ATI / LCD display problem

[bickle]

I just installed a 9800 Pro, and I'm having a display issue. My monitor is a LCD with a regular VGA input - there is no DVI connector. After installing a 9800 Pro, everything is now slightly blurry.

 

I first connected with the VGA output, then tried it with the DVI output and the DVI to VGA adapter. Both had the same results.

 

Any idea what I need to get the image back to a nice sharp display?

 

Thanks,

[Whooter]

Are you sure the video resolution is set to your LCD's native resolution?

[Camp]

Most LCD's are too "slow" for gaming. A runny looking blur is not at all uncommon and makes many LCD's unacceptable for games. What brand/model is your monitor?

[bickle]

I think I may have this working, but it seems to reset when I reboot. Under monitor properties in the ATi display applet, I selected Composite Synchronization & it seems much clearer like I'm used to. It reset when I rebooted, so I'm going to fiddle with it more tonight.

 

It's in the native resolution (1024x1280), although I usually run City of Heroes at 1024x768 in a window. It's not a blur due to motion - its constant, like a slightly off refresh rate. Basically the whole desktop is a little blurry.

 

(Speaking of CoH, I also can't figure out how to enable anti-aliasing for it. With my GeForce4, everything was nice & smooth, but I get jaggies up the wazoo now)

[Romier S]

(Speaking of CoH, I also can't figure out how to enable anti-aliasing for it. With my GeForce4, everything was nice & smooth, but I get jaggies up the wazoo now)

 

Its in the ATI control panel Dave. There is a "3D" tab you can click on. There are two settings "Direct3D" or "Open GL". Select which one you want (in the case of COH you want Open GL) and select "Custom Settings". You can then select the level of AA you want (if you have the latest drivers you can also use Temporal AA which is pretty nifty too!).

[bickle]

That cleared it up - I was messing with the Direct3D settings, and wondering why the changes didn't work. I couldn't find a good explanation of Temporal AA. What is the difference?

 

I got the desktop settings fixed too. I had to run an auto-calibrate on the monitor to get calibrated with the new video card, and that seemed to do the trick.

 

I had a nasty blue screen (first time in XP!) tonight though while tf'ing in CoH, so I'm still a little cautious...

[Romier S]

I couldn't find a good explanation of Temporal AA. What is the difference

 

It alternates AA patterns between screen refreshes, so with two AA patterns (2xAA effective) it looks like 4xAA when the patterns alternate quick enough. In other words when you enable 2X TAA its like having 4XAA on without the performance hit. It basically cheats your eyes.

 

Problem is when you use TAA it will automatically enable Vsync which means you have to be able to maintain your framerate above your monitors refresh rate or the card will automatically switch to plain old 2XAA. (this will cause a slight flicker on your screen). With Open GL, enabling Triple Buffering (you can do so under the compatability menu at the bottom of the "3D" tab) will help reduce any chance of a loss of framerate. Direct 3D is another story (you'll have to hope there is an in-game option for TB) or that you have the horsepower to maintain a solid FPS.

 

You'll have to play with it in different games to see how it works. I find its fantastic in COH and FarCry (especially if you enable the triple buffering tweak which will give you a nice little framerate boost) but have found its not worth the trouble in Arx Fatalis and Morrowind.

[bickle]

Thanks Romier. It's amazing that they don't put these explanations in the integrated help files.