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TrantaLocked I think with the LG 24GL600F my eyes are slowly going back to normal. It seems to be very conventional, because LG needed something good and cheap. Main reasons:

  • saturated colors(they look normal to me, they dont shoot your eyes out)
  • sharpness
  • it doesnt use the new red-ish phosphors(otherwise even blue somehow gets red-ish)
  • no high frequency flicker

The monitor stand is horrible, the monitor always is tilting to the right(0,3°) but my desk is not tilting… But you can fix that, the panel is a very conventional TN Panel with 144hz, normal TN Panel colors, and my eyes have for some reason no pain when reading. The last one is perhaps the most important, because my work is 90% reading and writing.

Only one thing is that i reduced the saturation of the 6 colors to 47/100(50 being factory setting) and reducing contrast to 45(70 being factory setting). I am using it at 10/100 brightness in the morning(nearly no lights on) and go up to 25/100 when the sun shines(no glare) or even higher with glare.

I also tried the Dell S2421HGF, but it seems to use high frequency flicker, it gave super hard pain even after 2 minutes of use. Colors were super greyish and ugly, not sure what it does better than the LG.

PWM was very different with non-LED screens, i could use my old Panel for 14 hours and i did use it for 14 hours per day. And i have used 3 dozen of monitors with LED backlight(work, friends) in the last decade and never had any strain, most strain i got is now with the new screens and only in the last 6months, not sure why.

I also was at a museum, they had some very old Samsung and NEC monitors showing some movies, and it was super pleasant to look at them. One was even showing a color test picture, it was totally soothing to look at! I had no symptoms with any of them. I am sure most of them had LED backlights.

If everything else fails, i will get some old LED backlight monitors. But at the moment i think i can handle the LG.

EDIT: If you still get strain, try turning off overdrive. It does strain my eyes a bit when turned on.

      6 days later

      hayder1983 I'm trying the LG 24GL600F. I'm not 100% sure if I like it yet. It has a 135 degree polarization like my Samsung 2494 TN and Galaxy s10e OLED. I may be able to get used to it and tweak some settings but it isn't immediately easier to look at than the Samsung G32A 24" or Acer Nitro KG241Y. I will however say other than my hesitancy on eye strain amount, the LG 24GL600F is the best monitor of all the budget 1080p 24" monitors I've tried. It has the best feature-set user menu, a 3.5mm audio input, light and sleek design allowing it to sit further back on the VESA mount, and of course the best motion clarity.

      This LG 24GL600F is absolutely insane for the $120 sale it's on. Anyone can go into buying this monitor with little to no regrets. The main drawback is the way the matte layer is done, which is that it makes the top end of the panel look darker at lower viewing angles.

      It is going to be a tough decision between the LG 24GL600F and Samsung G32A 24". The Samsung G32A 24", like all VA monitors I have tried, has noticeable color ghosting even with the response setting turned on. But it isn't very tough to look at. The Acer KG241Y seems to have a weak color gamut and is missing the audio input, and overall it's surprisingly barebones despite being in the same price range as the others.

      I do think the decision will come down to eye strain amount. I would hate to not keep the LG because it has such a great feature set and visual clarity, but if it ends but being straining I'd be happy to keep the Samsung G32A VA. And I can tell the LG is probably a bit too straining, and comparing to my 2494HM I'm starting to suspect the LED baseline color temperature really does matter a lot, because the CCFLs in the 2494HM are tad on the warm/green side and the LEDs on the LG 24GL600F are a tad more blue. This matters because no amount of color correction, whether in monitor or in software, can change the color temperature of the black level and near-black grays. It will ALWAYS be the color of the LED+other layers. I do suspect this black color temperature needs to be not too blue and possibly not too red for it to not be straining, and that makes me wonder if the old CCFL TNs are so easy to look at because they aren't so blue like LEDs.

          TrantaLocked I am happy that the LG benefits you. I have returned it, because for some reason i had eye pain when it displayed motion. It was hard pain with the overdrive on and mild pain with the overdrive off. I also had mild strain when using it to read. It was much better than the DELL S2421HGF but still not usable for me. But motion being painful to my eye was new, i never had that before.

          I will try some business monitors with good motion handling. I am happy with every allrounder that does less strain on my eyes and opens up the possibility of casual gaming. The DELL U2520D arrived yesterday, perhaps i am more lucky with business model screens.

          I also think reddish LEDs in the screen are more straining. But my old CCFL had backlight which was like 5500K by itself and it was great to look at. 🙁

              hayder1983 I suspect a slight green-leaning LED temperature is the best for eye strain. Maybe some people are ok with blue but I do think blue is an issue for me. The LG has a VERY blue LED temperature, yet it's color temperature options are quite warm, so it's pairing very blue blacks with very warm colors. I also have eye strain issues with the LG and will likely either be going with the Samsung G32A or possibly even just buying another CCFL monitor and use that until affordable 24" micro LEDs or OLEDs become a thing. Per pixel dimming should not be taking this long to saturate the market. I do like the LG otherwise.

                I also think about going back to Ccfl. There are some with hdmi. I will try 3 business monitors this week and if that is not successful then ccfl it is.

                  hayder1983 You COULD try the Samsung 2494 1080p 60Hz. They go for around 100-250$ used on ebay and aren't in the shortest supply. The SW version is DVI+VGA only (DVI to HDMI passive adapter works fine) and can be overclocked to 75Hz with the right custom timings (which I can provide if anyone wants them), while the HM has speakers and HDMI but will disable itself after 30 seconds of detecting an overclock. The SW is the one I had been using for over a decade, it's a slightly yellow/green CCFL backlight. I now have an HM version as my secondary monitor and I do enjoy it but being limited to 60Hz makes me not want to use it as a primary. As far as I can remember the panel is the same between both versions but I can't be 100% sure on that. If you do find a high refresh CCFL 24" let me know, or a green/yellow LED.

                  I'm ready to go all in on LED temperature being the #1 factor for eye strain. I still think PWM, polarization and motion handling are all factors but not quite as important. And that could explain at least in part why I'm so ok with my LG C1 even when I set it to higher than 6500K; the blacks and near-black greys are not blue or really strongly any color because it's not being backlit! And what do you know, the aftermarket IPS I bought for my laptop is the same yellow-ish temperature as my Samsung 2494 CCFL!

                      TrantaLocked Yes, the color temperature of the actual LED light, not the filtered light. But it is also the brightness of LEDs compared to CCFL. On the same nits/lux, somehow LED pierces my eye like CCFL never was able to do.

                      But since the strain is different with certain monitors, i think there is more than one factor for me.

                      I am thinking about an 2009 LG TN Panel with HDMI. I even found a review for it, claiming it to be near perfect display even though it only covers 91% SRGB(which i find okay for an TN-Panel). I found the driver for it on the LG Page. They are available from 30-50€(+shipping frees) in my country. I only found 5 of them, but i only need one of them 🙂

                      But i will give the 3 monitors a last try, 2 are already here, just have to put them togehter.

                        TrantaLocked I will look if the Samsung 2494 is available. I am ok with 60hz, so i will perhaps try the HDMI version. Thank you for the suggestion 🙂

                            I will be updating this comment with relative backlight blue level (which is unchangeable) between the displays I'm testing.

                            From least to most blue backlight temperature: Samsung 2494HM (most yellow) = Asus VG247Q1A < Acer Nitro KG241Y < Samsung G32A < LG 24GL600F (most blue)

                            hayder1983 I'm testing the ASUS VG247Q1A 165Hz VA and it has a yellow-leaning LED temperature practically equivalent to the CCFL Samsung 2494HM! It also has the most saturated colors (in certain profiles) leaving a lot of breathing room for sRGB calibration, though it does have an sRGB mode. The menu is also good but is lacking just the gamma setting; it does have shadow boost but no apparent way to go to a darker gamma. I will do some more testing and let you know how it goes. So far the only drawback seems to be that its motion clarity is quite poor and probably the worst motion clarity of any VA I have ever seen.

                            edit: Unfortunately I'm also getting eye strain with the Asus. I'n strongly considering just making the Samsung 2494 my primary.

                                TrantaLocked I just trying the DELL U2520D. It is very strange monitor, a near perfect IPS Display, great colors for an IPS, Backlight goes down to 30-50 nits on lowest setting and for some reason i dont have the hammering pain with this device. I has 10.000 hz PWM(every other flickerfree device i tested also had 10.000+hz PWM), but somehow it is more acceptable to my eye. I dont think it is the refresh rate, but perhaps the colors are super accurate and my eyes are super happy with the colors. I am using the DCI-P3 mode(gamma = 2,6), but with contrast on factory setting. For some reason the SRGB mode is too greyish. (I also tried last night changing gamma to 2,4 on my TV and it also helped my eye strain.)
                                Bad news is, it is near impossible to make a user defined profile with the dell. For some reason saturation is only available on the movie/game profile, but the dont let you choose color temperature on the two profiles. Gamma is not adjustable in any profile. That is stupid, not sure why they did that.
                                Motion handling is really really good for an 60hz IPS. No blur trail at all. Could live with that, even play Borderlands 3 on it. I really hate ghosting, overshoot and motion blur.
                                This might be a placebo effect and i still will try the other two business monitors. This Dell monitor is like 350€ and the other two are like 180€ each(BenQ IPS and BenQ TN panel), but that doesnt mean anything. Its only important to have less strain, because otherwise there is no fun in gaming.
                                I am also trying very mild blue filter glasses from my optician(just 20€). They are meant for testing purposes. But i think they also help. It is very different to adjusting the color temperature, because everything doesnt get reddish but yellowish. It is far more acceptable.
                                And to be honest, if i am unsure with these devices i will go back to CCFL, because they are cheap and i can have 4-6 of them if i want(if they help my eye strain).

                                  TrantaLocked The 2494HM is available at 35-50€ + shipping fees in my country. Not sure, if it is the best decision to go LED now, i already have 2 useless unusable LED screens standing here.

                                  If the only thing i can use is a 60hz LED 350€ IPS panel, i see no real advantage, i might just go back to a 60hz CCFL TN Panel. My TN Panel actually had nice colors too, it even had wide color gamut and good viewing angles. Especially white was much more satisfying to look at, which is like the most important thing...

                                    TrantaLocked Tested the BenQ BL2381T(IPS-Panel, 60hz, 180€, business model). It is unusable. Had a hammering pain in my eyes, had to stop after 2 minutes, as bad as the Eizo monitor i am owning. Blue filter glasses were usless. I also own BenQ ew3270u, it doesnt do the hammering pain(but gives me nausea).
                                    The colors were actually like i want them to be on a monitor(normal saturation, soothing, not too bright), but i think the backlight was wrong for me. Measuring PWM would only be possible under great pain, so decided to not try measure it.
                                    I have no idea, where this pain comes from, the Dell was usable for 4 hours without pain(using it right now). I will test the Dell as long as possible, but the BenQs arent helping my symptoms.
                                    I will test the second BenQ this evening, even when i am sure, that i result in the same eye pain.

                                      TrantaLocked OLED white is more yellowish than white. Perhaps that is helping your symptoms. Some people say that you can see that with special glasses.

                                        TrantaLocked I ordered the Samsung 2494HM. It should get here in a week.

                                        The Dell U2520D gives my eyestrain too. Not as bad as the BenQ monitors i tested, but still unusable.

                                            One thing to consider is that the source computer can be the reason for the eye strain. When I got a new laptop, I used it only with the same HP external IPS screen that had been problem free for 10+years, but with that new laptop, my eyes became bloodshot and very irritated in 4 hours of usage.

                                            Now that trusty old HP display died and I started using this old cheap Samsung S24e650 display. With the old laptop this is not either causing any strain, but I'm pretty sure if I would connect the problematic laptop to this, it would give me eye strain.

                                              hayder1983 Be aware that for the Samsung 2494HM the AV mode needs to be set to off as otherwise it does a digital overscan. Contrast may look worse at first but that's due to it resetting gamma and brightness values. Sharpness can be 56 or 60 for a neutral value and I personally use gamma 1 or 3 and keep magicolor off. Your GPU driver might also set the output range to Limited so you can change that to Full then change the HDMI Black Level on the monitor to Normal.

                                              I've also switched it to my primary monitor. I don't even care anymore, the only competitive game I play it doesn't make a huge difference to play at 60Hz.

                                              Going back to the Samsung 2494 I do still get some occasional strain but there is no serious burning feeling or headache that develops. It is definitely the least amount of any desktop monitor I have tried so it's a good baseline. There is one thing I am looking into which is the color of the drapes I have behind my monitor. I use dark grey drapes and will be trying out some drapes that are the same off-white as my wall, which is the backdrop color behind my wall-mounted TV. It's at least worth giving a shot to see if backdrop color makes a difference.

                                              Maxx

                                              I've used the same computer for all of the monitors I've talked about including the ones I like but I will keep that in mind.

                                                  There are two more things I am now considering as contributors to eye strain: backdrop color and distance. A lighter backdrop could improve eye strain by normalizing the amount of light the pupils need to adjust to. But there is also backdrop distance; there is a vaster space to focus, either on behind in the case of a laptop or on in the case of the TV. For my computer monitor, I am both close to the screen and the wall behind it. Doctors say that you tend to get more eye strain if you go for long periods focusing on nearby objects.

                                                  The eye strain I've been feeling with even the Samsung 2494 after very long sessions isn't a burning sensation like with the Alienware AW2521H but more like a basic muscle soreness. This supports the idea of totally separate types of eye strain going on. One could be focus related and one could be sensitivity to certain light wavelengths like blue or red, and sensitivity to certain types of polarization like horizontal or vertical. But it's also surprising because I never experienced eye strain like this on my 2494 before and it makes me think my eyes are also just losing stamina, or maybe I'm still recovering from a literal eye injury from using the other monitors. Or it could be using the C1 with vertical polarization has now made me more sensitive to horizontal or diagonal polarization.

                                                  I will try experimenting with different colored drapes and moving my desk out to put more space behind it. There's something I'm not totally getting, but I think we've at least identified that some monitors are worse for eye strain than others.

                                                    TrantaLocked There are two more things I am now considering as contributors to eye strain: backdrop color and distance. A lighter backdrop could improve eye strain by normalizing the amount of light the pupils need to adjust to

                                                    I recall someone here claimed to get more eyestrain from a device after they repainted the walls in their room, which I presume included the wall behind the emitting device, so if true that's more credence to that theory.

                                                      TrantaLocked you are right. Different kind of eye strain with different causes. But i can also tell that eye strain is different dependant on the device and its settings. My Benq gives me only normal eye strain but gives me nausea. Eizo gives no nausea but the worst eye strain. The LG 24gl600f gave me less eye strain and it feeled completly different AND gave me nausea.

                                                      I also think my glasses dont help at all. I visited a new eye doctor. He said i have chronical dry eyes and that can lead to the worst symptoms. He gave me new medication(Cortison 3 weeks, better eye drops 4times a day, sth for the night). And i stopped using my glasses, because they give me strain too. Muscle strain...

                                                      I bought the syncmaster but also a dell u2410. They are cheap and a lot of people in the forum use them it seems. But i will try to get some eye rest first.

                                                        dev