Does Display Adapter control maximum resolution?

Just acquired Asus PB278Q monitor on sale which is described as having the choice of a 2500 wide resolution.It is plugged in with the DVI cable. This is a Jan 2016 product and the store was clearing out older stock. The current Asus monitor was 200.00 more. I didn't realize it was not being supported in Asus opinion.
I get my typical 1980 wide with the Radeon R7 240...that is the max. choice.
Windows 10 labels this monitor as a generic pnp and doesn't recognize the last Win7-Win8 inf file. I searched and downloaded that file and the report was 'the most current is installed'
This R7 240 is on the most recent Catalyst drivers. Its info panel recognizes the actual name of the monitor.

I'm accustomed to the current resolution but I wondered what the higher resolution would be like to use.
The monitor calibrated and is fine overall I just am curious if it is possible to have the choice of the maximum resolution. Is the route to this acquiring a more recent display adapter?

According to the data I have on that AMD chipset, it says Max resolution: Single Link DVI 1920 x 1080, VGA 2048 x 1536, HDMI 4096 x 2160.
Your problem is connecting to DVI, you should be using HDMI to get the required resolution of that PB278Q monitor.
That's assuming the Graphics card has an HDMI output of course.

It will certainly be better at it's native resolution.

Oh thank you for that info. NO Manual came with the monitor and even when I found a pdf manual it didn't say distinctly which cable to use specifically. Yes, the card has the connections but since I didn't know I went with what had been used in the past.
The monitor does have HDMI printed or pasted on the front bezel and the cables came with the monitor. There are matching openings on the computer.
I assumed HDMI to be used when plugged into a TV.
Native resolution is 1920 x 1080 I assume. Its quite good actually. I am involved with photos and creating videos and I didn't see any issues after calibrating.
I should have asked here in the first place versus all the searching around that I did.
Thanks again.

Got the same monitor. You need a dual link DVI, HDMI or Display Port cable to connect it to your GPU. All three options are capable of running it in native resolution which is 2560 x 1440. Older DVI single link is limited to 1080P which will greatly reduce your monitors display.

GregH: I have been searching the Amd Radeon products for an alternative to my R7 240. It is confusing since the word 'dual link' seems to refer to providing for 2 monitors. I would like to see text saying 'max resolution available' which does appear in a Nvidia product description. At this point I'm looking in the R9 series.
I depended on a repair tech service for this R7 graphic board 2014 replacement and it appears he went with price rather than full potential. I figure if I say the requirement is max resolution for the monitor then the tech has a better guideline for selecting an alternative.
What video card do you have installed?

I just plugged the hdmi cable in and its a marvelous view when working with up to 4 open items. The print is small but I'm dealing with images and various software.
I interpret that all cables can be plugged in and via the monitor menu can choose which is to be in effect- hdmi, dvi etc.
I think I like the choice- dvi- 1920 wide hdmi-huge <grin>
I may not need a new video card after all.

Rose W said:

What video card do you have installed?

I am running a MSI GTX980Ti OC. It supports all the connections, DVI-I, HDMI and Display Port. I have used them all to test and all work fine but settled with HDMI as this is considered the norm these days. All of them support 1440P and some support 4K. I would only plug one cable in though at a time. I am not sure but it is probably in the BIOS POST that the display and cable are detected.

You should be choosing an option with 1440P, (2560x1440) as this is the monitors native or intended, designed resolution. If you set a resolution of 1920 x 1080 or something similar, your image on the screen will not be as sharp or clear. If you find font is too small, rather look at changing the font size in Windows. That said, it wont hurt the monitor if you do but your experience with the monitor will be limited.

On DVI cables, single link and dual link cables are physically different. Single link supports a max res of 1920x1200 and dual link supports up to 2560x1440.

HDMI and Display Port can support 3840x2160 (4K). Another benefit of using HDMI is that it also carries audio signals to the monitor if you are using the monitors inbuilt speakers.

As the signals are purely digital on HDMI, Display Port and DVI Dual Link, the image quality provided by each of these is identical.

Here is a great link to better understand the different connections:
HDMI vs DisplayPort vs DVI vs VGA - every connection explained | Expert Reviews

GregH: That is an excellent informative article.
I wasn't dissatisfied with the 1920x1080 image presentation but now that I view the same material in the 2560x1440 it is impressive.
The manual for the monitor indicates that onscreen menu can be used to change from hdmi to dvi. Actually, I used that menu with the monitor turned on but before I started the computer to change from dvi to hdmi but I unplugged the dvi at the computer. The manual indicates or appears to indicate that all the plugs are inplace.
Some software such as a text editor Notepad++ hopefully will respond to the Windows font % adjustment after a restart. Other apps have crisp menu text. Since colour didn't change I suspect I will not be switching back and forth between modes and staying in hdmi.
Now after reading that article I will have to identify if hdmi 2 is in the card
Thanks for this info

Dual Link does not refer to 2 monitors, it's to increase the bandwidth of the DVI monitor connection for higher resolution monitors.
With your current Graphics Card it is a chipset limitation with DVI of being only Single Link (1920 x 1200).
So you have to use either HDMI or DisplayPort for higher resolutions.

VGA and DVI connections are being phased out, so I would not bother with the DVI specs(unless you have some old stuff). Much more important to concentrate on HDMI and DisplayPort outputs.