Which is better?

Hi,

I have an Acer 1600x900 K2O2HQL monitor connected to a Win10 PC. After
Windows update I noted that the monitor image was blurry and streaked. I
looked into the matter and downloaded an Acer device drive for Win8, the
latest listed by Acer and installed it. It fixed the problem, but the image
is still not as crisp as the Acer Logo on power up. Acer also lists a drive
for Win7. Which is better? Is there any good compatible driver for Win10.
Thanks.

Norm X wrote:
Hi,

I have an Acer 1600x900 K2O2HQL monitor connected to a Win10 PC. After
Windows update I noted that the monitor image was blurry and streaked. I
looked into the matter and downloaded an Acer device drive for Win8, the
latest listed by Acer and installed it. It fixed the problem, but the image
is still not as crisp as the Acer Logo on power up. Acer also lists a drive
for Win7. Which is better? Is there any good compatible driver for Win10.
Thanks.



So this is a question about what drivers are available
for the video card on the Windows 10 PC ?

According to this Walmart advert, the K202HQL is 1366x768.
Typically a video driver needs to make 1360x768 or 1368x768,
as "horizontal divisible by 8" is preferred. To make 1366 on
a modern GPU, that can be done with an outboard Silicon Image
chip sitting next to the video card GPU. It apparently has
the clocking options to hit 1366.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-K202...nitor/49688385

You can use Moninfo to tease out the details of the monitor
right now, using the "real time sampling" option. Scrolling down
the right-hand pane, after querying the monitor, should give a list
of resolutions from the monitor.

https://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/moninfo.shtm

Then we have to find out some details about the video card
on your computing device.

I think Windows 10 may have removed the custom resolution box,
but the hardware will continue to support mode line programming,
as that has been in silicon for *50 years*.

No matter what the price, I do not in general recommend
anyone buy a 1366 monitor... If they want to putz around,
a 1440x900 (like the end of line I bought at Staples)
is a much better purchase. I haven't had a problem
getting a video card to drive that. My monitor had
one bad pixel, but I expect that's a function of
the panel class used (they're not using "A" panels
in that thing, so you can't actually cherry pick
a good panel from the lot).

In any case, it is possible to make your setup work nice.
It's just getting harder and harder and harder, to do.
(Thanks, Microsoft.)

Paul

Norm X wrote:

I have an Acer 1600x900 K2O2HQL monitor connected to a Win10 PC. After
Windows update I noted that the monitor image was blurry and
streaked. I looked into the matter and downloaded an Acer device
drive for Win8, the latest listed by Acer and installed it. It fixed
the problem, but the image is still not as crisp as the Acer Logo on
power up. Acer also lists a drive for Win7. Which is better? Is there
any good compatible driver for Win10.

Did you check the Windows setting for screen resolution to make sure it
matches the monitor's native resolution? If screen resolution doesn't
match monitor resolution, the OS has to interpolate the rendering which
can cause loss of focus, color tinging, and other artifacts.

From what I've found little online for the specifications on the Acer
K2O2HQL monitor (probably it's very old), its native resolution is
1366x768, not the 1600x900 that you mentioned. You are trying to use a
resolution in the OS that exceeds what the monitor itself can support.
Go to Settings app - Display - Display. When installing the monitor's
driver (very likely just an INF file to define the device), is the
correct monitor listed there under "Color profile"? If you monitor is
not listed, is Generic listed? For generic, you'll likely have to make
sure *you* pick a screen resolution that matches the monitor's
resolution. What is the "Display resolution" setting there?

Then click on "Advanced display settings" and click on "Display adapter
properties for Display 1" and go to the Monitor tab. Is the "Hide modes
that this monitor cannot display" option enabled (or grayed out if the
driver prevents selecting unsupported modes)?

Is it just text, or is both text and graphics (e.g., icons) fuzzy? If
just text, did you check Clear Text is enabled? Enter "cleartext" in
the taskbar's search box to check if Clear Text is enabled or not.

Thanks Paul,

While Acer does make a 1366x768 monitor, it is not K2O2HQL. The Walmart ad
says it is K202HQL ABD. The Amazon ad says it is 1600x900, its native
resolution.

I have an Acer 1600x900 K2O2HQL monitor connected to a Win10 PC. After
Windows update I noted that the monitor image was blurry and streaked. I
looked into the matter and downloaded an Acer device drive for Win8, the
latest listed by Acer and installed it. It fixed the problem, but the
image is still not as crisp as the Acer Logo on power up. Acer also lists
a drive for Win7. Which is better? Is there any good compatible driver
for Win10. Thanks.

So this is a question about what drivers are available
for the video card on the Windows 10 PC ?

According to this Walmart advert, the K202HQL is 1366x768.
Typically a video driver needs to make 1360x768 or 1368x768,
as "horizontal divisible by 8" is preferred. To make 1366 on
a modern GPU, that can be done with an outboard Silicon Image
chip sitting next to the video card GPU. It apparently has
the clocking options to hit 1366.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-K202...nitor/49688385

You can use Moninfo to tease out the details of the monitor
right now, using the "real time sampling" option. Scrolling down
the right-hand pane, after querying the monitor, should give a list
of resolutions from the monitor.

https://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/moninfo.shtm

Then we have to find out some details about the video card
on your computing device.

I think Windows 10 may have removed the custom resolution box,
but the hardware will continue to support mode line programming,
as that has been in silicon for *50 years*.

No matter what the price, I do not in general recommend
anyone buy a 1366 monitor... If they want to putz around,
a 1440x900 (like the end of line I bought at Staples)
is a much better purchase. I haven't had a problem
getting a video card to drive that. My monitor had
one bad pixel, but I expect that's a function of
the panel class used (they're not using "A" panels
in that thing, so you can't actually cherry pick
a good panel from the lot).

In any case, it is possible to make your setup work nice.
It's just getting harder and harder and harder, to do.
(Thanks, Microsoft.)

Paul

Thanks,

While Acer does make a 1366x768 monitor, it is not K2O2HQL. The Walmart ad
says it is K202HQL ABD. The Amazon ad says it is 1600x900, its native
resolution.

I have an Acer 1600x900 K2O2HQL monitor connected to a Win10 PC. After
Windows update I noted that the monitor image was blurry and
streaked. I looked into the matter and downloaded an Acer device
drive for Win8, the latest listed by Acer and installed it. It fixed
the problem, but the image is still not as crisp as the Acer Logo on
power up. Acer also lists a drive for Win7. Which is better? Is there
any good compatible driver for Win10.

Did you check the Windows setting for screen resolution to make sure it
matches the monitor's native resolution? If screen resolution doesn't
match monitor resolution, the OS has to interpolate the rendering which
can cause loss of focus, color tinging, and other artifacts.

From what I've found little online for the specifications on the Acer
K2O2HQL monitor (probably it's very old), its native resolution is
1366x768, not the 1600x900 that you mentioned. You are trying to use a
resolution in the OS that exceeds what the monitor itself can support.
Go to Settings app - Display - Display. When installing the monitor's
driver (very likely just an INF file to define the device), is the
correct monitor listed there under "Color profile"? If you monitor is
not listed, is Generic listed? For generic, you'll likely have to make
sure *you* pick a screen resolution that matches the monitor's
resolution. What is the "Display resolution" setting there?

Then click on "Advanced display settings" and click on "Display adapter
properties for Display 1" and go to the Monitor tab. Is the "Hide modes
that this monitor cannot display" option enabled (or grayed out if the
driver prevents selecting unsupported modes)?

Is it just text, or is both text and graphics (e.g., icons) fuzzy? If
just text, did you check Clear Text is enabled? Enter "cleartext" in
the taskbar's search box to check if Clear Text is enabled or not.

Norm X wrote:

While Acer does make a 1366x768 monitor, it is not K2O2HQL. The Walmart ad
says it is K202HQL ABD. The Amazon ad says it is 1600x900, its native
resolution.

So, did you check the screen in Windows is running at the same
resolution as the native resolution for the monitor?

Did you check Clear Text?

Norm X wrote:
Thanks,

While Acer does make a 1366x768 monitor, it is not K2O2HQL. The Walmart ad
says it is K202HQL ABD. The Amazon ad says it is 1600x900, its native
resolution.

I suspect that the Amazon ad is wrong or toy have a different model. Acer
itself says the k202hql is a 1366x768 monitor
https://store.acer.com/en-my/k202hql

Running it at the wrong resolution will make it blurry.

Chris wrote:
Norm X wrote:
Thanks,

While Acer does make a 1366x768 monitor, it is not K2O2HQL. The Walmart ad
says it is K202HQL ABD. The Amazon ad says it is 1600x900, its native
resolution.

I suspect that the Amazon ad is wrong or toy have a different model. Acer
itself says the k202hql is a 1366x768 monitor
https://store.acer.com/en-my/k202hql

Running it at the wrong resolution will make it blurry.

I'd prefer to see a moninfo dump, just to be sure.

Paul

Paul wrote:
Chris wrote:
Norm X wrote:
Thanks,

While Acer does make a 1366x768 monitor, it is not K2O2HQL. The
Walmart ad says it is K202HQL ABD. The Amazon ad says it is 1600x900,
its native resolution.

I suspect that the Amazon ad is wrong or toy have a different model. Acer
itself says the k202hql is a 1366x768 monitor
https://store.acer.com/en-my/k202hql

Running it at the wrong resolution will make it blurry.

I'd prefer to see a moninfo dump, just to be sure.

Paul

Model Name: K202HQL (australian market)

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/AU/conten...ls/monitors/k2

Model Name: K202HQL Abd (USA market)

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/conten...l/UM.IX2AA.A01

And yes, the customers are loving this, Acer. What fun.

https://community.acer.com/en/discus...pport-1600x900

Paul

Paul wrote:

Chris wrote:

Norm X wrote:

While Acer does make a 1366x768 monitor, it is not K2O2HQL. The
Walmart ad says it is K202HQL ABD. The Amazon ad says it is
1600x900, its native resolution.

I suspect that the Amazon ad is wrong or toy have a different model.
Acer itself says the k202hql is a 1366x768 monitor
https://store.acer.com/en-my/k202hql

Running it at the wrong resolution will make it blurry.

I'd prefer to see a moninfo dump, just to be sure.

Piriform's Speccy reports the monitor's resolution. So does the
msinfo32.exe tool alrady included in Windows. I am not sure that is the
current resolution or the maximum resolution reported a reported by the
monitor (via the EDID from the monitor). The monitor has both VGA and
HDMI connections, but the OP didn't say which he is using.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displa...#Physical_link

DDCv1 could only identify if the monitor supported resolutions higher
than 1024x768. Looks like later versions serialized the data transfer,
so more of the EDID (Extended Display Information Data) could be
retrieved from the monitor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extend...ification_Data

While VGA supports up to 1080p (1920x1080), image quality degrades at
higher bandwidths due to the intrinsic nature of analogue signalling.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Graphics_Array
Today, the VGA analog interface is used for high-definition video,
including resolutions of 1080p and higher. While the transmission \
bandwidth of VGA is high enough to support even higher resolution
playback, there can be picture quality degradation depending on cable
quality and length. How discernible this degradation depends on the
individual's eyesight and the display, though it is more noticeable
when switching to and from digital inputs like HDMI, DVI or
DisplayPort.

I've seen users that reported problems when using VGA that sufficiently
cleared up to their satisfaction after replacing the video cable with a
higher quality one. With analog, like VGA, the quality of the cable and
its connections significantly impact the quality of the signal. In
monitors that still have VGA input, the scalers (to convert analog to
digital) in the digital monitors have degraded because VGA is an antique
standard that was getting phased out 10 years ago. I don't know the
vintage for the OP's monitor, and the video card was never mentioned (or
the mobo brand and model if the OP is using onboard video). If the OP
has an HDMI port on his unidentified video card (already known his
monitor has it), he should invest in getting an HDMI cable. And, no,
not use a VGA-to-HDMI converter.

Unless the OP configured Windows 10 otherwise, it will push driver
updates. I have that disabled. If there are new drivers, I'll get them
from the device manufacture *if* they provide anything better than what
the old drivers are doing okay, so far. As yet, we don't know what was
in the unidentified Windows update mentioned by the OP.

On 23/09/2019 09:10, Paul wrote:
Chris wrote:
Norm X wrote:
Thanks,

While Acer does make a 1366x768 monitor, it is not K2O2HQL. The
Walmart ad says it is K202HQL ABD. The Amazon ad says it is 1600x900,
its native resolution.

I suspect that the Amazon ad is wrong or toy have a different model. Acer
itself says theÂ* k202hql is a 1366x768 monitor
https://store.acer.com/en-my/k202hql

Running it at the wrong resolution will make it blurry.

I'd prefer to see a moninfo dump, just to be sure.

True.

From your other post, in this day and age, it is very daft for a
company to have the same model number with different specifications
depending on region in the world.

"VanguardLH" wrote in message
...
Norm X wrote:

I have an Acer 1600x900 K2O2HQL monitor connected to a Win10 PC. After
Windows update I noted that the monitor image was blurry and
streaked. I looked into the matter and downloaded an Acer device
drive for Win8, the latest listed by Acer and installed it. It fixed
the problem, but the image is still not as crisp as the Acer Logo on
power up. Acer also lists a drive for Win7. Which is better? Is there
any good compatible driver for Win10.

Did you check the Windows setting for screen resolution to make sure it
matches the monitor's native resolution? If screen resolution doesn't
match monitor resolution, the OS has to interpolate the rendering which
can cause loss of focus, color tinging, and other artifacts.

From what I've found little online for the specifications on the Acer
K2O2HQL monitor (probably it's very old), its native resolution is
1366x768, not the 1600x900 that you mentioned. You are trying to use a
resolution in the OS that exceeds what the monitor itself can support.
Go to Settings app - Display - Display. When installing the monitor's
driver (very likely just an INF file to define the device), is the
correct monitor listed there under "Color profile"? If you monitor is
not listed, is Generic listed? For generic, you'll likely have to make
sure *you* pick a screen resolution that matches the monitor's
resolution. What is the "Display resolution" setting there?

Then click on "Advanced display settings" and click on "Display adapter
properties for Display 1" and go to the Monitor tab. Is the "Hide modes
that this monitor cannot display" option enabled (or grayed out if the
driver prevents selecting unsupported modes)?

Is it just text, or is both text and graphics (e.g., icons) fuzzy? If
just text, did you check Clear Text is enabled? Enter "cleartext" in
the taskbar's search box to check if Clear Text is enabled or not.

I tried all the obvious stuff with no effect. I read some where that
Microsoft no longer supports 1600x900. That was called "planned obsolesce"
by Ralph Nader. It is a money maker. That explains why the good Acer driver
was dumped with latest Win10 update. But they did support it up to Win8. I
have partly solved the problem with Acer driver download. I don't know why
everyone thinks I don't know the resolution. Its obvious to anyone who can
read. It is still the same resolution as when I bought it. I was asking
about compatible monitor device drivers designed for Win10. If I found one
then all those Win10 tweaks would work better, I have searched Acer for
compatible device drivers for 1600x900 monitors and found some. But they are
all designed for Win8. Since that does not work, I could experiment with
other manufactures' 1600x900 monitor device drivers that might be designed
for Win10. That would be hard work and I might find nothing given
Micro$oft's bad rip-off attitude,

Let me explain my environment. Frequently I use Remote Desktop to connect to
my Win10 machine with the 1600x900 monitor. On this WinXP machine I have a
1080p x 1920 monitor and a 300Mbps WiFi dongle. I doesn't work well for
Youtube at which time I need to move (physically) to my Win10 laptop. I am
learning Zoology at the local U.

Is it to much to ask Microsoft to write a good device driver for a 1600x900
monitor? NO. But Microsoft has a long history of Ralph Nader's "planned
obsolesce". Life is so expensive. It is never a good idea to toss good
equipment because Microsoft has made it obsolescent.

I'm still searching for a good MOBO for my Desktop PC. There are so many to
choose from.

Norm Why wrote:
"VanguardLH" wrote in message
...
Norm X wrote:

I have an Acer 1600x900 K2O2HQL monitor connected to a Win10 PC. After
Windows update I noted that the monitor image was blurry and
streaked. I looked into the matter and downloaded an Acer device
drive for Win8, the latest listed by Acer and installed it. It fixed
the problem, but the image is still not as crisp as the Acer Logo on
power up. Acer also lists a drive for Win7. Which is better? Is there
any good compatible driver for Win10.
Did you check the Windows setting for screen resolution to make sure it
matches the monitor's native resolution? If screen resolution doesn't
match monitor resolution, the OS has to interpolate the rendering which
can cause loss of focus, color tinging, and other artifacts.

From what I've found little online for the specifications on the Acer
K2O2HQL monitor (probably it's very old), its native resolution is
1366x768, not the 1600x900 that you mentioned. You are trying to use a
resolution in the OS that exceeds what the monitor itself can support.
Go to Settings app - Display - Display. When installing the monitor's
driver (very likely just an INF file to define the device), is the
correct monitor listed there under "Color profile"? If you monitor is
not listed, is Generic listed? For generic, you'll likely have to make
sure *you* pick a screen resolution that matches the monitor's
resolution. What is the "Display resolution" setting there?

Then click on "Advanced display settings" and click on "Display adapter
properties for Display 1" and go to the Monitor tab. Is the "Hide modes
that this monitor cannot display" option enabled (or grayed out if the
driver prevents selecting unsupported modes)?

Is it just text, or is both text and graphics (e.g., icons) fuzzy? If
just text, did you check Clear Text is enabled? Enter "cleartext" in
the taskbar's search box to check if Clear Text is enabled or not.

I tried all the obvious stuff with no effect. I read some where that
Microsoft no longer supports 1600x900. That was called "planned obsolesce"
by Ralph Nader. It is a money maker. That explains why the good Acer driver
was dumped with latest Win10 update. But they did support it up to Win8. I
have partly solved the problem with Acer driver download. I don't know why
everyone thinks I don't know the resolution. Its obvious to anyone who can
read. It is still the same resolution as when I bought it. I was asking
about compatible monitor device drivers designed for Win10. If I found one
then all those Win10 tweaks would work better, I have searched Acer for
compatible device drivers for 1600x900 monitors and found some. But they are
all designed for Win8. Since that does not work, I could experiment with
other manufactures' 1600x900 monitor device drivers that might be designed
for Win10. That would be hard work and I might find nothing given
Micro$oft's bad rip-off attitude,

Let me explain my environment. Frequently I use Remote Desktop to connect to
my Win10 machine with the 1600x900 monitor. On this WinXP machine I have a
1080p x 1920 monitor and a 300Mbps WiFi dongle. I doesn't work well for
Youtube at which time I need to move (physically) to my Win10 laptop. I am
learning Zoology at the local U.

Is it to much to ask Microsoft to write a good device driver for a 1600x900
monitor? NO. But Microsoft has a long history of Ralph Nader's "planned
obsolesce". Life is so expensive. It is never a good idea to toss good
equipment because Microsoft has made it obsolescent.

I'm still searching for a good MOBO for my Desktop PC. There are so many to
choose from.

Why not take a look at your monitor driver, to see you
have the correct file ? Not all monitors have monitor
drivers. The "Westinghouse" brand LCD monitors, have no
monitor files, and all of those show up as "generic monitor"
in Device Manager. Yet, the screen always works well... because
the EDID table provides the information used to make the thing
work. The monitor driver is optional. Companies like NEC,
provide a lot of (vanity) monitor drivers for their
customer. Like this one.

nl1765.cat security file
nl1765.icm color calibration table (generic, unlike a Spyder one done for the monitor)
nl1765.inf has a few registry changes (you should read those!!!) === === ===
has the device string for Device Manager
example: NEC-LCD1765="NEC LCD1765"

If any file is going to screw up, that's the INF one.

Other than that file, and any information (that might actually
be ignored by the video card driver), it's between the
EDID and the video card, to work out the resolution choices

Monitor
EDID ------- serial ---------- video-card
select possible res, use it
------------------------------ (video signal)

The INF file is anonymized during installation. nl1765.inf gets
changed to "oem23.inf". That would be the twenty third file
added to the INF folder. if you do a content search against
the INF folder, using a string like my example "nl1765",
you will be able to find the INF file which is actually
being used at the moment.

Your first hint regarding the analysis, is to start with the
Device Manager and see if a vanity string is present for
the LCD monitor. If it says "generic whatever", then you know
that no monitor file is present, and the EDID table provides
what the video card is looking for. If a monitor driver
has been used, then track it down... and read it. Check
the INF for "dumb stuff".

Paul

"Norm X" wrote

Hi,

I have an Acer 1600x900 K2O2HQL monitor connected to a Win10 PC. After
Windows update I noted that the monitor image was blurry and streaked. I
looked into the matter and downloaded an Acer device drive for Win8, the
latest listed by Acer and installed it. It fixed the problem, but the
image is still not as crisp as the Acer Logo on power up. Acer also lists
a drive for Win7. Which is better? Is there any good compatible driver for
Win10. Thanks.

Wow, after last Win10 update the screen image on my 1600x900 K2O2HQL monitor
is now perfect! That confirms it was a Windows software problem, not
hardware.

In article , says...
Wow, after last Win10 update the screen image on my 1600x900 K2O2HQL monitor
is now perfect! That confirms it was a Windows software problem, not
hardware


Have you gone through the Cleartype adjustment steps? It can
make a real difference.