Vista resolution problems

I apologize if this is in the wrong forum, I wasn't sure where to put it.

I recently purchased a new computer with Vista 64 bit. Compared to my old XP computer, this thing is amazing.

But there is trouble in paradise.

My problem is that the resolution is...odd. The fonts are generally small, and were just a bit blurry.
I checked the settings:
Vista Aero, cleartype enabled, 96dpi, monitor refresh 85htz, resolution matches the monitor which is 1085x760 (or something like that, sorry--I'm going from memory). The Firefox settings were stock.
For reference, I used my old Dell CRT monitor. I believe it is a 15" or 17".

So, I changed the dpi scaling to 120 and it did help. I also ticked the box to use XP scaling.
Then I tried 150 from the drop-down and the font size too large--certain web pages ended up with the text being crowded or too large...or crowded out certain links.

I went down to 126dpi, and adjusted Firefox's font a bit, making the minimum font 12pt. This allowed my online bank site to render properly. Any larger and it started to garble certain sites.
I changed the refresh rate to 60hz (matching the monitor's specs) which helped a great deal on clarity.

I tried upping the monitor resolution a bit and decreasing dpi to balance things out, but the settings listed above have thus far provided the best balance. Blurriness is minimized (but still slightly present), but there are still issues with text size.
I have considered trying the XP classic font instead of Aero...but, I admit that I kinda like the Aero. I think clear type helps the blurriness a bit (I tried it on and off).

Unfortunately, some web pages still end up with tiny text. This is very annoying, as I had zero problems with XP's resolution.
So, my current setup is: Vista Aero, clear type on, custom scaling 126dpi set to XP scaling, resolution is 1085 x 760 (I think), 60hz refresh, Firefox minimum font 12pt.

Anyone know how I can improve this? I'm tempted to rip Vista out and install XP....I don't believe a new monitor would solve it, but I'm simply not sure....

 

I don't know why, but I get much nicer looking fonts in Vista than I do in XP on this ATI Radeon at 1920x1200. Maybe they're using some kind of font smoothing in Vista, not sure, but for me Vista is better. In apps like IE or Outlook, the Vista fonts are way nicer.

 

Yes, you can see it in Control Panel -> Personalization -> Window Color and Appearance -> Open classic appearance properties for more color options -> Effects... -> ClearType!!

It smoothes the edges.

 

Yep, whatever it does, it works well here....

 

LOL!

I just noticed Kerodo's message at the bottom of his post. LOL!


I need to start tweaking...