[PCM2]

There are plenty of decent options out there of this size that promote viewing comfort by offering a flicker-free backlight, good brightness adjustment range, decent (not overly grainy) screen surface and ‘Low Blue Light’ settings. Various examples are included throughout this thread, but some to look out for include:

Dell U2414H
Dell P2417H
Dell U2417H
Samsung S24E390HL
Samsung S24F350
Personally I favour the last three from this list simply because they offer a slightly lighter (less grainy) screen surface, giving them a slight edge in clarity. But it’s not a massive difference and they are all quite similar for your uses.

[Caeleni]

Hi guys
many thanks in advance for any kind of help
i work on computers(programmer and now also approaching webdesign,graphic design,motion graphic and even indie game developing).i’m going to create my home workstation from zero so budget at this particular time is something to consider
one of my main concern is that i’m experimenting massive eye strain with occasional headaches…i’ve changed glasses,i take breaks and let eyes rest but the problem persist in long sessions..long sessions are the reason for this new home workstation
So particular attention demands the choice of a new monitor,never had problem to pick my gear but this time i cannot figure out evenfrom where to start.
This monitor will be used also for gaming and general purpose so i can state that in order those are my priorities:
1)Eye protection and relief
2)Professional use
3)Gaming
4)27″+
The general idea is the less i spend,more i have to invest in precious ram and cpu/gpu power.
So i started looking and i found some intersting eye care,flicker free and blue reduction options(some samsung monitors),than i found the ultrawide option that would speed up productivity a lot,than i found the curve options that with large diagonals may avoid continuos refocusing to my eyes,than i found some monitors that even not being exactly professional have srgb values of 99% and easy on screen colour calibration tools(benq if i remember well).
But then i found that some of them were very bad with games ,other had an intersting game mode and other had a cool freesync options(i don’t consider gsync at all,when i can i buy amd),i’m pretty sure that a smooth freesync might be a relief for my eyes…
And then…IPS beautiful colors and sharpness or VA high contrast?Pretty sure i need also a low response time..let’s say max 5ms?
I’ll use a vanilla discrete video card,don’t need dedicated gear at home too,and for my budget…max $350 ,the less the best
AS you can see i need help 🙂

[PCM2]

Hi Caeleni and welcome,

I hope you don’t mind and it doesn’t cause too much confusion, but I merged your thread with this big one as your main priority is finding a monitor that’s comfortable on the eyes. Fortunately this is now a focus of many models from a broad range of manufacturers, so it’s a lot easier than it used to be to find a monitor that is comfortable to look at. This is massively complicated by the fact that everybody’s eyes are different and users are sensitive to different things. But there are certainly displays out there that will tick a lot of boxes.

Given that your uses include design work, I would generally say that sticking to IPS-type panels would be wise. My main recommendation would be the Samsung S27F350FH. It is very much like a larger version of the S24E390HL that we reviewed and have been recommending every since. It is nicely set up out of the box, features multiple ‘Low Blue Light’ modes, has good accurate sRGB colour reproduction and good 60 – 72Hz responsiveness. It also features FreeSync and VESA holes (small additions to the SE390 model we reviewed, as well as the reworked aesthetics).

[ivanaskksss]

I need a monitor for coding mostly, for web development. The main thing I want is protecting my eyes, less eye “pain”. I want to watch the monitor as long as possible.
Never tried curved, and samsung is know for good quality. Although they say Dell is for developers.
The models are
Dell P2416D
Dell U2412M
Samsung CF390 Curved
Please elaborate why monitor is the best.
€250 is my budget.

[PCM2]

That’s a tricky one. In terms of eye comfort, which is the main thing you’re looking for and why I merged your thread with this one, the Samsung C24F390 would be my choice. The U2412M should be avoided for several reasons, namely that it lacks a flicker-free backlight and has an overly ‘aggressive’ (grainy) matte screen surface which is literally an eyesore for some users. It has thankfully been discontinued in most markets and ‘replaced’ with the superior P14H and P17H models (plus various UltraSharps).

The P2416D has a critical advantage in that it has a 2560 x 1440 (WQHD) resolution. I’d advise reading the relevant section of the review for more information about that, as it is something that could be tricky to recommend purely from a viewing comfort perspective over a 1920 x 1080 model of similar size. It depends on preferences and eyesight – I find text perfectly comfortable and readable on that model, even though the pixel density is quite high. The resolution gives you potentially a lot more real-estate, even if you end up having to use a degree of zoom beyond 100% or scaling in Windows. The screen surface is not quite as smooth as on the Samsung, but superior to the U2412M and not too bad really. It also offers a flicker-free backlight, good brightness adjustment range and a ‘Paper’ low blue light setting. All covered in the review.

[phoenix512]

Thanks for all the informative posts. I studied as much as I could.
Like many others, I suffer from eye strain. I have a Lenovo G460 laptop for yeeeeears. It has a WLED, TFT LCD monitor. I use my laptop for web browsing, reading and writing. In the last two years, I have become more sensitive. It really hurts my eyes working for long hours. I should take a break every 20 minutes and not working more that like 2 hours per day. Recently, I attached an old Samsung LCD TV ( I think it uses CCFL) to my laptop with an HDMI cable to see the difference. It is a little better but not significantly.
After reading this threat, I increased the brightness to 100% in my laptop to eliminate flickering. The light intensity was annoying. So, using the NVIDIA control panel, I decreased the brightness and contrast to zero. This was a relief from eye strain to some degree. But the colors become distorted.
I think flicker free monitors worth giving a try. I prefer monitors with max 22inch.I have a limited budget and I have some choices here:
1. LG 20MP48A Monitor 19.5 Inch Panel: AH-IPS 1440*900
2. BenQ GL2023A Monitor 19.5 Inch Panel: TN 1600*900
3. LG 22MP58VQ Monitor 21.5 Inch Panel: IPS 1920*1080
4. BenQ GW2470H Monitor 23.8 Inch Panel: AMVA 1920*1080
All of them are flicker safe or flicker free.
I appreciate any help for choosing the best one.

[PCM2]

As you can no doubt see from this thread, there are many things to consider in terms of eye comfort. And the specific criteria and potential triggers for any issues varies between individuals. I get plenty of positive feedback about the GW2470H from users, in terms of viewing comfort, but really plenty of positive things are said about LG’s affordable IPS models. If you’re specifically looking for a screen size of 21.5″ max then the LG 22MP58VQ would be my choice from those. As well as offering a flicker-free backlight and a pretty decent AH-IPS panel (fairly well calibrated ‘out of the box’) it also offers effective ‘Low Blue Light’ settings that some users find useful in the evenings in particular.

[phoenix512]

Thanks a lot. I definitely consider buying LG 22MP58VQ. I’ve just found out that the local retailer here has another good option which I cannot dismiss simply. It’s ASUS 21.5″ VP229HA, VA panel, Flicker Free, Blue Light Filter, Anti Glare, Full HD. It is a little more expensive but I can afford. What do you think about this in comparison to the LG 22MP58VQ?
Regarding the GW2470H, I have read some reviews in the local retailer website about ghosting during scrolling. Is this common among VA panels?

[PCM2]

Yes, VA panels are known to be slower. Refer to this article. Seeing as I have no experience or feedback to share about the VP229HA, I have a neutral opinion on that model.

[Anonymous]

What a freaking jungle manufacturers have created for just finding a monitor that won’t hurt our eyes. I have been avoiding long computer use since I first posted here and my eyes felt much better for it. But I’m finding myself having to use the computer more lately, and so it is back into the monitor jungle. What disturbs me more is what I have read on the short wave length of blue light from the commonly used led backlighting, penetrating the depth of the eye and possibly permanently killing retina cells.

PCM2, I need a monitor for reading. Of the last two monitors that you mentioned, which do you think would be best for eye comfort (eye health seems to be absent from manufacturer considerations)? There is obviously the size difference which will affect ppi and font size. And I wonder if the low blue light mode / reader mode is built into the monitor, as I will be using it with linux, so relying on windows software for handling that would not be an option.

As far as I can tell (who really knows?), monitor aspect considerations for not ruining our eyes are dc backlight control as opposed to pwm, low blue light (anyone making monitors with rgb led backlighting?), decently sharp fonts and size for a given display size at it’s native resolution, not too high or too low brightness, and antiglare. I think that no manfucaturer is probably covering everything in the same monitor, for eye health.

Also, I am looking for a laptop that has a good display for the same purpose: text and eye comfort. But it seems that no one is reviewing laptops with eye health in mind.

[PCM2]

You’ve clearly done a lot of research and I don’t feel I can add much more to what has already been said. After all, eyes are very individual things and as I’ve just said people have different triggers for potential pain. All monitors in the recommendations section are excellent in many respects, including viewing comfort. They all offer flicker-free backlights and most also offer Low Blue Light settings.

You’re right to highlight the importance of not having to rely on software-based solutions; when ‘Low Blue Light’ settings are mentioned here they are entirely on the monitor side and are not OS or software specific. Screen surface is also very important and I would never recommend a monitor that has a particularly obnoxious (grainy) screen surface, not only for viewing comfort reasons but simply because I can’t abide them.

[Anonymous]

PCM2, thank you.

Just a thought here, and possibly it is something worth mentioning on your site: Eye health should be the #1 consideration when considering a display. And we as buyers and users of products involving displays should demand that we are getting displays which are causing minimial discomfort and damage to our eyes.

By the way, do you know of a calculator somewhere for measurable font size of a given display size and resolution? For example, what would be the size in centimeters or inches of the capital letter A from a common font at 12 point on a 24″ 1080 display? I know that is kind of a mouthful.

[PCM2]

Actually, manufacturers have been very hot on promoting features that enhance visual comfort recently. Flicker-free backlight and ‘Low Blue Light’ settings are all the rage. But you have to be very careful not to confuse viewing comfort and occular health. Visual comfort and ‘healthy feeling’ eyes are indeed an important consideration, as the relative length of this thread and the interest it generates highlights. It’s also something we specifically look at when we review a monitor – insofar as we can, given that everybody’s eyes are different and not everybody is affected in the same way. Not everybody is sensitive to flickering, not everybody finds certain backlight types as harsh as other people and not everyone is as sensitive to brightness (for example).

In terms of ‘eye health’, that’s a very different area that’s not really something that manufacturers can do much to improve upon. Indeed an individual is more likely to cause long term damage to their eyes by not taking adequate care of their eyes when they are outside than they are by not selecting an ‘eye-friendly’ monitor. This thread is a vital read in that respect – https://forum.pcmonitors.info/topic/is-w-led-backlighting-bad-regarding-eye-health-compared-with-ccfl/. Physically viewing objects from too close a distance without adequate breaks or without sufficient distant viewing can also trigger or worsen eye conditions such as myopia. But that is the case with any object, not just a monitor.

I don’t know of such a calculator regarding the physical size of a 12 point font, but it would be easy enough to work that out based on a known display of known PPI.

[phoenix512]

First of all, Thanks for you patience answering our questions PCM2.
Do you think the two LG models that I’ve just mentioned are the same in terms of eye comfort that they provide, namely
1. LG 20MP48A 19.5, AH-IPS 1440*900 no HDMI , Res Time:14ms, PP:.29, (DFC)
3. LG 22MP58VQ 21.5, IPS 1920*1080, HDMI , Res Time:5ms, PP:.24,
I ask this because the first one is 100$ cheaper and smaller. I do not care much about full hd and HDMI port. Both claims that have zero flicker and blue control. However, I think blue light is not my problem, because I wear computer glasses with blue control coating and it haven’t relieve the strain. I am mostly interested to try a flicker free IPS panel without breaking the bank.

[porcupinesoul]

Hello, i need a 27-32″ monitor for programming (so eyes health is my primary focus since i need to look at the screen for a lot of hours) and video encoding (so colour accuracy is also another important factor).
I also game a bit (i have a normal PS4 and i do gaming on PC too with a nvidia card), but i don’t care too much about input lag since i don’t play FPS.
My budget is ~500€ max.
I was looking at (in order of feature/design preference):
Samsung C27H711
BenQ PD3200Q
Benq GW2765HT

what monitor do you think will be the best for my need?

I’ve also found a qnix uhd3216r on amazon, that is an affordable (457€) korean 32″ 4K that uses a M320QNA01.0 panel, but i can’t find good review of it and i’m also scared about the 4K resolution for programming (but i guess i can still activate windows scaling if it’s too heavy on the eyes).

Thanks for the reply.

[PCM2]

@ phonenix512

The higher resolution of the larger model would be worth it in my view, 1440 * 900 is simply archaic and too restrictive. That’s also a very small screen, although given what I’m used to using they both are to be fair. It also appears that the 19.5″ model lacks effective grey to grey acceleration, so trailing would be an issue (hence the 14ms specified response time and lack of grey to grey specification).

@ porcupinesoul

Welcome to the forum! For you the choice would be fairly simple, and that would be the GW2765HT as featured in the recommendations section. It would be difficult to separate the three main choices in terms of viewing comfort and I’m sure you will find any of them just fine in that regard. But for accurate colour reproduction I simply don’t rate any VA panel (C27H711 and PD3200Q included) as highly as IPS-types. The gamma shift brings with it inconsistencies and affects accuracy even from a normal viewing position, which is a point raised in our reviews and indeed this article. The QNIX model is an unknown for me as well, but judging from feedback I’ve received about other QNIX models I simply wouldn’t risk it as it isn’t sold by or fulfilled by Amazon (the returns policy might not be so effecient).

[phoenix512]

I finally bought a BenQ GW2470H. I use it for one day. I’ve already become disappointed. Actually, after an hour working with it, I experienced red and tired eyes like before. I wanted to test whether my problem is flickering or not. My laptop screen uses pwm. Considering that the monitor is non-refundable, I feel helpless now.
The only thing which come to my mind is to try an old CRT monitor with refrech rate higher than 60Hz.
Can anybody guess what the problem might be? Is it possible that I’m sensitive to LED light in any form!?
Maybe I should calibrate the monitor! But I’m not sure how to do it. The NVIDIA control panel provides lots of choices. I also see that there are ICC profile files which I have never used before. I attached the monitor using HDMI cable and installed no driver. The Windows 10 and NVIDIA GeForce310M run it automatically.
Except the eyestrain, everything seems good. The quality is fine and I see no ghosting when scrolling web pages even when AMA function is off.

[iamsheik]

Usage :Need 24 inch Monitor for Programming and the only purpose of the monitor is for reading and writing codes .

Must have Features :
monitor for text clarity and easy on eyes .
monitor not causing headaches, eye strain or eye fatigue.

kindly recommend some good 24 inch monitor that meet my requirement .

[PCM2]

@phoenix512,

I’m really sorry to hear that. It is possible you’re spectrally sensitive to the GW2470H’s backlight, which is just a standard WLED with a relatively strong blue light peak (refer to this article). What brightness are you using and what is the lighting in your room like? Also try employing the strongest ‘Low Blue Light’ setting and see how you find it. And make sure you’ve corrected the colour signal as per this article.

@ iamsheik

Take a look through at least this last page of the thread, because there are plenty of recent suggestions for exactly that sort of monitor. As noted, the recommendations section features some models which are good in this area. Specifically I feel the Samsung S24F350FH is a solid choice for its viewing comfort features and excellent ‘out of the box’ setup for general purpose use.

[phoenix512]

Thanks PCM2 for your comment. I read the articles that you mentioned and adjusted my monitor to YCbCr444. Also, I imported color profile from the monitor’s CD.
I have already used a blue control glasses on my old laptop but it didn’t help. Anyway, I activated the reading mode in GW2470H. It is better but not a big difference!
It is couple of months that I change the light bulbs to incandescent (200W), just to avoid potential harms of LED flickering lightening. My eye strain gets worse during the night.
I’ve practices all the ergonomics guidelines but I still suffer.

[Author]

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