[BrianC]

I’m a lawyer and do a lot of reading of documents… I’m looking at buying 3 x Samsung S24A450UW monitors. I want to have two in horizontal aspect and one in the middle in portrait aspect so that I can primarily review documents on the middle monitor. Generally I use the monitors on each side for document creation (Word/Outlook) or viewing our accounting software. Is this a good monitor for my needs?

[PCM2]

Hi Brian,

I wouldn’t recommend using monitors like the Samsung that use TN panels if you plan to use them in portrait orientation. The viewing angle restrictions cause quite noticeable and distracting shifts in colour temperature and contrast across the screen in this orientation. A bit like this:

Is the 1920 x 1200 resolution a strong preference? Did you also have a budget in mind? If you do want to keep the 1920 x 1200 resolution, which is understandable, I’d recommend a model using an IPS panel such as the BenQ BL2411PT. This will give much more consistent performance in the portrait orientation and potentially superior viewing comfort to the Samsung due to its flicker-free backlight and much better colour setup.

[BrianC]

The Benq is $329 and the Dell U2414M is $369. Is the Dell worth the extra $$?

I like the 1920 x 1200 resolution because of the Pixel Density and because 8.5″x11″ documents will fit nicely on the screen in portrait mode. I don’t want to spend more than $350 (with the exception of the Dell). I’m not stuck on the 1920 x 1200 resolution if you think that is not the best form factor or there are better monitors out there for my purposes. Thank you so much for helping me with this!

[PCM2]

I think that the 1920 x 1200 resolution would work well for your uses but would recommend the BenQ over the Dell. The U2412M uses an older panel with a stronger anti-glare surface and poorer colour setup. It also uses PWM to modulate its backlight. The BenQ is a superior product with a comparison made to the U2412M at various points in the review.

[dagdrivaren]

I’m back to pester you again!
I’m still considering what monitor to buy. It may be dificult to get a hold of a GW2450HM with the flicker-free backlight in Sweden. Lot’s of stores sell them, but I can’t seem to find any which holds the updated revision. And only a few stores hold the GW2460HM screen, and none that are well known and reputable (so to speak). Also it does cost a bit more (50-60 pounds or something, where you located in the UK?). Actually, the GW2460HM go for the same price as GW2760HM (and GW2750HM too, for that matter).

One feature you didn’t mention above with regards to the difference between GW2450HM and GW2460HM is the pre-configured Reading Mode that the latter has (and not the former). I thought I’d ask you about it. On the one hand it sounds like something I could find useful, particularly as I’m completely and utterly clueless when it comes to calibrate a monitor (it was just recently that I figured out that having the brightness maxed out maybe isn’t the best idea when I pretty much never play any games; unfortunately that’s not a joke). On the other hand, judging by what the reviewer (you?) wrote about the feature in the review of the GW2760HS, he/you didn’t seem all too impressed.
So, I did understand it correctly when I say that one can create pretty much the same preset manually?

Oh, by the way, one can create specific presets – if that’s the right word (settings for brightness, color settings, and so forth) – manually and save them, right?
If so, I’m wondering how dificult it is, given how little I know about calibration and what type of settings are more appropriate for reading. I will try to read up on this, to be sure. Still, I’m wondering how I’ll manage to do it short term.

One last thing. Do you think you could recommed any reading for starting to learn about calibration of monitors. I’ll read the GW-series reviews and the information on calibration there more carefully. Also, I didn’t find any guides or articles on the topic here but I found this article over at TFT-Central: Calibration Guide. Any other suggestions, or are those enough? More specifically, will I learn about creating presets (or calibrating a monitor properly for) suitable for reading?

*edit* Haha, I’m sorry for bombarding you with questions like this. The fact that the GW2460HM cost as much as the GW2760HM makes the choice between them a little harder. At first I thought that I was certain that 27″ is too large (and, I assumed, quite a bit pricier), and I’m still a bit sceptical, but I really don’t have any experience with screens larger than 22″, as I’ve said earlier. What are your thoughts, considering that they cost equally much. (That is, if I can’t get a hold of a flicker-free GW2450HM.)

[PCM2]

The GW2460HM is only around £160 here (yes I’m based in the UK) so it is a little more expensive than the GW2450HM but only by about £25. I was quite dismissive of the ‘reading mode’ on the GW2760HS because it upset the contrast and colour balance too much. I am not against the idea of that sort of mode if it’s properly implemented but I do find that generally presets on these sorts of monitor take too much away from the image and upset the balance. You’re usually always better off doing things yourself using the most flexible preset available – which is usually ‘User’ or ‘Standard’ on BenQ monitors. I was quite fond of the ‘Low Blue Light’ modes of the new EW2740L, though, and expect to see a similar implementation on the upcoming EW2440L. The contrast was actually very high indeed using this setting although the image appeared warmer to varying degrees (as the mode is intended to lower blue light, this makes sense) there wasn’t an obnoxious green tint as per the 60HS’ reading mode.

This may seem counter-intuitive at first. The reason we don’t have a calibration guide is because we like to keep things as simple as possible. If you give people ways to ‘experiment’ with their monitor and they are new to that sort of thing (i.e. the very people the guide would be designed for) they often end up making things, from a technical perspective, ‘bad’. I am all for making monitors look good ‘by eye’, and there’s lots of room for subjectivity and individualism here. I find people are a lot happier and get better results if they simply follow the advice given on a per monitor basis in our reviews. Or use a hardware calibrator for even better results. Our reviews give them a good settings base to work from and also mentions a website that is used in our calibration (and in some of our testing) that can help even on monitors we don’t review – Lagom.

Unless you have a colorimeter or other hardware calibration device you’ll be wanting to get things looking as good, to you, as possible. The Lagom website is helpful for this because it lets you know when you’re pushing things too far! On modern monitors (the exception being some TN panels, generally) the default contrast setting is almost always optimal. Don’t touch that. Brightness is simply set to your own preference and to suit the lighting in the room, as mentioned in the review. Colour channel adjustments are where things get complicated and where a bit of trial and error comes in if you don’t have a colorimeter. I recommend looking at familiar images and large white spaces (a word document for example) to see if you can pick up any ‘tints’. Use the ‘Black Level Test’ and ‘White Saturation Test’ on the Lagom website as well. They can both help you identify if one particular colour channel (or two) is dominant and should be lowered because the greys tend to absorb that sort of thing quite readily. Also pay attention to the ‘White Saturation Test’ after adjusting colour channels as they can identify if you’ve pushed a channel too far from its native comfort zone. Sometimes a mild tint to the greys here (particularly on the bottom row) is OK and you won’t notice this outside of that test, but other times it is indicating a problem and you may want to consider dialing things back a bit.

It’s a shame to hear the GW2460HM isn’t easy get hold of for you, nor the GW2450HM flicker-free variants. They’re the go-to models given your requirements! Perhaps the EW2440L will be worth considering when it’s available (Jan 2014 apparently) but this doesn’t have an adjustable stand nor allow VESA mounting! The OSD layout on the 60HM models is the same as on the 60HS and EW40 series using BenQ’s new ‘Intuitive UI’ style. When you say can you create your own presets… Yes and no. You can customise settings to your taste, which will be done in any preset. That preset will remember your settings even if you switch to another preset. So for example you can set the ‘User’ Picture Mode to your custom settings for daytime and then use another preset (‘Reading’ or a ‘Low Blue Light’ preset in the evening for something more restful). I am completely against the notion of using different presets for different tasks because if you’ve set up your monitor for comfortable general use then it doesn’t matter whether you’re gaming, watching a video, browsing the internet or doing work. What matters are the lighting conditions in your room! I actually really like the way the ‘Low Blue Light’ modes on the EW40 can be cycled through using a ‘Custom Key’ (a shortcut key if you prefer) so you don’t have to access the main menu or cycle through the other presets first. In fact you can enable the mode for evening viewing very quickly indeed. Then use another ‘Custom Key’ to cycle through the other presets to get back to your ‘User’ mode or other desired preset. There is no reason why you couldn’t use these ‘Low Blue Light’ modes for daytime viewing if you find it more restful but I don’t think it’s necessary if you’re using an appropriate brightness elsewhere.

[sbaragnaus]

Hi, I’m looking for a new monitor for websurfing-office (primary use) and multimedia via external dvb decoder with hdmi connection (secondary use) to replace my old 19″ 16:10 hd ready monitor (0.28 dot pitch).

I think eye-care is very important (I also use f.lux), so I’d like to buy a non-PWM monitor like Benq GW2760HS.

The distance between me and the monitor is about 67-77cm. Do you suggest me to buy a 24″ or a 27″ model? I don’t want to hurt my eyes.

Thanks in advance

[PCM2]

From that viewing distance either a 24″ or 27″ model would be fine. Given the choices currently available I would recommend considering a 27″ model (like the GW2760HS you mentioned). This would also be easier to focus on if your eyes get tired towards the end of the day. As a f.lux user myself I actually found the ‘Low Blue Light’ modes on the new EW2740L really nice to use in the evening. It also has a flicker-free (non-PWM) backlight and is generally a very nice and comfortable monitor to use.

[thesharing]

Hello everyone,

My LG W2442PA monitor broke off some days ago, so i bought an Asus VG248QE.

The colors are too bright also if i correct it (also, via service menu), i looked around in all sites and tried everything i found but did not achieve anything enough.

With LG I passed days and days on PC without any problem, with this 30 minutes is enough to give me eyepain and headcache, nausea…

Hell, what’s wrong? I’m going to send it back so can someone suggest me a good monitor?
I wish to be high competitive n gaming, but all other applications will not suffer like this Asus do.

Please, help me.

[PCM2]

I put your post here as this thread covers some possible reasons for your visual discomfort. The backlight on the VG248QE is quite unforgiving, using PWM (flickering) at a frequency that really bothers some users. The easiest way to see if it’s the PWM causing issues is to set the monitor to 100% brightness and reduce brightness digitally in your graphics driver. If you still get discomfort it’s something else causing it, if not it is likely the PWM.

[thesharing]

Hello PC Monitors,

I set brightness to 100% just now, but also if i drop down digital brightness VIA NVIDIA panel to 0%, the monitor is still too much bright.

The LG W2442PA does not suffer of PWM problem? it’s WLED like this no?

[PCM2]

The LG W2242PA has a CCFL backlight so doesn’t use PWM in the same way. If you are still having discomfort with the monitor set to 100% brightness and reducing brightness in Nvidia CP then it must be something else causing the discomfort. What settings are you using on the monitor?

[thesharing]

Yes i already dropped down brightness by NVIDIA CP to 0% but it’s still too much bright.

The disconfort is now, i think, only about brightness because the nausea seems absent after 5 hours full immersion on PC, and i feel a pain that is lower and much different than before, it seems more like “exaust” than “burning”.

My settings are, now:

MONITOR:

Brightness: 100
Contrast: 80

Color: User R: 96 G: 94 B:88
SmartView: DEACTIVE
Trace Free: 0 (dunno why)

Splendid: off
Eco: Off

NVIDIA:

Color Channel: All Channels

Light: 15%
Contrast: 0%
Gamma: 1.00

Digital Brillancy: 40%
Tone: 0

[PCM2]

In that case it could still be sensitivity to PWM but also brightness. Even making the sort of adjustments you have (including in the Nvidia Control Panel) the residual brightness will be rather high. You either use full monitor brightness to prevent PWM being used (gives discomfort) or you lower monitor brightness and introduce PWM (more discomfort). One thing I would suggest trying before moving onto a new monitor would be to download F.lux . If you find this more comfortable in the evening (when it activates) it could be partly due to sensitivity to blue light. There is a secondary effect here in that f.lux will reduce overall brightness somewhat as well. Would be interesting to test out anyway.

[thesharing]

That effects you are talking about, was not given by the other LG monitor?

Because with that, i had never any sort of problem, nor eye fatigue, and i never calibrated it so everything runned as out-of-the-box from first to last day, without any issue.

I received OK for RMA with full refund, but now the problem is: which monitor can I buy to be safe again, and get back the comfort with good gaming prestations?

The BenQ PWM-free is also a valuable choise? or you think my problem can be something else?

I used also a TV, while waiting for this monitor, without any problem (like the LG monitor): LG 32LG5700-ZF (model, readed from tag).

There are some correlations?

[PCM2]

The CCFL backlights of the LG monitor and TV don’t have the same kind of PWM issue and it has a lower native white point (warmer look, less blue light). I feel PWM is an issue for you but I am also curious whether you are sensitive to other elements of the LED backlights. A model without PWM like the new revision XL2411T is the best option really. The upcoming XL2411Z and XL2420Z also use a flicker-free backlight as nd have ‘low blue light’ presets that may be of interest to you. I know waiting for those may not be an option for you though. Hopefully the flicker-free backlight across a good dimming range on the new XL2411T will be enough.

[thesharing]

I think also, PWM is an issue for me, but this BenQ (XL2411T) is rewieved as “Response time (G2G): 1ms (5ms AMA disabled)”

AMA is?

Also, the color quality is less, equal or more than my actual monitor?

There are some IPS monitors that reach 144 refresh rate (also 120 i think it’s fine), 2ms response time (max) and PWM-free?

[PCM2]

AMA (Advanced Motion Acceleration) is just BenQ’s grey to grey acceleration method, which is explained in the review. ASUS uses ‘TraceFree’. The responsiveness of both monitors is very similar and the image quality is slightly better after tweaking on the BenQ.

There are no 120Hz IPS or 144Hz IPS models available from the mainstream manufacturers, no.

[thesharing]

So, i shall move on BenQ for better quality, i don’t think reverse ghosting whould be significant enought for stuck me with asus at 100% brightness.

How can I verify that i’m buying the flicker-free version?

And, does i need some hack for 144hz? or you suggest me to keep 120hz with lightboost?

[Kamares]

Hi Guys,

Merry Xmas, by the way ..

I have been following this thread and was going to send a separate email but my problem may be of interest to others.
I work from home and we have 2 pcs in my home office that I use mostly for reading / writing documents and web browsing. I am not a gamer, as such. I have been using IIYama LS902UT 19 inch CRTs for ever and they are now aging … Set to 85 Hz refresh and warm colour – all comfortable. I could not run at less than 75 because it gave me nausea and headaches.
So, last week I bought 2 Viewsonic 23 inch LED VX 2370SMH – LED IPS 6 ms monitors which run only at 60 Hz. After 3 hours I had a bad headache and wanted to throw up. I cannot use them. It took 2 days for me to recover. I am now back onto my CRT and all is OK.
Reading this thread, it seems that I may be getting a severe reaction to either:
– IPS
– 60 Hz refresh
– PWM
– Too much blue

Benq seems to have an answer to some of these issues. I looked at the Benq BL 912 size 19 inch 4:3 model (Good size for word docs etc. since I don’t use wide gaming). It seems to be flicker free (What actually does that mean ??? Is it just PWM free, or what ??), but set to 60 Hz. The next possible option is the
2411T / TE which runs at 144 Hz which covers the 60 Hz issue and can be set to 4:3. ( I guess it has black bars each side on 4:3, but, OK, sort of. Not ideal, but a solution). It does not seem to have the low blue setting. Then, the 2411Z which has the low blue light setting and 144 Hz and gaming features that I don’t need .. and, then, the 2420Z that seems to be the same as the 2411Zc – as far as I can see ..

So, based on your experiences, what would you guess could be my issue? My preference would be for the 4:3 Benq BL 912 but the 60 Hz concerns me.
I haven’t checked where these may be available from but – since I am so desperate, I can ship them from anywhere. (I am in UK on 240 v. a/c ..)
(Looked at the new OLED but at over £ 5000, I think not …)

I just hope I can solve this before these CRTs die. Otherwise I shall have no option but to check junk shops for old CRTs again ……………..

Thanks,

Kamares.

[Author]

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