I have a problem lately... I know im prone to some sort of temporal dithering. I was testing some TVs which were bad for me. Last time my TV which I Have from 2017 got an update and after it at around 40mins of movie watching I have felt pan in the back of my head and later at night pain between eyes. I have tried it one more time but it ws same I knew it's unusable for me because of the update I have read they changed someting in the backlight so I have decided to not use the TV at all.
After 2 day rest from screens I was at my PC and after like 1,5 hour I have felt pain at the back/top of my head the eyes were fine I mean they were white I didn;t feel they are tired or anything but that back head pain is there... I had that similar head pain sometimes with couple of TVs+my blu ray for example but that PC never has made me any problems well maybe once or two I had little headache at back for very short time.
I try now to limit the time on PC as much I can (but I have some remote work) but I feel the back.top of my head some days it's gone best if Im outside some days it's stronger.

I have read that it's in most cases tension headache and eye strain can lead to that but it's strange cause this machine never gave me problems. Maybe my neck/head/shoulders muscles tightnen somewhere much from those tryouts? or nerve receptors in the brain strained? Massages/heat works but I also excercise from couple years some neck/shoulders excercises too I do daily.

Did you had similar situations that from trying out bad screens you had symphoms on good ones too and a LONG break maybe is needed?

Nothing has changed in thePC I think , W7 without updates, same drivers, cables etc. One thing that I have tried (but AFTER the pain has occured) is reinstall my Nvidia GPU drivers to also remove all other monitors/TVs I have tried but it's my old same driver from CD - 382.05 and in the past I have reinstalled it but it had no impact.
Only thing what has changed is because my son wanted I have installed Fortnite on it and maybe it installs some new DIrectX or other stuff like microsoft libraries I don;t know could this cause any changes you think?
Other than that hm... I have changed monitor height/angle couple of times but besides it there's really nothing changed I think.

Lauda89 I haven't read the paper but two things jump out at me.

a) This paper is from 2009?! Guess everyone else was just sleeping...
b) The two authors are affiliated with a university in South Korea

    8 days later

    FNP7 Did you ever solve the "failed to configure the registers" error? It's so strange as 1.11 works fine and now all of a sudden it won't. 1.13 works but that one doesn't have the same benefit/impact on reducing strain.

      7 days later

      Your story is quite similar to mine! I'm posting my experience here hoping it would help anyone looking for a solution.

      So, around the year 2012, I was then using a Compaq laptop with a CFL (non-LED) screen. Oh, it was beautiful! I could look at it for a whole day and never had even the slightest trouble with my eyes. But then it sadly broke, and by that time they had stopped manufacturing laptops with thick CFL screens. What's more, I wasn't at all aware that there would be any significant viewing difference between CFL and LED screens.

      So, I bought a new HP laptop, and a very cheap one to my utter regret. The very first day of using it, I had a mild headache and my eyes felt strained. I thought I was sick or maybe stressed or something, but just a few more days with the new screen and I was 100% sure it was causing my headaches and eye strain. I kept my old laptop and the new one side by side, and I could clearly tell the difference. I just couldn't believe anything like that could be possible. I searched online, but couldn't find anyone else with the same issues, or even a solution to the problem.

      I was scouring the internet for hours everyday, posted on every forum out there, but nobody could help. Then some people suggested that it could be PWM which is causing me eye strain and headaches. They said I should turn up the screen brightness to full 100%, and it should remove the PWM flicker, but no, that didn't help. Another person asked to install a PWM software to turn it off, that too didn't help. I thought if screen was the culprit, I could just connect my old monitor which never gave me eye strains to the laptop. But within minutes of doing so my the monitor also became painful to look at. With that I was sure it wasn't the laptop screen, it was the laptop's internals where the problem was.

      More than a month had passed by then, and I had to visit an ophthalmologist and had to start wearing glasses for the first time in my life! Also by then I started seeing similar reports of eye strain from a few people coming up online. Discussions started and it turned out that Intel HD graphics was the potential culprit. I tested the hypothesis by uninstalling the Intel HD driver, and voila(!), eye strain was completely gone for the first time! However, disabling it made my laptop sluggish, I couldn't even start Photoshop, let alone using it.

      My laptop had an Nvidia card too, but it was connected to the Intel HD graphics, not to the screen directly, and so disabling Intel HD also disabled the Nvidia card. And, that's where the solution to my problems was. I needed a laptop with the screen connected to Nvidia card directly, not via Intel HD.

      So, I put up with the nasty laptop for a few more months, saved some money, and bought a laptop which supported Nvidia G-Sync. Intel HD Graphics doesn't support G-Sync, so in order for it to work, manufactures are forced to connect the screen directly to the Nvidia card while Intel HD graphics remains disabled permanently!

      I bought an Acer Predator laptop with Nvidia 1070, G-Sync support, and a PWM free matt screen. It also has Acer's proprietary Bluelight Shield which works way way way better than any of the dozens of blue light reduction techniques I have tried. I have been using the Acer laptop for years for full days and haven't once experienced any sort of eye strain or headache. Simply amazing.

      So, anyone that has similar problems, look for a laptop that has the screen connected directly to the Nvidia or AMD graphics card. And to ensure it's built like that, it has to support G-Sync (for Nvidia) or FreeSync (AMD). If the laptop also has a PWM free display then that would be a cherry on the cake. Head over to notebookcheck and read the reviews, they test PWM for every laptop and smartphone.

      Hope this helps someone!

        highradio This is what I love about this forum. Firstly, it's so comforting to read that someone else has gone through exactly what I have over the last 8 years. And secondly, you have illuminated something which I didn't realise existed - that's why this forum is essential, one person's 8 year journey can reveal something that someone else can try in a matter of minutes.

        I am immediately on the hunt for a G-Sync laptop to try. Could you elaborate slightly - have you tried multiple G-Sync laptops with success or did you try one and it worked, so you stuck with it? Many people on the forum seem to have problems with Nvidia graphics cards too (in consoles and PCs for example) - I can use my GTX770 all day and there's a GTX 1050 in my laptop (that works as long as very old Intel drivers are used) so I suspect I might be OK with a G-Sync system.

        Could you also please post the exact model of your laptop, along with the Nvidia drivers you're using, Windows version (type winver at the run command) and anything else relevant setup-wise? Maybe Nvidia Control Panel colour settings? Do you still wear the glasses you didn't need previously?

        Thanks so much for this, great to have a new avenue to explore. 🚀

            mydevicedefineme Inconclusive at my end so far, I haven't been able to set aside any 'migraine time' to really test it out. From having used it here and there I do always have that feeling that I always want to turn the brightness right down, which is not a good sign for me.

                thanks, incredible information! - looking for an Acer laptop with G-Sync now. Are you familiar with any other top tier brands of laptops that will support this setup?

                  si_edgey Thanks. Finally, after so many years my intel laptop has become bit usable. Presently, i am using Ditherig 1.11 with windows 7. God bless the soul who made the Ditherig v1.11.

                    Is there a way to turn off dethering in AMD Ryzen with Vega graphics laptop?

                    si_edgey Hey! Seems you did not understand my solution completely. I did not have to try multiple G-Sync laptops.

                    Since disabling Intel HD Graphics on the problematic laptop solved my eye-strain problem completely and I was able to look at the screen for hours without any issues, that was conclusive proof that Intel HD Graphics was the root of all evil, right? So what I needed was a laptop that DID NOT have Intel HD Graphics in it - completely removed or disabled out of the box by the manufacturer. Now, how did I find such a laptop? With months of scouring dozens of forums, I learned that laptops the have TWO Nvidia cards OR Laptops that Support G-Sync have the Intel HD graphics culled by the manufacturer else G-Sync won't work. Culled as in you'll never have to install Intel HD drivers and the manufacturer's drivers download page will not offer Intel HD drivers for download.

                    Users complaining about problems with Nvidia card are perhaps mistakenly concluding so. What happens with most of the non-gaming, non-Gsync supported, general use laptops is that the display is connected to Intel HD Graphics which is in turn connected to an Nvidia card acting as an auxiliary. In such cases, the Intel HD card does most of the lightweight graphics processing, and the NVidia card kicks in only when there's a demand for heavy-duty processing. It does the processing and passes it on the Intel HD card which renders it on the display while adding to it all that causes eye-strain and headaches. So it's quite obvious that the uniformed user might think Nvidia card also causes eye-strain. I've been on the Nvidia forums for months reading every single post and comment, and I didn't find anyone complaining of eye-strain with Nvidia specifically. All the complaints were coming from people who also had Intel HD card in their laptops alongside the Nvidia card. Nvidia is on top of their game. They release driver updates twice every month, and sometimes thrice or more often. Above all, Nvidia listens to users and so any eye-strain issue will have been dealt with before becoming as widespread as the current one which has made all of us on this forum suffer.

                    The problem free, G-Sync laptop I am using currently is the 17 inch Acer Predator G9-793. I bought it years ago and it has never given me the slightest viewing problems ever. I'm on it all day - for work, for gaming, watching movies, and everything else you can imagine. I have Acer's proprietary Bulelight Shield enabled on it all the time. it came with windows 10 Pro, so been using that ever since with automatic updates. Also the Nvidia drives update automatically and regularly. Never had any issues.

                    If you're skeptical, just pin point a G-Sync laptop online and then walk into a store selling it and ask for a demo. Take you problematic laptop with you and compare them side by side. Always check notebookchec.net for a review of your laptop and see if the display uses PWM. Mine does not (PWM not detected!), and that's what you want to have in your new laptop.

                    I still remember those helpless days when Intel HD made me suffer. I lost so much with my work and I had to start wearing glasses which I'll probably have to carry lifelong now. I consciously search Google for "laptop eye-strain" from time to time and always take the time to post my experience and solution so that no one else has to suffer as much and start wearing glasses. I feel it. It's worth investing in a good G-Sync laptop than buying a regular Intel HD laptop and having your eyesight damaged. If I ever meet the creator of that particular Intel HD card in person..... you guess what..

                        Quad43 Most gaming laptops do support G-Sync. To make sure it does, just look at the manufacturer's description and then head over to the drivers download page for the particular model. If it supports G-Sync then Intel HD driver will not be on offer to download and install. Always check notebookcheck.net for a review of the laptop you're interested in, and look for "PWM not detected". PWM is also known to cause eye-strain and headaches.

                            highradio Thanks for the response. Just a couple of things to bear in mind is that from many years of experience we know that everyone is different, so some of your points may not apply to some.

                            For example, many people do in fact have dithering issues with Nvidia / AMD graphics cards on desktop computers that use no Intel graphics. And the same thing with the PS4 / Xbox One. This became a problem around the same time that LED screens became prevalent, and different colour settings in the Nvidia control panel have been proven to trigger problematic temporal dithering by @Seagull and others.

                            Some monitors themselves seem to be involved in the dithering process also. And also something I've noted is that 'G-Sync Enabled' laptops are often referring to the fact they can connect to G-Sync monitors, and not necessarily that the laptop display itself is connected via G-Sync directly to the Nvidia card. I'd be interested in whether this means that the laptop display still uses the Intel drivers?

                            That's amazing that the first laptop you tried worked for you but there are many variables involved in the hardware alone, before you even start thinking about different brains...! This is why I thought it would be good to try a 'known-good' setup first, so thanks for the model number.

                                si_edgey For a laptop to support G-Sync, the display has to be connected to the Nvidia card directly. There's no other way. I've not heard of any laptop manufacturer claim "G-sync supported only if you connect it to a G-sync display!". No, they all carry a G-sync display as standard. Go to any G-sync laptop's drivers download page, you'll not find intel HD drivers on offer. Manufacture's use a combination of Intel HD and Nvidia to ensure power savings and long battery life. But with gaming laptops that support G-sync, power saving becomes an oxymoron, so intel HD is omitted completely.

                                You might want to talk to people who report eyestrain with Nvidia or AMD desktop cards and see how they have connected their displays. Most likely it will turn out that they have connected their monitors using the default VGA port which is handled by Intel HD and also they will have Intel HD drivers installed on their system.

                                For me a G-Sync laptop with PWM free display solved the problem completely, and I hope it helps others.

                                    highradio You might want to talk to people who report eyestrain with Nvidia or AMD desktop cards and see how they have connected their displays. Most likely it will turn out that they have connected their monitors using the default VGA port which is handled by Intel HD and also they will have Intel HD drivers installed on their system.

                                    You've identified your problem and that's good. But please don't assume that everyone else here has the same problem. No one on here is unknowingly connecting their monitor to the integrated graphics rather than their discrete graphics card on their desktop PC. We are tech savy people. On my desktop PC at least, its not even possible to do that without changing a BIOS setting.

                                        si_edgey For example, many people do in fact have dithering issues with Nvidia / AMD graphics cards on desktop computers that use no Intel graphics. And the same thing with the PS4 / Xbox One.

                                        Just chiming in with this point too. Good to know there are usable PC setups out there, but myself and others have the same symptoms on games consoles/smart tv/media players where it's almost impossible to alter the setup.

                                          Seagull We are tech savy people

                                          You might be tech savvy, but the silent majority landing on this page may be not.

                                          Seagull No one on here is unknowingly connecting their monitor to the integrated graphics

                                          There are a lot of people who make this unwitting mistake, and simply fixing it could mean an end to their suffering. After all this forum is not meant to solve one particular person's problem now is it? No point getting triggered buddy.
                                          https://superuser.com/questions/511802/do-i-need-to-connect-my-graphics-card-to-my-monitor

                                          There will be a lot of people landing on this page who'll have their problem fixed just by switching to a G-Sync supported laptop. You'll know what works for you when you actually try out what has worked for others. For some a PWM free display might solve the issue, for some a higher refresh rate monitor will work, some will have a faulty graphics card that needs to be replaced, and for some their problem might be totally unrelated to the device they're using. The point is, someone landing on this page will try out the various solutions suggested and might end up fixing their problem instead of going round and round endlessly. Chill out for them 😃

                                              dev