How do you solve ghosting?
Fix ghosting
Ghosting creates a trail of pixels with fast movement. This is really annoying while you're gaming. Fortunately, many monitors have an overdrive functions which reduces ghosting. Be careful with it, because too much overdrive results in inverse ghosting.
- Open the OSD of your monitor.
- Switch on overdrive.
- Check your drivers and cables.
- Check potential interference.
Step 1: open the OSD of your monitor
You can't adjust the response time of your monitor via your operating system, only via the On-Screen Display of your screen. You can open this with a physical button at the bottom, side, or back of your monitor. Check what brand your monitor is and adjust the following:
Step 2: switch on overdrive
| Brand | Instructions |
|---|---|
| Acer | Look for the letters 'OD' and set it to Normal. Still see ghosting? Then set it to Extreme. Do you now see inverse ghosting? Then switch it back to Normal. |
| AOC | In the OSD, go to 'Game Setting' and look for 'Overdrive'. Set it to Medium or Strong and check if you notice a difference. Still see ghosting? Then set it back to Boost. Do you now see inverse ghosting? Then switch it back. |
| Asus | Asus calls it overdrive function 'Trace Free'. You can find it under Image - > Over Clocking -> Trace Free. Set the value to 80 or 100. If you experience inverse ghosting, then set it back to 60 or 40, for example. |
| BenQ | BenQ calls its overdrive function 'AMA'. You can find this function under Picture. Set it to Premium to reduce ghosting. Do you see inverse ghosting? Then set it to High, or switch it off. |
| Dell | Set 'Response Time' from Normal to Fast. Doesn't this have any effect? Then switch it Super Fast. If you now see inverse ghosting, switch it back. |
| HP | Go to the tab Image Control and look for 'OverDrive'. If it's switched off, switch it on. Do you now see inverse ghosting? Then switch it off again. |
| iiyama | In the OSD, go to Picture Adjust -> Overdrive. Set it to +1 to reduce ghosting. Not getting the desired result? Then set it to +2. Set it lower again if you now see inverse ghosting. |
| Lenovo | Go to Gaming Overall Settings and select Over Drive. Set it to Normal first. Still see ghosting? Then set it to Extreme. If you now see inverse ghosting, it's better to set it back to Normal. |
| LG | Look for the option 'Response Time' and set it to Normal or Fast. Doesn't this have any effect? Then set it back to Faster. If you now see inverse ghosting, it's better to set it back. |
| MSI | Go to Gaming -> Response Time and set it from Normal to Fast. Doesn't this have any effect? Then set it back to Fastest. If you now see inverse ghosting, it's netter to set it back. |
| Samsung | Look for the option 'Response Time' and set it to Normal. Doesn't this have any effect? Then set it to Fast or Fastest. If you now see inverse ghosting, it's better to set it back a little. |
Step 3: check your drivers and cables
Still not happy about your response time after this? Update your drivers and check your cables.
- Update your drivers. This can help sometimes and it's always a good idea anyway.
- Connect your monitor with a different HDMI or DisplayPort cable. If at all possible, use a recent version. Don't see ghosting anymore? Then your cable is the problem.
- Switched cables, but no luck? Try to connect the cable to a different port. If this resolved the issue, the port of your monitor is the problem.
Step 4: check for any interference
In addition to cables and drivers, there are some other potential things that can cause ghosting. Switch off the following things to see if this solves the problem:
- Certain image quality improvement techniques may result in a lower response time. Open your OSD and look for Perfect Clear, Dynamic Contrast, Motion Smoothing, or Noise Reduction, and switch these off. Did that work? Then you can keep these on.
- In some rare occasions, modems and printers can cause interference. See if you can move these and check if the ghosting persists.
What if these adjustments don't work?
Do you still see ghosting on your monitor, but is it fine for gaming? Set your refresh rate a little higher to compensate for the low response time and make the most of it. Is the ghosting disrupting to the point where you can hardly game anymore? In that case, the monitor could be defect. Have the monitor repaired if it's still under warranty. If it's not, consider buying a monitor with a lower response time.
