TN vs IPS vs VA Finding the Right Gaming Monitor

Gamers know that being able to enjoy the experience is critical for success and having a great monitor is the best way to ensure you can get transported to a different world and enjoy seeing all the details within the game. There are many different types of gaming monitors and whether you’re new to gaming or just someone who is looking to get the right equipment for your particular system, it’s important to have the right monitor. There’s more to monitors than screen resolution, and in order to determine what is the right monitor, you need to have all the facts.

Finding A  Gaming Monitor

Monitors have come a long way since the tube displays that took up the entire desk space. These displays ran hot and used a lot of power. They were also notoriously unreliable and produced a passable image. The bottom line is no matter how lifelike a game advertised itself, the tube monitors did not provide a visual worthy of the effort that was undertaken to produce the game. Since then, new technology has allowed us to see different kinds of monitors. The best of the lot is Twisted Nematic (TN), In-Plane Switching (IPS), and Vertical Alignment.

Choosing between these three monitor types is a matter not just of matter of preference, there are some big differences between the three that are important to know when you decide that you want to upgrade your monitor to have the best gaming experience possible.

TN Monitors

A TN monitor has lots of advantages including a low-price tag because of the three types of monitors, they are the easiest to produce. One of the advantages to the TN monitor is the seemingly limitless resolution types. TN monitors have different styles and sizes. If you are working with a small desk area, the TN monitor is preferred by many gamers because its size and usefulness. One of the best parts about using TN monitors is that they have sharper pictures, smaller weight and physical dimension considerations, high refresh rates and other features that increase accuracy. These monitors are excellent and keeping you where you need to be in a game.

The downfall of the TN monitor is that there are some basic issues with them that affect all types of LCD monitors. One of the first is the dead pixel problem. This issue is something that happens fairly regularly with TN monitors. There are also problems with uneven backlighting, motion blur, and limited viewing angles. If you like to play your games with a lot of sunlight, this is also problematic.

The bottom line is TN monitors do a lot of things very well but unless you are going to have your gaming set-up in one area and never deviate, these monitors will cause just as much frustration as jubilation.

IPS Monitors

There are a lot of advantages to IPS monitors, and specifically those advantages go to how the monitor presents the image. IPS monitors are designed to solve a lot of the problems presented with the TN monitor. Perhaps the biggest solution provided by these monitors is the lusher color screens and the ability to have multiple viewing angles without losing picture quality.

There is a tradeoff, however, and the tradeoff with the IPS monitor over the TN monitor is that the monitor’s quality leads to other issues. These monitors are just not as quick and responsive as TN monitors. They are also big consumers of power. Things to consider with the IPS monitor are its use. If you are gaming but not doing so in a seriously competitive way, this is a good style of monitor but if you are a competitive gamer – that is if you are someone who uses gaming to earn income – then you may want to steer clear of this monitor. For gamers who just enjoy the experience and want something that looks impressive, the IPS monitor is a good choice.

VA Monitors

There seems to be a world of extremes between IPS and TN monitors and VA monitors are designed to bridge much of the gaps. These monitors are excellent if you’re looking for some of the great features of both but are not looking to have as acute of issues as they may present. Getting a VA monitor is something that is a good idea for people who are looking for the best of both worlds from their monitors but finding that neither TN nor IPS monitors serve exactly what they are looking for.

The advantage to these monitors is getting a lot of features from both styles that you like. However, there are some issues for gaming that are important to discuss. One of the main issues that exist with VA monitors is the terrible response time. There is also blurring in fast moving pictures. These two issues are a big disadvantage for competitive gamers. If you are someone who enjoys puttering around in a game, then these issues can be mildly annoying, but for competitive gamers, these issues are a major problem and can give opponents an advantage.

One thing that could be beneficial with a VA monitor is using it for non-gaming purposes then plugging in your dedicated gaming monitor. However, this is a bit of an impractical solution. Therefore, if you are a competitive gamer, it’s best to stay away from this monitor.

Conclusions

Gaming, as with anything, requires having the right equipment available to ensure the greatest amount of success. Because monitors are so critical to gaming, it is important to have the right type of monitor for the type of gaming you’re doing. If you are not a serious gamer, then the VA monitor is a workable solution. For gamers who enjoy a non-competitive experience where they don’t need to worry about problems with blurring, there are benefits to IPS monitors. Serious, competitive gamers should stick with TN monitors when they are looking at all three of these different options for a gaming monitor.