I do not understand monitor specs, please recommend one

[m4ttyb0y007]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for some help buying a PC monitor, I really don't understand all this dynamic contrast vs contrast stuff, refresh rates, response rates etc.. I would like somebody to recommend me a monitor that is at most £130 (im in the UK) that can do at least 1080p gaming.

My PC specs are:

CPU - i5 4690k
GPU - AMD Radeon R9 280X
Ram - 8GB

I'd like it to be no smaller than 22-23 inches, and have really clear colours that aren't washed out at all.

Many thanks!

 

[Rhezner]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-monitor-22mp55hqp

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009Y4FAVC/?tag=pcp0f-21

here are a couple nice ips monitors that i would recommend

P.S. have you built your PC yet? i could have a go at the parts.

 

[m4ttyb0y007]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-monitor-22mp55hqp

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009Y4FAVC/?tag=pcp0f-21

here are a couple nice ips monitors that i would recommend

P.S. have you built your PC yet? i could have a go at the parts.

Yeah the PC is up and running but on an old monitor I have (1050p I think), so please don't tell me my PC is terrible

 

[Rhezner]

its a good PC, i can usually improve peoples builds though.

 

[m4ttyb0y007]

its a good PC, i can usually improve peoples builds though.

A response time of 5ms sounds a bit high...?

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

It's not. 5 ms is fast enough to draw the frame before you see it. On a 60 Hz panel that would be every 16.67 ms, meaning everything lower than that is exactly the same.

 

[m4ttyb0y007]

It's not. 5 ms is fast enough to draw the frame before you see it. On a 60 Hz panel that would be every 16.67 ms, meaning everything lower than that is exactly the same.

Is that true? So what's the point of the 1/2ms monitors that are 60hz?

 

[Rhezner]

there is a difference and it will add to latence but ips monitors are almost always higher latency than tn monitors and 5ms really isn't noticeable unless you are a super hardcore fps gamer, IPS on the other hand is really noticeable

 

[m4ttyb0y007]

And what do we think regarding contrast ratios? Both of the monitors you suggested were 1000:1, that also doesn't seem very high...?

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Latency (input delay) is not related to response time. Both TN and IPS panels are down to 10 ms input delay. OP, that is because they know people think lower is better--marketing.

 

[m4ttyb0y007]

Latency (input delay) is not related to response time. Both TN and IPS panels are down to 10 ms input delay. OP, that is because they know people think lower is better--marketing.

I've been looking up contrast ratios and it seems higher is better, not lower...?

What do you think of the two monitors Rhezner suggested? Do you have any recommendations?

 

[aznricepuff]

Response time is the time it takes for a pixel on the monitor to fully change from one color to another. Lower response times means less ghosting (which is when you see trailing 'ghosts' of a rapidly moving image on your screen). Typically 5 ms is very good. Although I can see ghosting on my PB278Q which is also rated as 5 ms response time, I have to look carefully for it and it's not really noticeable in everyday use.

Input lag/latency is different from, but related to, response time. Input lag is basically how long it takes for the monitor to draw a frame once the GPU sends it. There's basically two contributors to input lag: signal processing time and response time, and the two more or less sum to equal overall input lag. So higher response time does mean higher input lag, but it can be offset by lower signal processing time, so a monitor with a slower response time does not necessarily have more input lag than another one with a faster response time.

Manufacturers don't generally publish input lag figures for their monitors, so the only way to find them is to read reviews.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Manufacturers measure these things differently. You can't compare specs when it comes to a monitor, other than size, resolution and panel type (TN/MVA/IPS/PLS).

Edit: Response time should be completely ignored. Depending on refresh rate, youll be limited to 16, 8 and 6 ms regardless. And it doesn't stop there. A 5 ms can be faster than a 1 ms, but we've reached the point around 5 years ago where response time no longer matters. We get ghosting because we're not using a CRT, Plasma, OLED... LCD can never get to that higher level, because it's entirely different.

 

[m4ttyb0y007]

Response time is the time it takes for a pixel on the monitor to fully change from one color to another. Lower response times means less ghosting (which is when you see trailing 'ghosts' of a rapidly moving image on your screen). Typically 5 ms is very good. Although I can see ghosting on my PB278Q which is also rated as 5 ms response time, I have to look carefully for it and it's not really noticeable in everyday use.

Input lag/latency is different from, but related to, response time. Input lag is basically how long it takes for the monitor to draw a frame once the GPU sends it. There's basically two contributors to input lag: signal processing time and response time, and the two more or less sum to equal overall input lag. So higher response time does mean higher input lag, but it can be offset by lower signal processing time, so a monitor with a slower response time does not necessarily have more input lag than another one with a faster response time.

Manufacturers don't generally publish input lag figures for their monitors, so the only way to find them is to read reviews.

Interesting, thanks for the info. Do you think the two monitors that Rhezner suggested are decent for my needs? I want 1080p single-monitor gaming with extremely sharp colours...

 

[m4ttyb0y007]

What do you guys think of this monitor?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BenQ-GL2450HM-Widescreen-Multimedia-speakers/dp/B005OPLG0O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1438886176&sr=8-2&keywords=gaming+monitor

It's a TN panel, is that ok?