In the KMS world (kernel mode setting) the kernel maintains the list of
real modes available. Previously (where Xorg drivers would communicate
with the hardware directly), the kernel was less involved and the Xorg
driver would invent the in-between modes mostly to support CRT monitors
which don't have a specific native resolution. And also for legacy
support just so that people don't complain that the list of modes has
shrunken.

In the "modern" KMS world however we (and the kernel) recognise that
LCDs only have one real resolution and one preferred (highest) refresh
rate. So you will sometimes see the kernel being brutally honest and
reporting one/few modes. This is reasonable because using anything other
than the native mode will make the image on an LCD blurry. In an ideal
world you would always use the native mode of the LCD panel and just
scale things up in software if they're too small. But I know Unity7
still doesn't quite do that as well as we'd like it to...

Another reason is slightly harder to explain; external monitors continue
to report they support more modes than internal laptop LCD panels. They
just tell us over the wire that they can do more. Which is not a
software decision.

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1606103

Title:
  modeset driver is missing some modes that the intel driver had

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