I’ll be frank, most panels are ‘budget brand’ in that aside from advertised specs quality control on colour/brightness uniformity, dead pixels etc. is lacking across most manufacturers. If you see the term ‘panel lottery’ this is referring to having to return a monitor over and over to get one that has the least issues.
To counter the impression on Viewsonic, they have a model which has one of the best motion response at 1080p 240Hz (Viewsonic XG2431). This doesn’t stop them from having same issues listed above, but you’re buying it for a specific purpose so you won’t care about that much.
If you want a size upgrade then grab a 27” 1080p 60Hz (this will lower pixel density).
If you want a clarity upgrade get a 1440p (this will increase GPU workload)
If you want motion response/smoothness upgrade get a 120Hz+ (your framerate will need to match or increase accordingly if using freesync/gsync).
If you just want a replacement for your dead monitor I wouldn’t spend new money on old spec kit, and rather grab one second-hand.
If its for work I reccomend the 27" AOC ergo monitors. They are great (albeit 60hz).
Recently I wanted more real estate on my monitor and tried an Acer ultra wide. My dock was only able to drive at 50hz and the quality compared to the AOC wasnt great so I ditched that.
I had tried a 1440p 27" monitor before but it was too hard on my eyes (glasses - sigh).
Ultimately went with this odd ball monitor which I am thrilled with; Lenovo 31.5" QHD Monitor - 2560x1440 75Hz 4ms IPS Panel. There arent many reviews but I absolutely love it. Apparently the only thing better than one of these is two side by side (but my desk is too small).
SpartanVXL: I’ll be frank, most panels are ‘budget brand’ in that aside from advertised specs quality control on colour/brightness uniformity, dead pixels etc. is lacking across most manufacturers. If you see the term ‘panel lottery’ this is referring to having to return a monitor over and over to get one that has the least issues.
To counter the impression on Viewsonic, they have a model which has one of the best motion response at 1080p 240Hz (Viewsonic XG2431). This doesn’t stop them from having same issues listed above, but you’re buying it for a specific purpose so you won’t care about that much.
If you want a size upgrade then grab a 27” 1080p 60Hz (this will lower pixel density).
If you want a clarity upgrade get a 1440p (this will increase GPU workload)
If you want motion response/smoothness upgrade get a 120Hz+ (your framerate will need to match or increase accordingly if using freesync/gsync).
If you just want a replacement for your dead monitor I wouldn’t spend new money on old spec kit, and rather grab one second-hand.
Thanks for the helpful reply
Can you explain your comment on size upgrade and pixel density? Is this a good or bad thing?
For MSFS it’s basically a low FPS game with slowish movements but want clarity.
I’m now tossing up between a 23” 1440 or 27” 1080
I get your comment on putting money into old spec but I’m weary of buying second hand. Prefer to buy new as at least you have warranty for a while.
If you had a 21” 1080p monitor and are upgrading to a 27” 1080p monitor you will have lower pixel density. This is because you have the same resolution (pixels) spread over a larger surface area.
Given the same vision acuity, pixels will appear larger/visible and may produce a blockier/stretched/aliased image compared to a screen with denser pixel arrangement.
You can move the screen back a bit to reduce this (given your vision level) as it will take up less of your field of view but of course make the screen appear smaller.
A higher pixel density is sharper/clearer as there are more pixels in the same area to represent the image. The caveat of course is your GPU will need to work harder to drive those pixels. Things may also appear smaller if they are not scaled properly for more pixels. (Common problem with 4k)
This is partly why for example 720p media is more acceptable on phone/tablet screens vs larger screens.
Edit: For MSFS then ideally you’d go 1440p 60Hz with at least freesync/gsync support. Check Nvidias site for compatible monitors on gsync (freesync is support via Displayport on nvidia GPU’s).
If the cost is close enough to 120Hz+ then go with a 1440p 120Hz+ monitor with freesync. You want the freesync/gsync/VRR feature as this gives better motion clarity overall versus a locked refresh rate.
And yea, backlight bleed is very common in IPS panels. As I mentioned it’s not really part of QC for manufacturers of monitors so they don’t bother.
24” 1080p 75hz with 1ms response time for $228 https://www.computerlounge.co.nz/shop/peripherals/monitors/gaming-monitors/acer-k242hyl-24-fhd-1ms-250nits-freesync-gaming-monitor
Or
27” 1440p , 165hz 1ms response time for $348 https://www.computerlounge.co.nz/shop/peripherals/monitors/gaming-monitors/viewsonic-vx2718-2kpc-mhd-27-qhd-165hz-1ms-va-curved-gaming-monitor
Which one would perform the best under a RTX2060 Super ?
I’ll still have my other 23” 1080p 60hz on the side
The 24” 1080p 75Hz will be easier for the 2060 to run. I would however try to find one with displayport as this monitor only have hdmi given the specs listed. Without it you won’t be able to use VRR.
The 1440p will look sharper but be harder to run at acceptable framerate (30+ at ultra), may need to look at gpu upgrade or wait until DLSS is implemented for Flight simulator.
SpartanVXL: The 24” 1080p 75Hz will be easier for the 2060 to run. I would however try to find one with displayport as this monitor only have hdmi given the specs listed. Without it you won’t be able to use VRR.
The 1440p will look sharper but be harder to run at acceptable framerate (30+ at ultra), may need to look at gpu upgrade or wait until DLSS is implemented for Flight simulator.
kiwis: Right, so based on all of this here’s two options
24” 1080p 75hz with 1ms response time for $228 https://www.computerlounge.co.nz/shop/peripherals/monitors/gaming-monitors/acer-k242hyl-24-fhd-1ms-250nits-freesync-gaming-monitor
Ignore manufacturers claimed response times - esp "1ms" ones. They are complete marketing BS and are meaningless.
Best to check out a proper review site for what you are purchasing - e.g. RTings.com or Hardware Unboxed.
Other thing to consider is panel type VA or IPS. In general VA has nicer contrast better blacks but slower response times (if 1ms is quoted it is utter nonsense). Can also have horrid ''black smearing' with fast moving dark objects - most VA panels have some degree of this. IPS may faster, don't have black smearing, but have lower contrast ratios so don't look quite as good in a dark room because they don't produce as nicer blacks. Hardware Unboxed has a good video on the pros and cons of various panels.
VRR stands for Variable Refresh Rate, it’s a feature that lets the monitor match the refresh rate to the framerate of the device instead of a static frequency.
E.g. if your game was outputting 60fps you could have v-sync enabled to sync your framerate to the monitor refresh rate (60Hz). With VRR the monitor will match the framerate instead, if performance isn’t able to match 60fps all the time it can be dynamic with VRR and not produce tearing artefacts. With traditional v-sync framerate would drop to 30fps to match 1:2 to the refresh rate.
Freesync/G-sync are vendor monikers for VRR, for AMD/Nvidia respectively. Nvidia cards are able to use freesync but only via Displayport connection not HDMI.
If you want a feature upgrade at least it would be worth getting a monitor with this available.
Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly
to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.
ID Verified
Trusted
