Screen dimmer than normal, blurrier -- monitor or video card problem?

My computer screen seems to be dimmer than other people's computers resulting in it being much harder for me to see in bright environments. Small print seems to be rather blurry also. If I remember correctly the computer was not always this way. (This isn't a computer I use that often.) The screen is a CRT (I think) 15-inch monitor. If my video card isn't working right would that cause slight dimming (it's not bad but just a little noticeable) and slight blurring, or is that more likely a monitor issue? Would I be able to achieve more brightness and clarity with a different monitor? Sorry if this seems vague but the "problem" is hard to describe and diagnose.

 

Hi Joel...

You may have provided the clue when you mentioned that you don't use it often ...

Older monitors that set around unused will go soft, if indeed that is the problem just leave it run with a screen saver for a day or so and see if it comes back....most will ....

Checking the video card is a simple matter of plugging the monitor into another computer and see if there is any difference ,,,

Let us know how you make out ...

Cheers
Jake

 

Thanks for the reply. I don't use the computer a whole lot but it does get used by others daily (so inactivity isn't the problem). The monitor is 3 years old. I can try plugging the monitor into another computer but cannot get the same test because this is the only computer with Windows XP (so the color and fonts will be different on the other computer with WinME).

 

Screen contrast, brightness, colour purity and focus should be similar regardless of OS used. changing the refresh rate between 75, 85 and 100Hz (if the monitor and graphics card support it) and colour from say 16 to 32 bit and vice versa may have a small effect, as will the type of graphics card and driver revision. There are internal adjustments for sub brightness and focus that are easy to do. But I'm not going to suggest you try, as there are dangerous voltages in there.

Swap it over with another monitor to rule out the graphics card, after that try the various refresh and colour options ans well as driver updates.

3 years of daily use will probably have an effect on the CRT's emission and the focus, depending on the quality of construction so someone qualified could have a quick look at those adjustments.

 

I have seen examples of monitors that are dim at particular screen resolutions. The old Smile 15" used to be dim at 1024x768 but brighter at other screen resolutions. It might be worth trying a different screen resolution. However, I agree with other posters - the monitor is the most likely problem. May well be time to get a new one (after testing the monitor on another PC). There are some fabulous CRT bargins around.

 

New monitor and the problem seems to be fixed. Thanks for the help! I might still go ahead and get a new video card so I can get 32-bit color depth and DirectX 9 support.

 

A new graphics card is certainly in order. Even the low end available today will support 32bit colour. Carefull not to go to high end in a new card, as it will be wasted on a slower system. Then again if your thinking of doing a system upgrade soon. May as well get a card that will suit a current fast machine. 128Mb cards appear to be the sweet spot now.

 

I did get a new graphics card -- XFX GeForce MX 4000. It has provided even sharper picture detail and seems to be working very well.

 

A good low end choice Joel. I've been thinking of an MX 4000 for my secondary machine, an Athlon Thunderbird 1.2G to replace the aging (aged!) 3DFX Voodoo 3 3000.