rMBP Windows at 1440x900

[Logged]

Is it possible to get Windows to run at 1440x900? I have the latest Windows 8 release installed and that resolution is not listed in the control panel. There's an option in the Nvidia control panel to use a custom resolution but it warns me about voiding my warranty or something.

I only need Windows for a couple games and it would be nice to get everything on 1440x900. As it is I'm running Windows at 2880x1800 with +50% text size, and games look awful at 1680x1050.

Is this a Windows 8 specific issue, do Windows 7 users get to use the 1440x900 option? It's funny how the Retina display was designed to make everything look better...

Thanks.

 

[GGJstudios]

Is it possible to get Windows to run at 1440x900?

Apple - MacBook Pro with Retina display - Technical Specifications

Supported resolutions: 2880 by 1800 pixels (Retina); scaled resolutions: 1920 by 1200, 1680 by 1050, 1280 by 800, and 1024 by 640 pixels

 

[stevelam]

Is it possible to get Windows to run at 1440x900? I have the latest Windows 8 release installed and that resolution is not listed in the control panel. There's an option in the Nvidia control panel to use a custom resolution but it warns me about voiding my warranty or something.

I only need Windows for a couple games and it would be nice to get everything on 1440x900. As it is I'm running Windows at 2880x1800 with +50% text size, and games look awful at 1680x1050.

Is this a Windows 8 specific issue, do Windows 7 users get to use the 1440x900 option? It's funny how the Retina display was designed to make everything look better...

Thanks.

what exactly are you asking here? are you talking about trying to get 1440x900 hidpi mode in windows and get all the retina-optimized stuff like on osx? if so, not possible.

and whatever games you're playing should support its own resolution switching anyway. i don't see how a game looking awful at 1680 is going to be any better at 1440. if anything it'll be worse.

 

[Logged]

what exactly are you asking here? are you talking about trying to get 1440x900 hidpi mode in windows and get all the retina-optimized stuff like on osx? if so, not possible.

and whatever games you're playing should support its own resolution switching anyway. i don't see how a game looking awful at 1680 is going to be any better at 1440. if anything it'll be worse.

I'd be happy if I could get Windows to think it's dealing with a 1440x900 display and use 4 real/display pixels per generated/software pixel. Basically running the display at half resolution. I've seen a video of someone running BF3 at 1440x900 on the rMBP on YouTube. I don't even get the option to run it at that resolution.

Also, I'm pretty sure the Apple tech specs are only relevant to Mac OS. There's absolutely no technical reason why Windows shouldn't be able to use a 1440x900 resolution. I'm installing Windows 7 right now.

 

[iMacDragon]

I'd be happy if I could get Windows to think it's dealing with a 1440x900 display and use 4 real/display pixels per generated/software pixel. Basically running the display at half resolution. I've seen a video of someone running BF3 at 1440x900 on the rMBP on YouTube. I don't even get the option to run it at that resolution.

Also, I'm pretty sure the Apple tech specs are only relevant to Mac OS. There's absolutely no technical reason why Windows shouldn't be able to use a 1440x900 resolution. I'm installing Windows 7 right now.

Using drivers frop laptopvideo2go you'll be able to select that resolution. for some unknown reason the 'official' drivers don't support it.

The bad news is that nvidia/ati drivers will not do a 'perfect' upscaling using four pixels to represent 1, they'll still apply filtering to the result so it won't actually look any better than say 1650x1050.

 

[Logged]

Is it possible that Apple/Nvidia may add the real 1440x900 resolution in the future, or that someone will create a work around? I really don't understand why they would not support a "native" 1440x900 considering the Retina display is new for PCs, and requires third-party developer support to really make it usable. I like the fact that the rMBP is thin and light but I wish they offered one without the Retina display.

 

[mykelala01]

That is why not everyone needs a retina display. Especially if you gonna use it for gaming on bootcamp. You should stick with Hi-Res display and play your games, without worrying what native resolution you should use.

 

[Dangerous Theory]

I think 1680x1050 is nice, definitely gonna be better than 900p. 1920x1200 is a sweet spot in a lot of games though.

 

[Logged]

That is why not everyone needs a retina display. Especially if you gonna use it for gaming on bootcamp. You should stick with Hi-Res display and play your games, without worrying what native resolution you should use.

In that case anyone who needs something beyond Apple apps and a few third party apps doesn't need a Retina display. I can get over blurry text in games, but I can't even imagine how people who need accurate graphics capabilties feel about this top-of-the-line Pro model.

Not including a 1440x900 fallback resolution is simply moronic regardless of what you need it for. There are at least 10 other resolution options in the Control Panel. Also the laptopvideo2go drivers did not add any resolution options.

 

[dusk007]

It should be there.
I can hardly test it but in theory you can force in any game just about any resolution.

I always used to hack the wide screen resolution that didn't work in the old games I played by default.
It might be that the display doesn't accept 1440x900 but the gaming engine should be much more flexible at that.

Those hacks are usually just as simple as forcing a custom res in Windows.
Usually all that is needed is to find the settings files that the game saves somewhere after you first run it and save some settings. Open it change the res and start the game. Usually it eats whatever is set just fine. Obviously any change in the in game graphics settings requires a redo.

Custom Windows res works too. Never tried that though.
http://www.mp3car.com/lcd-display/42122-tutorial-forcing-custom-resolution-in-windows.html

Some people seem to get a 1440x900 option.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrbNFSanv2E

 

[JacaByte]

Dude, pixel doubling is so 90's.

 

[tninety]

Apple - MacBook Pro with Retina display - Technical Specifications

That

1. Has barely anything to do with what he's asking
2. Doesn't answer the question.

The resolution he wants to be shown in Windows is not a "scaled" resolution but native 1440x900. This is obviously possible because 1440x900 can be selected in games and works, but the Windows driver doesn't support it.

It must be easy visiting threads and posting irrelevant links when you don't understand what the thread is asking.

 

[mykelala01]

In that case anyone who needs something beyond Apple apps and a few third party apps doesn't need a Retina display. I can get over blurry text in games, but I can't even imagine how people who need accurate graphics capabilties feel about this top-of-the-line Pro model.

Not including a 1440x900 fallback resolution is simply moronic regardless of what you need it for. There are at least 10 other resolution options in the Control Panel. Also the laptopvideo2go drivers did not add any resolution options.

I think running Windows on rMBP
Is on the last list of Apple engineers priority. As long as Mac OS and Apple "made" apps are optimized for retina. They don't effing care, if your text or graphics is blurry on the other apps.

 

[gentlefury]

Why would you run at low res? Run at 2880x1800 with 200% dpi. That's what I do and it looks great!

 

[wirelessness]

I can't say I've tried what you are doing but running Win7 in a Parallels VM 1440x900 is fully supported and it looks the best out the other available options. I don't have a Windows Boot Partition to try and test it though....now I'm curious.

 

[Tea-Aholic]

Why would you run at low res? Run at 2880x1800 with 200% dpi. That's what I do and it looks great!

Not sure about Windows 8, but on Windows 7, some elements look like they have been scaled to a further 200% making it 400%. Not a good look.

To the OP, you can run the display at 1440x900. It's not available in the Control Panel, but you can go to NVIDIA's Control Panel (right-click on Desktop) you can make a custom 1440x900 @60Hz which will then show up on Control Panel.