Why is text so ratty with Windows 8

readymix

Senior member
Jan 3, 2007
357
1
81
on my 1900x1200 desktop but fine on my 1600x1000 notebook? i've search and tried fixes to no avail. ticked is what i am at 8, at microsoft. your dead to me MS :)
 

MontyAC

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2004
4,112
1
81
I'm running Win 8 and text looks fine on my 2560x1440 screen. Maybe you need to adjust the font size?
 

Pia

Golden Member
Feb 28, 2008
1,563
0
0
on my 1900x1200 desktop but fine on my 1600x1000 notebook? i've search and tried fixes to no avail. ticked is what i am at 8, at microsoft. your dead to me MS :)
Desktop text or Metro text? Do you have Cleartype on and configured? What's the DPI and technology on the displays?
 

Elixer

Lifer
May 7, 2002
10,371
762
126
What exactly does "ratty" mean for text display ? Do you mean blurry ?
 

readymix

Senior member
Jan 3, 2007
357
1
81
I could but the only adjustment seems to be larger. not really what I want to do but it does help readability

text on the desktop, confined to ie 10. windows elements such as control panel or file explorer are sharp. there too is a separate annoyance where compared to w7 (dual booting) brightness or whiteness if you will is higher as is contrast and color saturation than in w7 across all windows.

clear type is on and I have tried adjusting it. oddly enough clear type is difficult to adjust because it offers no clear text to select. regardless, it was set at what would have been the unadjusted state in w7 before the inplace upgrade.

24" Samsung .27 pixel pitch NVidia gts-450 or alternatively ati-4670


not blurry in the litteral sense but inconsistent like a ballpoint pen skips ink but in every letter. or like selecting the worst option in clear type. the text in an anandtech topic is probably the worst I have seen yet, but readable. where as a full page of text like a new York times article bring a feeling of eye strain in 2 minutes.



iAfraidso
 
Last edited:

darkewaffle

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
8,152
1
81
Go in the the theme or whatever and try different fonts? On my 32" TV Win8 is more readable than Win7 imo.
 

Ben90

Platinum Member
Jun 14, 2009
2,866
3
0
Your issue just feels like a clear type problem. Have you tried turning it off completely? FWIW, Windows 7 has clear type off by default.
 
Last edited:

ViRGE

Elite Member, Moderator Emeritus
Oct 9, 1999
31,516
167
106
Depending on the program, the OP may be noticing greyscale AA. MS is using greyscale AA as opposed to ClearType in some locations in Win8 due to the fact that the OS needs to use an AA method that's suitable for rotating screens. You can't use subpixel AA on such screens since the relative subpixel arrangement changes as the screen is rotated, hence a more coarse method is used.

Anyhow, it's primarily used for Metro. However it's also used on IE10 since it and IE10M are using the same rendering engine. All other desktop applications would be using ClearType.
 

Ferzerp

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
6,438
107
106
Is it win8 or is it ie10?

I put IE10 on one of my win7 systems and the text is just all janky.
 

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
7,121
4
0
Your issue just feels like a clear type problem. Have you tried turning it off completely? FWIW, Windows 7 has clear type off by default.

um, i dont think so. its always been on by default for me in every win7 install ive done.

metro is garbage. plain and simple. i have absolutely no desire to 'updgreyyed' to win8.