IPS vs VA Panel

[Blasty Blosty]

I am looking for a 240hz monitor, and I have noticed that VA panels are substantially cheaper than IPS, is it worth it to spend the extra for the IPS panel? I play a lot of competitive fps games, mainly counter-strike and overwatch, so the best 240hz experience would be preferred, I have heard there are differences in pixel response times and other things. I also heard IPS has much better colours. I currently have an IPS monitor, and I am pleased with it, would I notice much of a difference with VA?

[filpo]

Just now, Blasty Blosty said:

is it worth it to spend the extra for the IPS panel?

yes, as someone who has two  VA panels, the VA smearing on a VA is horrible

 

the price difference isn't too big 

[ItTakes2ToMango]

2 minutes ago, Blasty Blosty said:

I am looking for a 240hz monitor, and I have noticed that VA panels are substantially cheaper than IPS, is it worth it to spend the extra for the IPS panel? I play a lot of competitive fps games, mainly counter-strike and overwatch, so the best 240hz experience would be preferred, I have heard there are differences in pixel response times and other things. I also heard IPS has much better colours. I currently have an IPS monitor, and I am pleased with it, would I notice much of a difference with VA?

Do you use that monitor for mostly gaming or do you enjoy more leisurely things as well? 

 

I personally always go IPS, but I watch a lot of video from my computer as well, leaning back often at maybe odd angles. A VA can certainly effect that experience

 

I don't think you are going to see much of a competitive difference between the two, those differences are miniscule

[WereCat]

The only good VA panels are probably just on Samsung Odyssey monitors and tend to be even faster than most IPS... They still don't have nearly as good viewing angles as IPS. Otherwise just stick to IPS. 

[Blasty Blosty]

3 minutes ago, filpo said:

the VA smearing on a VA is horrible

Didn't know about any smearing, thanks for the heads up. Although I was aware it was the cheaper of the 2 display types so it is expected

[Blasty Blosty]

2 minutes ago, ItTakes2ToMango said:

Do you use that monitor for mostly gaming or do you enjoy more leisurely things as well? 

 

I personally always go IPS, but I watch a lot of video from my computer as well, leaning back often at maybe odd angles. A VA can certainly effect that experience

 

I don't think you are going to see much of a competitive difference between the two, those differences are miniscule

I watch the occasional youtube video, and play some graphically intensive games which would look better on a nicer display, so yeah it's not just FPS esports.

 

Thanks for the info, will probably follow suit and stick with IPS

[filpo]

1 minute ago, Blasty Blosty said:

Didn't know about any smearing, thanks for the heads up. Although I was aware it was the cheaper of the 2 display types so it is expected

but you can get an IPS 240Hz 1440p monitor for cheaper than a VA one of the same spec

[Blasty Blosty]

2 minutes ago, WereCat said:

The only good VA panels are probably just on Samsung Odyssey monitors and tend to be even faster than most IPS... otherwise just stick to IPS. 

Noted, thanks. Always wondered why expensive Samsung monitors used VA instead of IPS

[Blasty Blosty]

Just now, filpo said:

but you can get an IPS 240Hz 1440p monitor for cheaper than a VA one of the same spec

Very interesting, surely it would be more expensive?

[filpo]

1 minute ago, Blasty Blosty said:

Very interesting, surely it would be more expensive?

it should but this one's 30% off, it's not a great one but not that bad either

Acer Nitro VG272U W2 27inch 2560x1440 IPS 240Hz Refresh rate 0.5ms response time AMD FreeSync Premium HDR400 Gaming Monitor, HDMIx2, DisplayPort, Speaker Bullet: - Newegg.com

there's also this one HP OMEN 27QS 27.0" 2560 x 1440 240 Hz Monitor (Omen 27qs) - PCPartPicker

[Blasty Blosty]

Are monitors cheaper in America or something? I'm based in the UK and these are the cheapest on PCPartPicker, guess I might have to shop around?

[OddOod]

37 minutes ago, ItTakes2ToMango said:

Do you use that monitor for mostly gaming or do you enjoy more leisurely things as well? 

THIS
Holy moly I *hate* VA. Unless you always sit in the perfect position the colors are so off. I finally eliminated my final VA panel in my home last year and I'm so happy. Even just showing someone something on my computer was less than ideal. And these days the IPS panels are ~cost level and have fantastic response times

[Blasty Blosty]

7 minutes ago, OddOod said:

THIS
Holy moly I *hate* VA. Unless you always sit in the perfect position the colors are so off. I finally eliminated my final VA panel in my home last year and I'm so happy. Even just showing someone something on my computer was less than ideal. And these days the IPS panels are ~cost level and have fantastic response times

I love good colours on a display, I'll definitely go with IPS then

[Doobeedoo]

Only VA I'd consider is Samsung Odyssey one. Or some TN with strobe like Zowie if you want that otherwise some other IPS then. Just check reviews, some are slower in response times.

[Blasty Blosty]

Just now, Doobeedoo said:

Only VA I'd consider is Samsung Odyssey one. Or some TN with strobe like Zowie if you want that otherwise some other IPS then. Just check reviews, some are slower in response times.

Could you explain what response times are to me? How is it different from refresh rate?

[Doobeedoo]

3 minutes ago, Blasty Blosty said:

Could you explain what response times are to me? How is it different from refresh rate?

It's transition time between pixels changing color, it's not as fast in LCD monitors enough for that to be done perfectly between refresh cycles, thus blur.

[Agall]

2 hours ago, Blasty Blosty said:

I am looking for a 240hz monitor, and I have noticed that VA panels are substantially cheaper than IPS, is it worth it to spend the extra for the IPS panel? I play a lot of competitive fps games, mainly counter-strike and overwatch, so the best 240hz experience would be preferred, I have heard there are differences in pixel response times and other things. I also heard IPS has much better colours. I currently have an IPS monitor, and I am pleased with it, would I notice much of a difference with VA?

A quality VA will beat a low-mid IPS. Take Samsung's QLED backlit VA panels, which in my experience, are on par with OLEDs when using HDR.

 

Personally if I had to choose, as someone who's used a dozen different mid-high tier monitors for over the last decade, I'd choose a VA with a quality backlight design over a mid tier IPS.

 

HDR on Windows is great now, worth buying into if you're getting a mid tier monitor. Although unless its using a complex backlight, its not worth enabling most the time. 

 

Vesa Certified DisplayHDR™

 

Tons of displays that have 'HDR' that simply can't get the contrast needed for it to work better than SDR. Generally that involves its listed contrast spec and the complexity of the backlighting.

[Blasty Blosty]

31 minutes ago, Doobeedoo said:

It's transition time between pixels changing color, it's not as fast in LCD monitors enough for that to be done perfectly between refresh cycles, thus blur.

Ah okay, thanks

[Blasty Blosty]

9 minutes ago, Agall said:

A quality VA will beat a low-mid IPS. Take Samsung's QLED backlit VA panels, which in my experience, are on par with OLEDs when using HDR.

 

Personally if I had to choose, as someone who's used a dozen different mid-high tier monitors for over the last decade, I'd choose a VA with a quality backlight design over a mid tier IPS.

 

HDR on Windows is great now, worth buying into if you're getting a mid tier monitor. Although unless its using a complex backlight, its not worth enabling most the time. 

 

Vesa Certified DisplayHDR™

 

Tons of displays that have 'HDR' that simply can't get the contrast needed for it to work better than SDR. Generally that involves its listed contrast spec and the complexity of the backlighting.

That's good to know, so if I get a VA panel it should be from reputable display manufacturers such as Samsung or LG?

[WereCat]

42 minutes ago, Blasty Blosty said:

Could you explain what response times are to me? How is it different from refresh rate?

basically this

36 minutes ago, Doobeedoo said:

It's transition time between pixels changing color, it's not as fast in LCD monitors enough for that to be done perfectly between refresh cycles, thus blur.

 

The higher refresh rate the lower response time you want or the benefit of higher refresh rate will be negated by too much blur.

The good Samsung VA tend to be around 2.5ms on avg and most decent IPS displays tend to sit around 4ms on avg with the really good ones being around 2ms as well.

 

Just check any monitor review from Monitor Unboxed or one of their video explanations about the testing to get an idea... as this alone does not factor Overdrive settings and reverse ghosting (overshoot).

 

 

From personal experience I switched from AOC AG271QG which is an old G-Sync 165Hz IPS 1440p monitor to Samsung Odyssey G65B which is a FreeSync Premium 240Hz VA 1440p monitor.

The colors and contrast difference is extremely noticeable and it has significantly lower response times so in motion there is much less blur, combined with higher refresh rate it makes for an amazing monitor and it was quite affordable (given the performance) too vs the other monitors in it's price category.

 

That said, VA does not have great viewing angles so if you look from side (starting at around 20-25 degrees angle) you will start to notice the color gamma to shift. This is not an issue on my particular screen because the display is curved so when you sit bang on in the center you'll never see any color shift. Even at slight angle it's not bad at all.

If you tend to watch movies or something from a different sitting position from an angle though, this is worth considering as an issue... but in that case the curve is most likely also an issue at that point.

[Agall]

4 minutes ago, Blasty Blosty said:

That's good to know, so if I get a VA panel it should be from reputable display manufacturers such as Samsung or LG?

I think its so incredibly specific to the monitor that its hard to generalize. Also, most of the panels are probably made by Samsung or LG since they sell panels to other companies. They do overall make the best for gaming in my opinion and I usually stick to them now a days. My last two monitors were from one of each, previously I stuck to Asus, going as far back as 2014 with a DIY G-sync modded VG248QE. That was prior to Samsung and LG hopping into the gaming monitor market.

[Blasty Blosty]

15 hours ago, WereCat said:

basically this

 

The higher refresh rate the lower response time you want or the benefit of higher refresh rate will be negated by too much blur.

The good Samsung VA tend to be around 2.5ms on avg and most decent IPS displays tend to sit around 4ms on avg with the really good ones being around 2ms as well.

 

Just check any monitor review from Monitor Unboxed or one of their video explanations about the testing to get an idea... as this alone does not factor Overdrive settings and reverse ghosting (overshoot).

 

 

From personal experience I switched from AOC AG271QG which is an old G-Sync 165Hz IPS 1440p monitor to Samsung Odyssey G65B which is a FreeSync Premium 240Hz VA 1440p monitor.

The colors and contrast difference is extremely noticeable and it has significantly lower response times so in motion there is much less blur, combined with higher refresh rate it makes for an amazing monitor and it was quite affordable (given the performance) too vs the other monitors in it's price category.

 

That said, VA does not have great viewing angles so if you look from side (starting at around 20-25 degrees angle) you will start to notice the color gamma to shift. This is not an issue on my particular screen because the display is curved so when you sit bang on in the center you'll never see any color shift. Even at slight angle it's not bad at all.

If you tend to watch movies or something from a different sitting position from an angle though, this is worth considering as an issue... but in that case the curve is most likely also an issue at that point.

I tend to watch YouTube in a relaxed posture rather than dead-on, so I'll have to consider that, thanks

[Blasty Blosty]

15 hours ago, Agall said:

I think its so incredibly specific to the monitor that its hard to generalize. Also, most of the panels are probably made by Samsung or LG since they sell panels to other companies. They do overall make the best for gaming in my opinion and I usually stick to them now a days. My last two monitors were from one of each, previously I stuck to Asus, going as far back as 2014 with a DIY G-sync modded VG248QE. That was prior to Samsung and LG hopping into the gaming monitor market.

Yeah, guess I'll have to stick to reviews of the monitor rather than reviews of a VA panel

[Stahlmann]

Both panel technologies have their advantages and disadvantages, and imo there is a place for both panel technologies. But VA simply isn't that good in a gaming monitor. IPS strikes the better balance between image quality and responsiveness. VA is tilted more towards image quality, which is why almost every high-end LCD TV uses a VA panel instead of IPS. The only technology who can be considered jack of all trades is OLED, but that one also comes with some downsides like comparatively low fullscreen brightness and the potential risk of long-term burn-in.

 

The only VA monitors that are equal or better than IPS in terms of responsiveness are the Samsung Odyssey G7, G8, G9 and their respective "Neo" models. Even within Samsung, everything mid-range or budget class like the G5 models for example use significantly slower budget VA panels. And other brands like Asus, MSI, Gigabyte etc. exclusively use these slower VA panels in their gaming monitors.

[Blasty Blosty]

6 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

Both panel technologies have their advantages and disadvantages, and imo there is a place for both panel technologies. But VA simply isn't that good in a gaming monitor. IPS strikes the better balance between image quality and responsiveness. VA is tilted more towards image quality, which is why almost every high-end LCD TV uses a VA panel instead of IPS. The only technology who can be considered jack of all trades is OLED, but that one also comes with some downsides like comparatively low fullscreen brightness and the potential risk of long-term burn-in.

 

The only VA monitors that are equal or better than IPS in terms of responsiveness are the Samsung Odyssey G7, G8, G9 and their respective "Neo" models. Even within Samsung, everything mid-range or budget class like the G5 models for example use significantly slower budget VA panels. And other brands like Asus, MSI, Gigabyte etc. exclusively use these slower VA panels in their gaming monitors.

So stick to IPS for most scenarios?