I've recently made the switch from Windows 11 to Linux Mint 22.3, and I'm facing issues with app scaling. When I open some applications, especially those downloaded from the internet, they appear very small. Currently, I'm using a 1600x900 monitor as my primary display with 100% scaling, and I have a 4K TV set to 200% scaling. I'm using an NVIDIA 2060 graphics card with the latest drivers. I've tried changing the TV's resolution to 1080p instead of scaling, but the picture quality isn't great. I also experimented with xrandr to change the scale, but that ended up making everything too large on both monitors, even when I specified the second monitor. I would really like to maintain good quality while solving this scaling issue. Any suggestions?
3 Answers
I get your frustration! Mint's scaling can be rough, since it's still using the old X11 by default. You could enable experimental Wayland support if you want to try that, but be prepared for potential bugs. In the meantime, check under 'advanced' settings in Cinnamon for any scaling options that might help. Keeping an eye on Mint's future updates for full Wayland support could also be a good idea.
Yeah, Mint doesn't handle scaling well, especially with dual monitors. A lot of other distros like Fedora and Ubuntu have transitioned to Wayland, which fixes these issues. If you're really having trouble, it may be worth trying one of those. Mint is a bit behind in adopting the newer systems, but it looks like they plan to move to Wayland fully next year.
You're running into a common problem with Linux Mint's default windowing system, X11. It's quite dated and struggles with different screen sizes and resolutions. It tries to stretch images which leads to blurriness or sizing issues, especially on 4K displays. For a better experience, consider switching to a distribution that supports Wayland, which handles scaling independently for each monitor. Two great options are Pop!_OS (already has NVIDIA drivers pre-installed) and Solus KDE (similar to Mint and easy to set up). This should really improve your multi-monitor experience!
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