Incorrect resolutions for 16:10 external displays, unable to detect 16:9

Hey there all, this is my first post here. It looks like some people have had similar issues—particularly with an incomplete/incorrect list of resolutions being provided for external displays.
I am shopping around for an external display for my MacBook (my specs are included) and I tested a few different ones today, but encountered problems.
- On a 22" ASUS monitor (sorry I don't have the model) using Mini-DVI to VGA, the native resolution (I assume 1680x1050) is not available, and most resolutions offered are 4:3 ratio (1600x1200 worked). The highest widescreen resolution listed was 1280x768.
- Next I tried a 19" ASUS, this time 16:9, but the monitor would not display at all. The MacBook display would go blue as normal but then flicker, as if it could not detect the display. This also happened with a 24" BENQ monitor (also 16:9).
Wondering whether or not this was a problem with using VGA, I then bought a Mini-DVI to DVI adapter and tried again on the 19" and 24" (the 22" ASUS did not have a DVI-in) but the same flickering blue screen appeared, with nothing displayed on the monitor.
These were my thoughts:
1. My firmware is not up-to-date. I check in System Profiler and am running Boot ROM Version MB41.00C1.B00 and SMC Version (system): 1.31f0. These are definitely up-to-date for my model MacBook.
2. Drivers are out of date. This does not seem likely as I am running OS X 10.5.7.
Other than that, I am at a loss! I haven't yet forked out the $49 to do phone support with Apple, that will be my next bet.
Has anyone had this problem, or have any ideas what I can try? Short of buying a new Unibody MacBook of course .
Thanks guys, hope you can help. Just let me know if you need more info about my computer.

It's unusual to strike out like that with three different monitors using two different adapters. On the other hand, with all the video issues that have been reported by others on these forums since the 10.5.7 update, it's not too surprising.
Is a 10.5.6 downgrade a possibility for you? For example, do you use Time Machine and can you in that case revert to a previous time when the MB was running 10.5.6? Perhaps that's not a great suggestion, but it would be something to try.
There is some remote chance, though somewhat unlikely given that three different monitors are involved, that the embedded display driver data (EDID) in each monitor is bad or incomplete. If you care to investigate that possibility, there is a program called SwitchRes X that allows you to snoop a monitor's EDID and turns it into a human readable text file.
One final suggestion would be to try yet one more monitor to see if any monitor can return a good result. One obvious choice would be an Apple monitor. If there is trouble when trying to connect to an Apple monitor, then that would certainly point to some problem in the MB's configuration or hardware. And not to cast aspersions on the brands you have already tried, but try another brand (if not Apple) that is perhaps more mainstream and known to be more Mac compatible and less firmly in the PC camp where plug-and-display drivers have never mattered very much and are very often botched by the monitor makers. Dell, Samsung and LG are three big brands that come to mind. Good luck.

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