Headaches + Advice on Monitors

K

KK70

Hi folks,

Like most traders, I spend 8+ hours in front of the computer every day. Over the past few months, I started developing severe headaches centered around the eyes. The physician/optician that i consulted said that I was excessively squinting/straining the muscles around the eyes while working and suggested the following:

1. Wearing a pair of glare-reflecting spectacles
2. Lowering the monitor level so that I am looking down at the screen
3. Increasing the font size
4. Having diffused lighting in the room
5. Periodically looking away and focussing on a distant object
6. Consciously blinking (to prevent dryness of the eyes)

While all the above have certainly helped, I am also seriously considering buying a new monitor for my desktop. I am therefore requesting advice and suggestions on monitors that minimize eye strain. What exactly should I look for in in this respect? Is a TFT or LCD monitor better than a CRT one? What brightness and contrast levels do you use to ensure optimal eye comfort?

All suggestions and opinions are welcome.

Many thanks,
-kk70
 
Had a similar problem. Resolved it by,

1. Buying Dell's 20" flat screens, whatever they're called - its on the website. Play with the settings so that its best for your eyes. Also, as its a digital feed, get MS's ClearType Tuning, its on their website - helps a lot - its also a free download!

2. Correct glasses, if you use 'em. Tell the doc you sit in front of a screen all day so he can understand your problem.

3. Resting your eye - my doc told me that watching screens all day is the equivalent of having to hold a 5 pound weight with your hand - the first hour or two is easy, by the 7th hour its damn heavy!

4. Protect your eyes as you cant replace 'em!
 
K,

I personally recommend the Dell 19" UltraSharp 1905 FP. Excellent monitor. And unbeatable price/benefit consideration. I have 6. No problems.

Analong or dvi capable. Believe me, once you go from crt to lcd, at the end of the first day, you'll notice the difference

http://reviews.cnet.com/Monitors/4521-6529_7-5021402-1.html?tag=dir.tp

Dell's 20" Ultrasharp big brother is also outstanding. But for 17% more screen real estate your paying nearly 100% more. Not worth it imo.

You can get 2 19"s for the approximate price of one 20".

My last monitors were Samsung 191t. I dont know if you can still get those, but they were very good also.

If $ were no object I would look at Eizo monitors. But for trading they are probably overkill.

Dont take my word for it.

Search for reviews on monitors you come across. And try to see them in person at different resolutions. Fry's usually has a huge number of monitors on display. CompUSA. The usual suspects.
 
Same here. I have two Dell 21" LCDs. I strongly recommend that you get DVI connections - it is significantly clearer than analog from my experience.

The contracts and crispness is incredible. FWIW, I run both at 1600x1200 natively with DVI.
 
Its the 20" flat-screen - I use 3, its really great for charts and much easier than analog . Be sure to get the ClearType from MS as it allows you to adjust the alpha-numerics to what looks great to your eyes

Its a lot cheaper than not seeing something and losing a few $Gs, I think they run +/-$600 on sale.
 
Thanks folks, some very useful information.

Also found that CNET.com and ZDNET.com are good sites for information/reviews/ratings on monitors.
 
For the last 5 days I've been doing plenty of research on monitors. And I can tell you, that many on-line customer reviews have commented on their observations that LCD monitors cause far less headaches and eye strain then the CRT monitors.
 
When I first started trading, I had a similar problem, I fixed it by increasing the screen refresh rate on my crt's. 75mhz or better is what worked for me. This worked for 4 years. Recently, I just upgraded my crt's to lcd's and have been very happy with their performance.
 
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