Distortion

[thegatekeeper]

Ever since i plugged in the 8800GT into my pc and gave it a fresh install of xp, iv been getting some text distortion. Here is what i mean:

Notice the bold text looks like its fading with red dots at the edges? Thats what i mean, i have the latest drivers installed from nvidia and the only think i did with it was run the "display optimization wizard". I don't think the card is defective, as this distortion only shows in certain situations, i never get anything in firefox for example, or in games.

And ideas how to solve this would be great. =D

 

[luckyblur]

My eyes started going cross eyed staring at the bold text and I see no red dots or anything. Looks black to me.

 

[Domobomb]

I don't see anything... Looks normal. Take a pic with a cam then post it.

 

[jaguarskx]

Yeah, I see red and green shifts. I can't really tell you what the cause is though.

Since the image seems to be a screenshot, I doubt it is the monitor because a screenshot captures exactly what the video card is displaying. You may want to try:

1. Disconnect both ends of the video cable, then re-attach.
2. Use another video cable to see if you get the same results.
3. Install older driver perhaps.

 

[thegatekeeper]

Yeah, I see red and green shifts. I can't really tell you what the cause is though.

Since the image seems to be a screenshot, I doubt it is the monitor because a screenshot captures exactly what the video card is displaying. You may want to try:

1. Disconnect both ends of the video cable, then re-attach.
2. Use another video cable to see if you get the same results.
3. Install older driver perhaps.

The cable is securely attached and its the cable i was using on the other card, so i don't think that is it. Even if it was the cable, wouldn't i get this distortion on all the next, and not just the text in certain programs? (Iv only seen it happen in internet explorer and some other program i cant remember its name right now).

You think its a bad card?

 

[thegatekeeper]

I was fiddling with some options from the monitor and found something that could be relevant, its an option to specify which connection i am using. Its currently set to "D-sub" and has another option for DVI. I tried selecting DVI but the screen went black, then it reverted back to "D-sub", i'm starting to suspect that maybe the card is a little too much for the monitor? {if this is even possible, i don't know the first thing about monitors}

I'm using a Benq FP931 at a 60 refresh rate and a resolution of 1280 by 1024.

Any solutions are welcome.

 

[thegatekeeper]

Hey i just noticed that Riva Tuner has settings that all seem very relevant to my problem:

Now i never touched any of these settings, but maybe they set themselves wrong or something when i switched graphic cards?

 

[thegatekeeper]

Doesn't anyone have any idea? Should i take the card back to the store?

 

[thegatekeeper]

Could it be that the card is supposed to be working in DVI mode, and i am using a dongle to convert the signal to VGA? I noticed some distortion while playing an old game (Indigo Prophecy), it looks like a feint version of the stuff you get on your tv when the channel signal is disrupted (it looks like rice, the gray stuff).

Also, is this monitor any good? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-008-BE&groupid=703&catid=17&subcat=949

I dont know what some of the specifications mean, like 2000:1 Contrast Ratio , 300 cd/m2 Brightness.

And what is the use of a low response time? More fps?

 

[jaguarskx]

Could it be that the card is supposed to be working in DVI mode, and i am using a dongle to convert the signal to VGA?

Yes, that could be the case. For example, I am currently having some issues with my old Planar PX191 when I connected it to my HTPC which has an All-In-Wonder Radeon 9600XT. The 9600XT does not have a DVI-D output so I connected to the Planar using the good 'ol VGA connection.

The 2000:1 contrast ratio is merely a marketing ploy because it is dynamic contrast rather than static contrast. Static contrast is the normal, but it seems that it is slowing being replaced by "dynamic contrast" 'cause they can put a larger number to "wow" consumers.

300 cd/m2 Brightness is typical for inexpensive monitors. Some monitors may be as high as 500, but that is just too bright. Most people lower the default brightness (and contrast) settings anyway.

Lower response times means less chances of seeing ghosting effect (after images). Basically, it represents the amount of time it takes the crystals in the LCD panel to change from one color to another under ideal situations. There is no standand methodology to measure response times. Also, Gray-To-Gray is the current "method" that measures response times, a few years ago the standard was Black-To-Black. Since BTB is always higher (i.e. slower) than GTG response times, it was phased out. Similar to static contrast ratio vs. dynamic contrast ratio; where higher is seen seen as better.

Theoretically speaking, the lower the repsonse time the more frames per second a LCD monitor is capable to display, but that depends on how powerful your graphic card is (or are) and the game settings. A milli-second (ms) is one thousandth of a second. Therefore, a LCD monitors capable of 8ms response time can theoretically display up to 125 frames per second (1/0.008), a LCD monitor with a response time of 2ms is theoretically capable of displaying up to 500 frames per second (1/0.002). Remember, that's theoretical and depends on the video card and game settings.

 

[thegatekeeper]

See, the thing is, i want to find a way to check if the monitor is the problem and not the card, because it might be some time before i change the monitor and the card might loose its warranty (even thou its a "lifetime" with bfg (its actually 10 years outside UK), i only have a one year warranty with the local shop i bought it from, and i don't want to go through the hassle of shipping it or whatever). My old 7900 gto card didn't cause any problem and i connected it to the monitor in the same exact way that i connected this one, but of course series 7 and 8 cards use a totally different architecture.

I found a local monitor ( http://www.scanmalta.com/item.php?WebCategory=monitor&ProductCode=TFT-L18603 ), how good is it compared to http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-008-BE&groupid=703&catid=17&subcat=949 ?