monitor = Dell p1130 ( same as Sony trinitron G520 )
VideoCard = nvidia GeForce4 MX 440 8X
Distro = Fedora Core 1

hello,

I've just put together a PC but i get blurred display. i've tryed different changes in my Xf86config but nothing has improved the image (and i return to thye original config). the higher the resolution of my display, the worst it gets. right now i am at 1024x768 but if i go to 1400x1050 i cannot read anything. the monitor is supposed to be very good and it should have a sharp image.

this is my XF86Config. What should i change or try?

TX

**************************************************************************
# XFree86 4 configuration created by redhat-config-xfree86

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "single head configuration"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"

# RgbPath is the location of the RGB database. Note, this is the name of the
# file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db"). There is normally
# no need to change the default.
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Red Hat 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
FontPath "unix/:7100"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
Load "extmod"
Load "fbdevhw"
Load "glx"
Load "record"
Load "freetype"
Load "type1"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

# Specify which keyboard LEDs can be user-controlled (eg, with xset(1))
# Option "Xleds" "1 2 3"
# To disable the XKEYBOARD extension, uncomment XkbDisable.
# Option "XkbDisable"
# To customise the XKB settings to suit your keyboard, modify the
# lines below (which are the defaults). For example, for a non-U.S.
# keyboard, you will probably want to use:
# Option "XkbModel" "pc102"
# If you have a US Microsoft Natural keyboard, you can use:
# Option "XkbModel" "microsoft"
#
# Then to change the language, change the Layout setting.
# For example, a german layout can be obtained with:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# or:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"
#
# If you'd like to switch the positions of your capslock and
# control keys, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:swapcaps"
# Or if you just want both to be control, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:nocaps"
#
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

# If the normal CorePointer mouse is not a USB mouse then
# this input device can be used in AlwaysCore mode to let you
# also use USB mice at the same time.
Identifier "DevInputMice"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Dell P1130"
HorizSync 30.0 - 130.0
VertRefresh 48.0 - 170.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard0"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "Videocard vendor"
BoardName "NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX (generic)"
Option "UseEdidFreqs" "true"
Option "IgnoreEDID" "false"
Option "NvAgp" "1"
Option "CursorShadow" "1"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Videocard0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1600x1200" "1400x1050" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "DRI"
Group 0
Mode 0666
EndSection

Can you try hooking it up to a different computer? I know before my Hitachi 17'' CRT died it got real blurry all of a sudden, but mine was blury regardless of resolution. I'd say it's the monitor, doesn't Dell have good warrenty?

i hooked it up to my laptop (as external monitor) and the resolution was crystal clear. nothing wrong with the monitor.

i spend a whole three days playing around

the drivers must be bad

ok. i am getting closer to the truth and here is an update:

motherboard (new): Asus A7N8X-e Deluxe nForce2 DDR-400 FSB-400
Processor (new): AMD Athlon XP 2800+ FSB-333 512k
Video Card (new): nvidia GeForce4 MX 440 8X
Memory Ram (new): 1 Crucial PC2700 DDR 333MHz 500MB


if i use the same motherboard with the same video card and using windows XP it is still blurry.
so it may not be anything wrong with the linux drivers since it is also bad in windows XP.

if i plug the monitor to the output of my laptop as an external monitor, it comes out beatiful (crystal clear). so there is nothing wrong with the monitor.

i updated the motherboard bios + updated the nvidia driver => same bad resolution.

i played with the settings in windows XP for hours and i couldn't make it come up clearer.

the monitor cable is good since it is the same cable i used to connect to the laptop.


so there left are these 3 posibilities:

1- there is something wrong with the motherboard hardware (brand new hardware)

2- there is something wrong with the videocard hardware (brand new hardware)

3- the settings in the BIOS are wrong.


these are the relevant settings in my BIOS (after i reset the bios by unpluging the battery):

ADVANCED Chipset features:

CPU external frequency: 166 MHz
CPU Frequency Multiple Settings: Auto
System performance: Optimal
Memory Frequency: Auto
FSB spread spectrum: 0.50%
AGP spread spectrum: Auto
Graphics aperture size: 64MB
AGP frequency: Auto
System bios cacheable: Disable
Video ram cacheable: Disable
DDR reference voltage: 2.6 V
AGP VDDQ voltage: 1.5 V
AGP 8x support: Enable
AGP fast write capability: Enable

.

I bet it's the monitor, especially if you can hook it up to your laptop screen and it works fine. Try another monitor if you have any lying around.

PS: Are you the Arpi of MPlayer fame?

thanks, that is a good idea. i'll try it tonight (it is not here).

sorry. i don't know who that person is.


why would a monitor work fine with the external connector of a laptop but not straight from the video card?


TX

Nah i think it may be your video card is snafu. You need to replace it.

because if you get a good picture from the laptop video card but not from the one on the desktop it is NOT the Monitor's fault, it is defenitely the video card.

if you get horizontal blur across the screen it's not a screen problem. also if you see the individuial lines when the res is at 640x480, 640x400, 640x350 or sumat very low like that then u know the monitor's fine.

the problem was the videocard. i am now super happy it wasn't the monitor, which weights 70lbs.

i went to the store and got me a better video card. the picture is now crystal clear even at high resolutions.

unfortunatelly it was over 14 days from the day i bought the first video card and i couldn't exchange the bad card for a good one, but i guess i'lll send it by mail to the manufacturer for warranty repair.

btw: i got me a Geforce 5500 256MB on sale with rebate, and when playing UT2004 i see no performance increase from the Geforce 4MX400 64MB ????

UT2004 plays better in Linux!! than in windows. the mouse gets stuck from time to time in windows. it gets chucked fighting for memory with the windows operating system or something like that.


PROBLEM SOLVED

TX