I see the rainbow in white text!

[react]

I think I show this problem better with a picture but need a place to host.

Text

 

[mindless1]

you've got mail

 

[Schadenfroh]

seeing rainbows? have another :beer: and see a pot of gold

 

[mindless1]

you've got email

 

[react]

Ty mindless

Pic

 

[Viper96720]

I think its an illusion. Look real close and the rainbow isn't as noticeable.

 

[edm]

must be your monitor (maybe the video card) because it doesn't come through in the screen shot. How old is the monitor? make sure there ares no speakers (especially unshielded) near by. Also, try messing with the video settings on the monitor. And if you have another PC/monitor around, try swithing things up to see if its the card or monitor.

 

[react]

Actually the closer I look, the more its apparent.

The monitor is about 7 months old now. Its only been in used for about 5 months. There are 4 speakers on my desk. 2 front (1ft away) and 2 rears (2-3 ft away) but they are all shieled (altec lansing 641). I tried moving them under the table but they're are still there. Could it be anything to do with my DSL Modem, Cat 5 cable or NIC?

 

[mindless1]

The modem, cable, NIC, etc, won't do that, but their power supplies or the speakers might. You don't mention how far away "under the table" is for the speakers, but even shielded speakers can interfere. if this problem is always present then it seems simple enough to check- unplug ALL the external power supplies and move those speakers a lot further away. Also check that the monitor video cableisn't running parallel to AC power cords.

After ruling out these more obvious (potential) problems, you might quesiton whether there is some other strong magnetic field nearby, like a metal desk, something in a wall directly behind the monitor... if all else fails see if you can get your hands on a compass and see how it behaves in the vicinity of the monitor compared to other areas (with the monitor turned off/unplugged).

I suppose the more important question I haven't seen asked is, was the monitor always like this, or started after some change to the environment, addition to the system or moving of components?

If you rule everything else out, then it's time to check the monitor warranty for potential replacement.

 

[Viper96720]

Is cleartype enabled? If it is maybe why your seeing a rainbow. Go here to calibrate it http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/1.htm

 

[react]

Nope it's not cleartype. I'll try your suggestions mindless. Also it wasn't always like and if it was I didn't notice it. When I moved the speakers under the table they're about 4-6 ft away from the monitor.

 

[react]

Well I tried moving and unplugging my modem and it was still there. Could it be dust getting into the back of the screen? My room gets REALLY dusty. I cleaned the front of the monitor but that wasn't it. Also, what do you mean by monitor cable isn't running paralell to the ac cord? They're both hanging down from the monitor and are being plugged into the surge protector on the floor to the left.

Weird how its only noticeable on certain texts. Like on the image its really noticeable. I can't get a screen capture of it because it's only happening on my monitor. It's also a lot easier to notice at 1600x1200 res instead of like 12x10.

 

[mindless1]

Dust won't do that.
By "monitor cable running parallel to AC cord", I mean exactly that... The monitor cable that plugs into the video card, should not be bundled together with or lying right next to any AC power cords. If these cords are all bunched up together very closely for a great distance then it can cause problems. It's not a problem to simply have the cords cross each other at angles though, that is pretty common.

There are only three possibilities I can think of (since you've already tried another video card):

Noise through monitor cabling- Route it so it isn't lying next to the other cables. It would seem less likely this is the problem though, usually the result would be worst than just rainbox colored text.

Magnetic interferance- The more likely cause, anything with an electomagnetic field should be moved away from the monitor. The suggestion to sweep the area with a compass should detect this irregularity. You might also try rotating ONLY the monitor 90 degrees and see if that makes any change, as it should have "some" effect if it's a magnetic field.

Monitor defect- replace monitor.