From PG279Q to XL2546 Eye Strain,headache and Nausea

[Fenriz_]

So as the title says last week i got the XL2546 to play competitive fps(R6 Siege/Apex Legends) and after trying it for only 1 hour i suffered all the issue mentioned above.

i tried for 3-4 days changing brightness,Dyac ON/OFF,AMA On/OFF,using the Blur buster utility but it seems i can't look at the monitor without having eyestrain and headache,even while normally browsing internet.

Today i started re-using my old Asus and so far no issues.

Anyone can help find the cause ? Faulty monitor panel ? maybe the 240hz ? changing from 27" to 24,5" - 1440p to 1080p ? Missing the G-Sync ?

Thanks in advance and sorry for my bad english.

[Chief Blur Buster]

Interesting consideration -- I'm not sure why the XL2546 is causing you eyestrain.
here's another thread about this.

Have you tried Low Blue Light? Warmer color temperature?

Your old monitor was an IPS monitor, and you switched to a TN monitor, so it's possible you are extremely sensitive to the viewing angle. Also, you may want to try adjusting the Gamma setting of your BenQ to see if it can calm your eyes down a bit. Try not to sit closer than about 24" to 28" away from your BenQ.

I don't have the eyestrain with the XL2546 myself,
But every human vision behaves differently.
Some get motion blur headaches, while others get headaches from excess blue light or overly-pure polarized light, etc. So I've come across situations where one monitor is an eye pleaser for a person, where a different monitor is a headache for a different person. Depending on what they are most bothered by!

There are many factors that trigger eyestrain, that affects different humans.
- Excess brightness (but you tried that)
- Excess dimness (but that's not applicable here, XL2546 is a fairly bright monitor)
- Excess flicker (but you tried that, and XL2546 is PWM-free in non-DyAc mode)
- Excess motion blur (but that doesn't seem to apply here, you were happy with the PG279Q)
- Excess stutter (that could be a cause, GSYNC was helping you, and stutters is a cause of headaches for some people)
- Motion is too clear (some people are unusually sensitive to this)
- Viewing angle (possibility)
- Different polarization angles (some humans seem to mysteriously get more eyestrain with polarized light)
- Blue light and/or near-UV light (which is a known eyestrain factor)

Some possible solutions that has (with mixed success results) helping people:
- Try increasing viewing distance (to reduce TN viewing angle problem)
- Try adjusting monitor gamma (since TN panels at wrong gamma, amplifies viewing angle problem)
- Try Low Blue Light mode (but that won't reduce excess blues in blacks).
- Try blue-light-filtering films (basically an orange-ish plastic sheet to block excessive deep-blue light and near-UV light)
- If XL2546 is too bright even at 0% brightness, get a Neutral Density film (basically a darkening plastic sheet).
- Try testing ULMB on your PG279Q and temporarily locking your framerate to ULMB rate (120fps) via VSYNC ON (or low latency equivalents). If you get headaches/nausea on your PG279Q, this can provide additional clues to the reasons of your XL2546 sensitivity.

If the cause of eyestrain remains mysterious, it may be best to return the monitor but it would be lovely to figure out what you are sensitive to. Being Blur Busters, we come across a lot of different people with different sensitivities to displays, and understanding how you are reacting the the XL2546 is valuable information to know...

The PG279Q is a very high bar in eye-friendly monitors. While it is not affecting me personally -- it just may be that the XL2546 is causing some kind of a unknown eyestrain that affects you, e.g. being unusually sensitive to TN angles. Light emitted from TN panels can sometimes be more unusually polarized than IPS panels, and might trigger specific humans' sensitivities to excessively polarized light. In addition, some white LED backlights emit a bit more deep-indigo/violet/near-UV than the competitor (not much, but this can be a factor), which can be an issue for someone who is more used to a more ergonomic white LED or old fashioned CCFL backlight. Pesky unknown, unmeasured eyestrain factors that most testers don't measure, because sometimes it affects only 1% of population....

The IPS versions of the 1440p GSYNC Monitors are among the most eye-friendly gaming monitors for people who get "headaches during FPS gaming".

So you already own a monitor that might have already by default been preventing you from getting headaches and motion sickness during FPS games that some players get. So the PG279Q is a very high benchmark to beat in eye ergonomics, that is tough to beat. If this ends up being the unfortunate case, a return may be the most prudent move, even though the XL2546 is otherwise a fantastic monitor for others not sensitive to its attributes.

[BlurBoss]

I've had Benq XL2546 for 2 months now and getting terrible eye strain too. My eyes are burning and get watered some times, some times they don't. I play Rainbow Six Siege at 240 Hz, Apex Legends at 144 Hz, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch at 240 Hz.

Didn't ever get that on Benq XL2540 that I was using for 2 weeks, or on any other monitor.

[Chief Blur Buster]

I've had Benq XL2546 for 2 months now and getting terrible eye strain too. My eyes are burning and get watered some times, some times they don't. I play Rainbow Six Siege at 240 Hz, Apex Legends at 144 Hz, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch at 240 Hz.

Didn't ever get that on Benq XL2540 that I was using for 2 weeks, or on any other monitor.

Do you have DyAc ON or DyAc OFF?

[BlurBoss]

I use DyAc set to Premium (there is also High and Off).
Never ever I had received headache from any computer activity before. And this doesn't feel like a headache, feels like eyes are burning.

[Nultsy]

I also had this issue with the XL2546 also its not just you i couldnt stand it. made my eyes feel like they were bleeding ended up returning it

[Notty_PT]

I´m not surprised! Altho there are several factors on a monitor that can cause Eye Strain, these 24,5 240hz panels are too slow for 240hz! They are slower than a lot of other 144hz monitors, and that´s incorrect. Having 240hz, high framerates with a response time that can´t keep up can make you dizzy, specially if you play really high sensitivities and make a lot of quick turns.

Another thing that is common on these 240hz panels is while scrolling websites, an obvious ghosting that also can affect your eyes.

Is hard to tell what is specifically hurting you, but I wouldn´t be surprised if it is the pixel response time not keeping up.

We need new 240hz panels asap!

[Fenriz_]

Thank you a lot for your response.

Its been 3-4 days that i'm trying different settings/games but the issue persist,even on 144hz low brightness. Also i bought this version to fully use all his features.

Should i try another 240hz panel(maybe a G-Sync version) or just stick with my old Asus ?

it's shame,because i really liked the benq for the speed,clarity and i perfomed better in my games.

[Fenriz_]

- Try testing ULMB on your PG279Q and temporarily locking your framerate to ULMB rate (120fps) via VSYNC ON (or low latency equivalents). If you get headaches/nausea on your PG279Q, this can provide additional clues to the reasons of your XL2546 sensitivity.

So i finally tried this:

Disabled G-Sync,set 120hz from Nvidia panel,activated ULMB from the monitor menu and played some BFV,R6 Siege,Apex legends and it seems that my eyes have the exact same issues as when i use the XL2546.

Also the games feels slow\stutters even to i have 120/150 fps constantly.

What you think ?

Thanks

[Chief Blur Buster]

Interesting! So you probably have a sensitivity (aversion) to motion blur reduction.

Also the games feels slow\stutters even to i have 120/150 fps constantly.

To avoid stutters, you ideally want to to match the frame rate to refresh rate. That is much harder with ULMB than with GSYNC. To do that reliably, you pretty much literally have to use VSYNC ON (or other low-latency variants thereof, which can have mixed success).
And the mouse even becomes a microstutter weak link that needs to be fixed for ULMB-smoothness.

Still, now, that doesn't explain why you also get eyestrain with the XL2546 in non-DyAc mode. There may be other factors that is affecting your sensitivity.