Laptop using both GPUs, blurry display on external monitor

[vid.vaukan]

Hello, community!

Can you help me with the following issue:

I bought a new laptop, Acer Nitro 5 with i7 7700HQ, Geforce GTX 1050 4GB and integrated Intel HD 630. OS is Windows 10. I have an external 22" Philips monitor.

External monitor is connected via HDMI port and is running on Geforce graphics card. The integrated laptop monitor is running on the integrated graphics card. Is this weird?

So the problem is, that my external display is blurry, some apps more than other. I am adding a screenshot of the Adobe Illustrator, which I find especially problematic. It is worth noting that my laptop display is perfectly clear - not blurred at all.

Another thing: when this monitor was used with my old laptop, the image was fine. And that laptop was really old, like 8 years.

The resolutions of both monitors are 1920 x 1080.

I have done a lot of research online about this problem, but failed to find a solution. What I have already tried:
- different scaling for both displays in windows display panel, as well as in Nvidia panel
- the registry fix
- windows is updated
- I tried different compatibility settings in the program's Properties
- I tried different settings about high resolution display in the program's Properties
- I have the latest GPU drivers

If you help me with this problem, I would be extremely grateful, because I use this computer for work, where I have to pay attention to details, and the blur is making it very hard.

Thank you very much!

Here is a print screen of my external monitor (blurred): https://ibb.co/bG8bqo
Here is a print screen of my integrated laptop monitor (sharp): https://ibb.co/mKk0GT

 

[jay32267]

I'm leaning towards the monitor being the problem as opposed to the graphics card.

Have you tried another monitor?

 

[vid.vaukan]

Hello, jay32267 and others who may come across this article!

I have tried this fix: http://windows10_dpi_blurry_fix.xpexplorer.com and the display improved significantly. You can check the screenshot added and compare it to my original post.

So give it a try if nothing else works. You have somewhat detailed description about what it does on the link.

I wouldn't mark this as a solution, as I hoped for better final results, but it is a great improvement.

Screenshot of my external display (improved): https://ibb.co/fCbcwT

Cheers!

 

[jay32267]

Well....at least you got improvement. 😉

 

[Glenwing]

Make sure the scaling for the external monitor is set to100%, and note that scaling settings may not fully apply until you log out and back in again.

 

[vid.vaukan]

Indeed, this was a scaling problem. But in my case, adjusting the settings and scaling factors in Win 10 did not help. What helped is that program from my previous post. It simulates Win 8.1 scaling in Win 10 environment. So in my case the problem was just Win 10 dealing poorly with scaling.

Anyway, that was one part of the solution. Another part was a new laptop-to-monitor cable that I got today. Now both my displays are razor sharp.

So thank you for answers, and I hope this helps someone else.

p.s. I tried Win 10 scaling again with the new cable, and the result was equally bad as before.