AW2518H, fuzzy text in browser

Question

Hi Everyone,

I just got the Alienware 25 gaming monitor (G-Sync one) and it is working fine for gaming. But, basic web browsing is very difficult on this AW2518H because the text has a slight fuzzy look to it. I am using the AW2518H on full resolution setting and I tried 60Hz all the way up to 240Hz and it made no difference. It seems like I am looking at a monitor that doesn't have the device driver installed. But I did download and install them from the Dell AW2518H support page. When I view the browser on my Alienware 17 laptop, the text looks sharp. But as soon as I drag the window to the gaming AW2518H it looks very bad. Do I have a defective monitor or is there some setting I'm not aware of? I've tried most in the Nvidia Control Panel.

Help would be appreciated,

Thanks, Tony

Tom-n-Jerry · Accepted Answer

I tested the Alienware monitor on my desktop PC that has a GTX 1080 and it still was not good. Either the monitor is defective or the Alienware monitor is just not capable of displaying small text very clearly with the 1920 resolution.

I have returned the monitor and I am looking for a different monitor.

DELL-Chris M · Answer

* Click my name and private message me the AW2518H service tag number
* Reset the AW2518H to Factory settings, page 39
* AW2518H Menu- Game- Response Time should be Normal, page 33
* Test all AW2518H Menu- Game- Preset Modes, page 31
* Test multiple browsers, Chrome, IE, Edge

Tom-n-Jerry · Answer

I tested with Chrome and Edge and there is no difference. I also tried all the menu options on the monitor as well. Lastly, I typed some text in the standard notepad application and the text does not look good on the Aienware monitor. Example of problem: I can visible see 2-3 notches on each curve of an "S" but on my Alienware laptop the "S" is completely smooth.

For as much money as this monitor costs, it should be able to display text with high quality.

Tom-n-Jerry · Answer

I also want to point out that the text is more grayish on the Alienware monitor when looking at non-bolded text. I'm quite baffled that text is not displaying very well on this monitor. I get it's meant for gaming first but I would still expect still text to be very crisp. I have not heard of anyone else having this problem so I'm starting to wonder if I bad manufactured monitor. Let me know if anyone else has this monitor and has notice the same thing.

DELL-Chris M · Answer

The AW2518H is using 1920x1080. At what resolution is your Alienware laptop running? If higher than 1920x1080, then back the Alienware laptop LCD resolution down to 1920x1080 and then compare the fonts.

Tom-n-Jerry · Answer

I backed off my Alienwware laptop to 1920 to match the Alienware Montior and still the laptop is way sharper.  The Alienware monitor makes it dizzy for me to read websites on it.

DELL-Chris M · Answer

The last test I would do is test the AW2518H on a different PC.

Monitors

AW2518H, fuzzy text in browser

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