Choosing a good computer monitor?

Overread · Oct 28, 2016

So I'm starting to think I really need a better screen than the cheap (very cheap) one I've got right now. I know there's features that favour photography with regard to the contrast and maintaining a constant appearance no matter the viewing angle; though the name of that feature escapes me.

I'm also aware that that feature tends to impact on refresh rates and since I also use my computer for gaming it would help if any who have suggestions of decent monitors could also give mind to that aspect as a good fast refresh is important to me with this upgrade as well

I'm not totally desperate for a huge high res monster; but I need something more serviceable than what I have [and as the computer game world is slowly inching into widescreen only games I kind of need to shift into widescreen* as well).

*even though I personally much prefer a nice square view.

Causapscal · Oct 28, 2016

Just bought BenQ 27 inches and I'm very happy of my choice :1219:

RowdyRay · Oct 28, 2016

Well, my son is a computer guru and a HUGE gamer. He gets kicked from servers all the time because they think he's cheating. Not making that up. I'm 54 and try to keep up with these young punks. Have a smoking PC, thanks to him, but my monitor was holding me back. Missed things when the action got nuts, like explosions and such. He bought one of these monitors and was so impressed he gave me one for Christmas last year.

AOC 24" E2476VWM6 Class LED Monitor E2476VWM6 B&H Photo

Major improvement. Now I give them a run for their money. Lol. He's since upgraded to a 600.00 4K unit, but gave his to my other son. Several others have it too, and can't say enough about it. It's crystal clear, fast and won't break the bank. I just started to take photography seriously, about 8 months ago. Pictures have never looked so good. Not sure if it can be calibrated. Others might chime in.

weepete · Oct 28, 2016

Well the good news is that you can play with a 4:3 aspect ratio on a widescreen monitor if you wish

The trouble us that good photography monitors and gaming monitors are a different beast. For editing you want a good IPS display, for gaming you generally want a display with a high response rate (<5ms) and a good refresh rate (>120hz). This is also assuming that your processor is good enough, your gfx card is good enough and your memory is also good enough to get the performance you need.

It also depends on the games you play. Similar to lenses, not everyone needs an f1.2!

If you are really good with reations and are playing FPS' then I'd say go for a two monitor setup. One IPS for editing and one TN for gaming (<1ms and 144mhz but you need at least 144fps for that to count, so if you only get <110 fps then a >120hz TN panel will do for gaming). If your reactions are not good or you are not twitch gaming then you may not notice the input lag. And of course there are other causes of input lag too.....

As with cameras, what is your rig spec, budget and what do you want to play?

Linky to follow.

weepete · Oct 28, 2016

Oh and there are a few more things with proper gaming monitors, like the black and white point adjustment. With FPS' you want low contrast (as it reduces flashbang whiteout and brigthtens making it easier to see lurkers hiding in shadows. I have a BenQ 144mhz gaming monitor (budget end but was still £200 and it has some great features, bluelight, gaming settings (switchable on monitor) but doesn't do proper blacks.

weepete · Oct 28, 2016

Linky: this is one of the best sites I found....

Best Gaming Monitor (Buyer's Guide) - 2016 Edition

Generic Discaimer: other people might prefer a different thing. You may too.

Overread · Oct 29, 2016

My thanks all

Pete I tend to play more RTS games than first person shooters and don't do much online competitively at all. So whilst I value good smooth action I'm not in great need of super high performance that those who twitch game require. Warhammer Total War is likely the most demanding game I have performance wise and I've my eye on Witcher 3 but would rather upgrade my graphics card before that (at present its the weak point in my system).

System:
Win 8.1
16GB RAM
‌Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz
GeForce GTX 660

weepete · Oct 31, 2016

Well in that case something like an ASUS MG279Q would be a good choice, it's a 27 inch IPS panel with hi res and 144hz (which is definatley smoother than 60hz) and a good response time of 4ms. I like Asus as a brand too, I've had a few of their products over the years and have found them to be reliable. I recently got myself a Ben-Q monitor and have been impressed with that too, though it's a TN panel rather than an IPS but that was due to my own budget constraints.