Notebookcheck Logo

PWM Ranking - The Best Displays for the Eyes

Typical PWM graph of the luminance, in this case from the HP EliteBook 840 G3 at 200 Hz
Typical PWM graph of the luminance, in this case from the HP EliteBook 840 G3 at 200 Hz

PWM is short for pulse-width modulation and describes a flickering of the background illumination to reduce the luminance. Sensitive users may see this flickering below a certain frequency and get tired eyes or headaches. These problems might not even be obvious. More than 500 Hz are generally not an issue, but there seem to be many users with problems below 250 Hz. Beware, there are even reports from readers that suffer from frequencies above 10k Hz. These users should look at the individual reviews and look out for completly flat lines in our measurements as small brightness changes may lead to sore eyes, headache ... for them.

We use the following table to show the measured frequency of the flickering. Some devices do not use PWM at all, but still showed a measurable brightness flickering during our review (e. g. poor shielding of the power adapter). Those devices are listed here as well. Devices listed with a "0" did not show big brightness fluctuations in our measurements. A detailed analysis and a screenshot of the measurement is available in the linked review.

Show Restrictions
PosModelScreen ResolutionScreen TypeResponse Times PWM Frequency ↓
Philips Brilliance 329P9H3840x2160
0
MSI Cubi 5 10M2560x1440
0
KTC H27P22s3840x2160IPS
0
Nokia 1.31520x720IPS
0
Honor 10 Lite2340x1080IPS
0
Honor 10X Lite2400x1080IPS
0
HP 14-dk0008ng1920x1080IPS
0
HP 14s-dq1431ng1920x1080IPS
0
HP 14s-fq1357ng1920x1080IPS
0
Aorus 15 BSF2560x1440IPS
0
Aorus 15 W91920x1080IPS
0
Aorus 15 X91920x1080IPS
0
Aorus 15 XE52560x1440IPS
0n2
Aorus 15 YE5-54DEB34SH2560x1440IPS
0
Aorus 15-SA1920x1080IPS
0
Aorus 15P WB1920x1080IPS
0
Aorus 15P YD1920x1080IPS
0
HP 15s-fq1440ng1920x1080TN
0
HP 15s-fq1556ng1920x1080IPS
0
PosModelScreen ResolutionScreen TypeResponse Times PWM Frequency ↓
Aorus 15X ASF2560x1440IPS
0
Monduo 16 Pro Duo2560x1600IPS
0
Monduo 16 Pro Duo2560x1600IPS
0
Aorus 16X 20242560x1600IPS
0
Aorus 17 XE41920x1080IPS
0n2
Aorus 17 YA1920x1080IPS
0
Aorus 17G XB1920x1080IPS
0
Aorus 17G YD1920x1080IPS
0
Aorus 17X AZF2560x1440IPS
0
Aorus 17X XES1920x1080IPS
0
Alcatel 1S (2020)1520x720IPS
0
Alcatel 1S 20211600x720IPS
0
Nokia 2.41600x720IPS
0
Honor 202340x1080IPS
0
HP 250 G9 7N029ES1920x1080IPS
0
Innocn 27C1U Monitor3840x2160
0
Innocn 27G1S Monitor2560x1440
0
Nokia 3210320x240TFT
0
Alcatel 3L 20201520x720IPS
0
Alcatel 3L 20211600x720IPS
0
PosModelScreen ResolutionScreen TypeResponse Times PWM Frequency ↓
Alcatel 3T 10 4G 20201280x800IPS
0
Alcatel 3X 20201600x720IPS
0
Fairphone 42340x1080IPS
0
Nokia 4.21520x720IPS
0
Philips 45B1U6900Cx
0
Aorus 5 KB1920x1080IPS
0
Nokia 5.31600x720IPS
0
Nokia 5.41560x720IPS LCD
0
Honor 50 Lite2376x1080TFT-LCD
0
Realme 62400x1080IPS
0
Realme 6i1600x720IPS
0
Realme 72400x1080IPS
0
Realme 7 5G2400x1080IPS
0
Aorus 7 KB1920x1080IPS
0
Realme 8 5G2400x1080IPS
0
Nokia 8.3 5G2400x1080IPS
0
Honor 8A1520x720IPS
0
Honor 8X2340x1080LCD IPS
0
Realme 9 5G2412x1080IPS
0
Realme 9 Pro2412x1080IPS
0
PosModelScreen ResolutionScreen TypeResponse Times PWM Frequency ↓
Honor 9A1600x720IPS
0
Realme 9i2412x1080IPS
0
Honor 9X2340x1080LCD IPS
0
Honor 9X Lite2340x1080IPS
0
Honor 9X Pro2340x1080IPS
0
Ninkear A15 Plus (16+512)1920x1080IPS
0
Oppo A16s1600x720LCD
0
Elephone A52246x1080IPS
0
Gigabyte A5 K11920x1080IPS
0
Gigabyte A5 X11920x1080IPS
0
Oppo A522400x1080IPS
0
Blackview A521600x720IPS
0
Blackview A601280x600IPS
0
Gigabyte A7 X11920x1080IPS
0
Oppo A722400x1080IPS LCD
0
Oppo A73 5G2400x1080IPS
0
Oppo A761612x720IPS
0
Oppo A77 5G1612x720IPS
0
ACEMagician Ace ‎AX15, N951920x1080IPS
0
Captiva Advanced Gaming I74-1211920x1080IPS
0
PosModelScreen ResolutionScreen TypeResponse Times PWM Frequency ↓
Gigabyte Aero 15-X91920x1080IPS
0
Gigabyte Aero 15-Y93840x2160IPS
0
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB3840x2160IPS
0
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR YC3840x2160IPS-Level
0
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR YD3840x2160IPS
0
Gigabyte Aero 17 XA RP773840x2160IPS
0
Medion Akoya E143071920x1080IPS
0
Medion Akoya P176051920x1080IPS
0
MSI Alpha 15 A3DDK1920x1080IPS
0
MSI Alpha 15 A3DDK-0341920x1080IPS
0
MSI Alpha 15 B5EEK-0081920x1080IPS
0
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK1920x1080IPS
0
Alienware Area-51m i9-9900K RTX 20801920x1080IPS
0
Ulefone Armor 3T2160x1080IPS
0
Ulefone Armor 62246x1080IPS LCD
0
Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R77Z1920x1080TN LED
0
Acer Aspire 5 A515-45-R4R11920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire 5 A515-54G1920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-511A1920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-P8NZ1920x1080IPS
0
PosModelScreen ResolutionScreen TypeResponse Times PWM Frequency ↓
Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N81920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire 5 A515-58GM-76S81920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire 5 A517-52G-79Z51920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire 5 Spin 141920x1200IPS
0
Acer Aspire 7 A715-42G-R0XB1920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire 7 A715-72G-704Q1920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire 7 A715-74G-50U51920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-31P-34JP1920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN515-54-53Z21920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN515-55-57GF1920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-78871920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire Vero AV14-51-72DL1920x1080IPS
0
Acer Aspire Vero AV15-53P1920x1080IPS
0