Dim screen when connecting 5660 to CRT monitor - Page 3

Hmm... this is interesting. I'll have to try this with my 5660 tonight

Is this problem fixed with the 5670?

5670 External Monitor

I received my 5670 last friday and it too exhibits the issue. Basically, noticeably dim and unfocused output on an external monitor. Seems like most users would at one time or another utilize an external monitor so I would hope that it is being addressed.

Otherwise, the machine has been as advertised so far. Haven't decided if the external monitor issue is enought to return it yet.

-sw

Just a follow up..... I have posted an inquiry directly to Clevo regarding this issue and will share any reply I receive.

-sw

I'm curious, is this problem both when the laptop is plugged in and when it's only on battery?

I'm thinking it could be a power issue, but it's a wild shot.

-myrkat

It's both unfortunatly....

In my case the laptop is plugged in .....

-sw

I'm sure this is obvious and that everyone has tried this, but I thought I would mention it anyway.

When plugging a CRT into any computer, most times Windows detects it as a generic monitor and sets the refresh rate to 60. You might want to check and make sure the driver for that exact CRT is loaded and that the refresh rate is set to at least 75. It may or may not help the dimness, but it sure makes things look better.

I hope I don't run into this problem with the Samsung - SyncMaster 170MP-Silver (17 inch Multi-function LCD Monitor) I get shipped to me this week.

I am gonna use it as a second display + it has a built in TV Tuner, that I will be using daily. Hope my 5670 plays nice with this second display

What dimness??

I have heard so many people complain about the dimness of an external monitor when they connect it to the 5660. I tried to connect a 19" Dell CRT monitor to my 5660 AND IT LOOKS GORGEOUS!!!

I will not use the LCD now unless I am on the move - this CRT offers superb viewing angles, low latency and beautiful colors compared to my LCD. I didnt have to up the brightness or the contrast to make it look good - it was ultra bright and perfect right away!!

I now have my LCD turned off saves my LCD life too

I am now playing with the extended monitor thing its an awesome thing if you have never done it before yourself...My friend tried a Sony LCD monitor with my laptop and said it looked fine but this is the first time I am doing this myself and I am absolutely thrilled.

Both the screens look great at 1024x768 res and I can watch a DVD on one screen while I do my assignments on the other window which just takes the biscuit!!! I LOVE THIS LAPTOP EVEN MORE!!!

Just as it looked like I was gonna be feeling bored with the laptop I find something new to carry on the excitement. I have finished all the games I have - now to find a game that uses multiple monitors!!!

PEOPLE - those of you who are complaining about the brightness of the CRT's please pm me and i'll let you know exactly what I did to get everything working (although I didnt really do anything special...)

Perhaps its your monitor - perhaps its just your settings...

This is awesome!!!

I am all excited with this new stuff...
I had a few problems setting up the dual monitor and the extended monitor because of driver related issues with the Dell Monitor for the secondary adapter but this sort of got automatically fixed when I restarted the computer. No problems since...

I just set it up so that I have the CRT on the left side of the laptop and I made it the secondary - Now I can push files, folders and windows on to the CRT with a flick of the wrist, watch DVD's on the second monitor while I browse the internet on the laptop...

Ok enough excitement from my side - I wanna know why its not working for the other peeps with the 5660...

Im excited as well

I will post a reply later, on how the results of the second lcd, when I recieve it this week.

The external monitor in both clone and extended mode 'works' and is a great feature. What is disappointing is the loss in clarity and brightness on the external monitors I've tried.

Here is the response I received from Clevo:

Dear User :

Thanks of choosing CLEVO products.

You can adjust the brightness under ATI advance control.

Conerol Panel --> Appearance and Themes --> Display --> Settings --> Advanced --> Color
Adjust the Brightness at Desktop Brightness bar.

Best Regards

CLEVO FAE Team


-sw

I am happy to report that I have been playing with my new second display, and the quality is breathe taking.

No idea what the complaints are, but I can assure you I can't find one

Im having a ball with my second display connected to my 5670.

I also have it hooked up to my Klipsch D-5.1 Pro Media speakers.

I now have digital sound coming from all sources, and the digital cable box I have setup is giving me very nice quality picture.

I watched a dvd last night on it, and been playing battlefield on it as well.

Im happy I had gotten the 3.06 ghz HT + the 1 gb of ram. I can have a ton of things running with no problem.

Re: This is awesome!!!

Now, you need more eyes...

Sorry to bring this topic back around, its been ages since I have talked about this. However, I do have some new information that I thought some people might like to hear.

First, please do not confuse dimness with the washed out look of the monitor most people are talking about. It is not a matter of adjusting contrast, brightness, or gamma. Rather, it is the overall fuzziness, dull, non-vibrant look that many people such as I have issues with. I own a Dell 19" Trinitron Monitor. My roommate, who also owns a 5660, has the Viewsonic 19" Flat Display Monitor and has the same problems as I do. However, when I hooked my laptop to a friend's 17" monitor, I had absolutely no clarity problems whatsoever. I don't know if anyone else has noticed or even tried this out, but it appears that on most 17" monitors, the colors are much better. I tested this on the VPR-Matrix monitor, an old Dell 17" CRT bubble monitor, and a 17" Viewsonic CRT Monitor. HOWEVER, I really would not like to buy a 17" monitor in exchange for the 19" monitor.

PLEASE, someone help! Hopefully, after all this time, someone has come up with a solution!

snohman

Computer specs as follows:
Sager 5660
2.4GHz, 512 DDR RAM, 30GIG 4200RPM, ATI 9000 128MB, XP Professional

You shouldn't apologize for someone else's defect!

Anyway, this gives me an idea, I think I'm going to be taking my 5660 down to Fry's and try it out on all the monitors. Perhaps if I find a good 19" I'll buy it. But it looks like you may be right in there are some that work and some that don't. I've got 2 17" Viewsonics, a GS771 and a P775 (top of the line a few years back), both of which show washed out display as a secondary.

Couldn't the 19" vs. 17" issue be with resolutions? I mean if you take the same resolution and put it on a larger monitor, then of course it will look fuzzy or not as crisp as the smaller monitor.

It's like watching a big screen TV from 2 or 3 feet away... Maybe bumping the resolution UP on the larger CRT would give better results?

Just my $0.02 worth,
-myrkat

same problem

I also have a 5660 I bought in Jan2003. I'm extremely pleased with the performance of this laptop (I am an independent software consultant and so run both server and development software on the laptop at the same time, and it flies... and of course the occaisional BF1942 game

Recently I bought a IOGear KVM device so I could share my main NEC700+ monitor, keyboard and mouse between several machines, including my 5660.

I get exactly the same problems as described here: the monitor output when using the 2nd display option is very dim, the resolution is poor, and the colors seem very muddy and washed out. Fiddling with the ATI display settings to change the color balance and brightness/contrast etc just makes the display output look worse.

I hope Sager/ATI can resolve this issue for future releases of their 5660 because in all other aspects this notebook really is the dogs parts.

Kevin

frustrating

Yep, got the same problem with my 5660. I love my lcd screen on my laptop, no problems there except for one bung pixel.

Yeah I guess i get a bit of the washed out look too, but it's the dimness that is killing me. Been trying all day to get it just right. Oh well, I'm probably just gonna put my dell desktop at work back together with teh monitor. I have an NEC Multisync FE950+ that was purchased on Ebay, so it had some issues already, but it still is super nice with my desktop Dell.

So even if i got a flat panel LCD I would have the same problem?

man that really sux. I had a sony laptop that I had hooked up to a monitor and keyboard etc. and it was perfect. I thought I could do the same with my 5660, but this is pretty frustrating.