Refresh rate 60 hertz

hookem · Feb 15, 2008

Ok, I have read a lot of different places that people have this problem but then I don't see an answer. The monitor refresh rate is only going to 60 herts, I have to have it go higher! I have epilipsy and this is killing my head. I have a Sony Vaio CR series wuth Vista home prem. installed.

Brink · Feb 15, 2008

Hi hookem,

Welcome to Vista Forums. :party:

You will just need to adjust your screen resolution to a different size until you find one that supports a higher refresh rate. It may take a few tries to find one. This is limited to what your video card and monitor combined can support.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Dzomlija · Feb 15, 2008

This is unfortunately a problem that I'm also having. A low refresh-rate and epilepsy are not the best of friends!

The 60Hz refresh rate problem isn't exclusive to Vista, as I've seen it in XP and Windows 2000 as well. As Brink suggested, lowering your screen resolution to one that caters for a higher refresh rate is one solution, but if you're like me and cannot work efficiently due to the loss of screen real estate (I cannot work at anything less than 1600x1200), then you can try several alternate options:

Replace your CRT monitor with a high-end setup that provides very good anti-glare and anti-flicker technology, and that uses a very small dot-pitch. I don't recall what the dot-pitch on my monitor is, but 0.25 or less should do fine.
If at all possible, don't use flouresent lamps in your office. I use a high rated filiment bulb (100W) lamp for my main lighting, and also have a halogen lamp that provides pure white light on my workbench to provide additional lighting. My table is positioned such that the main lighting is above and behind me, and the desklamp is directly above the monitor .
Adjust the brightness and contrast of your monitor to suit all the extra lighting.
If possible with your programs, adjust the color so that interface elements that are normally while are slightly off-white. RGB 0x00F5F5F5 (245, 245, 245) works quite well for me. This cannot be easily done with Vista when using Aero, as many of the interface elements are hard coded (If anyone from Microsoft is reading this - pay attention. Allow more user color changes when using Aero)
When using programs like Explorer, Office Word or Excel that have very large areas of white, try and avoid using full-screen or maximized modes. This is why I like using a very high display resolution. It allows me to use normal application windows that provide enough space to work without requiring a maximized window.
Use darker colors for your desktop wallpaper, or images that are fairly dark or contain a lot of black. Avoid pictures that contain patterns or intricate designs. I'm not too sure whether it's for you or not, but www.sexydesktop.co.uk as a very large selection of wallpapers to choose from. I tend to use those with a black or dark indoor background.
In your working environment, try not to go longer than 1 to 2 hours at a time at the computer. Get out for a few minutes and take a break to relieve the strain on your eyes. I usually go to the kitchen and make a cup of coffee for myself. Even though I have the coffee at the computer, just the act of making it is enough of a break, and then drinking the coffee also takes my attention away from the computer for a few minutes. (I easily go through 15 or so cups of coffee a day!)

I certainly hope that this information will help a little.

But let this also be a lesson to any others that are perchance reading this post - Don't ever settle for a budget monitor
when buying a computer, even if it means compromizing by getting a lower spec CPU or less memory or something. A bad
monitor can be hazardous to your health. I fell foul of this when I first got started on computers 20-odd years ago, and
too many hours behind the computer gave me epilepsy and ruined my eyesight. I can't even go outside anymore on a sunny day
without dark glasses unless I want to get a killer headache.

hookem · Feb 15, 2008

Brink said:
Hi hookem,

Welcome to Vista Forums.

You will just need to adjust your screen resolution to a different size until you find one that supports a higher refresh rate. It may take a few tries to find one. This is limited to what your video card and monitor combined can support.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Ok, I tried that and the rate never was able to change...

Brink · Feb 15, 2008

hookem,

I'm afraid that the only other way is to do like Peter (Dzomlija) suggested and get a new monitor that can support the 75 mhz refresh rate at the screen resolution that you would like to use. You could use it with your laptop as a dock station. Just make sure that you laptop has a connection where you can plug in a external monitor.

Shawn

sahitanand · Feb 18, 2008

dzomlija said:
But let this also be a lesson to any others that are perchance reading this post - Don't ever settle for a budget monitor
when buying a computer, even if it means compromizing by getting a lower spec CPU or less memory or something. A bad
monitor can be hazardous to your health. I fell foul of this when I first got started on computers 20-odd years ago, and
too many hours behind the computer gave me epilepsy and ruined my eyesight. I can't even go outside anymore on a sunny day
without dark glasses unless I want to get a killer headache.

k im scared now.. i spend almost 12 hours(minimum) in front of the comp mate.

Dzomlija · Feb 18, 2008

sahitanand said:
dzomlija said:

But let this also be a lesson to any others that are perchance reading this post - Don't ever settle for a budget monitor
when buying a computer, even if it means compromizing by getting a lower spec CPU or less memory or something. A bad
monitor can be hazardous to your health. I fell foul of this when I first got started on computers 20-odd years ago, and
too many hours behind the computer gave me epilepsy and ruined my eyesight. I can't even go outside anymore on a sunny day
without dark glasses unless I want to get a killer headache.

Click to expand...

k im scared now.. i spend almost 12 hours(minimum) in front of the comp mate.

I just saw your computer in the "Show us your Rig" thread. LCD displays have drastically reduced EM emisions, and are far safer to use than standard CRT monitors. Your only real risk is if your brightness/contract is set too high. But you can compensate with adequate lighting in your work area. NEVER work on your computer in a darkened room - regardless of what type of monitor you have.

I learned the hard way! :cry:

Clevo · Feb 21, 2008

I also thought refresh rates were also dependant on the type of electricity you are supplied with.

In australia for example... 240v AC@70mhz

Which means I don't think we can use a monitor with a higher refresh rate than 70mhz..otherwise you get even more flicker

NiTaS · Feb 26, 2008

It depends on how fast your graphics card can product an image per second, and how fast the monitor can show that image.

If your screen can display up to 100Hz ( or like 100FPS), you're GFX has to produce atleast 100 or more FPS to be effective.

I can get my monitor up to 75Hz easy. Check the setting in the ATI Catalyst Control Center, or NVIDIA Control Panel.

In the NVIDIA Control Panel the setting is located here :

Dzomlija · Mar 1, 2008

Actually, Refresh Rate (Hz) and Frames/Second (FPS) are not related. FPS depands on how quickly a given application (usually games) and graphics hardware can can produce an image based on a graphics engine. The Refresh Rate on monitors is how quickly a display can be "refreshed". The phosphors on a CRT are not permanently "on", and start fading when no longer being struck with electrical charges. The Refresh Rate is how often the controlling circuitry pulses the display phosphors to keep them active. Which is why a low refresh rate produces flickering.

NiTaS · Mar 2, 2008

I meant to be effective. If your graphics card can only produce 60FPS, with a Screen refresh rate of 100, then you're going to notice some lag..

That was my thought process anyway :P

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