IPS or 120hz TN panel for 'regular' gamer?

[Slaanesh]

Now that my trusty old 19" CRT monitor is finally starting to die on me (I have to turn the brightness all the way up to 100% to get some light out of it) the time has come to buy a (*shudder*) LCD monitor.

I'm not happy I have to do this, cause the IQ of the LCD screens my friends have (all TN panels) is really extremely bad. So I was tempted to buy an IPS monitor (like the Dell 2311 or 2312) cause they're supposed to have a slightly better IQ.

But now I'm reading all over the internet that anyone who is more than a casual gamer should buy a 120hz TN panel cause of it's speed and responsiveness.

So I need some advice: for a regular, non-casual but also non-professional gamer, who loves FPS as well as RTS, RPG and adventure games, and has gamed all his life on a CRT monitor, what would be the preferable choice? Is the responsiveness of a Dell IPS monitor really that bad? Or is the IQ of those new 120hz TN's not as horrible as I think?

Thanks!!

 

[vbuggy]

I think there's more than a grain of truth in there, but you have to then offset that against your IQ requirements.

I personally can't use a large-screen TN panel (i.e. >19") as the colour shifts, the fringing around pixels, inferior coatings in some cases and other issues just gets to me too much in everyday use. Mind you, the last large TN screen I bought was like 2009 so things should have moved on a bit.

I think though that if you're ultimately not hung up about the last millisecond of reaction time you can wring out, I'd go with an xVA or an IPS screen. Just a nicer experience on a daily basis IMO.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Now that my trusty old 19" CRT monitor is finally starting to die on me (I have to turn the brightness all the way up to 100% to get some light out of it) the time has come to buy a (*shudder*) LCD monitor.

I'm not happy I have to do this, cause the IQ of the LCD screens my friends have (all TN panels) is really extremely bad. So I was tempted to buy an IPS monitor (like the Dell 2311 or 2312) cause they're supposed to have a slightly better IQ.

But now I'm reading all over the internet that anyone who is more than a casual gamer should buy a 120hz TN panel cause of it's speed and responsiveness.

So I need some advice: for a regular, non-casual but also non-professional gamer, who loves FPS as well as RTS, RPG and adventure games, and has gamed all his life on a CRT monitor, what would be the preferable choice? Is the responsiveness of a Dell IPS monitor really that bad? Or is the IQ of those new 120hz TN's not as horrible as I think?

Thanks!!

I went from a CRT to one of Samsung's older PVA panels in 2005~. I noticed the lag difference. I now game on an MVA Panel [HP LP2275w] and I do not notice any kind of input lag.

Get a good, modern xVA or xIPS panel and you will be good.

 

[Ben90]

Fortunately you have most of the tools available to diagnose if you really want a 120Hz LCD : A CRT.

Run First run that beast at 120Hz for a few hours then bring it down to 60Hz. Try to imagine no flicker and just base judgement on the framerate only. Then you will be able to weigh the importance of IQ/Hz yourself.

 

[Ichigo]

For me, a 120hz monitor was really great. As a note I used to use one of the Dell models (2004WFP or something) that had some sort of PVA/MVA panel.

It's not so much the responsiveness that's a big deal, as I think a good IPS with low response time is fine for almost anyone. But it's gotten to the point where I can now tell between 60hz and 120hz monitors based on how smooth things move. It'd be really hard to go back.

However, if you got used to the better IQ of a monitor with a better panel, I'm sure you couldn't go back from that either.

Playing TF2 and other games at 60fps vs 120fps is a big difference to me though. Unfortunately it means I have to buy a new video card for BF3 to maintain a high enough framerate though.

 

[Slaanesh]

Fortunately you have most of the tools available to diagnose if you really want a 120Hz LCD : A CRT.

Run First run that beast at 120Hz for a few hours then bring it down to 60Hz. Try to imagine no flicker and just base judgement on the framerate only. Then you will be able to weigh the importance of IQ/Hz yourself.

That's some very interesting advice...

I'm running most games at 1600x1200 x 75hz, which is my CRT's max refresh rate for this resolution. Obviously I'm completely fine with this (I'm used to it).
On paper it looks like there's only a small difference with 60hz.

But I don't think 60hz on a CRT translates to a similar experience on a 60hz LCD, right? I mean that would mean that a 120hz TN panel would be alot smoother and more responsive than my CRT, which I highly doubt, no?


(concerning framerate: I usually don't enable v-sync, which might be the reason 75hz doesnt bother me..)

 

[QuantumPion]

It's really a hard decision to make.

I used to have an IPS and now use a 120 hz. After a few months of using it, I now find that I am accustomed to the 120hz refresh but I've never gotten used to the lower image quality and still miss the IPS sometimes. But I think I would miss the 120 hz more if I did switch back.


"Kif! We have a conundrum!"

*sigh*

 

[Cerb]

I think there's more than a grain of truth in there, but you have to then offset that against your IQ requirements.

I personally can't use a large-screen TN panel (i.e. >19") as the colour shifts, the fringing around pixels, inferior coatings in some cases and other issues just gets to me too much in everyday use. Mind you, the last large TN screen I bought was like 2009 so things should have moved on a bit.

Not really. Color shifting (viewing angle) has improved a bit, but the rest...no. If I was buying sight-unseen, it would be a hard choice between "matte" and glossy, as well, because most of the "matte" displays are bad anti-glare coatings that look like someone sprayed a light syrup solution on the monitor and then let it dry, not real matte displays, or quality AR coatings (elitist note: I'm typing this on a '05 vintage matte NEC IPS with a quality anti-glare coating).

As for the OP, is there any chance of seeing various monitors in person? Even among TNs, there are worlds of differences in IQ. I like my TN monitors, but most of the cheap crap that comes with computers, and that goes on sale at the retail joints, have pitiful IQ. Unbearable backlight bleed, washed-out colors regardless of settings, backlights with a dominant hue of some kind (so it never can be made to look white enough), bad coatings, and not enough OSD options to make up for the color issues are all common. OTOH, business-oriented TNs tend to not be 120Hz, and tend to have high input lag. But...so-so IPS monitors will look better than the best TN monitors for anything but line edges.

Unfortunately, there isn't really a good way to tell if you could come to like a good TN monitor without, well, trying out a good TN monitor, and comparing it to a decent IPS. Whether a low-lag IPS or high-refresh low-lag TN is the better choice is not easy, as it heavily revolves around your personal perception of the displays. The safest option, however, would be an IPS display of known high quality and low input lag.

 

[Ichigo]

It's really a hard decision to make.

I used to have an IPS and now use a 120 hz. After a few months of using it, I now find that I am accustomed to the 120hz refresh but I've never gotten used to the lower image quality and still miss the IPS sometimes. But I think I would miss the 120 hz more if I did switch back.


"Kif! We have a conundrum!"

*sigh*

So definitely don't buy both, obviously. =p

 

[SZLiao214]

What type of system and games do you play? To get the most out of the 120hz you need to be able to run 120fps. That's not so easy unless you keep up with hardware.

 

[Mongrelchops]

Is there a size or budget you want to stick to? as a lot of monitors seem to vary greatly within their size ranges. The Asus VS247H (24" all but) seems to get a good review of late - not an IPS, but seems good value and colour display is apparently very accurate?