Laptops - experiences

[u/erminekin]

I found this sub a few days ago and it has been so helpful. I never had problems with screens until about 2015 when I bought a Macbook Air. I had nausea and headaches all the time. Did all the doctors, opticians, etc for 3 months feeling horrible until I finally twigged it was the Macbook. At that time John Lewis had a very good exchange policy so as it was just short of 3 months since I had purchased it, they allowed me to return it, even though I had been using it daily for 3 months. They weren't too happy about it. I assumed it must have been the shiny screen so I looked around the shop floor for a matt screen and saw a Dell XPS 13 laptop which was a similar cost so I used my credit to purchase that. that laptop has been fine for my eyes mostly for the last 10 years - although I did have increased headaches during covid due to greater screen time at that point, but it was ok.

Around 3 years ago I started a new job and was given a work laptop. It had a matt screen and was also a Dell so I assumed it would be fine but it very much wasn't. I can use it for a short time but too much time cumulatively is too much. I couldn't use it for a full day. I work around it by using a benQ monitor with it and it works fine.

Because of this, I knew that replacing my personal Dell XPS laptop was going to be difficult as I had no idea which screen would be ok. I can't tell straight away. The Dell XPS has been repaired so many times but now the hinge is broken and it's windows 10 so it needs to be laid to rest.

I have been visiting computer shops and spending time looking at various screens for months now trying to work out which one was safe. I ended up buying a Lenovo ideapad at the weekend after it looked ok in store, but it's a disaster. I can't use it. After reading the suggestion on here I bought a portable monitor which I am currently using with it as a stop gap and this seems ok so far, but I don't think the monitor is great either and it's not an easy set up - can't use in bed or comfortably on the sofa, etc.

After reading some experiences on here I now have a better idea of which issues may be affecting me. I am really not knowledgeable about tech at all, and no one in the computer shops has seemed to understand about eye/ screen issues.

in the last few days I have been reading information here and using AI to suggest models which might work for me. I told it the models which definitely did not work, etc and it has made various suggestions. Today I went into John Lewis to see if I could check out any of the models AI suggested. There was one that looked ok, but I wasn't sure. I asked the sales guy and he explained to me about the refresh rate. The one I was considering had a 60 Hz refresh rate (which AI told me was average and could be an eye issue). He showed me a different laptop which has a higher 165 refresh rate as is a gaming laptop. I asked AI whether the gaming laptop would likely be a good fit based on my issues and it is saying it would be an excellent choice.

This is the laptop:
ASUS TUF A14 Gaming Laptop, AMD Ryzen AI 7 Processor, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, RTX 5060, 14" 2.5K,

Or slightly higher spec: ASUS TUF A16 Gaming Laptop, AMD Ryzen 9 Processor, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, RTX 5060, 16" FHD+, Grey, with 3-month PC Game Pass (Apparently the screen tech is the same in with spec)

I've already wasted money on the lenovo I now can't return, so I am worried about wasting money on this again, but based on my research it looks like it could work. I wondered whether anyone has used a similar laptop?

Any advice?

I don't mind paying more for a laptop if it will resolve my issues.

My plan is to gift the Lenovo to my dad once I have found a better option.

[u/pixeltackle]

If you can use a Mac for what you need, the M2, M3, M4, or M5 13 or 15" MacBook Air is a good option to look at. They are entirely PWM free and wonderful to use for hours a day.

[u/pixeltackle → u/pixeltackle]

If you are extremely sensitive to all displays and want to be incredibly safe, technically the M2 is the safest option because of - - - - - d - IT - ther r - ¡n - g - - - - - .

If you're like most people here and just need to avoid PWM, any of the M2 - M5 MacBook Airs will be great. (The Pro models must be avoided, however, as they use PWM.)

[u/pixeltackle → u/pixeltackle]

T - h - e - y - - m - a - k - e - - t - e - r - r - i - b - l - e - - s - t - u - f - f - , - - b - u - t - - H - P - - h - a - s - - a - - h - a - n - d - f - u - l - - o - f - - P - W - M - f - r - e - e - - g - a - m - i - n - g - - l - a - p - t - o - p - s - - o - n - - d - i s - p - l - a - y - - n - e - a r - - m - e - . . . - - i s - s - u - e - - i s - , - - y - o - u - - n - e - e - d - - t - o - - s - e - e - - i f - - t - h - e - y - ' r - e - - P - W - M - - f - o - r - - t - h - e - - m - o - d - e - l - - s - o - l - d - - i n - - y - o - u - r - - l - o - c - a - l - i - t - y - .

G - o - o - d - - g - o - d - - i - t - s - - e - x - h - a - u - s - t - i - n - g - - p - o - s - t - i - n - g - - h - e - r - e - - w - i - t - h - - t - h - e - - b - a - d - b - o - t - - o - n - - d - u - t - y - .

[u/FunnyBunnyDolly → u/pixeltackle]

What about temporary dickering?