Your PC is not haunted. There is no ghost walking on your computer, leaving behind a weird trail. It is monitor ghosting that causes an eerie, smudge-like effect that resembles a ghost’s trail.
Nothing connected to the supernatural world, screen ghosting on laptops, particularly Dell monitor ghosting, is a problem many users experience. An ethereal trail appears behind fast-paced objects on the screen, especially on LCD monitors that do not have fast refresh rates or certain technologies.
A monitor’s refresh rate, measured in hertz (Hz), is how many times per second your screen refreshes the picture. For example, a 60Hz monitor updates 60 times per second. The higher the refresh rate, the smoother the motion appears and the less likely you are to see ghosting.
Technologies like FreeSync and G-Sync help by making sure your computer’s graphics card and your monitor stay in sync with each other. This coordination prevents issues like ghosting, where moving objects leave a noticeable trail behind them.
While common but scary, PC monitor ghosting is fixable. This article walks you through the best methods to fix ghosting on the monitor and ensure it does not occur again.
Before moving on to troubleshooting and prevention, let’s help you understand computer screen ghosting in greater detail so that you can spot and fix it with more accuracy.
What Is PC Monitor Ghosting
The computer monitor ghosting meaning is smudging or smearing behind the objects that move on your PC screen. It looks like a discolored and dark trail or blur outside the boundary of a moving object. Depending on the causes of the computer screen ghosting, it may also appear like a bright halo effect.
This ghosting effect on the monitor is more prominent in the case of quickly moving objects on the screen. The effect you see when watching live sports, in scenes where there are both bright and dark elements, and when playing video games, is the most experienced ghosting monitor example.
Moreover, you can experience ghosting effects in action movies, having quick frame transitions, or when you scroll through high-contrast text, for instance, colored text with a dark background.
Furthermore, LCD monitor ghosting is most spotted on VA-type panels, though you can experience it on any kind of LCD panel. While image ghosting in the monitor is not a very common occurrence in OLED panels, temporary effects on static elements, for example, health bars and news tickers, can be visible on self-emissive displays.
Another common factor is IPS screen ghosting. IPS panels, which means In-Plane Switching, deliver top-notch color accuracy and offer wide viewing angles, making them popular among designers and general users. However, they have slower pixel response times than other types of panels. This delayed pixel response can lead to ghosting, especially when tasks, such as gaming, involve fast-paced action.
To compare, the Vertical Alignment (VA) panel is another popular form of LCD display. VA panels are chosen for their deeper blacks and strong contrast ratios, which are excellent for working in dim environments or watching movies. However, these panels have a slower response time as compared to IPS panels, making them even more prone to ghosting, especially when the screen has fast motion. Understanding how these panels differ from each other helps you detect or fix monitor ghosting.
As far as the causes are concerned, a wide range of factors may be responsible for PC monitor ghosting. Let’s discuss them in the next section.
What Causes Computer Monitor Ghosting
The LCD monitor ghosting happens because of slow response times or low refresh rates of the monitor. The monitor struggles to be in sync with the action happening on the screen.
When the screen of the monitor refreshes, the physical pixels do not match the pace of the rapidly changing images, leading to image ghosting on the monitor or blurred objects with a ghostly or faint boundary. The problem gets worse when the response time of your screen is slower than frame times (the times a new frame is delivered).
When a new image on the monitor screen depends on its refresh rate and slower response time, it can lead to PC monitor ghosting. For instance, when a refresh rate of 60Hz refreshes images 60 times/second, it shows a fresh image every 16.67 milliseconds.
In such a case, if the response time of your monitor is more than 16.67 milliseconds, the pixels continue transitioning colors when the frame changes, resulting in a ghost boundary surrounding the objects moving on your screen.
In a nutshell, the following are the factors that may have caused PC monitor ghosting.
- Incorrect or poorly optimized brightness, sharpness, or contrast settings.
- Radio waves from nearby devices are interfering with the monitor display.
- Overdrive settings configuration is too high.
- VA panel technology, low refresh rate, and slow monitor response time.
- Outdated display drivers or graphics drivers.
After learning about the causes of pixel trails or laptop screen ghosting, you may want to know if there is actually ghosting on your computer. Hence, next is how to test for monitor ghosting before trying to fix it.
How to Know If You Have Computer Screen Ghosting
You can follow these steps to test computer monitor ghosting.
- In the first step, navigate to Blur Busters UFO Motion Test.
- Wait until the test is complete.
- After the test, review the results.
- Green indicates no signs of monitor ghosting. On the other hand, an orange alert indicates ghosting problems, along with how to fix them.
The ghosting on the monitor’s effects can include headaches, eye strain, and motion sickness due to challenges following the action on the screen, making it necessary to fix the problem.
Also know: How to Fix Input Not Supported Acer Monitor
How to Fix PC Monitor Ghosting
You can change the refresh rate, enable the overdrive function, update graphics drivers, replace damaged cables and devices, tweak the response time of the monitor, enable G-SYNC/FreeSync, and change the monitor’s display settings to fix monitor ghosting. Here is how.
Fix 1: Adjust the monitor refresh rate
A low refresh rate is among the top causes of ghosting. Hence, if the refresh rate of your monitor is too low or you have a VA panel, you can follow the steps below to change the refresh rate to fix ghosting on the monitor.
- Begin by clicking the Start button, typing Display Settings in the search bar, and then clicking Display Settings in the search results.
- Scroll down and click Advanced Display in the Display Settings.
- Next, choose the monitor for which you want to change the display settings if you have more than one monitor.
- Lastly, click the option to Choose a refresh rate and select a higher refresh rate from the dropdown that appears. To get the optimum experience, set the refresh rate to 120Hz or 144Hz.
Fix 2: Enable the monitor’s overdrive function
The overdrive functionality increases the monitor’s refresh rate and decreases its response time to help screen pixels adjust to faster color changes. This feature is also called Response Time, TranceFree, OD, and similar names, based on the monitor manufacturer. If you feel confused, search the web for the brand model of your monitor and overdrive to learn the name of this function for your manufacturer. After this, follow these steps to activate it.
- First, open the on-screen display, i.e., OSD menu, using your monitor’s physical buttons.
- Next, navigate to Response Time, TranceFree, Overdrive, or a similar section in the OSD menu.
- Set the response time or overdrive setting to Fast or In the case of a bright halo or inverse ghosting, choose the next lower setting, as a high overdrive may be responsible for new artifacts if it is extremely high.
- Lastly, save all the changes.
Fix 3: Update the outdated graphics drivers
A graphics driver is a piece of software that allows your operating system and graphics card to communicate with each other. An out-of-date graphics card can cause many problems, including computer screen ghosting. Hence, below are the steps to update the graphics drivers.
- In the first step, right-click the Start button and then select Device Manager.
- Next, double-click Display Adapters in the Device Manager.
- In this step, right-click the graphics card and then choose Update Driver.
- Next, click Search automatically for drivers.
- Follow the driver’s download and installation prompts that appear on your screen.
- After completing the driver’s download and installation, restart your computer.
Fix 4: Check and replace defective cables and connected devices
Faulty cables and peripheral devices may also be responsible for ghosting in the monitor. Hence, it is a good idea to check your DisplayPort, HDMI cables, or USB-C cables for any tangles, bends, kinks, tears, nicks, or other symptoms of damage. To check the cable, run your finger along its length to identify frayed parts. Additionally, replace the cable with another one to check if it resolves VGA cable ghosting.
In addition to checking cables for VGA ghosting, check speakers, printers, modems, and other connected devices. If these connected devices are too close to your computer, they may be responsible for ghosting. Hence, place these devices away from your monitor to fix the issue.
Also know: Best FPS Tester Online to Check Frame Rates on a Monitor
Fix 5: Enable G-SYNC/FreeSync
G-SYNC and FreeSync synchronize the GPU frame rate and refresh rate of the monitor to fix monitor ghosting. AMD GPUs have FreeSync, and NVIDIA GPUs have G-SYNC. However, not every monitor model has FreeSync or G-SYNC support. If your monitor supports these display technologies, below are the steps to activate them.
Steps to enable G-SYNC
- Open the NVIDIA Control Panel.
- Next, in the Display section, click Set up G-SYNC.
- Click Enable G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible.
- Next, choose whether you wish to enable only full-screen mode or both windowed and full-screen modes.
- In case of multiple monitors, choose the monitor you want to change.
- Lastly, click the box next to Enable settings for the selected display model. If you do not have this option, your monitor does not have G-SYNC support.
Steps to enable FreeSync
- First, open the AMD Radeon Settings
- Next, click the Display
- In case of multiple monitors, choose the monitor for which you want to activate FreeSync from the top.
- Lastly, ensure that FreeSync is enabled.
Fix 6: Change the display settings of the monitor
Altering the display settings, such as contrast, your monitor’s brightness, and enabling motion blur reduction (if your monitor supports it), reduces the ghosting effects on the monitor.
Moreover, if PC monitor ghosting happens only in one game, you can enable/disable motion blur, increase the maximum frame rate, and deactivate frame generation to ensure it matches the refresh rate.
That’s how to fix or reduce the monitor ghosting effects. Additionally, a few tips can help prevent recurrence.
Effective Tips to Prevent PC Monitor Ghosting
The tips below can help you prevent computer monitor ghosting from recurring.
- Replace your VA LCD monitor with an OLED monitor, as it has a faster response time.
- Turn on the “Game Mode” if your monitor supports it for an optimized and lag-free gaming performance without computer screen ghosting.
- Make sure device drivers are up-to-date, and all cables are properly connected.
Although monitor ghosting is frustrating, the guide above can help you fix and prevent it easily for a smooth viewing experience. However, if you have any doubts or questions, you can get in touch with us through the comments section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Is monitor ghosting dangerous?
PC monitor ghosting is not dangerous, but it is irritating. It affects how images look on your computer screen. Moreover, in extreme or frequent instances of ghosting, taking quick action to solve the problem is a smart decision before the issue worsens.
Q2. Is computer monitor ghosting permanent?
While ghosting causes frustrating image traces, it is not permanent. You can fix it with the help of the solutions in this article.
Q3. Is PC monitor ghosting and blooming the same?
Computer monitor ghosting and blooming are similar but different problems. Ghosting is a pixel problem that results from slow response times, causing the previous images to leave behind a trail. Blooming is another display issue, related to LED backlighting, that leads to light bleeding or a halo effect around bright on-screen objects, particularly against a dark background.
