With so many options on the market, it’s hard to choose the best gaming monitor. There are devices with different features that can confuse even the most experienced pro-players.
The fact is that choosing a good product does impact the gaming experience. Some tips can make it easier when you decide to buy a gaming monitor.
Check out the main ones.
LED vs LCD
When looking for a gaming monitor, you’ll find two main screen technology options: LCD and LED. In comparison, each does better at different points. Therefore, paying attention to what you expect from this peripheral hardware is essential.
The LCD is the cheapest and is highlighted in cool colours. The technology of this device consists of a so-called liquid crystal display with a fluorescent lamp behind it. This white light, technically called CCFL, illuminates cells of primary colours (blue, green, and red, or RGB) and forms the images on the screen.
The properties of LCD screens ensure a good level of brightness but also make the monitor darker when viewed from certain angles. In addition, the white colour is “purer”. Due to these characteristics, this type of peripheral hardware is more suitable for those who enjoy colourful and bright games.
On the other hand, LED monitors are more expensive and leave shades more vivid, thanks to their more advanced lighting technology. However, keep in mind that the brightness can be excessive, and colours tend to lean towards warm tones – for example, white can turn slightly yellow. These types of hardware are recommended for those who prefer dark and gloomy games like the Dark Souls franchise.
Also, read What Is The Best Size Monitor For Gaming?
Response time
Another important feature when choosing a suitable device is the monitor’s response time, in other words, the frames per second. This factor measures how long the machine takes to play an image, so the smaller it is, the better for gaming.
It is essential to have maximum hardware efficiency, including the monitor, during gameplay.
In milliseconds, the response time is calculated from how much it takes for an all-black pixel to achieve pure white. A quality gaming monitor should have a response time of fewer than two milliseconds. More than that, his performance can disrupt your matches.
Update rate
Directly linked to response time is the refresh rate. This factor measures how often the device can update images, measured in Hz (hertz). The higher this number, the more fluid the playbacks on the monitor.
The standard refresh rate is, on average, 60 Hz. The recommended on an excellent gaming monitor is 75 Hz, being possible to find monitors that reach up to 120 Hz on the market. This is because, during a game, more speed is needed to update the images and ensure the greatest possible accuracy.
Also, read Things To Consider Before Buying White Gaming Mouse
Resolution and Size
With each passing year, gaming technology evolves and brings more incredible innovations. If we didn’t imagine the possibility of playing in 4K high definition seven years ago, today, this is a reality.
That’s why monitor resolution is so important – it’s no use having a powerful graphics card when the peripheral isn’t capable of generating amazing images. Today, it is possible to find an affordable gaming monitor with full HD resolution (1920×1080 @ 75 Hz) that perfectly fits different play styles.
Monitor size matters when thinking about maximum screen resolution.
A good size for this resolution is 27 inches. Attention: don’t be seduced by gigantic screen sizes! We usually play short distances from the monitor, so medium sizes are recommended.
A good tip for measuring monitor size is to place the ruler diagonally across the screen. It is with this standard that companies work. If you already have this number in inches, you don’t need to do anything else. However, if the object you used to measure is in centimetres, divide the obtained value by 2.54.
Also, read Why You Need a Project Management Tool
Connectors
Monitors typically have three different inputs. They are VGA, HDMI and DisplayPort. Check out some details about them:
- VGA: The oldest connector type, usually found on equipment developed in the 2000s. It is not recommended for those who want to play in high quality.
- HDMI: The most common input on modern devices, HDMI transfers video and audio in good quality. However, this entry cannot share high resolutions with great refresh rates.
- DisplayPort: The best option for those who want to play with quality.
Resolution compatible with video card
Another important factor when deciding which monitor to buy is video card compatibility. You must check your machine settings before hitting the hammer and choosing a screen to play on.
It will only be possible to have a 4K resolution if the video card supports this monitor feature. The screen image may not reach its maximum potential if the other hardware present in the machine does not help.
Adaptive sync
When the computer settings are not 100%, it is widespread for the image frames to break. This happens when they are produced in a larger quantity with high speed and when being sent to the monitor, this device takes longer to respond, generating time lapses.
Because of this, FreeSync (AMD) and G-Sync (NVIDIA) technologies were developed to solve these problems. Thus, image synchronisation devices end up helping to avoid hardware breakdowns, optimising communication between the video card and the monitor.
On gaming monitors, the lower the response rate, the better.
