replace the other until I can afford it, or should I just wait until I can afford another one and then replace them both? Also, if my pc opperates these dual graphics cards, will it be problematic if I run different graphics cards (i.e. one 4800 series, one 5700)? Or will there even be a visible difference?

Again, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much.

 

[Rabbit01]

The resolution of that monitor is 1920x1080, so check display properties or ATI Catalyst Control Center and make sure that's the setting.

Don't know much about running 2 video cards in one system, other than you'll need 2 identical cards if you want the Cross Fire functionality.

 

[joea13]

The resolution of that monitor is 1920x1080, so check display properties or ATI Catalyst Control Center and make sure that's the setting.

Don't know much about running 2 video cards in one system, other than you'll need 2 identical cards if you want the Cross Fire functionality.

Thanks so much for your help, I definitely appreciate it.

As for the graphics cards, I guess I'll need to do more research. I know the computer can support two, because that's how it functions now, but I'll have to look more into the logistics of upgrading.

On the monitor front, I checked ATI Catalyst Control Center and my resolution is already set to 1920x1080, but as mentioned, the display does not fit the monitor. I wonder why. Any other ideas? Thanks again!

 

[Rabbit01]

So you have 2 video cards, is each one outputting to a separate monitor? Looks like the HD 4850 has one of each: VGA, HDMI and DVI connection. Which of these are you using to connect to the monitor?

If you only have one monitor, have you tried plugging the cable to the 2nd video card? How about connecting the monitor to the card via different port? Say, try the HDMI if you're using the VGA or DVI.