- Edited
The exact same hardware as before! Exact same mobo, CPU, power, monitors, cables, …
My bios and windows are definitely updated from then and so are my drivers it would be quite some hell to figure out what driver and Windows version I was using, and it just doesn't make sense to me that the 1030 isn't straining me while the 970 is.
What's even more horrid is that I tried the dual GPU method where I plug my monitors into my 1030 and let my 970 do the workload and what happens is that even when I set my 1030 as the "high performance" card so that in the Windows environment the 970 doesn't do anything my eyes were still straining!! Like simply having that card in the system was making it dither!
I tried adding these two lines to the registry
DP_DisableDither
TMDS_DisableDither
and setting their value to 1 which from this article I read should disable dithering:
https://docs.teradici.com/knowledge/how-do-i-turn-temporal-dithering-amd-graphics-card
What was interesting was that after I added these and opened up "Calibration Tool", Enabling/Disabling dithering from there made no difference to the colour gradient. So these codes are definitely disabling some kind of dithering, but the card was still straining me like hell.
The strain was maddening, I think it even makes my blood pressure go up. This morning I woke up with such eye strain, dizzy feeling and high blood pressure that I almost wanted to call my friend and have him come pick me up and take me to the hospital. My head feels like It's exploding right now. I pulled the card out and am gonna let my eyes rest a little and maybe do some more testing. I might try installing an older diver.
I'm really starting to get the impression that something has gone wrong with me. I mean first my Galaxy Note 5 which I was using for 8 years and I could no longer use without massive strain after board replacement and now my 970.
Could it be that once you use a device that has horrible dithering like the disgusting 3000 series graphic card line-up your eyes start seeing dithering, and they could no longer unsee it?
I know I used to get eye strain from my Galaxy Note 5 and even the 970 back then, but it was only after days and days and days of 24 hour use. And it was never this kind of burning sensation or nauseousness. Just simple eye fatigue.
I'm going to take my question onto Microsoft forums and Nvidia. This is really crazy, we would really have to start living in the jungle if this is the path that pretty much every tech company is starting to take.
For now, I am going to spend a few days behind my system with the 1030 and this latest driver. If the strain goes on, I will try an older driver. If it is really a driver matter, it would be even more horrid. That means even the stuff that work for us will become outdated.
The new Last of Us remake which actually crashes like crazy with the latest Nvidia driver (v531.41) gives a warning that my driver is outdated if I have anything lower installed.