CorvusCorax wrote: ↑16 Nov 2020, 06:34
I recently bought new display panel
Dell Alienware AW2521HF. It has good specification and reviews says it is flicker free and it's good for eyes. But sadly my eyes and head wants to explode after 1h of using this monitor. I feel pressure between my eyes and it's very uncomfortable. When I switch to my old monitor (Dell 2209WA) the symptoms dissapear.
FYI:
1. My brightness/contrast settings are 35/42.
2. I checked other cables, ports and even graphic cards.
3. When I play games with 60Hz (with G-sync on) I'm sure I see screen slightly flickering.
4. The probblem occurs in 60/120/240Hz modes.
I don't know where the problem is. Is there anyone who can explain me what's wrong with me and what should I pay attention to before I buy new monitor?
Based on my experience, I am more than 90% sure that flicker is not your problem.
There are many causes of discomfort with monitors, some people are more sensitive than others. Clearly, your problem is almost certainly not flicker-related, so try to skip that red herring to a wild goose chase. The minor flicker of G-SYNC at low frame rates would usually not be any culprit, especially if you still get headaches at 120Hz and 240Hz.
Flicker is not the only problem, there are more than 10+ other causes of discomfort with monitors:
-- Flicker discomfort
-- Motion blur discomfort
-- Stutter discomfort
-- Blue light discomfort
-- TN viewing angles discomfort
-- Antiglare texture discomfort
-- Excessive color gamut
-- Screen too bright / room lighting not bright enough
-- Screen too dim / room lighting not dark enough
-- Too close / too far / too big / too small
To help rule out problems, I need a complete history of your screen experience:
-- What was your previous screens?
-- Is this your first high-Hz screen?
-- Ever had eyestrain with other TN screens of similar size?
-- Ever had eyestrain with other IPS screens of similar size?
-- Ever had eyestrain with other VA screens of similar size?
-- Ever had eyestrain with other OLED screens of similar size?
-- How does your eyes react to different screens?
-- Any eyestrain from prolonged use of Apple screens?
Having a complete history of your screen experience will help me better deduce your probable cause of eyestrain.
I am no doctor but being Blur Busters, the name sake, sometimes I can help guide you towards the potential probable causes that will help you select the proper monitor.
Although I do not know what is the potential issue, I can tell you the differences between your old/new screen.
The AW2521HF Screen
- TN technology (worse view angles than IPS)
- LED backlight (PWM flicker free, but has worse blue light)
- Has VRR
The 2209WA Screen
- IPS technology
- CCFL backlight
- Does not have VRR to de-stutter
Consequently, my belief is that you are potentially affected by excessive blue light, because many TN LCDs (of which AW2521HF) use LED backlights that often have excessive amounts of blue light in their spectrum.
If you want some quick tests:
(A) Try Low Blue Light mode, or a warm color temperature (4000K or 5000K instead of 6500K). Does it help partially?
(B) If not orange enough, try Windows Search box -> "Night Light" -> Set to 30%-50% .... Does it help partially?
(C) Try orange-tintend glasses. Does it help partially?
(D) Try increasing viewing distance to minimum 25" or further. Does it help?
If your eyes does not have any pain when looking at other IPS screens such as Apple Macbooks, then my new recommendation for you is high-Hz IPS, perhaps one of the newer NanoIPS backlights (165Hz+ 1440p or 240Hz+ 1080p), of one of the new 'Fast IPS' panels manufactured 2020 or later, with a wide-gamut backlight (NanoIPS, Quantum Dot, etc). These screens are a wonderful pleasure to the eyes, especially when recalibrated to not have too excessive blue light.
Yes, these screens are more expensive but try to avoid narrow-gamut LED backlights (72% NTSC LED) since that is more of a frequent eyestrain-increaser in my experience from people migrating from CCFL-lit IPS towards LED-lit TN; it can be a severe ergonomic downgrade even if flicker-free. Generic cheap 72% NTSC LED is more uncomfortable than 72% NTSC CCFL in my experience, due to the strong excess blue light from old-style LED backlights.
Thusly, stick to higher quality LED backlights, like those used by Apple for their screens, and is now increasingly being used in higher-quality high-Hz screens. I get extremely few eyestrain reports from newer high-Hz IPS (especially those made in 2020 or later, ala those new "Fast IPS" panels), so you downgrade fewer or no aspects.
Even if you later find that LED causes problem. You can also use them, in conjunction with
orange-tinted computer glasses, and/or Night Light mode (which may not help as fully as the glasses, but may help you enough). If you later determine that excess blue light is your actual problem, instead of flicker.
Nontheless, you will be far more likely to be able to comfortably omit the orange films with more proper LED backlights (better than the crappy 72% NTSC kind). The wider-gamut LED backlights convert more of the blue light into proper sepctrum, reducing blue light in more ways. Still, there may still be too much blue light, and you might still need some orange-tinting features to help you out a bit.
Sticking to IPS will ensure you're not downgrading panel technology (viewing angles), and avoiding the cheaper 72% NTSC LED backlights, while also using Windows NIght Light or a warmer color temperature -- will give you a better-than-50%-chance of avoiding the discomfort you are currently having. No guarantees but if you want more certainity, I need more information about your entire lifetime's screen-comfort history, to help me better diagnose your screen discomfort.
*** EDIT: It might be coil whine, nausea from near-ultrasonic sound emitted from monitor electronics.