IPS vs TN?

[Andy_Guelcher]

I am getting a monitor a few month from now and have decided to get either the asus pg278qr, or the asus pg279qr. they are both 1440p 165hz. the only difference is that the pg279qr is an ips and costs like $110 more. (USD) is the tn all too much worse? what has better bang for buck? thanks

[Ansger]

Personally i can't stand most TN panels with horrible viewing angles and color reproduction, but then again I like watching movies and series and stuff a lot so gaming is not the only thing i want my monitor to do well. 

Is the response time the same between the two panels? If so, I would gladly pay 110 more for a better quality picture given that everything is the same. 

 

[iRileyx]

If you can afford the extra for the IPS panel then go for it, it won't disappoint. 

[BluJay614]

2 minutes ago, Andy_Guelcher said:

I am getting a monitor a few month from now and have decided to get either the asus pg278qr, or the asus pg279qr. they are both 1440p 165hz. the only difference is that the pg279qr is an ips and costs like $110 more. (USD) is the tn all too much worse? what has better bang for buck? thanks

Is the better color accuracy and much better viewing angels worth $110 to you? TN isn't necicerily bad, it's just much easier to get it running at higher refresh rates then IPS, and it has slightly lower Gray To Gray response times(1ms vs 4-5ms, so not really enough for even the professional players to notice).

[historicalpoultry]

Well, it depends. I own a the PG278Q (TN) and a VA Quantum Dot-whatever Samsung secondary panel, and image quality is miles better on the VA in terms of contrast, saturation, viewing angles and color reproduction. IPS should be even better than VA, so if you have the extra 110 bucks, get IPS. I should mention however, that my TN isn't bad unless you look at it from an extreme low angle. 

[bellabichon]

TN panels are only really acceptable on some laptops. Always go with IPS if possible. 

[WereCat]

Just get the IPS.

AOC AG271QG uses the same display as the ASUS PG279Q but is cheaper.

[flaminarrowz]

IPS has evolved so much that there really isn't a reason to get TN. Unless you're on a really tight budget.

[Nazim Pasa]

5 minutes ago, flaminarrowz said:

IPS has evolved so much that there really isn't a reason to get TN. Unless you're on a really tight budget.

Exactly. It has really better color and brightness against TN panels. Get IPS.

[Andy_Guelcher]

23 minutes ago, WereCat said:

Just get the IPS.

AOC AG271QG uses the same display as the ASUS PG279Q but is cheaper.

hey thanks man this may have just solved my problem.

thanks alot

[beakhole]

To be completely honest, I think in many cases TN is actually the better choice. I know this isn't the popular opinion, but it's true. You can calibrate a decent TN's colors to look just as good as their IPS counterparts (in some cases, like with the latest ROG SWIFT, the TN's actually come with more accurate colors than the IPS according to some tests and reviews), so that is a lot more minor of an issue than people may lead you to believe. The viewing angle is the main, big advantage of IPS panels as you are of course aware - but for 99% of people touting how nice that is, they don't even take advantage of it. Like most people, do you usually game or use your computer with the monitor right in front of you? If so, than viewing angle has immediately become something you do not need as much. If you have a multi-monitor setup, or do things where you are moving around the room a lot and still need to look over towards your monitor, then viewing angle and IPS becomes a bigger need for you, but if you just sit in front of your computer like most everybody then that becomes less and less important regardless of what everyone here may tell you. 

Aside from that, TN's only begin to look better and better. Right now, nearly all IPS monitors bring some serious problems to the table that TN's are not affected by as often or at all. These include but are not limited to backlight bleed and "IPS glow," which you can find many examples of with a quick google image search. To me, any color benefit of an IPS panel is immediately outweighed by the fact that you will have a 90% chance of getting something where one or more corners of the screen is visibly brighter than the rest of the screen. There is of course a chance you may get an IPS panel without BLB, but it seems less common than getting one with the defect, causing many people to refer to purchasing an IPS panel as entering the "Panel Lottery." 

Of course you will also save a lot of money going for TN as well, sometimes hundreds of dollars. Also, if you're a gamer the 1ms response time is much better than 4ms+ offered by IPS.

So, you need to really think about the 2 main advantages of IPS and decide if they truly matter to you at all. Do you sit directly in front of your computer when you use it? If so, half of the reason to buy an IPS panel is lost immediately. Do you want colors to look more accurate without calibration, or are you comfortable tweaking OSD settings to your needs? Etc.

In general, I actually think TN panels give a far better value and in most cases are the best choice. To answer your question of which gives you more bang for you buck, I can guarantee you with 100% certainty that TN panels give you more bang for your buck. It really comes down to what you will be using it for and what is important to you. Hope that helps.

TL;DR:

TN Pros:
- Cost

- Response time

- Less or no Backlight bleed

- No IPS glow

- Can be calibrated to look great color-wise in most cases

IPS Pros:
- Viewing Angle
- Color accuracy

 

 

Here's a video review about the ROG Swift TN vs IPS:

 

[Bcat00]

1 hour ago, beakhole said:

 

 

if you are trying to point out TN is better then you chose the wrong video.

that TN is blurry as fuck next to its IPS counterpart

[beakhole]

26 minutes ago, Bcat00 said:

if you are trying to point out TN is better then you chose the wrong video.

Since color accuracy is one of the big points people make in support of IPS panels, the video is notable as it shows an example where the opposite is true. The video supports the points I made in my previous comment both for and against TN panels.

[genexis_x]

2 hours ago, beakhole said:

snip

-Most ppl won't notice the difference in response times between TN and IPS

-Slight backlight bleed is normal in IPS, that's how it works

-How do you calibrate the display without additional cost? Professional calibration needs extra money. Just get a panel with generally good calibration out of the box

[beakhole]

1 minute ago, ZM Fong said:

-Most ppl won't notice the difference in response times between TN and IPS

-Slight backlight bleed is normal in IPS, that's how it works

-How do you calibrate the display without additional cost? Professional calibration needs extra money. Just get a panel with generally good calibration out of the box

For your first point, some people will notice, some people won't as you said. It's definitely something to consider whether or not it matters to you, just like viewing angle on the flip side - most user may not really notice the need there in general straight on computer usage. 

 

I agree that slight backlight bleed is, unfortunately, basically guaranteed right now if you go the IPS route, but it's important to note that you can get much worse backlight bleed as well (hence everyone referring to it as a lottery). I tried out 2 of the Acer 4K GSync IPS monitors and one had significant BLB noticeable even in a lit room while performing normal tasks on the computer (not just in a dark room with a pure black screen), the other had moderate BLB that I personally would still consider not acceptable but was definitely better than the first one.
 

Your final point is definitely one of the pros of IPS, as I listed in my post, however you can tune colors quickly using OSD controls on the monitor to make changes to your taste or even to more closely match another panel you may have. If total accuracy is what you're after, you would need the same professional calibration to check on any IPS panel you buy, and as in the video there are cases where out of the box the TN panel is actually more accurate (this is not the norm of course).

All in all you basically restated many of the points I made in my post you quoted, but just put it in a different tone. I think we pretty much agree, :P. 



 

[JoostinOnline]

I notice a huge difference between IPS and TN, but almost no difference between 60hz and 144hz.  You need to go to a store and try them out.

[genexis_x]

5 minutes ago, beakhole said:

I think we pretty much agree, :P. 

Sorry but I disagree. I'll never go back to TN again since after I got my laptop even with entry level IPS panel.

[beakhole]

6 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

Sorry but I disagree.

I think we agree on the pros/cons on TN vs IPS (source - you posted 20 minutes ago repeating all the same points I made), but where we differ is on what matters most to us. You probably are not bothered by backlight bleed or find the extra viewing angle important, where I don't really care about the viewing angle and am bothered by backlight bleed, or something along those lines. 

As far as 60hz guy, I don't think I could ever go back to 60hz after trying 144hz, difference was night and day to me.

[genexis_x]

1 minute ago, beakhole said:

agree

I strongly disagree, that's why I left a reply to counter your facts. Don't make assumptions by your own.

[beakhole]

Hehe, alright, I guess we can agree to disagree on whether you agree with me or not, no need to get upset :). You never countered anything and I made no assumptions. You restated pros and cons I had already listed, simply framing them in a different light. I agree with you that IPS panels will have some level of backlight bleed, for example, and I also agree that in general IPS panels will come with better color accuracy out of the box. 

If you "strongly disagree" with me than you strongly disagree that IPS panels come out of the box with better color accuracy, and if so I'm afraid that you would be wrong.