Blurriness when going above 75Hz...

[lung]

I am having a rather annoying problem as of late. When I set my refresh rate to anything higher than 75Hz my screen gets very slightly blurry. At first I thought this was an issue with my new monitor (Viewsonic P95F+B) but it has since been replaced with a brand new one, so it seems unlikely that I would get two monitors with the same issue. I don't have this problem with my older monitor (Dell 1028L) though. So it would seem that it is related to the monitor somehow, but I can't figure out how. I have tried using both outputs on my 9700 Pro, but it has no effect. I have also tried different resolutions and while it is lessened by going to a lower res, it is still blurry. It gets to the point that at 1600x1200, there is no point in running it because the text is basically unreadable. I currently run at 1280x960 and while it is livable like that at 100Hz, it gets to be a strain after awhile. I don't think it is related to the video card as my older monitor is fine at whatever refresh rate I throw at it.

This is on a P4 1.6A @ 2.4, Win XP Pro with SP1, with all drivers currently up to date.

 

[BFG10K]

Do you have the latest BIOS and chipset drivers for your system, and the latest drivers for the Radeon?

Other than that perhaps you have a defective card? It's rare but it can happen. Try another video card to see if the problem goes away.

 

[cnhoff]

I have had this with several combinations of monitors/videocards. I think it's simply a fact, that any combo gets slightly blurry, when going over a certain level. This level was 1152 and about 85Hz with my old Samsung 17", and it's about 1360/85Hz with my new Samsung 19".

 

[lung]

^^ If that's the case, then I think it is a load of BS. If I wanted to have a monitor that could only give me a clear picture at 75Hz or less, I wouldn't have spent the extra money on one that supposedly could give me a clear picture at 100Hz. If I was using low to mid range parts, I could handle it knowing that I saved a bunch of money, but a PF95+B is not really high-end, but it definitely is not low to mid range either and of course, a 9700 Pro is about as top of the line as you can get in the world of non-worstation, gaming oriented cards.

Some people may be fine with just saying, "Oh well, that's the way it is, I'll just deal with it," but I am not one of those people...

Still on the hunt to figure this one out...

 

[glugglug]

Could be cabling, or a crappy RAMDAC (although I doubt this on the Radeon).

Are you going through some kind of switchbox to share the monitor? Most of those suck...

 

[NokiaDude]

I think it's a crappy RAMDAC, Right now I'm running a SiS 315 video card with a Envision 780-en and the blur is very noticable @ 85hz @1280x1024. I love 1280x1024 resolution! If the problem doesn't get better with my new ATI Radeon 7500 coming in the mail I'll put back this monitor to where it came from. The monitor is my dad's and it has 1 dead pixel. Mine is a 770-en, thus lower refresh @ 1280x1024 only 60hz! AHHH my eyes!!!!! Mine seems alot crisper @ 1024x768 @ 85hz although mine is only 6 months old, his is about 2 yrs old.

 

[lung]

BFG: Everything is right up to date driver-wise. I am going to check the monitor on my roommate's comptuer tomorrow and see how it goes.

Glugglug: No switching box... I have also tried different cabling configurations and actual monitor placement. I guess it could be the RAMDACs, but that would mean that both of them are shot. Maybe I got really "lucky" with the card I got...

NokiaDude: Just an FYI, but 1280 x1024 is actually a distorted resolution. 1280x960 is the correct ratio for that width.