W500 Resolution and eyestrain

[febrero]

I upgraded my T60p to a new W500, it supports 1920x1200 great machine, I put a 80GB SSD drive to it and Windows 7.

What I noticed was that after 10-15 min of use my eyes simply cannot stand it. Eyestrain is creazy I actually feel dizzy.

changed resolution to a lower one, Instaled vista 32, vista 64, all drivers available (video) and the newer BIOS.

No success, If I go back to my t60p witn win7 or vista no problems at all.

I remember something like that happened a few years back and it was caused due to a bad monitor ( Nokia 17" ) in an old PC i had, replacing the monitor fixed the issue that time.

Now I asked the helpdesk guys to help me at work they actually replaced the LCD, but I still cannot use the machine for more than 15 min.
Even docked using a 24 inch samsung monitor the issue is there.


Driver? Video cards?
Is it possible that I AM NOT COMPATIBLE with this specific machine???

Thanks in advance.

[archer6]

<snip>I upgraded my T60p to a new W500, it supports 1920x1200 great machine,

Yes, unfortunately laptop displays must be carefully selected or one finds themselves in the position you are. Since they run best at native resolution, when one buys a machine only to find the fonts, icons, etc too small, there is little that can be done. While you can make minor adjustments to the dpi settings, it generally is not enough. It also tends to ruin the clarity of those items which become a bit fuzzy after adjustment. The best is to choose a laptop model with lower resolution, then you will be able to see clearly, without eyestrain.

Cheers...

[febrero]

Are you saying that I have a ~2K dead horse?

Or that I am just too old for this specific model? ( I am 37 never used glasses or anything)

[barrywohl]

... Or that I am just too old for this specific model? ( I am 37 never used glasses or anything)

Well, I am a few days short of 62, and I have used 15" 1600 x 1200, 15.4" 1920 x 1200 and 17" 1920 x 1200 ThinkPads with no eyestrain for about six years. I wear glasses for distant viewing, but I use no eye corrective lenses for close use of these monitors. However, none of the 18 women I work with (ages 17 to 55) can stand the resolutions I love.

Go figure.

My advice is to try it a few more days, consider "reading glasses" and ebay it when it doesn't work for you.

One person's trash is another person's treasure.

[archer6]

<snip>Well, I am a few days short of 62, and I have used 15" 1600 x 1200, 15.4" 1920 x 1200 and 17" 1920 x 1200 ThinkPads with no eyestrain for about six years. I wear glasses for distant viewing, but I use no eye corrective lenses for close use of these monitors. However, none of the 18 women I work with (ages 17 to 55) can stand the resolutions I love.

So true, the majority of ladies I know no matter what age do not like high resolution monitors. It is such a personal choice.

While I still have 20/20 vision (for now), I only use UXGA 1600x1200 4:3 format IPS for my work. For all around use I greatly prefer the 1400x1050 SXGA+ 4:3 my T60 has. Finally if I'm going to do extended research work on the internet, there are times when I pull out one of my 15" R models with 1024 x 768.

Those who claim that there is a certain resolution that is the "best" or "the only one" are simply thinking of what works for them. I find each has their advantages.

Cheers...

[ajkula66]

Over the course of years I've discovered that quality of the LCD itself affects eyestrain, at least in my case (and my eyes are beyond bad) a lot more than the resolution itself.

I can stare at any of my IPS-equipped machines for hours and not feel a thing. However, after an hour or so on W500 I have to take a break...

There are certain "sweet spots" when it comes to resolution, though...my favourites, high to low would be:

UXGA on a 15" LCD...probably because I'm soooo used to it...had a R50p with QXGA at one point and couldn't really get it to work for me.

XGA on a 13.3"...both of my "field" laptops (an ancient T20 and a far more recent ToughBook) have this resolution and it's pretty usable in my experience.

XGA on a 10.4"...ultimate (in my opinion) resolution for a small, on-the-go unit...unfortunately, the last ThinkPads to have it were of an early Pentium III era...but there are other machines of a more recent vintage that offer this treat...

My $0.02 only...

[crazyfrog]

Have you tried to lower the brightness of W500? New machines are generally much brighter, which could cause eyestrain too.

[ajkula66]

crazyfrog wrote:

Have you tried to lower the brightness of W500? New machines are generally much brighter, which could cause eyestrain too.

Of course I have and all I got out of it was a different type of eye strain, as ridiculous as it may sound...

It is NOT the brightness issue...it's the crappy viewing angles, and the false contrast that jumps at you from behind the LCD...

[jketzetera]

UXGA on a 15" LCD...probably because I'm soooo used to it...had a R50p with QXGA at one point and couldn't really get it to work for me.

Ajkula66, would you care to elaborate a bit more on the 15" UXGA vs 15" QXGA? Now that I have completed my modification of putting a T61P motherboard into a T60P 15" UXGA chassis, I am considering to embark on my next modification project. That project would be to upgrade the screen to QXGA resolution. As that seems to be more difficult to achieve than my previous project I am getting a bit hesitant going forward.

I assume that your QXGA panel in the R50p was a Flexview screen. Was it an IDTECH or does/did Boe-Hydis produce 15" QXGA flexview panels as well? What was your experience of using the QXGA and were there any specific areas that it gave you problems with?

[ajkula66]

@jketzetera:

The LCD I was referring to was an ID Tech, from what I'm to understand these are the only QXGA screens applicable to ThinkPads.

Now, my problem was that I just found everything to be way too tiny. Having said that, I'll repeat that my eyesight leaves a lot to be desired. However, even my wife who has 20/20 in both eyes and is used to UXGA LCDs had difficulties adapting to it, so we just gave up on the whole system altogether.

As in most cases, YMMV...

[planetf1]

Just to add I've just hit the same issue with a W500..... And I'm convinced it's not the resolution, but rather the viewing angle issue.

[ThinkRob]

Eyestrain? Meh.

I've got an X200s (12.1") with a 1440x900 panel and I have no such problems. The secret is to use a modern OS and just increase the font size.

[thitiv]

If you feel the font size on the screen is too small and you're using Windows 7, try this:

1. Open Control Panel
2. Go to Appearance and Personalization
3. In the Display section, choose, Make text and other items larger or smaller
4. Experiment with the "100%", "125%", and "150%" options