Choosing a gaming monitor

Gypo · 5 May 2021 at 22:27

Upgrading from a Philips IPS 60hz panel that has served well and still looks stunning, however I've had a 3060Ti for a few months and want to push it. (budget is £350)

What are your collective thoughts on the these two?

Msi is 165hz but no HDR whereas the LG is 144hz with HDR. Both priced around the same.

MSI Optix G273QF

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...een-led-backlit-gaming-monitor-mo-00y-ms.html

LG 27GL850-B

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lg-2...le-widescreen-led-gaming-monit-mo-155-lg.html

OR

Do i go for a VA panel like this?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...klit-widescreen-gaming-monitor-mo-00w-ms.html

zia · 6 May 2021 at 06:26

with only 400 nits brightness hdr is just a qimmick,would not base your purchase of hdr.if you want hdr you need min vesa certified display 600 as minimum

link to ips and va video comparison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34bqY7CToHg&t=340s&ab_channel=ReviewsForLife

Zia

Tanin'iver · 6 May 2021 at 08:00

Agreed with zia on the subject of HDR - I've got a 43" Philips M436M6VBP monitor (VA panel tech, 4k, HDR1000) which I use as a secondary monitor just for watching movies on.

My primary monitor is a 38" LG lg-38WN95C (IPS panel, 3840x1600, HDR600) and if I watch a movie on this it just looks rubbish in comparison - the IPS panel doesn't allow deep enough black for really good contrast and the max brightness isn't high enough.

The "HDR" rating on that LG 27GL850-B is pretty much just marketing, it wouldn't actually deliver a reasonable HDR experience.

As for a VA panel like the MSI OPTIX G27CQ4, well that depends highly on what your main use for the monitor will be.

A VA panel will deliver much deeper black levels and better contrast, but the response times (ignore the quoted 1 ms figures, again this is marketing BS) will be much slower than an IPS panel, on fast motion you might well notice ghosting.

Since you mention "gaming monitor" I think IPS will be better for you unless you only play games without fast motion, so I'd go with one of your first two choices.

As for which one, well the 165hz vs 144hz is very little difference, I'd be surprised if you could even notice it with the two side by side unless you are a really serious competitive FPS player. The HDR "feature" on the LG isn't even a factor, it won't be worth using.

Overall I'd go with the MSI Optix G273QF - it gets 8.2/10 on rtings.com compared to 7.8/10 for the LG 27GL850-B, and I trust their reviews, they are very thorough in their testing.

Gypo · 6 May 2021 at 11:02

My main use is for MMO / Survival games - I'll take vibrant colours and quality over fast motion.

Would take a curved panel if you can recommend any other monitors around that price?

Tanin'iver · 6 May 2021 at 11:10

Hmm OK. Well if you aren't worried about possible visible motion blur, I would say go with the VA one you linked then - the contrast ratio will certainly be better than the IPS ones. The rtings review of it was pretty good:

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/msi/optix-g27cq4

EsaT · 6 May 2021 at 15:16

Gypo said:
My main use is for MMO / Survival games - I'll take vibrant colours and quality over fast motion.

Abotu the biggest factor for choosing between IPS and VA is your room illumination:
In dark room IPS just doesn't work without proper FALD backlight.
If you keep normal room lightning LCD normal contrast of IPS isn't really problem.

Ryanr1987 · 7 May 2021 at 17:06

The same rules of TV's still apply to monitors, IPS poor black levels will be poor regardless of environment but an IPS in a well lit room will be less of a problem in terms of back light interference. IPS are certainly better inherently when it comes to wider viewing angles when it comes to monitors but 3 times the contrast and even more so isn't something to be ignored. VA panels really shine when it comes to image depth, producing a good dynamic between light and dark scenes where as IPS displays really struggle in that area. To be honest even with better processing and Full Array, IPS will never be able to close the gap with VA. Problem is in monitors there's a lot of junk regardless of panel type.

Gypo · 7 May 2021 at 18:11

Ok so in your opinion what's the best 27"QHD gaming monitor (max £350)

Ryanr1987 · 8 May 2021 at 00:23

Gypo said:
Ok so in your opinion what's the best 27"QHD gaming monitor (max £350)

There is no best it depends on your use. In your case you play MMO and survival type games and you mentioned you prefer image quality so having a strong static contrast is important so the G27QC is a good option. It has a strong contrast, it's wide gamut so will offer a bit of a saturation boost over sRGB for those that like that punchy look. In my opinion the advantage of wide gamut and strong contrast makes the image feel more balanced where as on a lot of Nano Cell panels for example it can look a bit weird having lack of shadow detail and depth and really oversaturated colour but each to their own.

zAndy1 · 9 May 2021 at 19:06

Am I right in thinking the G27QC isn't gsync compatible? If not that's something to be aware of if you have an Nvidia GPU..

Tanin'iver · 9 May 2021 at 22:00

zAndy1 said:
Am I right in thinking the G27QC isn't gsync compatible? If not that's something to be aware of if you have an Nvidia GPU..

It's gsync compatible - not true gsync certified type thing but it will let you turn gsync on.

Jimbeam3678 · 10 May 2021 at 07:57

Instead of creating a new thread, for FPS am I correct I thinking LG 850 is a solid choice for QHD with a budget of £350 ? Anything else I should be looking at, using a Radeon GPU?

Currently using a the LG 32" 4k one which was the correct choice for a PS5 but moving to PC gaming its no longer suitable

Tanin'iver · 10 May 2021 at 08:11

The LG 850 is the one the OP was looking at too isn't it? I think the full model name for that is LG 27GL850-B.

Yes, it's a solid choice if you prefer IPS over VA.

Each technology has its own benefits and downsides though. VA has much better black levels and better contrast so will look better on dark scenes, especially if you are in a darkened room. The response times aren't as good as IPS though so you might notice some ghosting on fast motion, if you play that sort of game.

IPS on the other hand has better response times and the colour quality tends to be excellent, but the contrast isn't as good as a VA panel. If you play in a dark room you'll likely notice "IPS glow" on dark scenes.

Jimbeam3678 · 10 May 2021 at 08:22

Tanin'iver said:
The LG 850 is the one the OP was looking at too isn't it? I think the full model name for that is LG 27GL850-B.

Yes, it's a solid choice if you prefer IPS over VA.

Each technology has its own benefits and downsides though. VA has much better black levels and better contrast so will look better on dark scenes, especially if you are in a darkened room. The response times aren't as good as IPS though so you might notice some ghosting on fast motion, if you play that sort of game.

IPS on the other hand has better response times and the colour quality tends to be excellent, but the contrast isn't as good as a VA panel. If you play in a dark room you'll likely notice "IPS glow" on dark scenes.

Thank you for explaining the clear differences much appreciated.

EsaT · 10 May 2021 at 19:48

Tanin'iver said:
The response times aren't as good as IPS though so you might notice some ghosting on fast motion, if you play that sort of game.

In 99+% of VAs their dark colour transition times suck compared to others.
And it can show in anything with dark colours/shades:
https://youtu.be/34bqY7CToHg?t=318

zAndy1 · 10 May 2021 at 21:35

I had the GL850 and sent it back pronto, I tried playing the medium on it and it was bloody awful. Blacks were grey and it glowed especially in the bottom left corner. It was literally impossible to see what was going on it was that bad. There's no way I'd have an IPS monitor again, has to be VA or oled , IPS just ruins the graphical fidelity and when you've spent a lot on a high end PC that's criminal really

Jimbeam3678 · 10 May 2021 at 21:57

So what did you get instead ?

MissChief · 10 May 2021 at 22:21

Why limit yourself to 16:9? 21:9 is the future!

Game · 11 May 2021 at 07:07

MissChief said:
Why limit yourself to 16:9? 21:9 is the future!

each to there own but it would depend on the games you play

got a dell s2721dgfa at the weekend and very happy with it for me the blacks look fine had to fiddle with the colors but they are very rich and vibrant

but was on a 144hz TN panel before at 1080p

it also ticks all the conectivity boxes and has a good range of movement

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/dell/s2721dgf

zAndy1 · 11 May 2021 at 08:02

Jimbeam3678 said:
So what did you get instead ?

I haven't yet. I'm really struggling, options are the Samsung G7 or I might just get an LG CX/C1 oled instead. I find this monitor business really frustrating, anything decent costs too much in my opinion for a 27" screen with crap HDR hence the looking at the LG OLEDs instead and using it from more of a distance, at least it will do the PC justice