(WORKING) Using macOS strain-free with old PC and remote desktop!

Donux ditherig is open source lol just read the code yourself, all it does is change intel graphics registers and it's been a staple in this community for years as it can noticeably improve screen output

NoMachine uses their own "NX protocol", way faster than VNC and works fast for me over wi-fi, so I don't need ethernet. I've also used it remotely a couple times before and it also works pretty well. It also automatically reconnects after sleep mode so you can just leave it open and it rarely ever disconnects.

(And if you're ever doing anything that doesn't rely on the power or the apps of the Mac, you can always use Windows locally when needed, despite being an old laptop it's still fast enough for writing documents and most web browsing.)

NoMachine even supports optionally enabling shared USB devices and printers over the connection, no idea how fast, but the fact it even offers it is great.

In the end for me eye comfort matters and not flawless performance, since my day to day work is mostly just reading and writing documents, emails, and code it's more than fast enough for that to be very usable for me. Even panning around files like photos and designs runs at a pretty good frame rate and doesn't have much input lag.

If the setup is making it actually possible to work since it's easy to look at the screen, that's better than any faster setup where I can't even comfortably use the screen or concentrate on my work anyway

osxcool22 Yeah, unfortunately the 2015 15" (which I have instead of the 2016) has an Iris Pro, not an HD, so it dithers.

Color profile dithering on the 2015 can be disabled with dither=0, but not the OS level alpha blending, gradient, and shadow dithering.

Installing Windows on the MacBook Pro is also not an option on my 2015, since it's an AMD model and tries to force AMD mode in Windows.

I tried the EFI workarounds to get it to load Intel instead when booting into Windows, but since this AMD Mac model was never designed for that, it caused the fans to run really loud and prevented the laptop from waking back up after entering sleep.

osxcool22 because i have a great setup right now that i'm super productive on. i've also already done said "work" and this setup is reliable for me

2016+ also has P3 color and that both can lead to screen issues and also interferes with my workflow since my design work is mostly in sRGB

i also used to have a 2016 13" (with Iris, but somehow the screen was actually "decent" for general use, still definitely had comfort issues with some content though especially coding and schoolwork)

but that 2016 13" had tons of keyboard reliability issues, i had to get keyboard replaced 3 times over its lifespan, and i wouldn't want to buy a Mac from that same generation again

also i'd need to disable the OLED touchbar on 2016+ (because of intense PWM) which is pretty rough, the touchbar is hard to use anyway and i want Fn keys

even back when i had the 2016 13", before i knew about PWM, i had a mostly blacked out touchbar with only two buttons on it, honestly probably because i didn't like looking at it LOL

if i was changing my mac in any way i'd probably downgrade to a 2014 15" with NVIDIA instead, since i've heard good things about NVIDIA on Macs (vs AMD) here

if anyone here has a NVIDIA Retina MacBook Pro, do you have any screen comfort issues?

I am still using this 2012 Lenovo Yoga 13 + NoMachine screen sharing into a macOS device as my daily setup!

• It is the only computer screen up to this day that truly "crosses the threshold" for me. I feel like I am "suddenly way smarter than I thought I was" working on it in way nothing else has truly achieved for me yet.

• For example, even if I'm feeling pretty tired, many times I open this laptop and immediately feel energetic instead of feeling more tired. Really the only other devices I can think of that have a "positive" effect like this are the Kindle Oasis and original (2004) Nintendo DS. (also Boox Tab Ultra sometimes but only in very ideal lighting conditions like outdoors). It's incredible that this is a LED-backlit IPS panel !!

• ditherig.exe is needed. Reduces display to 6bit and becomes very stable. Very noticeable difference.

• Windows 8.1 6.3.9600(.18969 hardware abstraction layer) Build 9600

• BIOS 66CN51WW 10/19/2012 2.7

• LG IPS LGD0360 panel (1600x900)
Intel graphics driver 10.18.10.4276 8/27/2015 WDDM 1.3
Intel DPST off (FeatureTestControl value 0x0000f010)

• It does have some form of PWM, even at 100% brightness. Can detect on dark gray with 240hz slow motion. Something "different" about it though, "scans from top to bottom" instead of whole screen. Only mild flicker depth. 100% brightness is best. Despite this "issue", strangely enough, reading comprehension, depth perception, ability to think to myself while looking at the screen, ability to instantly understand extremely information dense user interfaces etc. are NOT impacted. Usually I'm very sensitive to other types of PWM - so the fact I'm fine with this is very unique. Some dryness in left eye after using for a while but unlike everything else, my level of productivity is not affected.

• It would probably be "even better" without PWM but it remains the one display that truly works for me. I can work on it for the entire day without my eyes getting tired.

Checking in again, this same Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 1st Gen + Windows 8.1 + screen sharing setup is still awesome for me.

The "server" device has also been migrated to an M1 Air instead of an Intel MBP to run some more demanding macOS apps and things are still going smoothly.

There's really only one main catch to be aware of for the screen - (lining up exactly with what many others here have said about many Lenovo laptops!), the screen is the most comfortable when running on battery and not plugged in. That's when it achieves pretty much zero strain.

However, if it's plugged in, I notice some slight strain and unusual flicker. This isn't a new issue, I'm just deciding to point it out now. Likely theory is that there is interference from AC power that somehow reaches the LCD. Even in this case though it's still many times better than any (even older) Mac laptop, but the way you achieve maximum "stillness" is to run it on battery.

Sometimes (at least to my eyes) it seems that after returning to battery you need to toggle ditherig.exe to Spatial and then back to Disable in order to fully get back the stillness.

As I've previously mentioned, mild (i.e. "low flicker depth") PWM on dark grays is still detectable on the Lenovo at all brightness levels in both power states. However, even though I can't stand most PWM or flickering lightbulbs for instance, whatever type of mild PWM is used here somehow remains totally fine for me. No issues as long as I'm on battery.

100% brightness also remains the best (even though PWM can still be detected), this might just be since the screen has low nits so running it at max is pretty much necessary anyway.

Again, simply using this laptop literally makes me feel a hundred times smarter than I thought I was. It's incredible. It really makes me think how many people's cognitive / learning ability could be entirely transformed if they just had a healthier screen in front of them.

Ivan_P No idea, I actually don't remember writing that I use everything with hardware decoding off nowadays and it's working great. Will edit the original post to say off instead.

By the way, the 2012 IdeaPad Yoga 13 is still the ONLY laptop that has a "perfect" screen to me — 11 years after buying it and 6 months into "rediscovering" it.

Literally no other laptop LCD I've used feels like this one does. It works for me consistently every day and it makes me feel like I can simultaneously see every single item on the screen at the same time.

I'm still surprised that this screen is IPS and WLED backlit, yet is able to work so well. In fact, I own CCFL TN monitors from 2005 and 2007 that still strain me (even if connected to an old GPU that provides a 6-bit signal) — but this laptop screen doesn't!!

(What's interesting about this laptop is how rare the screen is. "1600x900 IPS" turns up very few results on Panelook. When limiting to laptop screen sizes, literally the only results are a few variations of this exact LG panel and a single PLS panel by Samsung. There are many 1600x900 TN panels, but a 1600x900 IPS is mythical.)