I have a generic monitor with a clarity problem. It has slowly gotten fuzzy over a long period of time. I have a new video card, and good drivers installed, so I know it's that that.

It occurs to me that the monitor has just gone bad. However, when I play Quest III Gold, and then EXIT - the Windows screen is clear as a bell! I thought it may be the driver, but the driver is installed and is the correct one.

So...any thoughts before I replace the monitor?

Certain resolutions can tax the monitor PSU, causing the high voltage to drop. When the high voltage drops, things get fuzzy. Moral is threefold:
A] use it only at the resolutions where it is clearest,
2) make the monitor a spare and get a new one, and
III} Try turning down the monitor brightness and contrast (or maybe try the stuff in the advanced properties... ATI is known for that), this may help reduce the load on the PSU and give you a few more months before the monitor goes completely.

Is the monitor a dear friend, of say 19 or 21 inches? If yes, then it might be worth getting it repaired, but the price of the repair will hurt: expect a bill of well over $50

Looks like Dunar went to the Click 'n Clack school of numbering.

Here's a site where they show you how to adjust your monitor's focus. I've done this on an older model CTX with fair results. One important tip, make sure you have a spare monitor before you try (and make sure your insurance is paid up):

http://www.tweakhardware.com/guide/t...or/default.asp

Ouch - that hurts.

And so could Marvinator get hurt - the tweak in your link says to Me, I would not touch that wire with your hands..... the wire is holding back tens of kilovolts, and if there is a slight weakness in the insulation, someone can get cardiac arrested from the jolt when their fingers find the weak spot in the insulation.

I personally would not recommend that tweak, because the focus adjustment (which is presently correct for one or two resolutions on Marvinators monitor) will become incorrect when readjusted. Also, as the focus is adjusted, X-Ray emissions can possibly go high, insulation systems could get overstressed, etc.

I've personally tried the focus/brightness trick on 3 different monitors so far, and have only improved one monitor, and improved it only marginally at that.

I wouldn't have tried it if I hadn't been prepared to replace the monitor. They're quite specific, though, about not touching anything after you remove the cover and turn it on. You need an insulated screwdriver and nerves of steel, but it's not impossible.

Call me crazy, but I just use a regular screwdriver to adjust the focus and brightness pots on the flyback. As a precaution, I don't touch the metal part of the screwdriver and I make sure I'm not touching any metal parts with any other part of my body. If you're really worried, you can ground the screwdriver with a wire to the metal chassis.

I'm inclined to believe that this is NOT your problem, however, since you say that the monitor looks fine after playing a game. I suspect what is happening is that the video card uses a lower refresh rate for the game then keeps it at that rate when you quit. This will make the screen sharper since a lower refresh rate doesn't get blurred as much by the filters.

BTW, what refresh rate are you currently using?

I've tried them all with differing results, none of which is a major improvement. What did seem to make a Good difference, was to reduce the colors from 32 bit to 24 bit. Not sure why, but it seems to take more time to get fuzzy. Not sure why. The video card IS fairly new, too.

as DanU suggested, and to which I agree, I believe it's the refresh rate of the game which changes your display properties, making your screen clearer only after playing the game. find out what properties you have your game at, and reset your display rate accordingly.
also, if you happen to have a new(er) vid card in your machine, use the S-Video jack to plug it into a 19" tv...better (cheaper too) picture and when you're tired of playing around on your computer, just change the channel!

oh, and look at my avatar...I think it will illustrate your problem sometime in the future! hehe (sorry)
~Branson

Thanks for the reply. I"ve tried ALL refresh rates, and none of them makes a diff. It must be something in the game which is utilizing the graphics ability of the card better than windows does.