42" LG HDTV as monitor. ati 9800xt as graphics... problem?

[jd254]

My cousin's build is:

Pentium D 2.8ghz
ATI 9800xt AGP
2gb DDR 400

her LG monitor, which is 720p, well it's more like 734 or some scaled crap, well, I'm using the 9800xt to display the monitor, but it's a bit blurry. it's not as sharp as I would like, not as sharp as my 8800gt output to my 42" hdtv. Is the old video card to blame? I was thinking I stick the 8500gt PCIe in, since it does have HD tech in it, which I'm sure is not related to the problem. The mobo has both AGP and PCIe so it should be ok. Will the quality be better? Also, why cant I display 1080 on her monitor? I thought you had a choice of 720p or 1080i.

 

[Qbah]

Is the HDTV connected through a DVI-HDMI converter to the 9800XT?

As for the 720p, I'm guessing it's the usual thing: the TV accepts inputs of 1080i and 720p but always outputs things as 720p. It's a small ommision in the description, but quite a big one in the end, eh?

 

[jd254]

its using vga input on the monitor. so vga output from computer to vga input on lcd

 

[octopus41092]

That's probably your problem. Try hooking it up via DVI->HDMI Cable or DVI->DVI cable if the monitor has it.

 

[alcoholbob]

VGA circuitry is pretty bad on TVs in general, you definitely need to use the hdmi port.

Secondly, if the video card has two outputs, I would try the other one as well. Some video cards have one DVI-D port and one DVI-I port. You'll still get an image with the DVI-D port, it'll just look blurry and extremely dark.