IPS or VA monitor?

What do you think for a 1440p 27" 165hz monitor - IPS or VA?

VA is attractive because it seems like it could make the game more immersive. But I’m pretty afraid of ghosting. Buut I’ve read that this monitor has very low ghosting: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-27-curved-gaming-monitor-s2722dgm/apd/210-azzp/monitors-monitor-accessories

On the other hand, look at this IPS monitor for $70 cheaper including shipping: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Xgaming-27-inch-Curved-Gaming-Monitor-Ultra-Wide-16-9-PC-Monitor-165Hz-Refresh-Rate-QHD-2560-x-1440-Display-DisplayPort-HDMI-Speakers-Metal-Black/2097826017

What do you think? I’m tempted to get the Dell because it’d be more reliable, but maybe IPS would be better? And this cheap IPS monitor seems to be alright… unless the info is a lie? The reviews certainly look fake.

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VA all the way. Truer blacks are almost always preferable over marginally better color accuracy.

IPS tries to sell itself on “exceptionally” better color accuracy but it’s never so much that it makes it stand out any more than a VA panel. It’s all marketing bull.

VA’s tried and true and has had more time to mature.

In the end, however, I will shill towards OLEDs, primarily by LG… The technology behind OLED has so rapidly improved that the basic nature of OLEDs to have image retention is almost completely gone away. Granted, you can still get image retention but instead of 3-4 months down the line, it’s closer to several years now.

I’m running an LG C2 43" 4K120Hz Gaming TV. Will never go back to standard monitor tech.

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That does sound ideal! Anyone have any experience playing the betas with a VA panel? Especially a budget one or one close to the Dell I linked. Any ghosting? Seems like a high risk with all the blacks and greys of D4.

And what’s your guys’ opinion on that wacky IPS panel from XGaming? Can’t find any reviews or mentions of this brand XGaming… I’m suspicious.

I suggest reading these articles so you can make an educated decision.

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OLED and its not even close.

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This guy makes great videos explaining the difference between IPS, VA and OLED:

Personally I won’t get VA. There are many dark settings in D4 and you may think that benefits the more true to black colours with the VA, but that makes things harder to see practically, there’s more smearing, and after 30 minutes with the more crisp IPS, you won’t care for the more faded blacks.

On the other hand, unless you have budget or good reasons, a 21:9 monitor helps a lot with D4 since it gives you an extra 4inches on both sides of the screen at your chosen size.
Personally a curve, especially under 1800R at 27 inches is probably uncomfortable and overkill.
But to each their own.
With the size you’re looking for, I got the MSI MAG301RF and there’s another in this size from Asus: ROG Strix XG309CM, both IPS, flat and ultrawide widescreen.

The 4k resolution is inconsequential to me, especially for the performance cost vs budget.
Also there are no 4k monitors at this dimension with ultrawide.

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Ghosting isn’t an issue on any decent panel.

VA is Samsungs little mix between TN and IPS. Nice blacks but without the backlight issues of IPS and yes, the back lightning is noticeable if your watching like a 4:3 movie or something. You won’t see it in anything full screen. IPS does have more vivid color. The color accuracy is better but not something you’ll notice in games.

I would recommend good old TFT Central to get a monitor total response times. Most will only tell you their screen delay which is only part of the equation for crisp movement.

EDIT: Oh, I should add. IPS really prefers being run an native resolution also.

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That’s a great looking monitor, thanks! But 1080p? Not too low of a PPI at that size? I appreciate the budget options though.

I did some research, and this channel that I linked to you has a video that talks about it as well, but for this 21:9 30inch monitor, or the 27inch 16:9, sitting at about 2-3 feet away is already at “retina display”. Which means you cannot discern individual pixels on a quality model of this size and density (IPS better here).
So there is very little difference at this size with a 4k monitor. This is as smooth as it needs to be for me. I wanted a flat 30inch ultrawide IPS monitor and there are only 2 it seems.
The problem with the curve at this size is that you can much more easily see non-straight lines horizontally across your screen and you get used to it, but it’s annoying to me, and the curve does nothing for “immersion” or sparing your peripheral vision.
They say such a curve below 1800R especially for monitors smaller than 34" is a waste.

All things considered, the ones I suggested, if you are in this price range and undecided was what I chose after doing a few weeks of research.
Now that I have it, I am very happy. I would advise you on Nvidia control panel settings if you get them.

IMO: if you are considering a monitor for D4, the ultrawide will be a much larger payoff than 4K. YOu see quite a bit more, the zoom level problem doesnt bother you that much anymore

OP is looking at $250 monitors bro

Anyways, I’ve had a lot of good times with Dell at around that price point. But you’d probably benefit from just watching a YouTube video specifically on both of those monitors. I’m sure there is a video.

Personally, the curve angle on the second one you’ve listed is very aggressive and would annoy me.

The color accuracy and “pop” on BenQ monitors is substantially better than my 3 old Dell 1440p ones that ranged in price from $300-$700. I used to be in love with Dell and have always went with them besides my old BEC Multisync back in the late 90s and my new Alienware. They’re reliable and look pretty good for the price, but nowadays there are some good competitors. You might want to check out what they have too, but it might be a bit too expensive. I’m not sure what they start at on the lower tier

I don’t think you’ll struggle with ghosting on newer, quality VA panels and the colors are solid on them. But that’s not the whole story. My $700 Dell IPS (part of the price is the G-Sync, and Freesync ones are completely fine nowadays) is sitting next to my $300 Dell IPS for work now, and the colors on them are drastically different. I prefer the whites on the cheaper one, but the color overall on the more expensive one is better, for example. It’s just extremely noticeable now that I have spreadsheets i am dragging in between the two :joy:

This. Especially on the size and assumed viewing distance OP is looking at.

Yeah, there’s a lot you can do to adjust colours on a mid-range monitor, both on the monitor and in driver control panel.
For a 27inch, 4k resolution doesn’t seem like a good deal, at budget level. Would rather go for a solid 1080p ultrawide IPS.

After playing on VA monitors, I can never go back to the abysmal contrast/black levels of IPS panels.

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VA panels have terrible smearing especially when the game you are playing is having dark environments.

I ordered a VA panel some month ago thinking “how bad could it possibly be?”, used it for just 15 minutes, then put it back in the box and sent it back.

Everything looked like in one of those superhero movies when someone is running extremely fast and leaving a “trail” behind them.
It was absolutely unbearable.

Now I am using an IPS panel and yes, the blacks aren’t as black as I would like them to be, but it is barely noticeably while you are actually gaming - unlike with the VA panel where the problems are showing up most noticeably during gaming.

Here is the monitor I am using now and I am extremely happy with it:
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-x34-wqhd-gaming-monitor?bvstate=pg:3/ct:r

nah most of you kids don’t understand the awesomeness of the good old CRT!!! You could slap the crap out of that thing in frustration!

Neither. Buy a LG C2 OLED 42" and don’t look back.

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Sadly not everyone has a $1000 budget for a monitor :pensive:

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İ think it comes down to personal preference at some point

İ have an lg ips and a samsung va panel

İ promised myself to never buy a VA … and never buy a samsung panel ever (monitor or tv)

As u guessed i would recommend an İPS panel preferrably an LG one

P.S. Also consider the max brightness nits some off brand ones are sometimes too dim

haha, even with all the money in the world, for my purposes I only want a 30inch flatscreen IPS monitor. Turns out that at that dimension, you dont get 4k ones, and 4k doesnt really matter at the size anyway, you can still get them at 200+hz

300nits seems to be about the minimum comfortable on a standard IPS.

I used a 27" 1440p Asus Tuff VA panel monitor in the Open Beta and Server Slam. The colors were amazing and blacks very deep.

I did not experience any smearing or ghosting in Diablo 4. Having said that, any ghosting I have experienced has predominantly been in first person games. It’s just a trade off of going with a VA panel.

I suggest you to avoid VA. Rather try to find a good IPS with low response times. I played on IPS TV for years, then tried one of the higher class Samsungs’ VA TV model and my eyes just hurt from the motion blur. No matter what setting i used on that screen (overdrive, etc. to reduce the ghosting), it was just awful. I suspect it to be similar on most VA panels (Samsung calls their VA panels ‘QLED’ for marketing purposes, as they know VA panels suck and this name sounds more like OLED which may appeal better for potential buyer)

Less motion blur is always more important than better contrast/colors if you want to play games.

Do some research on the pixel response time, that is the most important parameter on a screen that the sellers/manufacturers usually don’t even mention. It is far more important than refresh rate. If the values are over 10 ms, it is a bad screen that will have noticeable ghosting. Usually you can find these values for white to black transition and grey 40% to grey 60% or something like that. The grey transition is usually slower, but still shouldn’t exceed 10 ms, otherwise you will have significant ghosting.