Desktop ghosting / shadowing problem with my ASUS 22"

[IT Troll]

I have just setup my new ASUS MW221U and I am getting horrible ghosting / shadowing on the desktop. It is most noticeable on white text against a dark background i.e. OcUK forums! It also affects the edges of pictures and table borders etc.

I am running at native res 1680x1050 @ 65KHz 60Hz via DVI and have turned off font smoothing.

Note the ghosting on the numbers and the light points at the corners of the rectangle:


Note the ghosting were light meets dark on the picture:


I have tried using a different DVI cable and also an analogue cable but the picture remains the same. Has anyone got any suggestions or have I just got a bad 'un?

 

[IT Troll]

Have you tried Cleartype, on/off???

That was my first thought too. I have turned off all font smoothing inc. ClearType. But the problem is also present on non-text elements anyway.

Try different refresh rates and maybe change the dvi / vga port its plugged into.

At 1680 the only refresh rate is 60Hz. I have tried using the other DVI port on my graphics card, a different DVI cable and an analogue cable.

Can I ask how did you get that effect - are you moving the window from side to side?

No that is a photo of a stationary screen!

Does the screen have any different modes you can try in the OSD? The website mentions scenery, theatre and gaming modes - try all those to see if it happens on them all. Can you turn the 'Trace Free Technology' on and off?

The 'Spendid' modes just seem to be preset brightness/contrast/saturation levels, the ghosts/shadows are still present. The only other adjustable when on a DVI input is sharpness, but again this does not help. No sign of 'Trace Free' option.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, any more?

 

[IT Troll]

I have just tried running it from another PC (a laptop) and the problem is still there. I'll try contacting ASUS...

 

[IT Troll]

Finally got through to someone at ASUS who appeared to know what they are talking about. They said this was a known issue with some units and that it requires a firmware update. They would be willing to send me the firmware but it requires a special cable (parrallel to DVI?). Otherwise it is an RMA.

 

[IT Troll]

My monitor was bought a month ago but only just unpacked (for Christmas). It could be that the current batches already have the new firmware. Searching the net I did find mention of a delay in shipment rumoured to be because of a such an update.

I have made a comparision between my old monitor and the ASUS to submit as part of my RMA:

 

[IT Troll]

Just to conclude this thread I now have my monitor back from RMA with the new firmware. This has drastically improved the image quality of the desktop which suffered from nasty shadowing/ghosting/noise. As I don't have any real firmware version numbers I have simply called them v1 and v2 in the comparison picture:



However the monitor does still have a fast motion ghosting issue in games when the overdrive is enabled. This is covered in more detail in this thread.