ASUS VG278HE - Flickering

[Draculz]

I just noticed, that my monitor ASUS VG278HE is flickering at under 100% brightness.

as shown on that video:

phpBB [video]

Anyone have any idea how to fix it without set monitor brightness to 100% ?

Thanks.

[RealNC]

That's not something you can fix. The monitor flickers because that's how brightness is controlled with PWM backlights. 100% means the backlight is always on. If you reduce brightness, the backlight will start to switch on and off at a specific frequency in order to produce less light on total. The backlight in such monitors is unable to actually reduce its brightness. It can be either full 100% bright, or completely dark. It can not go in-between, so the only way to reduce brightness is to quickly switch on and off, in other words: flicker.

That's how this monitor works and there's nothing you can do to change that.

[Draculz]

Thank you.

[Draculz]

So you recommend me to buy a "Flicker free" monitor?

P.S.

I did some tricky move - set monitor brightness to 100% and lowered brightness in Nvidia control panel to balance
No more flickering and brightness not that high.

[RealNC]

Well, the flicker on PWM displays is at such a high frequency that it's not visible. There's some information online that PWM backlights can cause eyestrain, but I'm not aware of any actual proof of that.

So I'd say no. It's not worth changing monitor just to get a "flicker-free" one.

PS:
The brightness control in the nvidia panel will probably have negative effects on the image quality. I'd recommend just changing the monitor brightness as usual. IMO, the whole eyestrain thing of PWM flicker seems rather anecdotal.

[Draculz]

Alright

[Chief Blur Buster]

Yes, this is a PWM-dimming behaviour.

However, there may be multiple reasons to upgrade a monitor (e.g. getting VRR, getting 240Hz, getting 1440p IPS, etc) and if you're doing that -- you'll be pleased to know that practically all monitors in the last are all PWM-free now.