# Are black computer screens better **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 30, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866 "2010-10-30T14:00:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/1 "2010-10-30T14:00:39Z")
Or is this just a bullshit way to get me to use their gateway to Google? [Go! Black search.](http://www.goblacksearch.com/) > [@](#): > > With this search engine based on Google results, you can help the world be better off saving energy and above all to significantly reduce your eyestrain. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/2 "2010-10-30T14:11:41Z")
I don’t know but I do know that reading white text on a black screen fucks up my eyes, especially when reading one and then going to a page that is the traditional black-on-white. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/3 "2010-10-30T14:39:35Z")
I think that white-on-black or white-on-blue is much easier on the eyes, but the idea that black pixels require less energy is, best, debatable. It seems to be true on CRTs, but much harder to prove on LCDs and in fact, black may drain more power on LCDs. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/4 "2010-10-30T14:59:52Z")
I tried to use it for a few searches and the switching white to black to white to black was giving me a headache. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/5 "2010-10-30T19:57:30Z")
I think it’s a personal preference. The idea about black backgrounds being easier on the eyes has been around for years. Some writers and programmers swear by it. But I’ve always found it to be annoying. I prefer white with black text. I’ve been glad that the 90’s trend of black websites has passed. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/6 "2010-10-30T20:09:09Z")
I think it’s harder to read, plus it’s much harder to make the transition from looking at the screen to elsewhere (or looking elsewhere to looking at the screen). I feel like my eyes are refocusing. Having the screen white means it’s much closer in color to the rest of the office/room. This kind of coincides with backlighting your TV. If you put a small dim light behind your TV lighting up the wall behind it, it’s a bit easier on your eyes since you don’t have a sharp edge where it changes from bright to dark. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/7 "2010-10-30T20:19:43Z")
I’ve always found black screen with white text easier on the eyes myself. I doubt it saves significant amounts of power though. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/8 "2010-10-30T21:03:28Z")
According to [some recent tests](http://techlogg.com/2010/05/black-vs-white-screen-power-consumption-24-more-monitors-tested/17), it’s actually backwards. At least on LCDs, a black screen will usually use more power than a white screen, by a small margin. If I’ve understood it correctly, this is because LCDs use a bright white backlight by default, and actually uses energy to draw black pixels over it. I guess it would still work with CRT screens, but who the heck has those anymore? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/9 "2010-10-31T01:19:54Z")
I’m surprised so many people find the white on black easier to read. For me, when most of the surrounding color is black, I find that my eyes want to adjust to that, and the white seems blindingly bright. And if you want Google to be black, there are a lot more to choose from, including plugins that will just fix regular Google. Just google “google black” for more. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/10 "2010-10-31T16:21:05Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > If I’ve understood it correctly, this is because LCDs use a bright white backlight by default, and actually uses energy to draw black pixels over it. this is correct, the LCD layer is transparent. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/11 "2010-10-31T16:30:10Z")
it depends, if the backlight brightness remains constant, then with twisted-nematic (TN) screens, a black screen will use slightly more power since an “on” pixel is dark. with an IPS panel, an “on” pixel is bright, so its power consumption should be slightly less with a dark screen. there are a lot of displays now with dynamic backlights which adjust intensity based on how light or dark the screen content is. in this case the darker screen will nearly always use less power. OLED screens, on the other hand, have markedly different power requirements based on the screen brightness. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-computer-screens-better/558866/12 "2010-11-01T00:38:38Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I’m surprised so many people find the white on black easier to read. For me, when most of the surrounding color is black, I find that my eyes want to adjust to that, and the white seems blindingly bright. > > And if you want Google to be black, there are a lot more to choose from, including plugins that will just fix regular Google. Just google “google black” for more. For screen, I find white text on black background to be easier on the eyes. For print, I find black text on white background to be easier.