Bug 371011

Some progress:
With the minimal xorg.conf file created by system-config-display --reconfig I
have a 1024x768 display on both the laptop display and the external monitor.
I can then set the external monitor to 1280x1024 as follows:

$ xrandr --output LVDS --off
$ xrandr -s 1280x1024 -r 85

Gnome is now aware of the resolution and correctly puts the panel at the bottom
of the screen.  The important bit is to turn off the laptop display.  The
probelm with the F8 release is that the laptop screen hardware detection is
blocking gnome resolution options for external monitors (even though the X
server knows about the higher resolutions).

Similar problem here, on a Dell Optiplex GX280 with a Dell AS500 LCD monitor.
Resolution set at 1280x1024, but gnome panel is only 1024 px wide. Likewise,
setting the panel to be on the bottom or right well into good screen real
estate, with significant space beyond it (either to the right or below.) Also,
maximizing windows when inside the smaller square described by the gnome-panel
only maximize to that smaller square size. If I drag a window such that it
exceeds the smaller square, I can then maximize it to the full screen size.

Attempting to run system-config-display dies with the following error:

[root@myhost ~]# system-config-display --reconfig
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/share/system-config-display/xconf.py", line 381, in <module>
    dialog = xConfigDialog.XConfigDialog(hardware_state, xconfig,
rhpxl.videocard.VideoCardInfo())
  File "/usr/share/system-config-display/xConfigDialog.py", line 533, in __init__
    self.state.recalc_mode()
  File "/usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/rhpxl/xhwstate.py", line 387, in
recalc_mode
    self.colordepth = availableDepth[-1]
IndexError: list index out of range

Erratum:
d'oh--the monitor model is Dell 1704FPVt. AS500 is the "soundbar." (Apologies).

Thanks for the bug report.  We have reviewed the information you have provided
above, and there is some additional information we require that will be helpful
in our diagnosis of this issue.

Please attach your X server config file (/etc/X11/xorg.conf) and X server log
file (/var/log/Xorg.*.log) to the bug report as individual uncompressed file
attachments using the bugzilla file attachment link below.

Could you please also try to run without any /etc/X11/xorg.conf whatsoever and
let X11 autodetect your display and video card? Attach to this bug
/var/log/Xorg.0.log from this attempt as well, please.

We will review this issue again once you've had a chance to attach this information.

Thanks in advance.

Created attachment 278281 [details]
Very basic xorg.conf file currently in use

This is the xorg file created automatically, although I've removed additional
screen modes to just leave 1280x1024 and 1024x768

Created attachment 278301 [details]
The Xorg log file from today

Both the laptop and Dell monitors are detected.  Line 2544 shows the 1280x1024
display as out of range for the laptop display.  On login, both displays are
active, with the high res. Dell showing my full 1280x1024 desktop background. 
However, the gnome panel is positioned part-way down the screen at the 1024x768
position.  Running a script with these two commands fixes the panel position:

xrandr --output LVDS --off
xrandr -s 1280x1024 -r 85

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