If you have experienced monitor ghosting, then you understand how it can ruin your gaming experience and even strain your eyes. Before learning how to fix monitor ghosting, familiarize yourself with its causes.
Monitor ghosting, also called ghosting, refers to a pixel trail or ghost-like image displayed behind rapidly moving things. While it also occurs in slow-moving scenes, it is only evident in fast-moving objects. Monitor ghosting can happen due to sluggish LCD board response time.
The upside is while monitor ghosting is pretty annoying, it does not cause permanent changes. With the definitions aside, let’s learn how to correct the problem.
How To Fix Monitor Ghosting (Quick Answer!)
You can fix monitor ghosting by doing a ghosting test, turning on overdrive, adjusting the display settings of the monitor, checking the monitor cables, and inspecting the connected devices. You can also examine the video port, update the drivers of the graphics card, and check the refresh pace. If everything else fails, get a new monitor.
Ways of Fixing Monitor Ghosting
Employ the following steps to eliminate monitor ghosting
1. Diagnose The Issue
Before correcting this problem, diagnose it by performing a ghosting test. Navigate to Blur Busters UFO Motion Test, then run the ghosting test on your computer browser. The results will either be an orange signal indicating a monitor ghosting problem with recommended solutions or a green signal signifying the absence of problems.
This tool also explains issues related to pixels per frame and second, refresh rate, and frames per second.
2. Enable Overdrive
Boost the rate of your device’s response time by switching on the overdrive of the monitor. However, do not max out the monitor’s overdrive to avoid causing coronas or inverse ghosting. Furthermore, note that overdrive may be named differently based on the manufacturer of the monitor.
Follow these steps to enable overdrive.
- Open the display menu of the monitor
- Locate overdrive setting
- Enable overdrive
- Adjust the level slowly while checking the ghosting test
- Choose the ideal overdrive result to eliminate or minimize monitor ghosting
3. Examine The Monitor Cables
The monitor cables must be properly plugged in. To ascertain this, unplug, replug it then check whether monitor ghosting disappears. The monitor cable must also be intact, so use a different cable if you suspect the current one is damaged.
Also, inspect the monitor cables for kinks, bends, nicks, and tears, then replace faulty cables, if any.
4. Inspect The Connected Devices
Devices such as the keyboard, modems, speakers, and printers connected to your computer may interfere with the monitor’s functionality if they are near the monitor. For this reason, keep them far from the monitor and then see if monitor ghosting gets resolved.
You can also disconnect these devices, one at a time, then see if your monitor ghosting persists. Do not forget to examine wireless devices when troubleshooting.
5. Modify The Display Settings
Monitor ghosting may occur due to incorrect display settings, so tweaking the settings can help resolve this problem. You can adjust perfect clear, noise reduction, game enhance mode, motion smoothing, black equalizer, contrast enhance/ dynamic contrast, dark stabilizer, and motion blur reduction.
You can also reduce response time and increase the refresh rate. Turn different settings on and off one at a time to see if you notice any changes in terms of monitor ghosting.
6. Adjust The Refresh Rate
It is essential to check the refresh rate of your monitor since some manufacturers set the default refresh rate to low. Never let your gaming monitor run with a refresh rate of less than 60 Hz.
You can adjust it by:
- Opening device settings, then system settings
- Next, open Advanced Display Settings
- Use the drop-down menu to adjust the refresh rate
7. Examine The Graphics Card
An outdated or faulty graphics card can also cause monitor ghosting, so make sure your device’s graphics card is up to date (upgrade if outdated). Furthermore, check whether the changelog notes of the driver update have ghosting problems highlights.
Keep in mind that besides causing monitor ghosting, old graphics cards make your devices vulnerable to hacks and malicious software.
8. Inspect The Video Port
Repair or replace a faulty video port.
9. Get A New Monitor
If all the other methods fail to resolve monitor ghosting, it may be time to buy a new monitor, especially if the current one compromises your gaming. Go for a monitor that is well-suited for your computing needs. For instance, a console gaming monitor needs a minimum of 75 Hz refresh rate, while a gaming PC monitor should have at least a 144 Hz refresh rate.
Conclusion
Compared to other problems, such as monitor burn-in, monitor ghosting should not scare you. Fixing this problem is cost-efficient and pretty straightforward. You just need to be patient when troubleshooting and fixing it.