Graphics Control Panel For Power Users

If you like to have granular control over all aspects of your system graphics, a tool you need to look at is PowerStrip. This tool works with just about any graphics card out there and can typically provide many more options than the manufacturer’s control panel.

[PowerStrip is] a simple menu that pops up from the system tray provides access to some 500 controls over your display hardware, including sophisticated color correction tools, period level adjustments over screen geometry, and driver independent clock controls.

Just to name a few uses, this can be a great tool for gamers who want realtime control over the current color and lighting, or users who want to change their refresh rate to an option not available in Windows.

PowerStrip is offered as shareware, but if you find it useful it is probably well worth the price.

Like what you read?

If so, please join over 28,000 people who receive our exclusive weekly newsletter and computer tips, and get FREE COPIES of 5 eBooks we created, as our gift to you for subscribing. Just enter your name and email below:

Pat M
I can give a testimonial for Powerstrip. I was having trouble with using my widescreen monitor after doing a Windows XP install on a new-built machine with a Gigabyte motherboard. It would not allow the setting of widescreen resolutions like 1680×1050 which is the native res. for the 22″ monitor or a 1440×900 setting either. They simply were not available. After a lot of digging and research, it turned out that Windows was not enabling those resolutions. This may have been caused by reading the wrong .inf file from the monitor maker but I’m not sure.
I downloaded and installed Powerstrip based on a recommendation from a Tech Support message board. It has many options but the one that saved me was that it can create entries for video settings and then installs them in the proper places in the Windows Registry. If the setting you need is one of the standard settings, this is a snap. Custom settings can be done also. This saved me after 2 or 3 evenings of frustration. I used it as shareware but if I had to use it again, I would register and pay.