Please may I ask for help with my display settings on my new monitor.

Ok, the monitor is a 17" Flatscreen Plasma

- I have installed the driver
- The recommended resolution is 1280 x 1024 @ 75Hz but I can't see a durn thing at that setting.
- I have it at 1024 x 768 @ 60Hz which seems to be about the best in terms of clarity. However, the clarity is just not good. Text is quite smudged.
- I changed the font size under Display Settings, Appearance Tab, but even though the bigger font is easier to see, it just doesn't "look" right. So I have set it back to normal.
- DPI is set to normal size (96%). I did try moving that around but it made little or too much difference.

I can't think of anything else that I have or haven't done.

Any tips on how to make my resolution more clear?