is this a dosbox question ?

Sorry, I know it's not a problem in DosBox, but my question is related to it because I'd like to play the games at their original resolution.

I'm using scaler=none in DosBox to get the maximum possible speed, but I cannot use the higher refresh rates that my monitor supports.

For people with CRT monitors, the main reason to use the scalers is to obtain higher refresh rates.

Wouldn't it be better to use the low resolutions and disable the scalers?

Regards.

I'm using scalers because of refresh rates? Huh? The main reason to use scalers is the look. Refresh rates are really just a side effect, and if you use something else than output=surface, you use fullfixed and fullresolution to work around display hardware limitations.

I use mostly scalers to mask ugly aspect ratio correction when running in a window...

Why do you want to achieve such a high refresh rate in the first place?

Your eyes won't probably notice any impromevent beyond 60-75Hz (frames).

I can tell the difference between 60 an 75, but any higher makes no difference.

Hi,

I can still notice a little bit of flicker at 75 Hz (although I cannot notice any flickering at 85 Hz or higher), honest.

Having 100 Hz at 320x200 would be the "holy grail" for me. I like to play the games at their original resolutions, without any scaling or filtering.

Heck, I even dumped my LCD monitor for a CRT one!

I've tried a lot of programs in order to overcome the 75 Hz limitation (ReForce, PowerStrip, RivaTuner, etc.), but it seems to be completely impossible.

I'm starting to think that it's a hardware limitation of NVIDIA cards.

Does anyone know why?

Regards.

Games that run in 320x200 are designed to run at 70 Hz. I don't know how DosBox works internally, but if you increase the refresh rate, those games that base their whole timing on the VBlank signal will either run too fast, or (if DosBox keeps the VBlank signal separate from the actual monitor refresh) you'll get tearing in smooth-scrolling games if your monitor has a non-matching refresh rate.

DOSBox definitely does not time anything off of the host refresh rate. I'd bet that DOSBox doesn't even know about the host refresh rate - that's something that SDL probably takes care of when DOSBox tells it to display what's being emulated.

I've got an answer from Unwinder, the author of RivaTuner:

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=162322

Unwinder wrote:

That's the driver's limitation. Old Detonators allowed VGA modes to use high refresh rates. I've no info why NV limits it now.

It seems that NVIDIA doesn't care about low resolution modes anymore...

That's torn it 🙁

If this is correct it's probably because LCD's are the main focus of ATI/Nvidia. Arent's LCD's limited to 60hz? So where's this 75hz come from? Do LCD's also use that?

LCDs most common refresh are 60, 72 and 75 Hz.

I get 76Hz with my Ati in 320x200 and 640x400 resolutions. All other are 85Hz.

Leolo, read my post again. It contains the solution to your problem.

`Moe`,

I think that we want different things. If I understand it correctly, you like scalers because they "improve" the image quality.

I don't want that. I prefer to see the image that the game designers intended.

What I want is to DISABLE the scalers. I want my monitor to display the original resolution of the game.

I agree that scalers are great for LCD users. But I think they are unnecessary if you own a CRT monitor.

I bought a CRT monitor just for that! I was tired of blurring and aspect ratio issues (my previous monitor was an LCD with a 5:4 aspect ratio, and getting it to display sharp images was a real pain).

Regards.

Leolo, do you have doublescan enabled in your drivers? This could be the reason for the forced low refresh rate.

If doublescan is already disabled, try scaler=normal2x. It just doubles the image in each dimension without smoothing anything. If you're in full screen, make sure to double the resolution to 640x400. Running in this higher resolution should (hopefully) let you set the refresh rate higher.

I believe that 320x200 resolutions ran at 60Hz on CGA and EGA devices and only on VGA card did they up the refresh rate to 70Hz. This would suggest that games with CGA and EGA graphics show tearing on VGA adapters. Also, Hercules cards used a 50Hz refresh rate.

I'm sure that SVGA cards running in EGA and CGA modes would be capable of driving the monitor at 60Hz for those modes. I don't know about plain VGA adapters though.

For many "static" games like adventures and role playing games, where the animation is somewhat limited, I doubt that any difference would be noticeable. I assu,e the increase in refresh rate was due to the fact that many people, including myself, can perceive flicker at 60Hz. Looking at a 60Hz display for long periods of time is an assault on the eyes. Office computers are especially offensive in this regard because they are always set to the "optimal" refresh rate. I always change the setting to 75Hz or 85Hz on any monitor I am regularly using.