Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Windows 7 Display Quality unsatisfactory

I am using a HP Pavilion s3481d with a HP w2207h LCD monitor(connected via HD), recently since i have upgraded to W7, the text on screen seems blur, with the resolution going beyond the recommended resolution(HP recommends 1680x1050, but its now running 1920x1080). I went to nVidia's homepage to download the driver and installed it(nVidia GeForce 8400HD). However when the PC checks for updates it notify's me of a new update is available for the graphics card. When I install this update i get the problem all over again, I never had this when I was using Vista. I even reinstalled Windows 7 but no avail. Please help.


Thanks.


(HP Pavilion s3481d, Intel Core 2 Duo E4700 @ 2.6 GHz, 2.0 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard disk, NVidia GeForce 8400, Windows 7 Home Premium - clean install from Windows Vista Home Premium)

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
re: display quality
Nov 18, 2009 9:07PM PST

Reset the resolution to what's recommended for the screen. Don't go higher.
Or use a screen that supports the resolution your video card produces if you can't what it produces.

Kees

- Collapse -
Lesson:
Nov 18, 2009 10:43PM PST

Don't install the Windows Update. Those are "Optional" updates, and are never required. You would do well to go back to the Nvidia site and install the correct drivers as you did before.

But also know that it's a simple matter --even with the generic Windows Nvidia drivers-- to set the proper resolution. LCD monitors, in particular, have a "Native" resolution where the display looks as crisp and clear as it's going to get. Unfortunately, sometimes that comes at cost, such as the text/icons being too small for most people to see comfortably. In that case, people set the resolution lower, and the monitor then "scales" its output. The downside is it's not quite as clear/sharp, but it's still easier to read.

In your case, the drivers are setting the resolution ABOVE the native resolution, but the result is the same. Since it's not native, the text/icons won't look as sharp. Just either go back and reinstall the Nvidia drivers or go into the display properties and set the resolution for 1680x1050. It's simple to do.

- Collapse -
You can adjust resolution manually by right clicking on the
Nov 19, 2009 1:18AM PST

desktop and select resolution. I got my Windows 7 graphic card drivers from the HP site and when I go to screen resolution under resolution it s says 1600 x 900 is recommended. That is the capacity of my screen.

- Collapse -
compatibility issues
Nov 19, 2009 6:02AM PST