• OS

  • I found a Linux distro that fixes my eyestrain with the default setup!!

karut Ubuntu 18.04 with the Linux kernel 4.15.0.x gets security updates until 2028 through Ubuntu Pro ESM which is free. This is what I use. On my good laptop I get eyestrain and headaches from the 5.4 kernel but not from the 4.15 kernel. Both kernels 4.15 and 5.4 are available on Ubuntu 18.04. The latest releases of Ubuntu 18.04 come with kernel 5.4, so you need to install kernel 4.15 and then boot into GRUB and select kernel 4.15.

    For me newest Ubuntu 22.04 works fine after some tinkering (AMD GPU):

    • Wayland -> eye strain
    • Wayland + GRUB amdgpu.dither=0 -> eye strain
    • X11 + GRUB amdgpu.dither=0 + X11 code to disable dithering and make tear free (chatgbt) -> Instant relief, very very noticeable, definitely not placebo as with various macbook tinkering solutions where you never sure.

    X11 code:

    sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/amdgpu.conf

    Section "Device"
    Identifier "AMDGPU"
    Driver "amdgpu"
    Option "Dither" "off"
EndSection

    All these settings using external monitor on profile sRGB and ubuntu standard sRGB color profile (not monitor profile). And not really sure which one is actually making a difference.

      Other than the fact the conf file is missing a match line, this won't work because the property isn't there.

      Type xrandr --prop in the terminal to see the list of properties you can call. Dither won't be there.

        karut Who really cares about when "official" support ended. It's not like the OS will stop working.

            Sunspark There is no option Dither in the list so probably conf is not making a anything there. So its either then GRUB code or color profile setting to sRGB standard. And of course the fact of not using wayland, which I find to be very high eye strain on linux.

              karut In case you missed my message above, Ubuntu 18.04 gets security updates until 2028 through Ubuntu Pro ESM. AlmaLinux gets security updates until 2029.

              With Ubuntu you have the option of using kernel 4.15 and with AlmaLinux (binary-compatible with RHEL) you have the option of using kernel 4.18.

              I think these are the two oldest kernels that will receive security updates for the next 4-5 years.

                9 days later

                So some guidelines until now are using X11, some older kernel and disabling hardware acceleration?
                Also, arch and manjaro should use pretty new kernels, they are rolling distros, but the posts were made in 2017, so maybe that's when the version 4 of the kernel was used.

                I tried lot of distros of Linux with almost every desktop manager and got eye strain. There is a way to disable that eye strain in Linux? I can’t use my PC because of that, it will be helpful

                  twomee mint version 20 someone said was as comfortable as windows 7 but also use Nvidia open source drivers I was told. I haven't tried it yet

                    16 days later

                    AlanSmith For many the problem absolutely is the OS. Don't assume because something does or does not impact you it does or does not impact others.

                    DirectX12 acceleration and 3D compositing are at the root of my BVD issues with Windows, and thats 100% due to them being implemented in Win 10 and Win 11

                        karut If you prefer to have a "secure" system that you can't use due to eyestrain, well that's a choice I guess.

                        "Security" is the most overblown term thrown around in computing. 99.9% of PC security is between the chair and the keyboard, and Linux itself is such an insanely small vector for attacks it's laughable to be concerned about it.

                        My daily driver laptop I use around the house runs Windows XP. Never had a "security" issue with it ever. Don't install software you don't know, don't click on links in in email, and you are just as secure as any fully updated "secure" OS. This isn't the movies where top secret NSA hackers are going to run 0 day exploits to get into your PC and download the launch codes. 99.99% of PC "security" threats are scammers trying to bilk you into buying them gift cards or crypto

                          ensete so your saying new os caused your BVD symptoms? Also what os do you run on your main personal machine?

                            ensete DirectX12 acceleration and 3D compositing

                            Can you explain a bit more…? Which OS affected, why they affected?

                                simplex windows 10+ uses directx12. 3D composition would be windows 7+. If you disable aero or dwm inside windows 7 that should disables it.

                                  orangepeel yes it seems usable, better than manjaro, but i cant test streaming video with bad internet

                                      reaganry probably going to have to download the driver's on a USB using another computer and then plug it into the 4.1.5 computer to install

                                        simplex Can you explain a bit more…? Which OS affected, why they affected?

                                        Starting with Windows 10 (actually it may have also been in Windows 8, I never used 8 so I never looked into it) DirectX 12 was "built in" to the OS. DirectX 12 is what enables all those pretty Windows effects that Microsoft loves but it also modifies the display in a way that triggers out symptoms (colors, dithering, etc). It basically introduces a new "layer" in between your video card and your monitor. Before this your video card could draw frames directly to the screen without anything in the middle, Aero inserted itself in the middle but that could be disable in Windows 7, but in Windows 10 and up it is a part of the desktop window manager and cannot be disabled, at least without severely compromising the functionality of windows. There are ways to overwrite system files using a Window 10 boot disk to access a Windows 10 install that llows you to modify system files but the resulting desktop environment is not very useable, you get random black windows popping up all over the place.

                                        Also what os do you run on your main personal machine?

                                        windows 7, pre-KB2670838 update (which adds the Windows 10 video architecture to Windows 7)

                                            dev