ClearType not working?

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Sonicks

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
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I'll begin by saying that I have been an exclusive Mac OS X user (personal use anyway) for the past 5 years so....

I recently built a new PC and I'm having a really hard time adjusting to jagged text everywhere in Windows 10. I've run through the ClearType calibration utility several times and it makes no difference even when I purposely choose the ugliest looking examples during the calibration process. I notice this jaggedness in every application and even in Windows menus. It's not horrible but its not smooth at all like OS X is. I know my monitor is not the issue since it's the same as I used with my MacBook on occasion.

Is this possibly a video card issue or does typeface in Windows 10 just look ugly and that's it? I do have the latest drivers/updates for my video card and Windows 10 so I don't know what the deal is. The computer I use at work has Windows 7 and, while it ain't no OS X, fonts are smoother there than my new build.

EDIT: I forgot to add, I am using a DVI -> HDMI cable. It's a straight through cable and not an adapter. Could that be the issue? I do not have any other cables to test out unfortunately unless I swipe one from work.
 
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The DVI to HDMI won't matter, digital is digital so that's not the cause. You're just used to the font rendering on OSX and there's really nothing that can be done with Windows to make it work the same. Sure there are some gimmicks related to the GDI fonts (old school stuff) where some can be replaced for better looking fonts (at least that's the opinion of the people that go through such troubles) but it still won't match the rendering of OSX. Windows 10 just ain't all that in the first place (personal opinion) and in my experience of using it (very limited on an as-needed basis just to help folks) I can't stand the look of the font rendering either, I prefer WIndows 7 even though some folks might say it's the same technology at work underneath.

It's just something you're going to have to get used to with Windows 10. Calibrating the color of the display as well might help to some small degree with Windows 10 but I have my doubts.
 
What resolution are you running? I use a 28" 4k monitor these days, especially now that they've become somewhat affordable, and there's not a jaggy or individual pixel to be seen anywhere - In fact my desktop is downright beautiful!

It's all about dot pitch, that's how Apple get their displays so clear, If you're limited to 1080p try to keep screen size at ~21.5". Any larger and the individual pixels just become too big resulting in degraded IQ.
 
I'm running 1080p and my monitor is 28''. That could be an issue but it looked perfectly fine with my Macbook hooked up to it.

By far the worst looking app is Edge. I actually don't think it's a bad browser for basic things but using Facebook with it, for example, is god awful. The fonts are so jacked up on Edge that it really strains my eyes. Other apps are more bearable like Steam, Chrome, and Explorer but it's still noticeable and it isn't like the font on the Windows 7 box I use at work.
 
After messing around some more the best I could do was lower the sharpness setting on my monitor by a notch. This isn't ideal since I can clearly see the entire display picture now has a non-sharp 'haze' to it but it's better than nothing I suppose.

I thought Windows would have caught up by now in terms of font rendering.
 
If you have an NVidia card you can use HDR I think they call it.. maybe wrong, any ways it lets you set the resolution to 2k screen size then shrink it to fit in a 1080 screen. Since you have a 28" the smaller text will show big enough plus you can go back and rescale windows' font scaling etc. It really takes the jaggies out of everything.
 
DrLobotomy said:
If you have an NVidia card you can use HDR I think they call it.. maybe wrong, any ways it lets you set the resolution to 2k screen size then shrink it to fit in a 1080 screen. Since you have a 28" the smaller text will show big enough plus you can go back and rescale windows' font scaling etc. It really takes the jaggies out of everything.
Click to expand...

I just checked and it's a feature called DSR. I don't how I can apply that to the Windows/Explorer since it doesn't seem like a global setting, but I've gotten used to the less sharp fuzz on my display now since I mostly use it for gaming anyway. I'm pretty sure I just had the sharpness on my monitor set too high for Windows.

If only someone at Microsoft cared about elegant looking typeface the way Steve Jobs did...
 
Sonicks said:
After messing around some more the best I could do was lower the sharpness setting on my monitor by a notch. This isn't ideal since I can clearly see the entire display picture now has a non-sharp 'haze' to it but it's better than nothing I suppose.

I thought Windows would have caught up by now in terms of font rendering.
Click to expand...

Typographically speaking...the stock Windows fonts suck.

Use WinAeroTweaker (FREE) and load custom fonts like say Ubuntu's Ubuntu font....which is humanist (typographically speaking) and very easy on the eyes at all resolutions and sizes. Frankly I gag on the stock OS X fonts (both Lucida Grand as well as the new San Fran font).


OP your other problem...you probably cranked the Windows scaling passed 125%...windows apps typically break above 125%. Don't do it. Use font sizing with WinAeroTweaker to adjust it...and use different fonts. But yes, Win scaling is very broken (still)
 
Sonicks said:
I just checked and it's a feature called DSR. I don't how I can apply that to the Windows/Explorer since it doesn't seem like a global setting, but I've gotten used to the less sharp fuzz on my display now since I mostly use it for gaming anyway. I'm pretty sure I just had the sharpness on my monitor set too high for Windows.

If only someone at Microsoft cared about elegant looking typeface the way Steve Jobs did...
Click to expand...

Yea...DSR...Its easy to turn on...

DSR | Technology | GeForce
 
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