Dark monitor or is it the graphics card?

[electronicchild]

My monitor, by default, is extremely dark. I am running an NVidia that came pre-installed. I can adjust the gamma/brightness to my liking in the color correction options, but DVDs are still dark, and all default settings result in a very dark screen. The frontside monitor controls are at max brightness...what is the deal? Is this a video card problem or a monitor problem? Its a viewsonic crt monitor that I haved used for some time, but I would hate to replace it only to find that the card was the problem (or the other way around). I am doing some graphic design and photoediting and this problem is really burning me with my final prints.

 

[Camden]

Make sure it's installed right, or optimal for your setup

My first guess would be that it's the monitor.

 

[Riceball]

Do you have another spare monitor in your house? If you do, i'd suggest trying that first, then you should know the answer.