We still have old CRT monitors at work, and I switched to an LCD screen at home a while ago. I've noticed that my eyes get more tired after a workday. Is this really because of the old monitor or just a coincidence?
LCD monitors really do tire your eyes less - they have stable backlighting, whereas CRT monitors flicker at a frequency your eyes can pick up subconsciously, and that causes strain. Plus old monitors often have lower resolution and worse contrast display, which makes your eyes work harder. If you've got a CRT at work, eye fatigue could very well be connected to that and not just a coincidence.
CRT flicker is a real issue, but it's not the main one. When I switched from one type of screen to another a while back, I realized the problem often isn't the monitor itself, but how it's been set up. Old CRT monitors at work are probably running on factory settings or forgotten settings - low refresh rate, wrong brightness and contrast. If it's set to 60 Hz instead of a normal 75 - 85 Hz, your eyes will get tired way more.
But here's what a lot of people miss: work usually has completely different lighting conditions than home. If your workspace is poorly lit or light from a window is hitting the monitor, that creates more strain than the monitor itself. Plus people at work often forget to take breaks and blink less when they're focused.
Try resetting the monitor's refresh rate at work (if you can do it through your video card settings) and adjusting the brightness - not too bright and not too dark. And of course, every hour get up and look off into the distance for a couple of minutes. If you're still getting tired after all that, then yeah, it might be worth thinking about replacing the monitor.
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