steam user stats updated..

[Sol_HSA]

http://www.steampowered.com/status/survey.html

[Nikster]

Lol, 3 people have 127 CPU's ? and some even have 96mb of RAM....

[Olivier]

65% of the users have a monitor set to 60Hz refresh rate. 60Hz is pretty low and raises eye strain isn't it?

[Sybixsus]

65% of the users have a monitor set to 60Hz refresh rate. 60Hz is pretty low and raises eye strain isn't it?
Not on an LCD.

[Sol_HSA]

Not on an LCD.
Yes, 60hz is pretty standard from LCDs.

[Olivier]

Ha! Thanks for clearing that up. I've never noticed that my laptop's refresh rate was set to 60Hz indeed. I can't change this setting BTW.

Do all the LCD monitors run in 60Hz only?
Now I wonder if I should really switch my CRT monitor for a LCD monitor. I spend much time on my dev machine and 60Hz seems low to me. I wish to reduce eye strain as much as possible.

[mot]

LCD monitors don't flicker even at 60hz. They have constant backlight.

But compared to CRTs you still get slower response rate (pixels take time to light up), sometimes a reduced color range (6 bit/channel=18 bit colors even if you set your desktop to 24bit colors) and reduced viewing angle.

[Sybixsus]

Do all the LCD monitors run in 60Hz only?
No, newer ones usually support higher refresh rates too. My current Samsung supports 60hz and 75hz, but it's not really an issue, because 60hz on a LCD is still much easier on the eye than any CRT refresh.

Now I wonder if I should really switch my CRT monitor for a LCD monitor. I spend much time on my dev machine and 60Hz seems low to me. I wish to reduce eye strain as much as possible.
When I switched from my CRT to my first LCD, all my eyestrain problems went away. I haven't read any articles, so I don't know how common it is. All I know is I used to get sore eyes a lot on all my old CRT's, and I never have since I've been using various LCD's. And they certainly do advertize LCD screens as being better for eyestrain.

[ChrisP]

But compared to CRTs you still get slower response rate (pixels take time to light up), sometimes a reduced color range (6 bit/channel=18 bit colors even if you set your desktop to 24bit colors) and reduced viewing angle.

All true, but these have never been a problem for me. Switched to LCD some years ago and never regretted it.

Good quality LCD monitors have very wide viewing angles. I don't get any colour distortion at all until I swing my head half a metre to the right, and even if I look almost edge-on to the screen, it merely looks somewhat yellow.

I'm one of those people who notices a 60 Hz CRT instantly, and can't stand it. The fact that LCDs simply don't flicker is a huge deal for me. The size and weight issue is a great bonus too.