Maybe google for dxdiag (should be in the system32 folder or so).

Text mode is 640x400 unless you use a CVS build with machine=vgaonly.

No, I downloaded my binaries from dosbox homepage. It's teh current version. And my monitor sets a 720x400@70hz mode for dosbox.
Text mode runs in this resolution/refresh and jazz jazckrabbit runs like that too.

Tried dxdiag. Overdriven refresh rate, and set to 60Hz. EVEN SO, my monitor is set at 720x400@70hz when launching dosbox in fullscreen mode!
Weird...

my monitor is set at 720x400@70hz when launching dosbox

Does the monitor say it's running at 720x400?

Your monitor might not sync to less than 70 Hz at 720x400. Try disabling "Hide modes that this monitor can't display" (or equivalent such as querying monitor EDID using DDC) if you want to try it.

Yes, the monitor says it's runnnig at 720x400@70hz.

I think this monitor is setting and approximate resolution, not the Dosbox is really running at.

Is it about DDC? how can I disable this feature? Maybe I am totally wrong...

If your Monitor is connected via VGA analog, the horizontal resolution the monitor shows means very little, because there is no easy way for the monitor to detect it.

My monitor for example always reports 640x400 for any of the 70Hz 400-scanline standard VGA modes (320x200, 640x200, 640x400, 360x400, 720x400...)

So the 720 probably has no meaning.

So DOS games ran at 70hz originally???

I thought they were runnnig at standard 60Hz...
Is there any way to force DOSBOX into a 60HZ mode, or to force 60Hz in those 400 scanline modes instead of 70Hz?

"DOS games" as such did not run at 70 Hz, it depended on the graphics card.

Not counting non-standard modes, it's as follows:

MDA and Hercules used 70 Hz. CGA and EGA used 60 Hz. VGA used 70Hz for 350 and 400 line modes (including double-scanned 200 Line modes), and 60 Hz for 480 line modes. For SVGA there was no single standard.

You can try playing around with custom modes if your graphics driver offers them. NVIDIA does, I don't know about the others.

I found this file trough my old bbs's files, maybe its useful.

its an ascii file, maybe you must rename it to another extension.

its here too:
http://moscoso.org/pub/asme/GRAPH/VGA.LST

> MDA and Hercules used 70 Hz.

50Hz 😉

h-a-l-9000 wrote:

50Hz 😉

I just quoted the info from the German Wikipedia article. Which, I assume, is wrong then?

The 50Hz show up on quite a few websites and match my own observations. In hercules graphics mode it seems to have around 55Hz.

Why can't we make programs set the graphics cards's and monitor's refresh rates according to needs today? And why can't LCD monitors sync down to 50hz (so we could watch PAL videos without skipping frames) It seems like technology is degrading on a steady basis. Shame.

You wouldn't buy it anymore because it costs $5.26 more than the competing product 😉

DOSBox can't set the refresh rate because SDL can't.

h-a-l-9000 wrote:

You wouldn't buy it anymore because it costs $5.26 more than the competing product 😉

DOSBox can't set the refresh rate because SDL can't.

Or rather, because SDL 1.2 can't. AFAIK SDL 1.3 adds that possibility, but it never ever seems to get done. 1.3 is becoming the Duke Nukem Forever of libraries...

Of course you can trick DOSBox (or rather SDL 1.2) into using your favourite refresh rates by making sure only the refresh rate you want exists for a given resolution. A simple matter of a couple of Modelines in Linux, not so easy in Windows though.

TeaRex wrote:

Of course you can trick DOSBox (or rather SDL 1.2) into using your favourite refresh rates by making sure only the refresh rate you want exists for a given resolution. A simple matter of a couple of Modelines in Linux, not so easy in Windows though.

You can do it with PowerStrip in Windows.

A free solution is RefreshForce. Also, Nvidia's drivers have (or had) a refresh rate override function (has to be enabled in the registry to show up). Radeon drivers have a refresh rate override function too (you can force fullscreen app refresh rates to "same as desktop").