kyube wrote: ↑14 Feb 2026, 17:43
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Hey, thanks and sorry for the late reply! Hope you still see this!!
So, long answer from my side, my bad...
Feel like I should make a separat post at this point….
AND: I don’t know how to quote right in this Forum, I‘m sorry!!!
Okay, so what I can say now is: The AOC24G4X (24-inch full HD 180Hz, I don't know which coating it has) that I use, and which unfortunately gives me headaches, motion sickness, and eye problems, etc. (and that after a surprisingly short period of use) is Ksf phosphor, white color gamut, so (?) HDR-capable, and Ksf is the backlight technology. Pwm shouldn't be an issue here at all.
Monitors that use a backlight are primarily all forms of LCD
which require an external light source to produce an image. The most common types are LED-backlit LCDs (often marketed simply as “LED monitors”) and older CCFL-backlit LCDs. These include panels like IPS, VA, and TN, as well as modern Mini-LED
(on a side note There also is E ink that you mentioned, it seems to be rare. Google tells me it might be better for eyes, but I mean I haven't tried it and there doesn't seem to be like many e ink gaming monitors or whatever, idk..)
Anyway, the monitor I have is in the “supercategory” LCD, and among LCD monitors, it is a KSF monitor.
So there are many different variables and possible combinations, i.e. among LCD panels, of course, different backlight monitor technologies, I'm thinking of the ones you mentioned.
I did some research: “In display technology, the discussion of KSF vs. PFS (usually in the context of KSF/PFS phosphors, i.e., phosphor) refers to technologies for generating a wide color gamut in LCD monitors and televisions,” allegedly often in connection with mini-LED or W-LED backlights, according to Google. (The latter is basically interchangeable with LED (??) (but that question isn't so important right now).
KSF and PFS are essentially names for the same material or materials that are very similar (according to Google lol).
Such monitors can have red ghosting and a reddish glow, and there are apparently increasing reports of eye problems. I have noticed all of this, including the reddish glow. (Here, too, in addition to my PC monitor, which is the subject of this discussion, I have also noticed the reddish glow on my cell phone since it no longer has an AMOLED display, especially when viewed from the side.
However, LCD panels now have other backlights besides KSF/PFS, namely Yag, which is not a wide color gamut, and QD (Quantum Dot, right?).
"A Quantum Dot (QD) backlight is an advanced LCD screen lighting technology that uses nanoscale semiconductor particles to produce more vibrant, accurate colors and higher brightness. By placing a layer of these dots over a blue LED backlight, they convert light into pure red and green, creating a superior, wide-color-gamut display often found in QLED."
So there are QD-LCD panels?
QLED (Quantum Dot LED): "This is the marketing term used by companies that produce technically LCD displays with a quantum dot layer. They supposedly utilize a quantum dot enhancement film to produce more vibrant colors, higher brightness, and improved color volume compared to traditional LCDs."
Apparently, there are also hybrid QLED-KSF monitors, but I honestly can't judge those. Based on my experience (although there are many factors involved), I'm inclined to avoid KSF or PFS when trying out new monitors to find ones that don't cause me any of the aforementioned problems.
So, one by one: Within the LCD space, I could still try YAG LEDs as well as QLED.
There are also mini LEDs that use smaller LEDs for backlighting.
So, theoretically, I could try QLED to avoid KSF, test QLED in combination with mini LEDs, and try YAG models.
There also is this thing with G sync compatile vs true g sync ultimate? Can it effect eye strain? (I think it‘s unlikely that this is the main thing causing all the problems but yeah..)
Or I could try a different technology, like, primarily, OLED.
There are also ips, va and tn within the space of LCD, but I guess va and tn have pros and cons, just like ips I guess….
Tn is said to have bad colors but good motion clarity, especially some sith black smearing and motion clarity issues.
I might have gotten a lot of things wrong and opened up a lot of new questions.
The AOC Gaming Q24G2A you mentioned doesn't have KFS; it's 180 Hz and VA from what I can see.
Regarding the AOC24G4X, I should probably add that, as far as I know, I don't even have HDR enabled, but it probably uses KFS anyway.
Right, so of course, pixel density is naturally higher with QHD on a 27-inch screen compared to Full HD on a 24-inch screen, and especially QHD on a 25-inch screen versus Full HD on a 24-inch or 23.8-inch screen. It's clear that it should be as high as possible, and the monitor's refresh rate is also important. I've also heard that monitors are calibrated for a specific Hz/FPS range and that drops below that have some consequences, but that's very vague.
I mainly play a game called Hunt: Showdown 1896, where I think the issues I'm experiencing with my monitor are amplified. It's a game with a lot of very fast movements, and even on low graphics settings, it has a lot of lighting effects—lightning flashes, shadows, and a lot of color. Also, sometimes you're aiming at very small, barely visible pixel clusters when an enemy is far away. So, you're constantly scanning different areas of the monitor with your eyes. I don't know how to attach images here, but there are YouTube gameplay videos that give you an idea. Other games also give me problems, even Aimlabs, but not all of them to the same degree. So it's not just that one game.
I don't think the game is very well optimized; there can be significant 1% frame rate drops and fluctuations in the FPS. I currently have an RTX 3060 and a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and I've already tried various resolutions and of course native but that didn't help. I'm currently stuck at 1728x1080 with black bars.
I've locked it to 144 fps to prevent fluctuations, even though it could theoretically fluctuate between 135/140 and up to 200. But even a stable 144 fps doesn't solve my problem. I did order some new PC parts (RTX 5070 Ti and Ryzen 7 9809X3D (yeah, I know, CPU bottleneck; don't judge me xD)), so I should be able to achieve at least a stable 180Hz at QHD and maybe even a relatively stable 200fps. If I get an RTX 5090 in the more distant future, based on tests, it will probably fluctuate between 300 and 400fps. But I think the game is optimized for around 200fps anyway.
Also idk what that means but when I move up somewhere relatively vertically like a hill or something or sometimes under some (in game) weather conditions when I run (in game) and look at the ground, I see these vertical stripes idk if it‘s screen tearing or something I just mention it because it might tell you something. But I can’t imagine this being like the thing that is resposible for the headache and eye strain on it‘s own!
Either way, a 720Hz monitor or something similar wouldn't make much sense for me; maximizing FPS would probably be more worthwhile up to 280Hz or so.
Since you're often looking at small details, a good resolution certainly wouldn't hurt, and better pixel density is definitely a plus. But for competitive FPS, I think it shouldn't be more than 27 inches; I might even use a 27-inch Asus OLED in 25-inch mode.
Since you're often looking at small details, a good resolution certainly wouldn't hurt, and better pixel density is definitely a plus. But for competitive FPS, I think it shouldn't be more than 27 inches; I might even use a 27-inch Asus OLED in 25-inch mode. There seem to be very few 25-inch QHD monitors available, and higher-priced ones are often 27 inches.
In any case, my main concern is that the monitor should be suitable for high-speed shooters, ideally with a refresh rate higher than 200Hz or even 240Hz. I also want to ensure that the monitor doesn't cause me problems like my current one does after just an hour, leading to headaches and eye strain. I want to be able to use it for longer periods at a time (I do take regular breaks every 40 minutes at least, but it doesn't help).
165Hz would be too low for me…
And although it's probably very irrational, I have a strong aversion to the idea of choosing AOC as my brand again…
Basically, I just want a good monitor, so 240Hz or higher, Full HD or QHD. I'm a big fan of the 25-inch version of some OLEDs, but I've only seen them, not tested them myself. then have a res something like 2368x1332 on I think the slightly older Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM 27).
Having like an endgame monitor would be pretty cool, but of course, that doesn't really exist. Endgame right now would also mean no physical health issues like hedaches etc. I mentioned xD
I should probably also mention that Hunt is a game where spotting enemies among bushes, at night, and in low-light conditions can be crucial, even more so than in other FPS games. That's why I opted for wide color gamut on the AOC 24G4X, without really knowing anything about it. However, the headaches and severe physical drain, red eyes, motion sickness, etc., after only a short time are obviously not worth it and are actually the main thing that's slowing down my performance: After about an hour, I'm already incredibly drained (sure, FPS games can be tiring, but I've never experienced such headaches and eye problems anywhere else).
I googled "subpixel layout," and I think they probably have more in-depth knowledge about it, but doesn't that refer more to text? Because that wouldn't be a problem; I really only use the monitor for tryharding Hunt and Aimlabs/Kovaaks.
An OLED monitor would be cool because good colors and good motion clarity (of course, motion clarity is mainly a matter of frames per second and refresh rate) would be nice for hunting, and if it also solved my headaches/eye drain and red-eye, I'd be killing two birds with one stone.
But the physical limitations are my main concern. Let's say an OLED wouldn't theoretically help, but another IPS monitor would. That would be a real shame, but ultimately I'd probably go for the IPS in that theoretical case.
I'm in the fortunate position of having plenty of time (which also means plenty for video games
) and my budget is now up to €1000 or €800, but since I don't really need something like 540 Hz if I'm not getting close to 540 fps, I'd rather spend around €600.
Although I would pay close to any price up to like €1000 to solve the fact that video games give me haze, red eyes, and a feeling of exhaustion.
So, exhausting OLED options wouldn't be a big issue for me, but I should mention that if I try different monitors, I ideally want to test them for two weeks and then return them (in the EU, you can usually return things like that after two weeks and get your money back…) So, that's how one could try things out, but I don't know where to start. I also wouldn’t know which lcd or oled to try under the described circumstances/requirements…
And within Oleds, there are also these different things like WOLED and QD-Oled and people having issues with one or the other and so on and it’s an entire new rabbit hole
(( xD…..
I have been thinking about this one matte asus woled with 540hz I think ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDP since it’s also 26.5 inch and no more but a version of that with 280 would be more suited but doesn’t exist.
And I’m probably a bit hooked by the asus marketing stuff xD
I haven’t looked into the “narrow subset of QHD displays which employ an SDR-only backlight (YAG phosphor based)” ; right now it tells me "Sorry but you cannot use search at this time. The server has high load. Please try again later." since 30 minutes when I tried to search through your posts in this forum….
Thank you so much in advance
I wrote an entire book here
