When choosing a new monitor, there are already a lot of statistics a person should take into consideration.
Size, resolution, refresh rate and response time are all important factors. There is one factor that can be more important than all the others, that is the type of panels being used. The type of panel used in your monitor will relate to everything else that you should consider when buying a gaming monitor.
TN Panel
TN panels or Twisted Nematic panels are the most common types of panel available in gaming monitors, common in this case does not at all mean bad. TN panels excel at the usual metrics that we consider when we look at a gaming monitor when playing on a console or PC. Below are some key points of a TN panel.
- Refresh rate – TN panels easily achieve high refresh rates. TN panels are the majority of high refresh rate screens that can display 144 frames per second and are not limited by this either. 240hz TN panels are available on the market and seamlessly work with applications like G-sync to make your gaming experience a smooth one.
- Response time – a response time of only 1 millisecond is common for TN panels, meaning blurred lines or ghosting will never be a problem on a TN panel.
- Image quality – image quality is one of the aspects where TN falls short of IPS and VA. TN image quality appears dull and lacking in comparison. Viewing angles of a TN also suffer, with anything short of the perfect viewing angle leading to darker areas on the panel.
IPS Panel
IPS panel or In-Plane Switching is the gold standard of the working monitor. Whether video editing or animation or playing at gamblingca.net, IPS has the colour gamete and brightness capabilities to make your work really shine. IPS can still game but falls short of TN panels abilities and price range, making IPS best suited for work or mixed-use cases. Below are some key features of IPS panels.
- Refresh rate – IPS panels generally do not have a refresh rate as good as TN panels, 60hz will be a common refresh rate for IPS panels. While 144hz IPS panels are available, they are considerably more expensive and generally slower than TN panels.
- Response time – A typical response time of about 4ms is common with IPS panels, allowing for some ghosting in very fast-paced games. There are IPS panels with a response time as low as 1ms, these are however among the most expensive monitors available.
- Image quality – Image quality is where IPS panels shine. They have undeniably the best colour gamut and viewing angles available on any display.
VA Panel
VA panels or Vertical Alignment panels are the happy middle ground through the whole spectrum. Response times faster than IPS, but not as fast as TN. Image quality better than TN, but not as good as IPS. Refresh rates of 60hz and 120hz being common at a relatively affordable price. VA is the general workhorse for somebody who needs to do a bit of everything at an affordable price.