MultiRes

 

2001.11.07

Program and documentation Copyright (c) 1995-2001, EnTech Taiwan. All Rights Reserved.

 

Using MultiRes to change display settings 

 

MultiRes works very much like a 32-bit version of the venerable Microsoft QuickRes 16-bit applet for Windows 95, 
with extended capabilities to handle refresh rates and multiple monitors. Supported resolution and refresh 
rates are accessible from a simple menu that pops up from the system tray. An optional timed confirmation 
prompt – enabled by default in the program About box – ensures that any changes you make can be reversed 
safely, without fuss. While MultiRes - unlike EnTech’s PowerStrip - does not allow you to define new display 
settings, it does give you quick and easy access to the ones the driver makes available – in a simple, compact 
and conservative package. 

 

Using MultiRes to lock refresh rates under Windows NT/2000/XP

 

Applications and games that switch display settings without specifying a specific refresh rate often end up 
running at the lowest refresh rate supported by the display adapter in the interests of protecting your monitor 
against too-high frequencies. With primary display adapters the refresh rate can under many – but 
certainly not all – circumstances be controlled by MultiRes if it is running. If MultiRes is running and 
the “Lock refresh rate” option has been enabled in the program About box (it is disabled by default), 
MultiRes will try to enforce the refresh rates you have previously selected, on a resolution by color depth basis.

 

Example 1:

You frequently run Direct3D or OpenGL games at 800x600x32bpp, but they default to 60Hz whereas you wish to run 
them at 100Hz. To resolve this problem with MultiRes, do the following:

 

enable “Lock refresh rates” in the MultiRes About box 
switch your desktop to “TrueColor (32 bit) - 800x600” in the MultiRes menu 
switch your desktop to a refresh rate of 100Hz in the MultiRes > Refresh Rate menu (this records 100Hz as your 
preferred refresh rate whenever the display switches to 800x600x32bpp) 
switch back to your normal desktop resolution 
 

In future, whenever you run a program that switches to 800x600x32bpp, MultiRes will attempt to impose a 
refresh rate of 100Hz on it, as well as on all resolutions below it for which a refresh rate has not been 
explicitly selected. For higher resolutions, steps 2 and 3 must be repeated as needed.

 

Example 2

Your monitor and graphics card support up to 1600x1200 at 85Hz, and you want all resolutions locked at 85Hz.  
Do the following:

 

enable “Lock refresh rates” in the MultiRes About box 
witch your desktop to “TrueColor (32 bit) - 1600x1200” (or any other color depth) in the MultiRes menu 
switch your desktop to a refresh rate of 85Hz in the MultiRes > Refresh Rate menu (this records 85Hz as your 
preferred refresh rate whenever the display switches to 1600x1200 and all lower resolutions) 
switch back to your normal desktop resolution 
 

Important!:  If you cannot select a specific refresh rate for the desktop in Windows Display properties, 
MultiRes will not able to provide it, much less lock it down.