The Case For 27" 1440p 75hz AHVA/IPS/PLS
Support NCX
TL ; DR
All TN panels have bad image quality, and 27" 2560x1440 75hz AHVA/IPS/PLS offer the best overall gaming and image quality improvement to those with less than 400$ US to spend. I’m arguing for people to upgrade everything instead of sacrificing image quality panel in order to gain 144hz from a low-quality TN panel, of which there are many with worse image quality than the 60hz TN panels people upgrade from.
Multiple good 2560x1440, 75hz AH-IPS and PLS panels with Free-Sync are available for the same price as the cheapest 144hz 1440p TN and curved VA panels. The best tested options are the Acer BE270U, Asus VZ27AQ (second best), Dell S2719DM and Samsung S27H850QFU which is the most accurate, but is not available in North America.
Best Reviewed Flicker Free 27" 1440p AHVA/IPS/PLS with performance summaries and dozens of review links.
I would be more favorable to the 144hz 1440p VA panels if the curved VA panels had lighter matte coatings and text clarity on par with AHVA/IPS/PLS:
IBXT Curved C24FG70 VA Text Blur Analysis
PC Monitors Curved VA Panel Text Blur Analysis
I understand that 144hz reduces input lag and motion blur if the panel has pixel response times to match, however I think 144hz is overvalued since skill always trumps non-ridiculous (>40ms) amounts of input lag, plus many of the people who buy the cheapest 144hz 1440p TN panels upgrade from 60hz monitors 75hz provides a 25% refresh rate increase over 60hz, which a noticeable upgrade, and in the case of 75hz AHVA/IPS/PLS, an upgrade which does not require one to sacrifice image quality.
Yes TN panels typically have faster pixel response times than AHVA/IPS/PLS, but they do not have lower input lag than gaming oriented AHVA/IPS/PLS, and as previously stated, 75hz is still a significant upgrade over 60hz. One of the most popular, as well as worst sub 400$ 144hz TN panels, the Dell S2716DG (35%), suffers from vastly more overshoot ghosting than the Samsung S27H850FQU's 5%. Belgium Hardware Source.
Sitting Directly In Front Is Not A Remedy
All TN panels have very restrictive viewing angles and suffer from vertical gamma shift, therefore all TN panels have bad image quality. AHVA/IPS/PLS panel glow is not a problem if viewed correctly, and not in the dark with the brightness cranked.
Since TN panels suffer from vertical gamma shift, their colors and shades are uneven from top (top quarter is too dark) to bottom (bottom half is washed out), as well tend to have more banding, and always have vastly less wide, or more restrictive viewing angles, though all LCD panel types look the worst when viewed from above, or looked down at.
It does not matter if one sits directly in front of their TN panel (correct way to view a TN), how much one pays, especially since the majority (excluding Dell S2716DG & S2719DGF) of the most expensive 27" 1440p TN panels use grainier/sparklier matte coatings than AHVA/IPS/PLS panels. Calibration can vastly improve inaccurate TN panels, but a TN is a TN, and can never compete with decent AHVA/IPS/PLS.
Dell S2716DG (AUO TN) v BenQ XL2420G (AUO TN) v Qnix QX2710 (Samsung PLS) calibrated with an X-Rite i1 display pro colorimeter with ICC profile activated to correct the gamma:
Acer XB271HU (AUO AHVA) vs Dell S2716DG (AUO TN) Calibrated but connected to a PS4 so there's no gamma correction; both monitors have non-linear and low-ish gamma below the target of linear 2.2:
BenQ Zowie RL2460 (AUO TN) vs Qnix QX2710 Multi Hot (AUO AHVA) Calibrated but connected to a PS4 so there's no gamma correction; both monitors have nearly linear 2.2 gamma out of the box.
I reviewed the Dell S2719DGF which has better image quality than the S2716DG, but has worse image quality than the BenQ Zowie RL2460 since it can properly cover SDR (HTDV/REC 709 & sRGB) color spaces while the Dell monitors both over and under-saturate colors. HCFR BenQ vs Dell Measurement Comparisons
1.) Dell S2719DGF (AUO TN) versus AOC AG271QG (AUO AHVA) calibrated with a Spectracal C6 HDR 2000
2.) Dell S2719DGF (AUO TN) versus AOC AG271QG (AUO AHVA) calibrated with a Spectracal C6 HDR 2000
