EMG (Unfortunately đ ) welcome to LEDStrain! It's good that youâve found the forum though, thereâs a lot of info here that can help.
As youâll see, strain triggers can vary massively from person to person. For some itâs flicker, for others it's software rendering, driver behaviour, panel type, EMF, or contrast processing. Itâs frustratingly inconsistent. And you'll have to become your own "eye strain analyst" if that makes sense.
Best starting point is always your last known safe setup â whatever didnât give you symptoms. From there, change one variable at a time.
To help you more precisely, it would be useful if you could share detailed specs: OS version and build, GPU model and driver version, how each device connects (HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA), and whether thereâs anything youâve already tested. Small differences like driver version or Windows build can make or break a setup for some people. The most important part, which usually affects most of us, is the graphics card. But unfortunately, these days the BIOS can also flicker, the OS can flicker, so on newer hardware you need to take that into consideration as well.
Many LEDStrainers have seen situations where identical GPUs (same model, same brand) behave differently. One is fine, the other causes instant strain. Even a browser update can ruin a previously good system. So logging exactly what works for you, and testing from there, is the most practical path.
Being able to use Win11 is already a dream come true for many, so that's really a good sign. Many here are sensitive to Windows 11 and some Windows 10 versions. I can also use Windows 11 on graphic card + screen that's not straining me, but I cannot use any win version on a bad graphic card. So since you've tweaked settings a lot, I'd look into Graphic card. There's a lot of info on this forum, so just look at the recent posts.
Keep posting updates. Even if progress is slow, it helps others too.