08-18-2006, 09:58 PM
[quote tahoedrew]Sorry to say, that's how text looks on an LCD when you connect via VGA.
Honestly, I've never connected an LCD to a Mac via VGA, but all the PC's I've used have been via VGA, and they suck - do exactly what you're describing which is sharp in some areas and blurry in others.
Your best option would be to upgrade your video card (though I don't know of any PCI video cards with DVI other than the ATI radeon 9200 - which is still fairly pricey compared to a 2x or 4x AGP card like a GeForce 4MX which is probably $20-30 on ebay. Perhaps someone knows of another, cheaper, PCI with DVI card)
~A
I agree about using an LCD with a VGA adapter. I had a 19" LCD connected to an almost identical B & W, and I wasn't impressed with anything beyond the real estate. When I connected the same monitor to my MDD, the difference was amazing, because the video card provided "real" digital output. I now use it as a second monitor with my 20" Intel iMac, and it's great on it, too. I doubt there's anything wrong with the monitor itself, so you just have to decide whether an $80 monitor is worth the price of a new video card for that computer. I love my B & W (I still use it as a server), but I wouldn't love it enough to start putting more into a video card than what the monitor cost.
Honestly, I've never connected an LCD to a Mac via VGA, but all the PC's I've used have been via VGA, and they suck - do exactly what you're describing which is sharp in some areas and blurry in others.
Your best option would be to upgrade your video card (though I don't know of any PCI video cards with DVI other than the ATI radeon 9200 - which is still fairly pricey compared to a 2x or 4x AGP card like a GeForce 4MX which is probably $20-30 on ebay. Perhaps someone knows of another, cheaper, PCI with DVI card)
~A
I agree about using an LCD with a VGA adapter. I had a 19" LCD connected to an almost identical B & W, and I wasn't impressed with anything beyond the real estate. When I connected the same monitor to my MDD, the difference was amazing, because the video card provided "real" digital output. I now use it as a second monitor with my 20" Intel iMac, and it's great on it, too. I doubt there's anything wrong with the monitor itself, so you just have to decide whether an $80 monitor is worth the price of a new video card for that computer. I love my B & W (I still use it as a server), but I wouldn't love it enough to start putting more into a video card than what the monitor cost.