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Gaming monitors on the market, whether priced at 1000 or 8000 yuan, all promote “1ms response time” as a selling point, some even add various suffixes like GTG, MPRT, gray level response time, panel response time, etc. Are these advertised 1ms truly reliable?👇 Click here to watch the video 👇
Selection and Parameters
We spent over 30,000 yuan to purchase 9 monitors for testing. First, we selected four popular models with 27-inch 2K resolution in the price range of 1000-3000 yuan, namely the ViewSonic VX2780-2K-PRO, Acer XV272UV, Dell S2721DGF, and LG 27GP850-B, covering traditional slow LCD panels and fast liquid crystal panels Fast IPS and Nano IPS. Additionally, we chose a larger 32-inch Samsung S32AG524PC and the best-selling curved ultra-wide screen for immersive gaming experience, which includes the Xiaomi Curved Monitor 34 inches and Huawei MateView 34 inches. We also selected the cheapest 2K 27-inch monitor from Yashengnuo and one high-priced model with comprehensive specifications, mainly the ROG PG32UQ.
Response Time
When playing games, when encountering significant changes in the screen or rapid movement of the viewpoint, the response time of the monitor affects the clarity of dynamic images, determining whether there is ghosting or trailing. Therefore, response time is a key performance metric of a monitor.Response time actually refers to the time it takes for a single pixel in an LCD screen to change. If an 8-bit color depth screen has 256 brightness levels, then the time it takes for a certain brightness level to change to another level between 0-255 is what we refer to as the “GTG gray level response time” advertised by manufacturers.
We rented a set of optoelectronic sensor equipment and a professional digital oscilloscope, connecting the optoelectronic sensor to the screen to capture the brightness level changes on the screen, and then used a special software algorithm to simulate the GTG changes from 0 (black) to 255 (white). We converted the brightness changes measured by the optoelectronic sensor into voltage and read the final waveform data from the oscilloscope, calculating the average response time from these 30 data points.
All nine monitors were warmed up for half an hour, and all underwent gamma correction, ultimately tested at the highest refresh rate in default mode.It can be seen that the LG with the third-generation Nano IPS panel has the fastest response time of 4.7ms; the Dell with the second-generation Nano IPS ranks second with 5ms; followed by Acer with Fast IPS panel at 6ms. In fact, a response time of under 6ms is considered very good performance in many panel manufacturers’ testing standards. 
On the other hand, Xiaomi, Huawei, and Yashengnuo, all exceeding 10ms, use VA panels. This illustrates the inherent difference in response time between VA panels and IPS panels known to everyone.VA panels and IPS panels may only seem to differ by 4 or 5ms, but when reflected in actual gaming scenarios, the difference becomes very apparent. We also rented a high-speed camera capable of capturing thousands of frames to compare the differences among various monitors in two fixed gaming scenes.
In games, when the viewpoint moves significantly, the ghosting of VA screens is very obvious, and multiple ghost images of the target appear on the screen; while the IPS screens perform much better, with Acer, Dell, and LG showing minimal ghosting, and the three monitors’ ghosting situations are quite similar. ROG, Samsung, and ViewSonic also exhibit slight ghosting, but they are still much better than Huawei and Xiaomi.
Therefore, if you are an FPS or RAC type player, who cares about the monitor’s response time and ghosting, it is best to avoid choosing VA panels. So why do the panels with the best data like LG and Dell not reach the 1ms advertised by manufacturers? Why is there still a significant gap from 1ms?
OD Overdrive Tool
The so-called 1ms by manufacturers is based on their testing standards, achieved through OD adjustments of the monitor panel.OD stands for OverDrive, which increases the voltage to the liquid crystal molecules in the screen to enhance the torque on the liquid crystal molecules, thereby accelerating their movement and rotation, forcing the liquid crystal molecules to change arrangement within a shorter time to achieve the set transmittance, thus speeding up the screen’s response time.
Manufacturers generally add different OD levels in the monitor menu to achieve rapid response effects. We also tested and calculated each OD level of the 9 monitors.Considering a simple data table may not be sufficient, we introduced a ghosting test method. By tracking and photographing the test image with the camera at the same speed, we obtained a more visual reference image to see if the monitor has ghosting or smearing.
After compiling the test data, it becomes clear that as we increase the OD levels step by step, the monitor’s response time significantly decreases, and at higher OD levels, monitors like Acer and ViewSonic even achieved response times of 3ms or even 1.7ms.
On the ghosting side, most monitors at lower OD levels maintain similar clarity to before.However, at higher levels, ghosting can become quite severe, with ghosting appearing at the front of the UFO image.
This situation is a common occurrence in OD adjustments known as overshoot. Thus, much of the 1ms advertised by manufacturers is achieved by over-pressurizing the liquid crystal molecules.
Overshoot
So why does ghosting appear after overshoot, and how can it be adjusted?Under normal circumstances, the time it takes for voltage to go from initial brightness to target brightness is the response time we pursue, and currently, upstream panel manufacturers and downstream monitor manufacturers have set a reasonable tolerance value of 10%-90% to offset the impact of noise and other factors during testing.
When the highest OD is enabled, the excessive pressure on the liquid crystal molecules causes them to continue moving past the target brightness, leading to overshoot.Thus, the portion that exceeds the target brightness is the data we use to measure OD overshoot.
At the default OD level, the error rate is basically 0%, but as the OD level increases, the overshoot error rate gradually increases. Monitors like Acer and ViewSonic with short response times have an error rate as high as 33%.At this point, when we combine the previous ghosting test, we find that when the overshoot error rate exceeds 20%, ghosting becomes very noticeable, making the image almost unusable.When the overshoot error rate is below 20%, the image can maintain a good condition, for example, the normal setting of ViewSonic and Acer, the Extreme setting of Dell, LG’s Fast setting, and the fourth setting of ROG are the best choices at maximum refresh rate.
Response Time at Different Refresh Rates
So can we directly set the OD to these levels after purchasing the monitor? Actually, no. During our previous tests, we limited the condition to maximum refresh rate.The response time of the monitor varies under different refresh rate conditions, which may change due to different synchronization technologies or variable refresh rates, but this is often not mentioned on many monitor product pages or manuals.
Therefore, when we usually play games, if you have sufficient financial resources and your computer’s graphics card performance is adequate, you can adjust to the maximum refresh rate OD level; but if the game only supports 120Hz or 60Hz, then you may need to choose an appropriate OD level for the best experience.We also tested the response times of all OD levels for the 9 monitors at 60Hz and 120Hz; due to the large amount of data, we will use LG and Dell, which performed best in response time, as examples.
Previously, we tested that at the maximum refresh rate of 165Hz, the fastest response time was achieved through the Extreme setting,with an error rate of only 1.9%; however, when the refresh rate dropped to 120Hz, the error rate for the Extreme setting increased to 6.3%; and when the refresh rate was set to 60Hz, the error rate rose to 10%. The first Fast setting has an error rate of only 1%, but the response time is not much different from the second setting, making it the most suitable OD level at 60Hz.LG’s situation is similar; the response times at three refresh rates are basically the same, but the changes in error rates are quite noticeable.At 120Hz, you can choose the Fast setting, while at 60Hz, you can choose the Normal setting.
Conclusion
In summary, regarding response time, we recommend Acer, Dell, and LG; all three monitors perform well in terms of response time, and they control ghosting effectively. For image performance, LG and Dell are more recommended, as they have good brightness and contrast performance, ensuring dark scenes in games are not too dark and bright scenes are not overexposed.
The monitor industry has too much opacity; in the product introductions of various manufacturers, color gamut is always 100%, screens are eye-friendly, and response times are all 1ms. Behind these parameters, there are still many things that consumers cannot see.We urge all monitor manufacturers to provide comprehensive information in product introductions and manuals, as these are the only ways for ordinary consumers to understand the products. It is crucial to inform users about OD, MPRT, PWM dimming, and various functional settings and parameters, what they do, what benefits they bring, and what they affect, as these are essential factors for consumers to decide whether to purchase.Based on the refresh rates and settings of gaming monitors in our program, we calculated the response times and overshoot error rates of various brands, compiling a Gaming Monitor Response Time Table.Feel free to scan the code to add and reply with the keyword “gaming monitor” to obtain this information!
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