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00:00Hey guys, I'm Tom the Tech Jab, and if you're thinking about buying a new monitor, then choosing the right one can be pretty overwhelming.
00:07There's so many different things to consider. Size, resolution, panel type, refresh rates, G-Sync, FreeSync, ports, HDR.
00:15It's a lot, but don't worry. I'm going to talk you through everything you need to know.
00:18So monitors can be anything from 20 up to 49 inches in size,
00:23but the two most common sizes for new displays are 24 inches and
00:2727 inches, and they provide a good amount of screen space for productivity and gaming as either a main or even a
00:34secondary monitor for your laptop. And they also suit a variety of budgets. You can find decent 24-inch monitors for around £100.
00:4127-inch monitors offer an increase in screen space and are more popular with gamers and power users, and they start from a little over £200.
00:49So that's size, but then we have resolution, which refers to the number of horizontal pixels and
00:54vertical pixels on a screen. The higher the number, the sharper the image. Most 24-inch monitors will have a resolution of
01:011920 horizontal pixels by 1080 vertical pixels. That's also known as Full HD.
01:07Some 27-inch monitors will have the same resolution,
01:10but because the screen is bigger, the number of pixels is spread out over a larger area,
01:15which means the image can appear softer and fuzzier. The solution to this is choose a higher resolution such as
01:212560 by 1440 or Quad HD, which is common on more expensive 27-inch models and gives a sharper overall image.
01:29Next up are 4K screens. These have a 3840 by 2160 resolution,
01:34so the image is very sharp and detailed, and they're particularly good for graphic designers or creative professionals.
01:40They are, of course, more expensive than full or Quad HD monitors and are kind of overkill for most users.
01:46I mean gaming in 4K requires a seriously beefy PC.
01:51Unless you have a high-end graphics card like a NVIDIA RTX 2080 or better,
01:56then you probably won't be able to use high settings in games and still get a consistent 60 FPS or above.
02:02You'll also need to have the right display ports on your computer, but we'll come back to that in a minute.
02:06So for most gamers, I'd recommend a good Full HD or Quad HD panel unless you're after the sharpest possible image or have a
02:134K capable console you're looking to use with the screen. And even then, I'd suggest getting a larger
02:1832-inch model to get the most benefit out of 4K as it can be difficult to see all that fine detail on
02:24smaller 27-inch screens. Now if you are looking to edit 4K content, I mean I shoot these videos in 4K,
02:30then you may actually want to consider a
02:325K monitor which boosts the pixel count by about a third and it allows you to display the full 4K content on the screen and
02:39still have a few pixels left over for the editing software toolbars around the edge.
02:43And if that's not enough then we also have 8K TVs and monitors
02:47which are on the way, but the cost and the lack of availability means
02:51I'm gonna leave them to one side for now. And finally in terms of screen sizes,
02:55we have ultrawide or even super ultrawide. Now most monitors and TVs have a 16 by 9 aspect ratio
03:03whereas ultrawides like this have a 21 by 9 aspect which makes them around 30% wider.
03:09Super ultrawides take this a step further with a 32 by 9 aspect ratio.
03:14Now both types are great if you need extra screen space for multiple programs or loads of browser tabs open at the same time
03:20or if you want a wider more immersive gaming experience.
03:23These screens tend to be curved to wrap around you a little bit and make sure that the corners
03:27of the screen aren't too far away from your eyes. Now personally
03:31I use an ultrawide every single day for working and gaming and they are my favorite type of monitor to use.
03:36But then super ultrawides have the advantage of being the equivalent of two full HD or two QHD panels
03:43side by side with exactly double the number of horizontal pixels
03:46which is very useful if you want to display two programs or images or videos in their native resolution
03:51on each half of the screen. And they're also the natural replacement for existing two screen setups
03:57but without that horrible bezel in the middle and of course with fewer cables.
04:01You can also get some great gaming focused ultrawides, but these tend to be quite expensive and again with a higher resolution
04:07you'll need a pretty powerful PC to get decent frame rates in modern games.
04:11For most people then and gamers who want an ultrawide I would go with either a 29 inch
04:162560 by 1080 or a 34 inch 3440 by 1440 model.
04:21And if you are a professional who would benefit from that extra screen space then a 43 or 49 inch super ultrawide
04:28will be your best option.
04:29Just a quick thought on the actual design of the monitor. Now most will be pretty boring to look at but more expensive models
04:36can look pretty nice with brushed effect materials and metal stands like this one.
04:40It is worth considering how it'll actually look on your desk.
04:43I mean gaming monitors range from subtle to definitely not so subtle.
04:46And if you want a curved ultrawide then bear in mind it won't sit flush against a wall.
04:51More important though is the stand. Some monitors offer height and tilt and rotational adjustments whereas others offer only limited movement.
04:59So if you do think you'll be making some adjustments then make sure you check the specs of the monitor.
05:03And also if you're planning to wall mount it then make sure that it is VESA mount compatible.
05:08Okay, so the next most important thing to consider is the screen panel type.
05:12This is pretty important as it will determine how good the image looks.
05:16There are four main types. TN, IPS, VA and OLED.
05:20Although this is still very rare with the first two being the most common. Now TN panels tend to be the most affordable
05:26but at the expense of image quality. TNs offer fast response times, high refresh rates up to 240 hertz
05:32although IPS monitors are catching up and minimal input lag. Don't worry
05:37I'll explain those terms in a minute, but that means they're great for fast paced gaming. Now on the downside
05:42they do have the poorest contrast, the lowest color accuracy and the viewing angles aren't very good.
05:47So if you're not sat directly in front of your screen the color shift and the contrast suffers. Then we have IPS
05:55screens which are the next most popular after TN and they provide the best overall quality with improved brightness, contrast, more accurate colors
06:02and far better viewing angles than TN. Some manufacturers have their own version of IPS. Samsung calls theirs
06:10PLS which they claim has some advantages, but for our purposes i'm going to bung them all into the same IPS category.
06:17So IPS screens are best for design, photo and video professionals who need image accuracy and quality.
06:23However, IPS panels tend to be a little more expensive and generally but not always they have higher input lag
06:29but they can also suffer from something called IPS glow where the backlight of the actual screen
06:34bleeds into the edges. Now moving on to VA panels and these are quite a good compromise between TN and IPS
06:41but there are fewer models available. Now these tend to have better colors, contrast and view angles than TN
06:47but not quite as good as IPS. Although they do offer higher potential refresh rates,
06:53improved contrast and potentially much higher brightness than IPS which is why most HDR monitors do use VA panels.
07:01We'll get into that in a second.
07:02However, they can suffer from color distortion and contrast loss when viewed from off angle and also the response time can be a bit higher
07:10so with fast motion competitive games, you can see some slight blurring or ghosting. The final type is OLED
07:17which is a great technology with the best contrast ratios, great response times and higher color accuracy
07:23but that said they can suffer from temporary or even permanent image retention if the picture is
07:28left on like this for an extended period of time and also they're extremely expensive and also very rare right now
07:33so I wouldn't recommend one for the time being. Okay, that is quite a lot to take in
07:37so which one should you buy? Well, TN is a good option if you're on a strict budget and it's fine
07:43but if you want an all-purpose monitor for work, for watching videos or even a little gaming
07:48I would definitely recommend spending a bit more on an IPS or a VA panel as you're getting a much better image
07:54but if you are a gamer
07:55then a good IPS preferably with a high refresh rate would be best
07:59and it'll have nearly as low input lag and response times as a TN and also avoids the blurring you can get with VA.
08:06If you are a serious competitive gamer though
08:08then you should choose a model with a very high refresh rate and also probably a TN to get the lowest possible response times
08:15but if you're a professional that deals in graphical work
08:17then you should definitely go for a good quality IPS for the best image quality and highest color accuracy.
08:23So we've already kind of touched on refresh rates, but what does it actually mean?
08:27Well, the refresh rate of a monitor is how many times the screen image is updated every second.
08:33The higher the number the smoother the on-screen motion looks. Refresh rates are measured in hertz and most monitors including this one here
08:40will refresh 60 times per second. So it's 60 hertz and that's fine
08:44but if you're a gamer you'll prefer 100, 120, 144 or even 240 hertz
08:49refresh rate monitors for a much smoother and faster gaming experience.
08:54But of course a higher refresh rate usually also means higher cost
08:57and also remember that you'll only see the benefit of it
09:00if your PC has enough grunt to render all those frames every second.
09:04If you've only got a fairly average PC and you're getting like 80 or 90 frames per second
09:08then you're not going to fully take advantage of that high refresh unless of course you're willing to drop your graphic settings.
09:14So I think refresh rates are fairly straightforward, but then we move on to
09:17adaptive sync and this gets a little tricky.
09:21So for the smoothest possible gaming experience try to get a monitor that supports variable refresh rates or adaptive sync
09:27because this eliminates what's known as screen tearing.
09:32So this has the effect of where part of the screen displays one frame and another part that's slightly offset
09:38and it's especially obvious at lower frame rates below 60 fps and it can be pretty distracting.
09:43So an adaptive sync screen can synchronize its refresh rate to the exact number of frames
09:49coming from your graphics card
09:50which means cleaner smoother motion and it also avoids the compromises of older workarounds like v-sync which
09:56would usually increase input lag and sometimes result in stuttering.
09:59So there are three main types NVIDIA's G-SYNC, AMD's FreeSync 1 and FreeSync 2 which are similar to the third type
10:06VESA's open adaptive sync standard. Now G-SYNC monitors can cost several hundred pounds more and they have a custom
10:13controller chip that's built in and requires an NVIDIA graphics card for that variable refresh rate.
10:19Whereas FreeSync 1 or 2 or adaptive sync monitors don't have a chip so you can use any compatible AMD or NVIDIA graphics card.
10:27So NVIDIA's G-SYNC comes in a few different flavors.
10:30We have regular G-SYNC which guarantees a certain level of performance, then we have G-SYNC Ultimate
10:35which adds HDR and extra brightness and also allows for variable refresh at very high refresh rates.
10:41And finally we have G-SYNC Compatible which are AMD FreeSync 2 monitors which meet certain performance criteria.
10:48Most other FreeSync 1 and 2 monitors that aren't listed as compatible will likely work with G-SYNC
10:54but just how well they work will have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
10:58Although FreeSync 2 monitors will probably work better and adds features like HDR, lower latency
11:03and it also removes the lower frame limit for which it works.
11:07So my advice would be to choose a FreeSync 2 monitor as it's cheaper,
11:11it works well with AMD graphics cards and will likely be nearly as good as a regular G-SYNC panel
11:16but not cost anything extra. Still with me?
11:19That was quite a lot to take in but we've got a few more topics that I do want to cover.
11:23So next up we have response times and input lag. Now sometimes these are confused as the same thing
11:29but they are both important in their own way. Now response time is how quickly a pixel can change
11:35what it's displaying usually from one shade of gray to another or gray to gray response and it's measured in milliseconds.
11:42Now a higher response time can result in more motion blur
11:45which can be seen as ghosting, those trails that follow fast moving objects in games and videos
11:51and can give you a bit of a smeary image. So TN panels offer the fastest response time sometimes as low as
11:571 millisecond and are ideal for competitive gaming, fast-paced gaming. IPS panels are a bit slower usually around 5 milliseconds
12:05but that's fine for most people and you probably wouldn't really notice the difference.
12:09And then we have VA. Now some premium VA panels can have very fast response times
12:13but generally these are the slowest and the most likely to suffer from blurring.
12:18Now input lag on the other hand is not usually advertised by the manufacturer
12:22but it is also worth checking especially if you're a gamer and it refers to the time between when the graphics card
12:29outputs an image signal and then when it's actually displayed on the screen.
12:33So for example the time between clicking the mouse button and the gun firing in your game.
12:38So again like response times the less time this takes the better.
12:43Response time and input lag are often measured as a combined value
12:47and so anything under around 15 milliseconds combined is pretty reasonable although under 11 is ideal.
12:53Next up we have high dynamic range or HDR enabled monitors and these can look awesome.
12:59They have a greater contrast range between the brightest and the darkest parts of an image and a wider color range.
13:05So games and programs that are optimized for HDR can look really impressive.
13:11But unfortunately not all HDR is made equal and an important measurement is the maximum brightness level of the monitor.
13:18We measure them in nits and a higher score is better.
13:21So we have the display HDR standard which lists monitors under three tiers.
13:25We have HDR 400 which gives you 400 nits of brightness and this is kind of considered to be the baseline.
13:32Then you have HDR 600 and premium HDR 1000 for a thousand nits.
13:37But you can also find panels that are just listed as HDR 10 which refers to the 10 bit color depth
13:44but they can have varying degrees of brightness.
13:47It's difficult many people maintain that you don't get true HDR
13:51unless you have 1000 nits and 10 bit color depth and anything less is fake.
13:56Well be prepared to pay a lot of money if you want both of those in a PC monitor.
14:01Now generally VA panels offer the best HDR and some of the higher end models will actually use quantum dot filters like Samsung's TVs
14:08to increase the brightness further. OLED monitors are also great for HDR but given their cost and the scarcity
14:15I can't really recommend them right now.
14:16So getting a good HDR panel will make most sense if you're planning on watching loads of HDR content on
14:22I don't know Amazon Prime or Netflix or maybe you're going to plug in your Xbox or PlayStation your HDR enabled console
14:28or even if you're going to play some PC games.
14:31But the problem with PC games is HDR support is patchy at best even if it is getting better.
14:37Some games have implemented what is known as fake HDR where the dynamic range isn't really improved at all
14:42but a filter is added to basically give that impression to accentuate the brightest areas on the screen and of course also increase
14:49color saturation. But the type and the quality of HDR will depend on how the game has been developed.
14:55So throughout this video i've been saying how TAN, IPS and VA all offer slightly different color accuracies
15:02and this can be measured against a range of color gamuts such as sRGB, Adobe RGB and also DCI-P3.
15:09And the closer the monitor is to matching 100% of that color gamut the more color accurate it is.
15:16And what can influence that is the type of panel used and also the color depth. Is it 6-bit, 8-bit or 10-bit?
15:23Pretty much everyone should avoid 6-bit. 8-bit is fine for almost everyone
15:27but if you are a professional color calibrator or photo editor
15:30then you may want to look for a 10-bit panel. Although you will pay more for that
15:34but also be careful because a lot of technical specs will suggest a monitor is 10-bit
15:40but actually it's only 8-bit and uses a technology called FRC to artificially simulate that extra color.
15:48So it's not true native 10-bit
15:50although it will be a bit of an improvement. And that bit color depth indicates how many shades of color a monitor can display.
15:56But then how accurate that is, as I say we test against things like sRGB and Adobe RGB and generally for the average user
16:03I would look for anything that's over 90% sRGB and over 70% Adobe RGB.
16:09Although of course the higher the percentage the more accurate it will be.
16:13The vast majority of new monitors will use an HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 or 1.4
16:19or USB Type-C as their main connector.
16:22Now many will have both HDMI and DisplayPort connections
16:26with more expensive and newer models also offering Type-C. In some cases
16:31you'll find mini HDMI and mini DisplayPorts which each obviously as it says on the tin use a smaller connector
16:37but otherwise they are the same.
16:38You will need to check your graphics card or your laptop ports to see which connection type to use.
16:43If like me you're outputting from your graphics card
16:46then generally I would recommend using DisplayPort. 1.2 supports high refresh rates and 4k at 60 hertz and actually DisplayPort
16:541.4 supports up to 8k.
16:56And also we do have to consider HDMI 2.1 which is coming soon
17:00and is going to offer even more bandwidth and higher resolutions and higher frame rates, but right now that is very very rare
17:07so I'll probably cover that in my next video.
17:09But then we also do have USB-C ports which you'll find on newer graphics cards and laptops.
17:14Some Type-C ports are also Thunderbolt 3 enabled which is an even higher bandwidth technology and means you can output to multiple high resolution displays.
17:23Okay, that was a lot to take in and fair play if you've managed to stick with me this long
17:27but the big question is what should you buy? If you want a decent home and office monitor that doesn't break the bank
17:34go for a 22 or 24 inch 1080p
17:37IPS or VA panel and if you can stretch your budget a little bit go for a 27 inch 1440p.
17:44Now if you're a creative professional working with photos, videos, design work, then a good quality 27 inch 1440p IPS
17:51or if your budget allows maybe even a 32 inch 4k IPS
17:56will be your best bet and aim for ones with the highest color accuracy. Most good reviewers will include that in their review.
18:02But if you need a highly productivity focused monitor with loads of screen space
18:07then consider a 29 or 34 inch ultra wide or maybe even a larger 43 or 49 inch super ultra wide.
18:14But if gaming is a priority for you then do try to get a model with a higher refresh rate anything above
18:2060 hertz and also if you can try to get one with an adaptive sync technology such as FreeSync 2
18:25or G-Sync if it's not too much more money. And that's it. Congratulations. You now know more about monitors
18:32than any normal person should and as you can probably tell
18:35I'm starting to lose my voice as this was quite a long video and don't forget to check my recommended monitors in the description below.
18:41So I really hope you found this video useful. If you did hit that like and subscribe button down there somewhere
18:46and I'll see you guys next time right here on the Tech Chat.