[PCM2]

Hi Steve113 and welcome to the forum!

It’s nice to see a Kiwi around here (I’m half Kiwi myself, or should that be ‘semi-kiwi’?) and glad that you have found the information here helpful.

With your uses in mind I would definitely look for something with a flicker-free backlight, good luminance adjustment range and able to display text with good clarity. It really comes down to personal preference whether to opt for an IPS or VA panel type for this sort of use. I personally prefer the bold and inky look that a good VA panel can give text but I don’t feel IPS panels are poorer in terms of visual comfort even if the text lacks this quality.

Another area where 24″ VA panels can give an advantage, one which could actually reduce eyestrain, is that there are some ‘semi-glossy’ options out there. I feel this is nice for reading, particularly if you like to use lower brightnesses, as you don’t have to ‘focus through’ the screen surface as you do with your typical matte screen surface. I’m not sure about availability in New Zealand but the Iiyama X2483HSU comes highly recommended from some of my users.

If you have the budget for it, good eyesight and it would work with your system (i.e. it supports the resolution correctly) then I would also consider the 25″ Dell U2515H. This is a very different beast to the VA options. Whilst it doesn’t have quite the same inky look to text, it has a very light matte screen surface and very good pixel density. This gives text a good clear and sharp look that I personally find very easy on the eyes. It also allows you to display a lot of text on the screen at any one time so you don’t have to scroll through as frequently.

[Anonymous]

Hi. I have spent too much time in front of a poor quality monitor, and I need to get a new one. I have strained my eyes a couple of times over the last couple of years, and since doing so, my eyes get fatigued easily at the computer. My primary use is for reading and writing, with occasional gaming. I have been thinking about this problem for a couple of years, since first straining my eyes, and only after discovering this site did I realize that the text on my monitor is not sharp and clear. I have read about so many causes of eye strain, but I think that those causes mostly do not apply to me. I don’t notice any flicker on my screen, and while f.lux does make reading more comfortable, I think that blue light is not the primary cause of my problem. I think my issue turned up as a result of spending alot of time at a poor quality monitor for reading, writing, and gaming. The fonts on my screen are not sharp and defined, and when gaming, the display blurs doing fast movement. Also, I think that I ran my display at too high brightness for a long time, leaving the brightness at it’s factory default, before I ended up with eye strain.

PCM2, I read through your suggestions to others on the forum on what to look for in a monitor for text clarity, and that led my to the review of the EW2740L on this site. It looks like a good fit, but I think the size might be a little big for working with text as a primary use case. Any thoughts on that? Looking on Amazon, I saw that the EW2740L is offered in a 24″ size (EW2440L), and as long as the 24″ size of this model has the same characteristics, I think it is what I’m looking for. Do you think the EW2440L would be a good fit? Alternately, I’m considering a laptop workstation with a 17″ screen @ 1080, but I’m unsure if the smaller text would be uncomfortable for all day use.

Also, much thanks for setting up this forum. I feel that I learned more about what to look for in a monitor in a day of reading here than I ever have from any other source. I only wish that I had learned how a poor quality monitor can affect vision before it took a toll on my eyes.

[PCM2]

Hi fuzzeyes and welcome!

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been suffering from visual discomfort when using some of your monitors. I’m glad that you’ve found the advice here useful, it’s really nice to read such positive feedback! 🙂

The EW2440L is a bit different to the EW2740L. In relation to your requirements it does not have such a light matte (‘semi-glossy’) screen surface so it may not be quite as comfortable for reading in comparison. A 17″ screen with a 1920 x 1080 resolution has a pixel density of 129.58 PPI (Pixels Per Inch) which might be pushing it just a bit for comfortable reading. Furthermore you would have a hard time finding a 17″ screen with that ‘comfortable medium’ of very light matte screen surface. They tend to be fairly heavy on the matte or very glossy rather than any way in between. And the image quality is generally quite poor compared to on a dedicated monitor anyway.

For clear text and a screen which is not a monstrously large size or super-expensive I’d consider the Dell U2515H to be a good choice. Assuming your system supports the 2560 x 1440 resolution, you can expect good sharp text thanks to the pixel density of 117.49 PPI and very light matte screen surface (some would call it ‘semi-glossy’). It is an IPS panel so you don’t get that same inky depth to black text, but it tends to look quite bold anyway. I don’t really feel this aspect is particularly important for viewing comfort, either, it’s more a personal preference of some users.

[Anonymous]

I’m seeing reports that resolutions above 1920×1200 on my machine requires dropping the refresh rate to 35hz. I’m about due for a new machine, but I probably can’t swing for both a new machine and a good monitor at the moment. I think I need to take a trip to the retail stores and look at text size on a 27″ @ 1080 (thinking of the EW2740L). I can live with an older machine for a while, but I need a good display asap.

Reports are conflicting for this machine (has Intel hd3000/Nvidia GT555m graphics). Btw, the display res is 1366×768, and the bios says that it is 6-bit (never again!). Some reports say that only 1920×1200 is supported, and others say that dropping the refresh rate is required for higher resolutions.

[PCM2]

Well that at least narrows down the focus a bit. I think seeing a 27″ Full HD model would be an excellent idea to get an appreciation for the pixel density and sort of text representation you’ll be dealing with.

[EyeStrain Burning]

Hello Friends.
(first of all sorry for my bad english)
i try my best to find a good pc monitor to avoid eye strain or eye burning or at least a monitor who not affect the eyes a lot..
In the past I’ve used asus VH198D monitor 19″ and i think that monitor is the cause of my eyes problem (eyestrain burning..) so i stop using it.
and now i think i can only find help here guys!

maybe HP Monitors a good choose?!
why?
because i also have a hp laptop (HP PAVILION DV5)
and baam! i don’t have at all eyestrain or burning on it and this why i think also hp monitors are good for eyes!
and i just find one hp monitor where i live:

this one; HP Elite Display E231 23 Inch Monitor C9V75AA

###and hope can somone help with informations about that monitor good or not for my case

and hope i get help & informations on how to choose a good monitor!

Full HD PC MONITOR ,epic quality pc monitor gaming monitor… => ( i don’t care)
i just care for MY EYES and YOU TOO RIGHT?

your friend ZS”EyeStrain Burning” (crying right now cause of eyeStrain)

[PCM2]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I’m sorry to hear of your immense discomfort when using your monitor, that can’t be at all pleasant. There are a number of topics covering this sort of thing, including this one which is now over 20 pages long. I have merged your thread with this one as there is a wealth of advice here.

There is no reason to stick to an HP monitor in particular, just because you find your laptop screen comfortable. There are several important factors when it comes to viewing comfort and none of those are specific to any particular monitor manufacturer. Indeed HP doesn’t manufacture the panels which the monitors use themselves, they use panels from other manufacturers such as LG and Samsung. There is a good summary of the sorts of factors you should be considering on this post.

And I appreciate there is a lot of information and several recommendations dotted about this and other similar threads and it may get a bit confusing. If you refer to our current recommendations there are a number of models there which I would consider very kind to the eyes. The eyestrain experienced on your VH198D could have been caused by a number of factors, including poor image setup and the use of a ‘flickering backlight’ (use of ‘PWM’). Almost all of the models currently recommended feature flicker-free backlights and have a much better image setup. They will be considerably more comfortable than that old ASUS screen.

[EyeStrain Burning]

ok thanks
but can you tell me if
HP Elite Display E231 23 Inch Monitor C9V75AA

good or not?

or maybe what the bad thing on it? please and thanks for the reply

[PCM2]

I can’t, which is why I didn’t.

[EyeStrain Burning]

! ok !

but you can see the specification ! what you think about it? please

[PCM2]

With respect, the specification gives little indication of what to expect from the monitor in terms of viewing comfort. It is a TN panel which generally have relatively grainy screen surfaces, which not everybody likes for viewing comfort. There is no indication of minimum luminance, PWM usage or image setup (colour, gamma etc.) from that. So I can’t recommend it specifically.

[EyeStrain Burning]

ok thanks a lot for the informations.

i’ll take a look on a recommended monitors maybe i find what i want ! :p

just one more question if you want:
Anti-glare Display this feature good for my case?
anti glare display reduce a eye strain ?

[PCM2]

That is dependent on your lighting conditions and is covered on the list I linked to earlier. You don’t want a glossy screen if you have an lighting environment with high levels of ambient light, particularly with light coming through from the sides or behind you. Then again such lighting conditions will cause glare even on the strongest matte anti-glare surfaces so you shouldn’t really sit any monitor in such conditions.

The general rule of thumb is to have a screen that is as glossy as you can manage in your lighting conditions and to try to see how you could adapt your lighting conditions to suit. For most users the so-called ‘semi-glossy’ or light matte screen surfaces work as a comfortable compromise as they don’t deprive the image of too much vibrancy and clarity nor are glossy-style reflections an issue. Some users have strong preferences for one or the other, but the choice of glossy monitors is relatively limited at the moment so certainly be open to some of the matte options.

[EyeStrain Burning]

ok thanks a lot for all the informations

but sorry i need to ask you again about another hp monitor!
hp pavilion 23xi
because i find it cheap !
Q1: what you think about their specification? maybe a good one for me?! :'(
##############
Q2: 60hz monitor VS 60+hz monitor what’s difference?
thanks in advance
🙂

[PCM2]

You mentioned elsewhere that you found the Samsung S24D390HL uncomfortable, so it is possible that you are sensitive to matte screen surfaces and prefer very smooth screen surfaces. The HP 23xi is not recommended by me for several reasons, and given what you’ve said your best bet would be somthing like the Dell S2415H. Some key points of comparison between the two:

– The 23xi uses PWM to modulate backlight brightness so it is not ‘flicker-free’,
– The 23xi has a poor pixel overdrive implementation, so isn’t as capable in motion
– The 23xi has a matte screen surface, which you may find visually uncomfortable

As to your second question, I’d advise reading the relevant sections of this article. With respect to viewing comfort it’s only something you should really worry about if you observe a lot of motion on monitors and are sensitive to motion sickness and suchlike.

[EyeStrain Burning]

i didn’t find the comments about Samsung S24D390HL mayde i’ve written somthing bad?
i just like to share my experience with that monitor or just.. opinion ,,,anyway sry

[EyeStrain Burning]

i really find alot of informations & help on the pcmonitors forum #rly great

and special thank for you pcm2 🙂

and yeah maybe i go for dell monitor

i find Dell E2414H cheap for me

so what you think?

[PCM2]

You made several comments on this thread which didn’t make much sense or at least I didn’t feel contributed to the thread, including the following:

“i resell my “samsung S24D390HL” monitor because of the eye strain on it.
maybe only ME? i don’t know, but i can use other monitors with no eye strain or burning at all.”

I deleted those comments for the aforementioned reasons. Given that you can’t actually remember typing it, I’d have to question why you said it in the first place and what you meant by it. And please stop listing monitors just because they are cheap. I have made my recommendations based on your requirements – and there are several alternatives earlier in this thread. I won’t be recommending a monitor to you just because it is cheap where you live. The E2414H is quite similar to the HP Elite Display E231 in terms of it being a TN panel of unknown capability. So my comments regarding that stand.

[EyeStrain Burning]

ok thanks pcm2 for all
and sorry 🙂

[PCM2]

No worries. 🙂

[Author]

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