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"Gaming" monitors -- do they make a difference?

S

Shyatic

Platinum Member
I am in the market to possibly replace my second monitor as it's a bit old and none of the USB ports on it work (which was kind of why I liked it). I have an IPS Dell monitor as my main monitor currently, but I'm wondering whether it makes sense to replace it with a gaming monitor, since that's primarily what I do on the PC.

Any thoughts? I have a 27" inch main monitor, so I would replace it with something of a similar size... does not need speakers, but USB would be nice. I mostly play Counterstrike, if that is helpful at all.

Thanks for your thoughts, and suggestions.
 
Obviously they do make a difference especially in fast paced games like counterstrike where people are famous for still using CRT's as they are they only things responsive enough.

Make sure whatever you buy has low input lag. If you really want to take it seriously get a 120hz monitor.
 
The "Gaming" tag? Not necessarily.

However, there are specific features and functionality that does preferentially affect gaming. One of the big ones is refresh rate. Gaming is simply better at a higher refresh rate, mostly due to input lag and motion blur.

Not all games are the same, though, and the aspects that drive the "gaming" label are most important for high-speed games like FPS. A nice slow MMORPG doesn't have the same impact on gameplay from the monitor (though it's still nice).

The biggest feature for gaming however is variable refresh. Right now, that means G-Sync, though if you don't have an Nvidia card this isn't an option. AMD is planning a challenger, but it will be a while before it's available in a product. But there is simply nothing at all like variable refresh for changing your gaming experience. No stutter, no tearing, no added input lag. Play with the max refresh rate and resolution all you want, very little comes even close to the impact that getting rid of stuttering and tearing has on the gaming experience.

I wouldn't recommend replacing a monitor just to get the "Gaming" tag on it. But if you're replacing one anyway, they're definitely nice. Some people will claim that if you don't use IPS you're an idiot, but things aren't that simple. All monitors, all panels have tradeoffs, and I find people often like to pretend what they traded off isn't important to anyone if they don't think it's important, which is rather shortsighted.

As far as suggestions, some more info would be helpful. What's your hardware, particularly your GPU setup? What's your budget?
 
I guess the price range of ~$300, or more. My GPU was a higher end Radeon, from about a year+ ago. Can't recall which one in particular though, as I'm at work.
 
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The XL2720Z is one of the best lightboost 2 monitors out there, its a very good monitor for gamers. Gets good results on the tftcentral reviews for latency and blur and such.
 
I use a 120hz lightboost monitor - for gaming it is great but beware you will sacrifice a bit on colours. All these fast TN panels look a bit washed out colour wise vs a top IPS display. That's not to say the colours are terrible, but if you are sensitive to these things you will notice - that's the trade off you make however for very high responsiveness and smooth gameplay.
 
Not sure about calling it "Gaming" monitors although I suppose that would be why you would buy one.

The biggest difference by far is going from 60hz -> 120/144hz which is probably one of the single most noticeable things you can do. With or without lightboost you notice the increased motion clarity.

"It's just nice" is the best way I can describe it. 😛
 
I have to recant -- I have a 24" monitor currently. What is the best 24" 120/144hz monitor out there today? Anybody have a link?

Thanks!
 
Good luck.

I always wondered why people care much about gaming monitors or ones with high refresh. You are still at the mercy of your internet connection, and having a 1ms refresh rate when you have a 40ms ping makes it seem a little bit... Pointless.
 
brandonb said:
Good luck.

I always wondered why people care much about gaming monitors or ones with high refresh. You are still at the mercy of your internet connection, and having a 1ms refresh rate when you have a 40ms ping makes it seem a little bit... Pointless.
Click to expand...

you're trolling right? mouse->screen movement doesn't wait for game servers.
 
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