[PCM2]

asiafan,

I’ve merged your thread with this one as it’s a suitable place.

There certainly are some VA models in the recommendations section. The sections which focus on colour-critical work are exclusively IPS without exception for reasons covered in the introductory paragraph. In the remaining sections there is a mixture, but there are some reasons they’re generally weighted more heavily towards IPS. The only VA models that really put in a strong performance for faster paced gaming are the curved Samsung Odyssey G7s. Covered in the recommended gaming monitors section and linked threads such as this one. Note that you can’t buy ‘4K’ UHD VA models that are smaller than ~32″, either. And most manufacturers are now focusing much more heavily on IPS models than VA. This is driven by general consumer preference for the former.

I’d advise not just skimming through the recommendations themselves, but also the accompanying articles, reviews and forum threads linked to on those pages. Our panel types article, for example, has been continuously updated and summarises the relative strengths and weaknesses of both panel types very well. Our reviews explore these relative strengths and weaknesses in detail so it’s worth checking out some of those to get a real feel for how both technologies stand. Monitors are very subjective and VA models certainly still have their place, they will suit the preferences of some better. Particularly where the preference is weighted towards contrast or there’s a dislike for ‘IPS glow’. But IPS models are simply more ubiquitous on the market and they are much stronger in general when it comes to responsiveness and without exception superior when it comes to colour and gamma consistency.

[asiafan]

Ah, I see. Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it. I am just curious to the amount of praise and coverage IPS has gotten recently, and I guess I should’ve known why. I think both technologies should have been researched and improved equally, so that there isn’t one LCD panel technology stand out among the rest, excluding of course the very expensive ones. But again, I understand that business is business, even Samsung has started selling IPS instead of sticking to their VA panels.

Hopefully in the future, OLED or even Mini LED can become an affordable option for monitors.

[Giraffe]

Thinking of getting a new monitor with VA tech (Samsung Neo G9 49”).

Wondering if the vertical viewing angles of newer VA monitors has improved?

I used to have a VA panel way back and whenever I leaned back into my chair to watch a movie the image suffers due to non optimal angles. Thanks!

[PCM2]

Hi Giraffe,

Some models are a bit better than others in this respect, but all VA models still have issues with perceived gamma shifts. If you sit back in your chair but are still reasonably close to the monitor (e.g. you’re not sitting on a bed or sofa or for that matter other seat of choice >1m from the monitor) you’ll be viewing at a relatively sharp viewing angle. And you will see shifts in perceived colour, contrast and gamma (detail levels) as a result of this. Even a more expensive model like the Neo G9 these limitations apply. You’ll also see ‘VA glow’ brought out more strongly in dark scenes, particularly if the room is dimly lit (this makes it easier to notice such things). It may still be worth giving the monitor a go and seeing how you find it – I don’t know what VA monitor you experienced previously and this one may still be better relative to that.

[Giraffe]

Thanks for the advice. While I will be only around 50cm away at most I will be seated at an off angle due to the seat recline. In this case I best stick to IPS and wait for a decent mini LED option.

Thanks again! 🙂

[AmIBlind]

Hi PCM Crew. First of all, thank you for your extensive work with all the reviews and also the community service.

I’ve been reading (and watching) a lot lately, since I am looking for a new 32″ 1440p high refresh rate IPS monitor. Since I follow Hardware Unboxed I was basically torn between the Gigabyte M32Q and Asus PG329Q. After some thoughts I decided to get the Asus even though it meant paying around 180€ more. But since its color gamut seemed to be a bit better, and I do some photo and video editing as a hobby, it seemed like the right choice.

I was almost on the verge of ordering, when a thought struck me: You haven’t really looked any further than Hardware Unboxed and a few Reddit posts. Maybe broaden your horizon a bit, before purchasing something, you want to keep at least 5 years? 😀 That’s how I stumbled upon your review of the Acer XB323UGP. And would you look at that, it’s 100+€ cheaper than the Asus, and seems to be the (slightly) better monitor anyway. I’ve read almost everything about it I could find and am hyped to order it.

So why am I writing this post? Well…above I wrote that I’m in the market for an IPS display. Why though, one might ask? Obviously because I’m coming from an IPS display which I like and the good color representation of IPS monitors. Which monitor have I been using for a few years now you ask? The HP Pavilion 32″. But wait, that has a VA panel, or not? Why yes, it does!

Yes, apparently I have been using a VA panel all these years, thinking that it was an IPS. I always wondered, why the blacks on my monitor are so good when hearing about IPS glow and the not so great blacks (just thought I got very lucky with my panel). The VA smearing I never really thought much about it, since it’s just a cheap 60hz non gaming monitor (which I have overclocked to 75hz, but still).

Anyway, that’s why I am writing in this thread, because ever since finding out about my monitor being VA and not IPS, I’m rather unsure if I’m maybe too used to a VA now. On the other hand, comparing my old low to mid-budget monitor to a newer higher-end one might be useless anyway.

So my question would be, coming from an old VA monitor and switching to a new IPS monitor, what major differences am I usually in for? Should I be concerned about the black levels, or are IPS monitor so advanced that we’re talking about black levels on a whole other level(heh) when comparing it to old VA panels?

[PCM2]

Haha – I have to say it’s not the first time I’ve heard somebody learn that their monitor doesn’t actually use the panel type they thought it did, even after several years of use. I really think a solid IPS option with good colour gamut (such as the XB323U GP) is the best bet in your case. Where hobbyist video and photo editing is mixed in with general purpose usage and perhaps a touch of gaming? The differences which are summarised in this thread (and panel types article, reiterated in the reviews etc.) will naturally make themselves clear when you use the monitor. You do have to prepare yourself for a drop in contrast performance, but you can mitigate this to an extent with good lighting – bias lighting or at least a light source directly behind the monitor can help if the room is otherwise quite dim. I always like people to think about perceived contrast when it comes to monitors rather than just what the contrast numbers say! You will also gain superior gamma consistency, so you won’t have a central area of ‘black crush’ and some extra detail revealed peripherally like your VA model will show.

And you will likely start to notice the colour consistency advantages, particularly when viewing content that fills a large section of the screen. How significant this particular difference will be partly depends on what your old monitor was, how large it was and how close you’re sitting to it. But you should start to notice there’s less of a difference between a given shade when it’s displayed centrally vs. further out. The SpyderCHECKR24 system we use in our reviews and explored in the panel types article provides a nice visual demonstration of this, but hopefully you will be able to see it for yourself during your own usage soon. You will hopefully notice a nice boost in responsiveness, not just from the increased refresh rate but also improved pixel responses. You can ‘feel’ and see this even on the desktop, not just when gaming. And I can only assume you’ll be coming from a smaller and lower resolution screen, so that should be a nice change as well. It will take some time to adapt to these differences, but once you do I hope you’ll find the experience enjoyable and a really nice upgrade. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the way as well. 😀

[AmIBlind]

Oh wow, now that was quick answer, first of all thank you, for taking the time! 🙂

Maybe I didnt make it clear (I did write a lot of prose ^^) which monitor I’m using right now: It’s the 32″ HP Pavilion (V1M69AA), 1440p, 60hz (overclocked to 75hz). So size and resolution wise it’s the same. It’s more of a sidegrade than a real full fledged upgrade if you will 🙂

And yes, the main reason I’m looking for a high refresh rate monitor is because I game a lot on it. From AoE over racing games all the way to fps games like cs:go and anything in between. I (and my partner) do also use it for work thanks to covid and long term homeoffice. So basically it’s office work (a lot of Teams Calls and looking at code and reading) during daytime in the week and gaming in the after hours and weekends.

I also do have bias lighting directly behind the monitor in the form of three hue play bars which function as a ambilight alternative and another table lamp with a hue bulb in it.

But reading your replay and looking at the panel type article reassures me in ordering the XB323U GP and I guess I just have to see it in real life for myself to make the final judgement. I’ll make sure to use your affiliate link since right now in Germany it is actually the cheapest on amazon 🙂

Thank you so much!

[PCM2]

Sounds like an appropriate upgrade, then!

I do now see you mentioned you were using an HP Pavilion 32″ – I missed that during my skim reading and quest to deliver a swift response. 😉 Well at least you don’t have to worry about the size being too large or not getting on with the pixel density. It can be tricky adjusting if you’re coming from a much smaller screen. I appreciate you wanting to support the site and I hope the monitor works out for you. 🙂

[Red_Negan]

I was planking around and thought I’d share this.

The top is my MAG274QRF-QD 165hz IPS and the bottom is the Samsung Odyssey G7 a 240hz VA panel. The G7 I’ve owned before, always been a fan but the black Friday deals with some trade price thrown in made this too difficult to pass up.

Both clearly have different tints, only really was noticeable when the G7 was thrown into the mix, not an issue but the G7 is clearly closer to neutral with a better distinction between colours..nothing some RGB controls won’t fix though but this s what you’d expect stock.

The point of this isn’t about the white point but what the extra contrast brings, the mountain areas have more depth and detail, something VA panels do better than In-Plane switching inherently. Areas, where there should be a shade or lack of light, look darker, more defined, think of a painter adding shading to make make it more 3D, the same thing here. IPS displays without local dimming sadly will always look like the MSI. This isn’t even a great game to test dynamic range either in other titles the difference looks more pronounced but I felt that the Witcher doesn’t have a massive range and contrasty areas so it’s a good title that plays to both strengths here.

The MSI looks better in certain aspects, I give it the edge in the smoothness of the image, across the entire screen while the G7 is the more complete, immersive experience. You can also see on the rocks that the image is highlighted better on the VA, it is bought into the scene more, something that has a better contrast can produce whereas on the IPS the background can look less defined.

Both are fantastic displays, both have a place here, which one I’ll use more depends on what I’m doing for the week. Been playing a lot of Sea Of Thieves and Death Stranding lately so the G7 has been taking the wheel.

[PCM2]

Thanks for sharing this! The stronger contrast certainly helps accentuate the dark areas and helps give a more defined look overall. I think it’s also important to consider the role of perceived and indeed average central gamma here. For the VA model (G7) some excess detail will be observed in places (more so further from the centre) due to lower perceived gamma, whilst more central areas will have some shades darkened due to higher perceived gamma (‘black crush’). The MAG274QRD-QD usually always has wonky gamma calibration as well (unless it’s profiled here) which makes some shades brighter than they should be and some shades darker. Not trying to downplay the importance of extra contrast here, but do feel the gamma differences play their role as well.

[Red_Negan]

I have a deep desk thankfully so some of the weaknesses of VA aren’t as much of an issue but for those who sit closer to their displays, I’d 9/10 prob, recommend an IPS type unless one puts picture quality first then there’s more of a debate. Yeah the MSI actually does exhibit some black crushing in certain scenes and in bright scenes can look a bit pasty due to the uneven gamma although I don’t find it any worse than other gaming displays, a pet peeve of mine since I don’t use ICC profiles outside of work purposes is Gamma that is too low making dark scenes lose their correct perceived brightness level with no Gamma options but luckily the MSI is sort of like a enhancement in that brights are brighter and dark’s are darker which is preferred over having a ll scenes too bright for my taste.

I will add that if one owns an IPS and is happy, they prob wouldn’t notice that their background is lacking depth unless you’re coming from a VA or more so, OLED I actually think when it comes to image solidity in a dark room, the MSI is pretty solid for an IPS related display. At work occasionally in a well lit room ADS panels(IPS type) have been standing out, I think inherently they look very sharp and uniform but when we re-create a show room environment, the VA type displays really shine with their added depth.

[AmIBlind]

Finally got my Acer! Haven’t really had the time to test it thoroughly yet but played around with it for an hour. Obviously the first thing that really stands out is the refresh rate and response time. Like you said, even on the desktop I was like WTF. It’s so smooth it almost feels ridiculous, especially since there is almost no smearing, like you can read text while scrolling or moving windows 😀 Colors are also nice, although I have to get used to the sRGB mode (or maybe borrow a colorimeter and calibrate it myself), it looks a bit dull in comparison to my old monitor but there on the other hand it was too saturated I guess.

One thing that didn’t seem to work properly was the HDR mode. I tested it in Doom Eternal, turned HDR on in game and switched it on afterwards in the OSD of the monitor and it somehow started to loose connection to the pc. Had to reconnect the monitor after switching off HDR to get a signal again. Kinda weird but I haven’t really looked into it. Shouldn’t be a problem with the cable since I used the one that came with the monitor. Everything else is awesome though 🙂

[PCM2]

Glad you’re enjoying the experience overall! I’d recommend switching HDR on in the OSD before you activate it in the game. It shouldn’t technically matter which order you do things in, but some in-game HDR implementations are odd in that respect and could potentially cause such signal issues. I doubt it’s an issue with the monitor (I assume ‘DP 1.4’ is active in the OSD?) or your system or indeed cable. Especially if you’re able to activate HDR in Windows and that activates in the way you’d expect without signal issues – that would point to an issue with the game’s implementation.

[AmIBlind]

Good point with testing HDR in Windows first, I’ll give that a try later. Yes, DP 1.4 was/is active. Maybe it’s because I set the color depth to 10bit in the Nvidia Control panel? Combined with 170hz. I’m not sure but I think I read somewhere, that switching everything “to the max” and then activating HDR could lead to problems…then again it’s DP1.4 and I think it should support everything bandwithwise, right?

[PCM2]

Shouldn’t be an issue on the XB323U GP. But either way, you can just leave it set to ‘Use default colour settings’ and it will switch over to using a 10-bit signal as appropriate for HDR content anyway. The vast majority of content you consume under SDR will be designed for and viewed with 8-bit regardless of what you set this to, so there’s little reason for most people to manually set this.

[Ex3cut3r]

Hi Guys. Long time reader and subscriber (Youtube) here.

First of all sry for my probably not 100% correct English. German guy here. Learned English in school though. And I read and spoke it fluently. But the last 2 years I’m working more from home. And my English got definitely worse.

But nevertheless. I had G7 Odyssey 27″ for 13 Months. My experience was quite well. The only things that bothered me was the black crush which is typical for a VA Panel, the strong curve and with it the screens looks rather small for a 27″ inch version. The clouding probably coming from the strong curve, the coating which was to grainy. And the VRR Flickering in certain games.

Really pleasant was the 240HZ Refresh rate. Literally no black smearing which was outstanding for a VA Panel and the strong contrast and black levels, especially if you compare it with a typical IPS Panel with ~ 1000:1

But. I switched to a Acer Predator XB323QK (same Panel as Gigabyte M32U – Innolux) 31.5″ Version with 4K, 144HZ and VRR Support. And I will never go back to the G7 Odyssey. The colors are much better on the IPS 4K Panel. Text is soo smooth thanks to the 140 PPi. Refresh rate is a downgrade for sure. But 144HZ is still fine. And having a flat panel again is also much better.

The Display has little clouding, actually its much better than the G7 Odyssey in that area. But now comes the bad part-> The contrast Ratio is much worse. For example, playing a game in a complete dark environment is not so great even if you set 0% brightness. There is visible IPS Bleeding/Glow visible in the top right corner. And black looks rather greyish but not that bad on my unit. You have to set some ambient lighting behind the monitor to get black back. But then it’s totally fine/usable. The cons are for me much less than the G7 had. But that’s up to the individual person.

The Acer has no VRR flicker whatsoever. Never. Not even in loading screens, where the frame rate fluctuations rapidly. The coating is also much smoother/less grainy. Which I prefer.

My G7 Odyssey Picture: https://abload.de/img/252k6g.png
Acer Predator XB323QK : https://abload.de/img/df5910ff-3860-4e87-9z30ecs.png

Just wanted to share my experience. Maybe it helps.

Greetings

[PCM2]

Hi Ex3cut3r,

It’s always nice hearing from long-time readers (and watchers) like yourself and I appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences. I decided to move your post over to this thread as I feel it’s a valuable addition and this thread could do with some love. No recent posts here but it’s definitely one plenty of people still view.

You’ve described your experiences with the panel types well and I can certainly relate to all of the points you brought up. I’m glad that, on balance, you’ve managed to work around (or ‘live with’) the shortcomings of the XB323QK NV with its IPS-type panel and have been able to focus on enjoying those positive aspects of the experience. That’s a very neat little bias lighting setup you’ve got. 🙂

[Ex3cut3r]

Hi.

No problem whatsoever. Yes It’s much better suited in this thread rather than the G7 one. Thanks for moving it in the right direction.
I always liked your reviews and videos on YouTube. They are honest and “real” and you certainly understand quite a bit about monitors.
I really appreciate your work. And wish you all the best for the next year. 🙂

Take care.

[Author]

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