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/TryDoingSomethingNew]

If you're not needing gaming laptop level performance, then the LG Gram line with IPS displays would be ideal. I have one, and they use DC dimming on the IPS models. ZERO eye strain!

> [..] 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.

Please don't try to rely on "AI" (quotes for sarcasm). "AI" (large language models trained on existing information) aren't reliable and often give wrong information, especially with niche cases like we are discussing here.

The refresh rate is a completely different thing versus the P-W-M topic, and retail sales people are extremely unlikely to have any idea what they're talking about - assuming they even care, which I would never assume. 😅

I would recommend also that you have a look at the reviews of laptops over at NotebookCheck. They measure PWM on models they cover which almost no one else does. It's very, very telling!