Eyestrain when switching from Windows to Linux

Something I don't understand IF dithering is the issue...is why I can use recent Ubuntu on very old laptops like 10+ years old...with no strain...but it strains in minutes on anything new. Even cheap new things with low resolution TN screens which SHOULD eliminate the possibility that its an issue with IPS or hish res etc. Is the old igpu i915 or whatever everything had back then not capable of dithering? Also why do old iPads on old iOS and iPhone 4s etc not dither (or presumably since they dont hurt and are ips)

It would be pretty great if an "off" setting helped because I would love to use Ubuntu on new stuff. Shame the intel gpu integrated doesnt have an off switch....but if I had to get an Nvidia laptop that would work id would be better off than now. I've not tried Windows very much because anything I have got with Windows 10 to try strained...but you and some others say its NOT straining them. (or maybe you meant only Windows 7). I also wonder if its not psychological since there is always an outlier for every factor that does or doesn't hurt....at least one example...pwm, led, whatever...but who knows.

vaz I read on the Intel forums that the Windows drivers will enable dithering on 8bit and above displays. Your old display is probably a 6bit and maybe Ubuntu recognises this and disables dithering.

I have used Windows 10 in the last year on a 2012 laptop and it was perfect. When checking the driver in use I think it was using the same version supplied by OEM (2012 version) and not using a 2015> driver. So maybe it's just drivers, maybe it's Windows 10, without seperating it all (video output vs driver vs OS) - it's hard to determine where the 'point of failure' is.

How are you with games consoles/smart tv's? This isn't just an issue with PC's for me and I can't use Nintendo Switch for more than minutes.

Also iPhone 4 was fine for me, that had an LED display and I'm using a 2019 LED monitor now, so at least for me it's not LED.

Also it isn't necessarily eye strain thats the worst symptom for me (my eyes don't physically strain) it's neurological. I feel spaced out/over-focused on the screen.

diop I read on the Intel forums that the Windows drivers will enable dithering on 8bit and above displays. Your old display is probably a 6bit and maybe Ubuntu recognises this and disables dithering.

I don't think this is it because even most modern laptops, except high end ones, are 6+2, and I have tried new ones and new displays in moderately old laptops and those displays were 6+2 for sure. So if dithering is my pain it's not because it doesn't show up on under 8-bit panels.

I broke out the Xbox 360 after not playing for a year, unrelated to eyestrain, and it was fine on a TN/LED flat panel TV. I don't have a new TV to test it on and I don't watch TV as a habit. I don't like looking at modern TVs in shops and people's homes because they have them on super bright color enhancement whatever modes always and I just find it noxious more than some neurological reaction, so I don't know how they would be with regular use and reasonable settings.

I don't feel spaced out. My neck and face and back of head get tight and tingly in as short as a few minutes, and that progresses into a headache with hours. It's like something is making me tense around face and head. Contrast that with staring at super old stuff for 12 hours with no problems at all...not even a twinge.

vaz I don't feel spaced out. My neck and face and back of head get tight and tingly in as short as a few minutes, and that progresses into a headache with hours. It's like something is making me tense around face and head. Contrast that with staring at super old stuff for 12 hours with no problems at all...not even a twinge.

It's a mystery, isn't it? I don't have the symptoms you're getting but it's still a direct result of using new tech.

I've got two machines at my desk, an Acer 2010 tower and Intel 2018 NUC - HDMI cable going into monitor. 2010 machine is fine all day, no ill effects. 2018 NUC, within 20 minutes (same cable, same monitor) I get symptoms (heavy eyes, dilated pupils, brain fog), It felt like my eyes were forced open and wasn't blinking as much. When I used it extensively (over 8 hours a day for two weeks) and then switched back to my 2010 machine, I immediately felt the physical and mental relief. I forced myself to use the NUC for that long to rule out placebo and to see how bad it could make me feel, also if I could get myself through it by using it all the time.

My experience is nope. You might get more accustomed to the symptoms, but it's still affecting you in some way.

diop I read on the Intel forums that the Windows drivers will enable dithering on 8bit and above displays. Your old display is probably a 6bit and maybe Ubuntu recognises this and disables dithering.

I'd like to address this again...what driver was ok for you and A. How do I get that and set it (don't even have Windows 10 nor know how to use it honestly as I moved off in the XP days, and B. Are you saying if I put Windows 10 and that old driver on say a 2015 Asus laptop etc with Intel 5500 that it will NOT dither because it has a 6bit panel?

vaz I'd like to address this again...what driver was ok for you and A. How do I get that and set it (don't even have Windows 10 nor know how to use it honestly as I moved off in the XP days, and B. Are you saying if I put Windows 10 and that old driver on say a 2015 Asus laptop etc with Intel 5500 that it will NOT dither because it has a 6bit panel?

That Intel forum info (dithering on 8bpc+) is when using the latest drivers.

The trouble is, AFAIK, is Windows 10 will not run older XP/7 drivers. I think 8.1 drivers work on W10 but I may be mistaken. OTOH, any hardware made in say 2015 is only going to have 2015 drivers and above.

If the monitor is genuinely detected as 6-bit, I am led to believe that no dithering will be enabled by the Intel driver.

My daily driver and usable machine right now is a 2010 W7 desktop (using a Feb 2010 driver) .

diop Oh I thought you said you used Windows 10 on recent hardware and it was fine.

I still don't believe what they claim about no dithering on 6-bit because MOST laptop panels...even on new devices...are 6+2. Only higher end stuff is 8bit. And I have tried 250 dollar WalMart Pentium Windows 10 laptops with Intel 610 etc and they strain same as any. Those have visibly low quality panels, TN, and cannot be 8bit....or I am wrong, they don't enable dithering on low quality <8bit panels (which in itself confuses me as those would need dithering MORE to look good than a higher bit panel), and that simply means dithering isn't an issue and we are back to square one.

Wallboy Well disabling it in the Nvidia X Server Settings didn't make any difference to my eyestrain. With it showing set as "Disabled" in both the GUI and command line, I was still getting eyestrain. However I can't confirm if it's actually off.

It's unknown if the dithering options actually work (empirical testing is difficult, not impossible. I probably could do it if I had some certain hardware I don't have )

What GPU are you using?

Wallboy Nvidia 970 GTX

That's a suspected "bad" GPU, and some revisions of the GTX 970 might have dithering always enabled, but that is weird.