Dell 1800fp problems

[inoam]

I bought a Dell 1800fp monitor with the recommendation of this forum a few days and I'm very dissaponted with the quality. When playing Warcraft III it looks very sharp, but the screen doesn't look good when I'm reading somthing. It sort of have this crystallized sort of quailty to it. It's very annoying seeing how my cheap, three year old 15" mag LCD does text much better. I know I'm running optimal resoultion and refresh rate. Is this how the 1800fp is, or did I get a defective one?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Czar]

use cleartype from microsoft, think you can google it

 

[b3b0p]

I have a 1800FP.

First of all go here to configure cleartype:

http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/1.htm?fname= &fsize=

For me and think many others, when given the choice between RGB and BGR, BGR clearly looked better to me.

Hope that helps.

Chris

 

[inoam]

Thank you, I already did that. It looks a lot better, but it still does not look very good. I'm thinking it maybe has to do with the anti-glare coating.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: Czar
use cleartype from microsoft, think you can google it

Negative, cleartype doesn't look good on the 1800FP in any way, shape, or form. You need to be sure and set the resolution to 1280x1024 (native). If you want to install the 1800FP monitor inf, click here. In addition, make sure you have the Warcraft display settings to 1280x1024.

 

[Mem]

What video card do you have and are you using it in DVI mode?

 

[inoam]

Thank you for the replys. I only use the monitor in its native resolution, though in Half Life, Battlefield and Tron 2.0 I saw that that 1280x1024 is not available, just 1280x960. I think this is a reason to return the monitor already, no? Is there anything I can do about it?

I have the newest drivers and I'm using 9500pro in DVI mode.

 

[Mem]

I think this is a reason to return the monitor already, no? Is there anything I can do about it?

You tried centred mode(most LCDs have that option)you`ll lose a little of the screen size at 1280x960 but not much and the IQ will be excellent( I use 1280x960 centred mode for my CS,TFC,etc)

 

[inoam]

Originally posted by: Mem

I think this is a reason to return the monitor already, no? Is there anything I can do about it?

You tried centred mode(most LCDs have that option)you`ll lose a little of the screen size at 1280x960 but not much and the IQ will be excellent( I use 1280x960 centred mode for my CS,TFC,etc)

I can't find in the OSD, does that mean that I don't have that option or do I need to download some sort of program?

 

[Mem]

inoam,on my Samsung 191T it`s done via OSD, I`ve an option for "image size" , 3 settings available which are normal,expanded 1 and expanded 2 .

 

[inoam]

Ok, than I don't have that option. Another reason I think I should return it. Does anyone have any thoughts about myw weird crystallized screen problem?

 

[Cadaver]

The BGR subpixel configuration of the 1800FP's panel is the issue. You MUST carefully configure ClearType for this type of panel or text will look like crap (unless you turn ClearType off). Make sure you go to the Microsoft ClearType tuner page and select BGR (vs. RGB) before proceding to configure the other settings.

In addition, if using the VGA input, make sure to hit the auto-adjust button after configuring ClearType. If using DVI, the auto-adjust isn't needed (or even allowed).

Also, AFAIK, Half Life doesn't support 1280x1024 on any display. It's got nothing to do with the 1800FP. The ATI Displays control panel has an option to scale the image size of lower resolutions to fill the screen or to leave them centered on the screen at true resolution (i.e., 1024x768 scaled up to fill the screen, or centered in the screen as a little box).

If you've done all this and you're still not happy, before returning the display try it on the VGA port of your video card to see if it helps any.

 

[Cadaver]

Originally posted by: inoam
Ok, than I don't have that option. Another reason I think I should return it. Does anyone have any thoughts about myw weird crystallized screen problem?

See my post above. This option is controlled by the ATI Displays control panel, not the display itself.

 

[inoam]

Thanks I found it.