A new video card is not the solution.

LCDs, unlike CRTs, don't really refresh like an older flourescent bulb flickers. They operate in a steady state, and have constant backlighting. They don't flicker, no matter what the refresh rate is set to. The iMac's display runs at 60Hz, just like essentially every other LCD around. Some LCDs will take a 75Hz signal and work fine with it, but it will only change how frequently it is updated, which might make fast motion look a little bit smoother, but that's about it.

Eye strain can be caused by many things - the first to look at is brightness. Most LCDs are extremely bright for normal use. If the setting is anywhere near 100, unless it is in an extraordinarily bright room (IE, outside in the sun), it should probably be set closer to 20-30 or so. Odds are the Acer shipped from the factory at maximum brightness, and the iMac display did not.

Is the Acer monitor on a Windows computer? Windows is designed for higher DPI screens - essentially, things will be a bit smaller in Windows than on a Mac computer - if text is too small, it will cause eye strain. In Windows Vista, to increase font size, right click on the desktop, click personalize, and in the bar on the left will be a setting to "Adjust font size". Click on it, and you'll have the option of changing the DPI from 96 to 120. That will make text significantly larger and easier to read. I'm not running XP, but it can be done on there, and if you'd like me to check how I'd be happy to do so. OSX can also do this, but I have a feeling that the other computer is a PC.


A far more esoteric possibility is that the Acer display is a TN panel, a common type of LCD panel that has a poor viewing angle, particularly from below. If the monitor is a TN one (Probable if it's an Acer) *and* the level of the monitor is rather high (say, while sitting up straight, eyes are looking at the middle of the screen or lower), it's possible that the color shift typically caused by TN panels is causing her to strain when reading or looking at things.



My bet is on the brightness and the viewing environment. In addition to ensuring that the Acer is set to a reasonable brightness level, also make sure that it is being used in a room with reasonable lighting. A very bright screen in a pitch black room is very fatiguing on anyone's eyes, young or old.

Lastly, switching to DVI will improve the sharpness of the image a little bit, and certainly wouldn't hurt. If you want an inexpensive video card recommendation, just tell me whether you need PCI Express, AGP, or plain old PCI, and I'll probably find something for significantly less money than you were expecting to pay.



Humm... Not sure how to add another response on here, so I'm editing this one.

The viewing angle issue is only likely to be a significant issue if the level of the monitor is too high.

With LCD displays, it's not that there are good brands and bad brands - believe it or not, there are something like 7-10 or so different companies that make panels that go in LCDs of any brand. Samsung and LG are the big name brands that actually make their own panels. You may or may not be famaliar with AOC, Hannstar, CMO, CPU, and AUO, which make up the majority of LCD producers.

The main indicator of quality isn't going to be the brand, but the type of panel used. There are three kinds of panels:

TN: Worst viewing angle, bad color shifts, less color range, but they are the fastest so are the best for games

MVA/PVA: Very good viewing angle, color range, best contrast, but are the slowest, so are the worst for games

IPS: Best viewing angle, best color, close 2nd in contrast, and 2nd in speed. Easily the best overall. Can be harder to find.

Apple doesn't use any TN panels, the iMac screen is probably IPS but may be one of the VAs. So, what you should look for in a replacement is something with an IPA or VA based screen. Unfortunately, manufacturers tend to not list the kinds of panels their screens use, so it can be hard to find things out. And you may have two models with similar model names, but different kinds of panels: Samsung 204T uses a PVA panel, whereas the 204B uses a TN panel.

Due to the magnitude of that topic, included in my sources is a link to a thread in a forum that discusses LCD panels in detail, and is probably the most comprehensive one of its type on the whole internet.

Yet another possibility is that the cleartype settings could need adjustment, I've added a link to a download from Microsoft that allows adjustment manually.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refresh_rate#Liquid_crystal_displays

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2049206&...

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306527

Asker's Rating:

Permalink | Report