11/19/15 5:54 PM

Got a new laptop and now my Samsung LCD monitor is not as sharp and clear as it was with my 6 year old laptop. Looked at resolution (lowered it on the laptop), sharpness settings, etc. and have had no luck. Googled a bunch and tried several things but still no joy. Any ideas?

11/19/15 6:45 PM

Maybe covering ground a second time for your but here goes. Change your laptop's display resolution back to native. Find the native resolution of the monitor and use it for the second monitor. Horizontally they may be different so your desktop might be shaped a little different. The laptop's graphic chip probably has a utility to manage monitors, in addition to Window's tool. Some of those tools might be useful, others might be better managed by Windows. Download the latest version.

Another thing is to take notes with pen and paper about the menu settings presented when the buttons on the monitor are used. For instance, I have a routine on a post-it to switch between DVI and VGA so the monitor can be used on two systems. Some of the pages of settings reached with the buttons are pretty arcane and a couple of levels down, but you may find 'the one.' Also, there's probably an auto button that helps sometimes.

A personal irritation about graphics chips these days is they want the drivers to be updated even a couple of times a month for game play. I don't play games and the drivers are large and can be buggy, so I stick with a stable version.

11/19/15 6:46 PM

that does "aliasing" to fonts...try disabling it.

11/19/15 7:00 PM

Both the laptop and the monitor are 1920 x 1080 native resolution and are set to that. The laptop display is crystal clear so it's not a Win10 thing unless it treats monitors differently (can't find where that would be the case).

Hitting "auto" on the monitor changed nothing.

A key point seems (to me) is that with a 6 year old computer I had better resolution on the monitor. Strange.

11/19/15 7:20 PM

Is the OS using a generic driver for 2nd display?

11/19/15 9:13 PM

clone desktop instead of stretch (to test)?
Same cable? Reset connection a few times at both ends (vigorously enough to clean them)? Tried another cable?

That's TV resolution, have you tried another device feeding into the monitor like a DVD/Blu-Ray? Of course you've tried the old laptop and it's still "better than new."

Compared refresh rate and other settings between new and old while plugged in?

Plugged the old & new laptop into your main 'man cave' 1080 HDTV to compare?

11/20/15 11:05 AM

Did you remove the protective film from the new monitor? Just asking!

11/20/15 11:43 AM

never mind

11/20/15 3:22 PM

The difference is that I was using the video cable from the old laptop and the new laptop uses HDMI. I've been using this monitor for a year. I'm not at the computer right now but I think I need to look at the HDMI settings. The new laptop doesn't have a video output.

11/20/15 4:59 PM

What's the use of a laptop without a video out ?.

You can get a USB to VGA or HDMI adapter. They run $60-$70 or so

11/20/15 7:49 PM

VGA is old-tech. most current-production laptops have replaced VGA ports with HDMI -- 1 cable handles high-def video + multi-channel audio.

11/20/15 9:14 PM

It think it parses out like
The difference is that I was using the video (VGA) cable from the old laptop and the new laptop uses HDMI. I've been using this monitor for a year. I'm not at the computer right now but I think I need to look at the HDMI settings (laptop and monitor ends.) The new laptop doesn't have a video (VGA) output.

And from that extrapolate the (modern 1080) monitor also has an HDMI.

Looks like you're on target.

If it's still out of focus I'm still recommending a simple sanity-check of swapping an HDMI cable from behind the TV and putting it in the monitor. To me your monitor is just another TV (spoken by someone who was irked by the industry delivering "1050" line LCD monitors for years, I mean 30 more lines guys?!?) Just another TV also means I can read PDFs on my 60" plasma from across the room, less eyestrain focused that far away. (wireless keyboard, but rotating an 80lb display is a b__ch. ;^)

11/20/15 11:04 PM

You are correct Walter, I mis-read the comment as no video of any kind.

What Kerry meant was there's no VGA output.

Sounds like an HDMI cable is all He needs.

11/21/15 4:54 PM

quote:

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Sounds like an HDMI cable is all he needs.

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11/21/15 6:21 PM

There's no halfway with HDMI. If you're getting an image and sound, there's nothing wrong with the cable.

11/21/15 6:49 PM

quote:

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There's no halfway with HDMI. If you're getting an image and sound, there's nothing wrong with the cable.

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11/21/15 6:51 PM

" From control panel all you get is a generic video monitor icon and a message saying the 9 year old MS driver is up to date."

hmmm.... I thought that reply got ignored.

Is there any place to diddle the refresh rate in the generic driver cfg?

11/22/15 6:02 PM

quote:

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Is there any place to diddle the refresh rate in the generic driver cfg?

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11/22/15 9:15 PM

What are the make and model for the laptop and monitor? That will help focus troubleshooting.

Try right clicking the start icon to access a menu with the control panel choice. Intel, AMD and Nvidia have clearly labeled control panel apps. OEM systems may or may not include the apps.

Once the control panel is open you may need to change the view or icon size from the over simplified "categories" view to one that is more explicit.

11/23/15 5:28 PM

disable all the visual features in the OS, to see how that affects perceived sharpness.

-open windows explorer, right-click on "my computer" or whatever your machine is called
-select "properties"
-select "advanced system settings"
-select "advanced" tab
-under "performance" section, click on "settings"
-select "adjust for best performance" and click "OK"

this disables all of the MS nonsense...and it can have a noticeable effect on perceived screen sharpness to the better.

if you dont like the results, change the last selection back to whatever it was before you selected "adjust for best performance"

Last edited by walter on 11/24/15 8:19 PM; edited 1 time in total

11/23/15 5:59 PM

I did download the latest Dell video driver and that has helped noticeably. Now it's a question of "Is it really not as good as it was?" vs. "It's certainly not as good as it was."

Walter, Win10 doesn't work like that now. You go to a general settings list and I've already been through all that.

System is a Dell Inspiron 7000 15 with a 6th Gen Intel Cor i5 6200U processor.

The second monitor is a Samsung S22C300.

11/23/15 9:09 PM

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/highlights/graphics/intelirisprographics6200

Nice hardware

Still no control panel app?

You can open the Intel® Graphics Control Panel in two ways:

Right-click the Desktop and select Graphics Properties.

Hold down Ctrl+Alt+F12.

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/cs-022130.htm

Last edited by daddy-o on 11/23/15 9:11 PM; edited 1 time in total

11/23/15 9:10 PM

although it truly sounds like a driver problem, so this is irrelevant.

here's a win10 screen-shot from my machine for these settings im referring to:

<img src=https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/12301645_10207185407425411_5277007966252494689_n.jpg?oh=f5c204cbc019099af6cfec379d0dc9b7&oe=56DE0E69>

Last edited by walter on 11/24/15 8:27 PM; edited 2 times in total

11/23/15 9:13 PM

Using contract prices I'd say a couple of hundred dollars of technical support so far.

That ctrl alt f12 combo is freaking fast.

11/24/15 5:11 PM

Walter, just curious the path you took to get to that screen. It doesn't come up via Settings, System, Display nor via Control Panel, System or Control Panel Display. As you say this appears to be a driver issue (and it's better with the new driver) so I ask more out of curiosity.