What To Look For In A Gaming Monitor

Gaming Monitor

A monitor is basically the life of your computer setup, especially if you are a gamer or a content creator. Commonly people don’t spend much of their budget on the display whenever they are building a new gaming PC and forget that a monitor is indeed the most important part of your PC setup because the only thing a gamer is going to look at while playing games is the monitor. In a nutshell, good monitors are overlooked most of the time.

If you are on a strict budget and take a look at this guide to gaming monitors under $200.

In my opinion, Monitors are overlooked by most gamers because of the vast amount of variety of options available in the market, most people get confused and because of that they just pick up what’s easily available without going into the details or specs of that monitor. Well, you are in luck, as we’re going to address this issue today in this article and possibly give you an idea about what to look out for whenever you are in the market to purchase a new monitor for your new or old gaming setup. So, buckle up and read on!

Screen Size

The first and most important part of your computer’s display is its size. Start by taking your time and thinking about your needs. Your computer’s display size depends on how you intend to use it. Usually, for gamers big screens aren’t the best, because they have to focus and indulge in the screen, especially for esports player to aim precisely they need a small screen rather than a big screen, so they won’t have to roll their eye-balls in order to hit those headshots in-game and what not because let’s be honest – a big screen lets you have a wider and bigger image but technically bigger displays aren’t best for gamers. On the other hand, when it comes to content creators, writers, and basically the average users; a big screen is what is best, especially for video editors.

  • 24 inch Monitors – For Gamers, esports players and entry-level consumers.
  • 27-29 inch Monitors – For average consumer, writers and novice content creators.
  • 32-34 inch Monitors – For content creators that can benefit from a larger image and etc.

Panel type

The second most important part of a monitor is the panel type. There are mainly three types of panels available in the market right now. I will cut to the chase here and mention them below with their characteristics.

  • TN Panel – The most common type, “Twisted Nematic” a TN panel is supposedly faster in terms of response and refresh times but bad in terms of viewing angles and image quality at the same time. Gamers can benefit from it while content creators and the general consumer should steer away from this panel type.
  • IPS Panel – The perfect type (in my opinion), “In Plane Switching” display, an IPS display is usually slower in terms of response and refresh times, but can produce excellent image quality, great color accuracy, and perfect viewing angles all at the same time. Technically this is the best for everything but not that best in games when compared to TN’s response times.
  • VA Panel – A mix of TN and IPS, “Vertical Alignment” display, a VA panel is a type of LCD technically closer to TN but having great contrast and image depth. One drawback of the VA panel is the slow response time. I think VA panels are great for novice buyers because you can never go wrong with a balanced panel if you don’t know the details.

Refresh Rate

The third most important factor of a display when it comes to gaming is the refresh rate (calculated in Hertz ‘Hz’). The refresh rate is basically the time a monitor refreshes its image, the faster the refresh rate the faster the image will refresh, supposedly giving you an edge in games that require faster reactions like Counter-Strike Global Offensive and several other shooter games. Basically gamers who play competitive games should go for a higher refresh monitor, technically a 144Hz, 165Hz or 240Hz monitor. But know that with higher refresh rates and response times comes the bad viewing angles because most fast monitors are built with TN panels rather than IPS.

Aspect Ratio

In 2019, different aspect ratios have been introduced by manufacturers, it all started when ultrawide monitors became more common. The most common aspect ratio is 16:9 (Normal Monitors) while the second most common is 21:9 (Ultrawide Monitors). This is purely based on personal opinion. But if you’re a gamer and your sole purpose is to the only game then 16:9 is the way to go as most of the games support 16:9 while some games are not supported by the 21:9 ratio. If you’re curious and want to explore the best 21:9 ratio monitors, fret not as we’ve got you covered with this topic here.

  • 16:9 – For competitive gamers, esports players.
  • 21:9 – For AAA gaming, and geek-heads who want to explore the latest tech of 2019.

Verdict

We have covered all of the basic points that should be kept in mind whenever you are purchasing a new monitor for gaming. In the end, things come down to personal preference and opinions but still, these aspects will help you in purchasing the best monitor for your gaming needs.

You can also check an excellent gaming monitor article here.

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