Screen needs "auto adjust" all the time!

[OC7]

Hello, I've got an old VA1916w monitor connected via VGA-DVI cable to the GPU (R9 270X, Windows 8).
Many times I have to hit the "auto image adjust" button because the image is slightly off (blurry text on Windows environment). Then if I run a full screen game it may need adjustment again and so on. Resolution is set to native 1440x900 both in Windows and in games. The weird thing is that after lets say an hour gaming, the screen is a few pixels wider in the game and needs adjustment again, while exiting to desktop results again to slightly blurry texts. Previous VGA screen was OK so gpu is OK.
I tried a few things like manual Image Adjust/ Memory Recall, checked "use my settings for this device" under color management and used a Custom Resolution Utility all with same temporary results.
Any thoughts?

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Drift and timing is always a problem in analog devices. It just sounds like your current screen has it worse than normal. There is little you are going to be able to do about it on the screen end other than have it re-time itself when you notice the VGA clock has drifted too far from the reference signal coming from the output of your graphics card.

The only thing that comes to mind that may help would be a refresh rate adjustment. If you are currently driving the screen at or near it's refresh rate ceiling, this may be what is causing the monitor's drift to be so severe. Since your monitor is actually an LCD panel, it likely only wants 60 Hz as it's input and is having to translate any other refresh rate to fit a 60 Hz panel. While the VGA input on your screen may accept up to 75 Hz inputs, I recommend making sure the refresh rate selected on the Monitor tab in Windows is set to 60 Hz.

 

[OC7]

Drift and timing is always a problem in analog devices. It just sounds like your current screen has it worse than normal. There is little you are going to be able to do about it on the screen end other than have it re-time itself when you notice the VGA clock has drifted too far from the reference signal coming from the output of your graphics card.

Thanks for the fast reply, unfortunately that was the 1st setting I experimented with no results. I had 75Hz (testing purpose) and now that I changed it back to 60Hz the screen got a few pixels wider left and right, had to auto adjust once more.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

As soon as you change the refresh rate, you should have to auto adjust. That is normal, as the pixel clock the graphics card is sending to the screen has an immediate change.

The real test is in how long your screen takes between one auto-adjust and the need for auto-adjust again.

If your games are changing resolution and / or refresh rates, don't be surprised if you need to auto adjust after each change, at least once. While I would expect each internal resolution should have some sort of method to save the timing it sees, so auto adjust isn't needed each time for that resolution, if you changed the refresh rate at that resolution, then you will probably need to run the auto adjust for that resolution again.

Also, when gaming, since this is the most common time to see your refresh rate or screen size changes, make sure the settings for your Windows Desktop match your in-game settings. Your Desktop should be set to the 1440 x 900 60 Hz native timing of the display, and so should your games. If the games are timing at something different, say 75 or 59 Hz, and the screen doesn't have a very good system for storing timings, you could be affecting the timing that was saved when you auto adjusted while at the Desktop.

Conversely, if you had your Desktop set to 75 Hz, and your games were only set to refresh at 60 Hz, you're pretty much looking at the same situation. The screen may see the same resolution but now it has to time to a different pixel clock. Without telling the screen to run through it's auto adjust routine, the timing is probably going to be off.

 

[OC7]

If your games are changing resolution and / or refresh rates, don't be surprised if you need to auto adjust after each change, at least once.

I never auto adjusted my previous (same type) monitor when the changes you mentioned occurred, thats how it should work. Game is locked at 1440 x 900, 60 Hz

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Same type? Do you mean, same make and model, or same type of analog VGA interface? While even the same make and model of monitor could have different revisions of components or firmware, I am guessing you mean VGA interfaced monitor, not another VA1916w as you have now.

What I suspect is, your previous monitor memorized the correct timings for different pixel clocks at the same resolution, while your current one only memorizes a single set of timings, for a single pixel clock, so every time the pixel clock changes, the settings need to be relearned.

While it's nice to never have to auto detect, it will always be necessary at some point when you use an analog interface to true up the timings. This is why DVI, HDMI, and Display Port are preferred interfaces. There is no analog clock to worry about, therefore the output is always pixel accurate, rather than forcing the monitor to make a best guess at the proper timing. Lower cost screens are probably going to make worse guesses than higher priced ones, and in the end, none are likely to be exceptional at it since there was already a replacement interface at the time LCD panels hit the market. It simply sounds like your current screen doesn't handle the analog interface as well as your previous one did.

 

[OC7]

Same type? Do you mean, same make and model, or same type of analog VGA interface? While even the same make and model of monitor could have different revisions of components or firmware, I am guessing you mean VGA interfaced monitor, not another VA1916w as you have now.

Same type (VGA)

While it's nice to never have to auto detect, it will always be necessary at some point when you use an analog interface to true up the timings. This is why DVI, HDMI, and Display Port are preferred interfaces. There is no analog clock to worry about, therefore the output is always pixel accurate, rather than forcing the monitor to make a best guess at the proper timing. Lower cost screens are probably going to make worse guesses than higher priced ones, and in the end, none are likely to be exceptional at it since there was already a replacement interface at the time LCD panels hit the market. It simply sounds like your current screen doesn't handle the analog interface as well as your previous one did.

I'm aware of these Im trying to find if its a hardware issue due to lifespan or if it can be fixed software wise (like force resolution)