24" Acer monitor - killing my eyes! :(

[alex_ncfc]

Hi all,

Just looking for some guidance really, late last year I moved from using some LG "TV/monitor" combo (which ran at 1366x768) to a brand new Acer R241Y HD monitor. It's 24" and I believe the TV/monitor I used was about 18". It is a major step up in quality obviously, with a fantastic picture - well, for what I needed anyway - I didn't need any fancy 4K-ness, as I am not a gamer these days.

But one thing that's stopping me from using my desktop PC (which I am writing this message on) more often is that the new screen is killing my eyes and I can't seem to find a way to remedy this!

I wondered if I had gone for too big a screen, and maybe should have gone for a 22" or 23" HD screen, but my reasoning at the time was, when those particular sizes run at 1920x1080, screen elements and text will be even smaller, so I opted for a 24" model, but my eyes just feel so bl**dy strained! Changing Windows 10 scaling from 100% to 125% makes a difference, but a lot of apps then have blurry text - which isn't exactly clear for my poor old eyes either!

I thought I'd soon get used to the display but it just doesn't seem to be happening, so it's a relief when I go back to my laptop. I'm not exactly sitting too close to the screen, but not over the other side of the room either. Does anybody else experience this sort of thing? Any tips or settings to mess around with? (which, btw, the settings menu on this monitor is a nightmare to navigate )

Thanks

 

[alex_ncfc]

Thanks for very informative the reply, @sadbuttrue.

I do wear glasses yes and I have recently (had an eye test yesterday) been told I need new ones - but I only got a new prescription last summer! So I am conscious of the fact that this screen could have been a reason for my change in vision, which concerns me. You saying that about the 21.5" model kind of makes me wish I had gone in that direction. I don't need a 24" panel but like I said, my thoughts were that 1080p on a smaller monitor would be too hard to see, but I do actually find that on a screen of this size, and even being sat about 2-3 ft away from it, I am having to do a lot of scanning around the screen because of its size.

I have just been fiddling with the brightness and contrast, trying 40% brightness and 30% contrast and like you say it is dim at first, but not as dim as I would expect it to be on those settings, so I am wondering if I will need to go even lower.

My eyes just feel so dry and strained using this thing! It is very annoying because it is a lovely display, and maybe it is just a case of me needing some new glasses, but then I just feel conscious of my sight getting worse.

How far do you sit away from your screen? Do you find the 27" model comfortable to use??