Comparing TN vs. IPS LCD monitors for gaming

monitorpcperformance

Having never owned an LCD desktop monitor, I'm wondering what the advantages and disadvantages are between owning a TN and an IPS monitor in regards to gaming performance. While I know there are several factors upon which you can compare the two for general usage, I'm primarily concerned with the differences in gaming experience between them and what factors I would need to consider when comparing the two.

I'm currently having difficulty disseminating information from pages and pages of forum posts. What I'm primarily looking for is a comparison between the following points, though any additional information in regards to differing factors would also be welcome:

  • Refresh rate
  • Responsiveness
  • Graphics/texture quality differences due to varying color depth in displays

Best Answer

Some considerations about IPS vs TN competition:

  • IPS costs more than TN
  • IPS reproduce colors better than TN
  • IPS has a wider viewing angle than TN
  • IPS has a slower response time (latency) than TN monitors (5-8 ms vs 2-5 ms)
  • IPS (at the moment) does not support a 120 Hz refresh rate. Therefore if you want to play 3D games (e.g. using NVidia 3D Vision) on IPS monitor you can have 30 fps maximum (60/2).

These are general assumptions about these two different monitor technologies. Then every product has his own story. You can read some good reviews on websites like, for example, Digital Versus.

Said this, if you do not plan to watch many movies or to play a lot of FPS/action games and you have the budget I suggest you a good IPS monitor because their are wonderful to work with (program, web design, etc.). Otherwise, go for a good TN monitor.

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