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Do all good OLEDs today still use PWM dimming or do some use DC dimming? An aspect of quality to me is the flickering - despite the fact that it is hard to perceive. If I can have an OLED that lasts 5y, text almost as good as a top-end IPS, and fully DC dimmed - then I'd definitely go for it! I know OLEDs are 4k @ 300hz+ now so that's good.

You can check on rtings.com. The ones I looked up were not using PWM. However, they are not flicker-free since they have a slight dip in brightness that matches the refresh rate. Example:

(It says "backlight", even though there's no backlight. It's just rtings using a standardized graph for flicker measurements.)

RealNC wrote: ↑

04 Jul 2025, 00:26

You can check on rtings.com. The ones I looked up were not using PWM. However, they are not flicker-free since they have a slight dip in brightness that matches the refresh rate. Example:
(It says "backlight", even though there's no backlight. It's just rtings using a standardized graph for flicker measurements.)

I've found these graphs from RTINGS to be non-descriptive and counterintuitive for a user to figure out.
Here's a better one:


It seems to be around 15–20% brightness dip across it's brightness range, regardless of setting.
Seemingly related to "gate voltage driver" or how a paper has put it — "internal capacitance of the voltage driver"
LCD's also exhibit this behavior, but to a far lesser degree (usually less than 2% brightness fluctuation every refresh cycle)

life_at_1ms wrote: ↑

03 Jul 2025, 21:13

Do all good OLEDs today still use PWM dimming or do some use DC dimming? An aspect of quality to me is the flickering - despite the fact that it is hard to perceive. If I can have an OLED that lasts 5y, text almost as good as a top-end IPS, and fully DC dimmed - then I'd definitely go for it! I know OLEDs are 4k @ 300hz+ now so that's good.

Desktop OLED displays do not use PWM-based light dimming. They rely on PAM-based light dimming (similar behavior to certain AMOLED phones with a setting enabled, usually called "Flicker prevention" in Motorola devices)
Due to the reasons mentioned above, this wouldn't qualify as "flicker-free", as the brightness fluctuation must be below 10% (i forgot the source of this claim, take it with a grain of salt)
From my understanding, "DC Dimming" cannot be applied to OLEDs either.

Love this forum; way too difficult to get decent info anywhere else. So it sounds like IPS is still the only option for high refresh / high resolution / flicker free displays - correct?

life_at_1ms wrote: ↑

04 Jul 2025, 14:38

Love this forum; way too difficult to get decent info anywhere else. So it sounds like IPS is still the only option for high refresh / high resolution / flicker free displays - correct?

It used to be, but I've heard that modern phosphors used in LCDs (used to increase color gamut) can introduce slight flicker.

life_at_1ms wrote: ↑

04 Jul 2025, 14:38

Love this forum; way too difficult to get decent info anywhere else. So it sounds like IPS is still the only option for high refresh / high resolution / flicker free displays - correct?

If by flicker-free, you mean displays which lack the small brightness fluctuation of OLED, yes.
LCD is the only alternative technology which doesn't exhibit it as of now.
Display such as the:
Benq XL2586X+ [FHD 600hz] (doesn't satisfy your vague "high res" criteria),
Acer XV270U F5 [27" QHD 500Hz] or MSI 272QPX [27" QHD 500Hz MiniLED LCD]
Viewsonic XG273-2K / VX2781-2K-PRO-4 [27" QHD 430Hz],
AOC Q27G4K / Acer PG27QFW2A [27" QHD 400Hz],
ASUS PG27AQNR [27" QHD 360Hz],
AOC Q25G4SR [24.5" QHD 300Hz],
LG 27G850A [4k 240hz, DP2.1 UHBR13.5] or Philips EVNIA 27M2N5800P (dual mode DP2.1 UHBR20 LCD)
might fit your bill.

In the smaller form factor display market, options found on the:
Razer Blade 18 (2025) [18" 4K 240Hz]
Acer Predator Triton 14 PT14-51-79QP [14" 16:10 QHD 240Hz. Be aware that the Mini-LED LCD in this model might indicate PWM light dimming flicker]
MSI Stealth 14 Studio A13VE-029 [14" 16:10 QHD 240Hz]

However, with all this being said, I think you could give 480Hz WOLED or the new upcoming 540Hz WOLED's a chance.
You might not be sensitive to this relatively miniscule brightness fluctuation as you think you are.
OLEDs are the only way forward to experience high refresh rate "true-to-theory", without G2G RT's "nerfing" motion performance.

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll keep those in mind, but I currently have the LG UltraGear 27GP950-B, which is alright for now. And it seems there isn't a big difference between it and the (IPS based) others that you've listed - don't you think?

However, is it possible that in the future technologies like EL-QD or MicroLED will make this problem disappear? Because I read that this issue is related to self-emissive pixel technology.

endrioesci wrote: ↑

12 Feb 2026, 13:07

However, is it possible that in the future technologies like EL-QD or MicroLED will make this problem disappear?

Not necessarily.

Also, for those who have not bought OLED, it's not always accurate to assume PWM is the culprit. For people who never vetted OLED, it may even be a 50-50 improve vs another non-OLED display that you had eyestrain on. YMMV.

I’ve tried many OLED displays of all types, and every single one gives me headaches and eye strain within 10 minutes. Meanwhile, IPS and Mini-LED — even with high-frequency PWM — don’t affect me at all. I can game on those all day without issues.
I just hope new technologies will be different, because QD-OLED has amazing image quality — it makes games feel completely different, especially in HDR. If not, then I’m doomed