Bad videocard performance in portrait mode

Question

Since I develop software for a living, I really cannot have enough vertical space, so I have started using my work monitors in portrait mode. I am very happy with the way this works out from a general usability perspective, but I have noticed a number of applications that seem to refresh their screens more frequently than they need to, or that do not refresh as quickly as they used to.

I am running a Dell Optiplex 755 with integrated Q35 graphics adapter, connected to dual 19" Dell monitors (1280x1024) that have been tilted into portrait mode.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what I might check / fix to get this to work better? Or is this an inherent problem in the chipset / Windows / the application?

The most prominent example appears to be PL/SQL Developer, which when I maximise a view of a table structure or query output does something in the order of 8-9 refreshes before the display actually comes up, but only when I maximise the view within the app. However, this is not the only app; Lotus Notes also seems to be more sluggish in its updates even if it does not redraw as often as PL/SQL Developer.

(If this were my own machine, I would consider just getting better behaved apps, if any, but this is my work machine, and I cannot replace these applications with my personal preferences)

Answer 1

I'm sure you've checked this, but it sounds like a driver or middleware issue. If you're not using the Intel drivers to rotate the screen output, I would try uninstalling whatever you are using, updating to the latest Intel drivers and seeing if that makes a difference. If not, checking to see if you can give your onboard card more memory in the BIOS might be reasonable. And while it would suprise me if either of the apps you mention used directx, updating directx may also fix some redrawing issues.