*ah* i ended up at this solution via randomly trying things, and the realisation that if i took a screen shot i could zoom right in on it, to find out what was going on :) its nice to see the proper reason for doing what i am doing :) thank you :rose: the screen shots show that the picture being generated is correct, and they also show that ClearType does not effect all text. being swayed by the advice to try a video card with digital out, plus lingering problems with my current video card not performing how i want in a couple of games i went and got a brand spanking new nVidia 6600 graphics card today to try :-D if nothing else it should work wonders for Lego StarWars :rose: however the card requires a 300 watt power supply, at minimum. i checked in the shop and was assured given my machine spec it was bound to have a power supply with a greater output. however it turns out the power supply only has a 250 watt output :~ i am going to ring the shop and confirm they can upgrade power supplies for me, and then i am going to just take my base unit, new monitor, and anything else i need, like mouse, into the shop this Saturday, and stay there until we work out what is going wrong. i have decided to accept that i just don't know the answer, and to instead ask people who should :) zen is the art of being at one with the two'ness