LCD monitor advice

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Dave

Just bought a new 19-inch LCD monitor. It's an "off-brand" monitor
purchased from a well-known big-box store. I love the size and the
resolution (1280x1024), but I'm not crazy about the inherent
"fuzziness" in the picture. This is especially true of text. I've
tweaked it every way possible, but I can't get it to look clear.

Is this something I have to live with? Or would buying a better-qualty
LCD yield a sharper image? I guess I'm too used to my laptop, which has
an ultra sharp 1400x1050 packed into just 15 inches.

BTW, I'm using the on-board graphics that came with my brand new
motherboard. Maybe a better video card would help?

Thanks!
 
Dave said:
Just bought a new 19-inch LCD monitor. It's an "off-brand" monitor
purchased from a well-known big-box store. I love the size and the
resolution (1280x1024), but I'm not crazy about the inherent
"fuzziness" in the picture. This is especially true of text. I've
tweaked it every way possible, but I can't get it to look clear.

Is this something I have to live with? Or would buying a better-qualty
LCD yield a sharper image? I guess I'm too used to my laptop, which
has an ultra sharp 1400x1050 packed into just 15 inches.

BTW, I'm using the on-board graphics that came with my brand new
motherboard. Maybe a better video card would help?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Have you tried downloading and running the Clear Type tuner from Microsoft?
 
Have you tried downloading and running the Clear Type tuner from Microsoft?
Click to expand...


I suppose it depends on what one's definition of "fuzzy" is,
but Clear Type would make text even more fuzzy.

ClearType is the opposite of an ultra-sharp, pixel-precise
text, it deliberately blurs text to make it esthetically
pleasing in some kind of peverse artistic way. Kinda like
taking a CRT and smearing bacon-grease on it, but somehow
only having it cover the text. Ok, that's a bit extreme
overstatement but to me, Cleartype is just silly unless
someone's administrator has completely locked out basic
settings like Font Size adjustment so the user is stuck with
teeny text... but then would they have limited-user
permission to use ClearType?

A cheap LCD is every bit as sharp as a top-of-the-line LCD.
However, if it's connected with a low quality analog cable
or the video card's RAMDAC is crap, slow, or the output
filters are cheap off-spec parts that can't handle the
1280x1024 bandwidth, then it'll be blurrier.

The big question is which is the weak link. If it's the
video cable, a different video card may gain nothing. A
hardcore tweaker with a desire to void their warranty and a
soldering iron in hand could pull off part of the onboard
video's output filter... I mention it for trivia's sake
only, if someone is competent to do it, they'd not need me
to tell them about it.

If he's using a high refresh rate, he might consider
lowering it since an LCD need not run higher than 60Hz,
refresh rate issues of flickering aren't very applicable to
the issues with CRTs running at this low of a refresh rate
and the lower refresh rate will be easier for a marginal
cable or Ramdac to handle too. If the cable is just WAY too
long, a shorter cable should be used. If it's going into a
KVM, it becomes evermore important to use high quality short
cables and to compare with & without the KVM & second cable
to see whether that makes (enough of) a difference.

I suppose it's possible there's something physically wrong
with the monitor, some sort of defect but that would be hard
to know for sure without at least two of them, one known
working properly.
 
Dave said:
Just bought a new 19-inch LCD monitor. It's an "off-brand" monitor
purchased from a well-known big-box store. I love the size and the
resolution (1280x1024), but I'm not crazy about the inherent
"fuzziness" in the picture. This is especially true of text. I've
tweaked it every way possible, but I can't get it to look clear.

Is this something I have to live with? Or would buying a better-qualty
LCD yield a sharper image? I guess I'm too used to my laptop, which has
an ultra sharp 1400x1050 packed into just 15 inches.

BTW, I'm using the on-board graphics that came with my brand new
motherboard. Maybe a better video card would help?
Click to expand...

I'm using on-board graphics with my Samsung 930B 19" LCD. No
"fuzziness" at all in text or graphics.
 
My Samsung 915n has 2 critical settings for image quality (specially
text), Coarse and Fine. Perhaps yours have something like that.
[]´s



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Mariano Faria - AZTech Hardware (Brasil)
(e-mail address removed) (MSN Messenger)
ICQ# 17542630
Skype: marianofaria
 
Just bought a new 19-inch LCD monitor. It's an "off-brand" monitor
purchased from a well-known big-box store. I love the size and the
resolution (1280x1024), but I'm not crazy about the inherent
"fuzziness" in the picture. This is especially true of text. I've
tweaked it every way possible, but I can't get it to look clear.

Is this something I have to live with? Or would buying a better-qualty
LCD yield a sharper image? I guess I'm too used to my laptop, which has
an ultra sharp 1400x1050 packed into just 15 inches.

BTW, I'm using the on-board graphics that came with my brand new
motherboard. Maybe a better video card would help?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

This is not going to help much but I found when building my own computer
and buying tools for my workshop that you get what you pay for.
I'll be shopping for a LCD monitor myself in a week or so and Samsung
is near the top of my list..got to do abit more research.

Me
 
Legion said:
This is not going to help much but I found when building my own
computer and buying tools for my workshop that you get what you pay
for.
I'll be shopping for a LCD monitor myself in a week or so and Samsung
is near the top of my list..got to do abit more research.

Me
Click to expand...



I have been very happy with my Samsung 930b, have had it about 3 months now.
 
Yes, the onboard video gives less than excellent video (the video chip on
the motherboard costs the manufacturer about $10.) And, yes off-brand
monitors are cheap becuase they use poorer parts.
Amazing, but generally you get what you pay for...
 
This is not going to help much but I found when building my own computer
and buying tools for my workshop that you get what you pay for.
I'll be shopping for a LCD monitor myself in a week or so and Samsung
is near the top of my list..got to do abit more research.
Click to expand...


There is no reason to believe any Samsung monitor is the
tiniest bit sharper than the cheapest monitor out there.

Buying a better (name brand, expensive) monitor will get you
a few things (not necessarily all of the following but
typically some of them), but not sharper text.

- Sometimes hard outer plastic or glass protective screen
that may increase "perceived" contrast but causes glare.

- Faster response time, better for gaming

- Fewer dead pixels, even a guarantee of zero dead or at
least a low number.

- Different panel type which may be more complimentary to
movies and other tasks using a lot of color gradients. Not
just an 8-bit panel but one that does no dithering at all.
Folklore claims any 8 bit panel doesn't dither but some do.
Others do if the user adjusts the display settings to where
the color and brightness gamut can't match the panel
capabilities but there's not much a panel maker can do to
prevent a user from setting what they want.

- DVI and/or other aux inputs

- Better contrast

- Higher resolution, but some don't want that.

- Sturdier or more artistic frame and stand, maybe even
able to swivel 90' for page view or other unique angles.

- Longer warranty or on-site replacement.

Sharper text just isn't a benefit at any cost. LCDs use
discrete pixels and it doesn't get any sharper than that.
The cheaper displays actually tend to be the sharpest
because they rarely if ever have any protective outer
plastic or glass shield over them which does blurr things a
bit.
 
This is not going to help much but I found when building my own computer
and buying tools for my workshop that you get what you pay for.
I'll be shopping for a LCD monitor myself in a week or so and Samsung
is near the top of my list..got to do abit more research.

Me
Click to expand...

I had a Samsung 930B and it was ok and I sold it and got a 970P and it has a
much better picture quality than the 930B. They have different LCD Panels.
The 930B has a TN panel and the 970P has a PVA/RTA panel. Get a PVA panel
with RTA which would mean faster response time which most of the new ones do
and the 970P does. Check this site out on the different panels.
http://www.samsung.com/pdf/lcd_line2005.pdf
 
Dave said:
Just bought a new 19-inch LCD monitor. It's an "off-brand" monitor
purchased from a well-known big-box store. I love the size and the
resolution (1280x1024), but I'm not crazy about the inherent
"fuzziness" in the picture. This is especially true of text. I've
tweaked it every way possible, but I can't get it to look clear.

Is this something I have to live with? Or would buying a better-qualty
LCD yield a sharper image? I guess I'm too used to my laptop, which has
an ultra sharp 1400x1050 packed into just 15 inches.

BTW, I'm using the on-board graphics that came with my brand new
motherboard. Maybe a better video card would help?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

If it's new, just return it for a full refund and see if there's a
better one on the market.
 
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