Pretty new monitor

My father in law got me a 20" flatscreen monitor for graduation. I was sceptical at first but it's pretty sweet.

I'm one of the few remaining people who actually preferred using a CRT--the big, chunky, old-style, non-flatscreen monitors. (I also prefer using Linux and I'm Jewish. Why does everything have to be a minority with me???) First of all, CRT's are brighter than LCD's. Second, they usually have much higher resolution; I think my old 19" CRT had double the resolution of my new 20" LCD, even though the LCD is physically bigger. Finally, I didn't see any actual reason to get an LCD. Sure they're easier to carry, but how often do you move your monitor? Sure it frees up desk space, but ergonomics require that you keep the screen at the same distance from your face. How many people actually use that extra two feet of space behind their monitor?

But, so far I like my new LCD. The screen quality is very nice, and even though it's not as bright as a CRT I think it's easier on the eyes. Since I'm going into law, eye strain is a big deal. Also, I AM using that extra two feet of space behind my monitor. I was able to put my scanner there, which cleared up extra space on my desk. The result: the entire front of my desk is free. That's going to come in handy when I start studying for the bar tomorrow.

Another benefit: the new monitor has DVI. It's a more sophisticated way for computers to send the picture to LCD's. I don't entirely understand it, but it's supposed to be better.

Here I ran into a problem: my computer didn't want to display the screen at full resolution. If you're not interested in the nerdy details, stop reading now (or skip to the bottom for a fun exchange between me & my wife).

My graphics card is an NVidia 5200 128MB. The monitor is a ViewSonic with a resolution of 1680x1050. I was able to get that resolution with very little trouble using the VGA cable, but not the DVI cable. I found the solution here. Here's the short version:

Open your xorg configuration:

sudo kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Find Section "Monitor" and add the following:

Option "UseEDIDFreqs" "FALSE"
Option "ModeValidation" "DFP-0: NoMaxPClkCheck, NoEdidMaxPClkCheck, AllowNon60HzDFPModes"

Type ctrl-shift-backspace to restart X. Worked for me!

You think I'm nerdy? My wife just asked me:

Wife: "Do you have heart disease, high blood pressure, an enlarged prostate, or narrow-angle glaucoma?"

Me: "Sure, why not."

Wife: "Then avoid tetrahydrozaline."

Me: "But I want to!!!"

I have no idea what she's talking about.