I'll carry on having a conversation wi' meslf, in the hope someone will be interested.
I'm totally flummoxed by this.
But there is one immutable fact. The computer and the card are capable of driving the new monitor.
I pulled the new monitor off the laptop and put it on the PC.
But, I'd rebooted on XP Home. The first thing I noticed was that I was offered the full res on an older OS !
Apart from a very slight 'noise' on the text, it was very good. Certainly faster than the laptop with its integrated graphics. 4mp photos were snapping into sharp focus instantly.
Then I went back to W7. Instantly, I could see the degrading white mist that I'd seen before. The hi-def pix did just not have that cracking focus. I was back to a much lesser quality.
Right click on desktop and the first screen shows SynchMaster as a monitor, but the Advanced shows a generic pnp listed - with no options. That's the only clue I've got.
I think this is a red-herring, but even more perplexing. I've discussed it before, and I though it was a different issue, but now I'm not sure. It just complicates the problem - or blurs the issue.
(Sorry)
I looked at the head and shoulder jpg of a lassie that becomes pixelated on Vista and W7. There is no doubt. On XP, there is a slight softening, but the jaw line is unbroken. On the more modern ones, it is totally ruined with zig-zags. Can there be any connection?