What to look for in a gaming monitor?

A gaming monitor is used to describe a computer monitoring designed for use in a computer gaming system. As PC is becoming more immersive than ever gamer is upgrading to make sure that they have the best gaming monitor possible. There are a lot of things that you should consider when you are looking for the best gaming monitor out there. We will give you three elements that you should look for in a gaming monitor before you purchase it.

Here’s what to look for in a gaming monitor:

• Resolution
• Response time
• Panel types

Monitors are just a bunch of small pixels that represent different colors at different shades. Also, all of the pixels on a monitor combine to create one large single image. The more pixels your monitor has, the better the quality of the image it will display. The three standard resolution are:

• 2160p
• 1440p
• 1080p

These are also known as Full HD, UHD/4K, and QHD/2K

A higher resolution means that there will be more pixels on the screen resolution in a clearer picture and smoother gameplay. For the gamers who have budget concerns, we suggest that you pick a 1080p (1920×1080) monitor if it is under 27-inch and consider 2K resolution (2560×1440) if the monitor is above 27-inch.

If you don’t have budget concerns, then know that the higher the resolution the better! If your GPU graphic processing unit cannot process a high resolution then this will cause in-game lagging. Now the standard monitor resolution size for the average gamer is 1440p/QHD/2K. That is because only really powerful modern GPUs are able to process 2160p.

So shortly said if your GPU can’t process high resolution you can set powerful monitors to play on lower resolution settings future-proofing your gaming rig ready for a new GPU than can comfortably run a higher resolution.

Razer Raptor 27

Response time

Response time is the speed at which a single pixel on a monitor can change from the precious color to a new color. It’s different from refresh date where refresh date deals with changing frames where response time just deals with changing an individual pixel color.

Pixel response time is measured in milliseconds and represents how much time a single-pixel needs to switch from two different shades of grey. Higher response time will lead to motion blur because pixels can’t change colors quickly while a lower response will perform smoother movements.

So lower is better because they don’t cause hindrance in gameplay. TN panels have a minimum response time of 1 ms response time and IPS panels can only reach a 4 ms response time. So generally speaking we would recommend you to avoid monitors with response times that are higher than 8ms. Overall the majority of modern monitors have a response that is lower than 6ms.

The response time is definitely something to look for in a gaming monitor.

Panel types

There are three main panels that you need to know about:

TN Panels

IPS Panels

VA Panels

There are all nice panels but of course, each of them has their strengths and weaknesses so let’s go through them.

TN panels (Twisted Nematic)– are best for FPS gamers. They are the cheapest panels in the market at the moment, offer the lowest response ( they can offer a response as low as 1ms ), and are the most prevalent panel technology for gaming monitors. We mentioned before that they each have a weakness well the weakness of TN panels is they don’t really have a good quality of pictures and viewing angles.

IPS panels ( In-Plane Switching) – are best for designers and gamers who require great color quality. These panels offer great quality due to viewing better viewing angles and color accuracy. Their weakness is that they are more expensive than TN panels and come with higher response times ( the best IPS panels have 4ms response times ).

Does this matter in FPS games?

If you don’t play that much FPS game and require beautiful colors, then IPS panels are for you. But remember, that there is a downside nature of IPS panels, which is called the “IPS Glow”. IPS Glow is a phenomenon that makes the panel shows color distort on a dark or black background and makes the panel look like it’s glowing.

VA panels (Vertical Alignment) – are perfect for movie lovers and gamers who love to see more details. These panels offer one of the best viewing angles and superior picture quality to TN panels. Their weakness is that the VA panels have noticed issues with ghosting due to higher response time.

VA panels are also more expensive than TN panels and have come closer to the price of IPS panels. The nature of the VA panel is also high in contrast ratio. It performs the most perfect “black” in the 3 panels. So shortly put IPS are great panels if you have a large budget. If you want to avoid issues that come with high response time you will need to make sure you get an IPS panel that has a low enough response that suits you best. Lastly, if you are a gamer that doesn’t have an unlimited budget then a TN panel with faster response and a faster refresh rate is probably the best fit for you.

Extra tips to look for when you are buying a gaming monitor

Determine your monitor’s main purpose: professional, gaming, or general use.

Generally, professionals should prioritize color correctness, gamers should prioritize fast refresh rates low response times and fast refresh rates, while general use users have less specific needs but will often choose a monitor with a high-contrast VA panel.

The greater the resolution, the better the image.

A monitor’s resolution tells you how many pixels a monitor has in width x length format. 1920 x 1080 also known as 1080p / Full HD (FHD) / HD is the minimum that you need. On the other hand, you will get sharper images on a QHD or, even better, a 4K one.

The size matters.

Pixel density includes a big impact on monitor quality, and our sweet spot is 109 pixels per inch (PPI).  A bigger monitor will have low pixel density if it’s a lower resolution. For viewing from typical desktop distances, 32 inches is pretty ‘big.’ It’s not hard to seek out 32-inch gaming or general use monitor at 4K resolution for fewer than $1,000.

Refresh rates: bigger is better.

This tells you the number of times your monitor will be updated with new data per second and is measured in Hz (hertz). Bigger numbers indicate better, smoother, and less choppy images. If you are a gamer, the refresh rate is especially important, and you will want a monitor with at least 75Hz (most monitors designed for gaming offer at least 144Hz), connected with the lowest response time you can find. If you aren’t gaming, then a 60Hz refresh rate should do.

Should I get a curved monitor?

Curved monitors are supposed to make your experience more immersive with a large field of view, meant to be less eye-straining. Nevertheless, they can be likely to glare when observing from certain angles (light sources are coming from various angles instead of one). Effective curved monitors are usually ultra-wide and at least 30 inches, which both lead to higher costs.

If you buy a curved monitor, understand curvature specs.  A 1800R curvature has a curved radius of 1800mm and a recommended best max viewing distance of 1.8 meters, etc. The lower the curvature, the more curved the display is.