It's not a dumb question at all, particularly if he's using an LCD monitor. One of the advantages of CRT monitors was their ability to handle a wide variety of resolutions and vertical refresh rates. LCDs, on the other hand, usually have a "native" resolution at which they are designed to operate and choosing any other rez than that can result in a variety of display issues. Many of the standard rules that applied to setting up for CRTs don't apply to LCDs, such as vertical refresh rates which, on CRTs, were always suggested higher than 60Hz to avoid flickering and eye fatigue. LCDs do not display the same way and 60Hz vertical refresh works fine. The Radeon X1650 Pro is listed as capable of around 2500x1600 max rez, depending on the brand, so it would be logical to assume you could find a compatible rez somewhere along the line.
It is expected that you would see a primary and secondary listed under your Hardware Manager's "Display Adapter" after installing the drivers. If you uninstall them, the computer will revert to SVGA so you can still have a display with which to continue your work (i.e., installing/updating display drivers). You might even want to try an earlier version of the Catalyst drivers. Sometimes the latest isn't always the greatest for your particular card. Good luck, I hope you can sort it out and set sail soon.
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Spectre
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