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TECH FEATURE

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4 gaming monitor picks Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q1A A fantastic entry point, this Full HD monitor is nice and zippy with software solutions that reduce motion blur and screen tearing. AT A GLANCE 23.8” IPS LED Full HD 165Hz 1ms 1000:1 2x HDMI DisplayPort

UNI B A C K TO

The gamer’s guide to S o you’ve got your crazy-good gaming PC all set up – but you can’t just waste all that graphical grunt on a stuttery old office monitor. Gaming monitors are specially designed to keep up with the fast-paced action, display everything in gorgeous detail, and can even give you a competitive edge against your rivals! So what specs do you need to consider? MONITORS Words Michael Irving

LG 32GN50R UltraGear This huge monitor stretches the display almost all the way to the edge, and is compatible with NVIDIA’s G-Sync technology, which smooths out the action by allowing the refresh rate of the display to adapt to the frame rate of your PC’s graphics card. AT A GLANCE 32” VA LED Full HD 165Hz 5ms 3000:1 HDMI DisplayPort

Size This one speaks for itself – it’s the physical size of the monitor, which can affect immersion. Panel technology The type of panels in a monitor can set the stage for image quality. Light Emitting Diode (LED) panels are popular, with the two main types, IPS and VA, each having advantages. Generally, IPS LED displays have faster response times and better colour reproduction, while VA panels display deeper blacks and higher contrast. Resolution The number of pixels crammed into a display can really make details pop. Full HD (or 1080p) is a common resolution, containing 1920 x 1080 pixels, but there’s also Quad HD (QHD) which has 2560 x 1440, and 4K which packs in 3840 x 2160. Refresh rate How often the screen refreshes itself is of course directly tied to the maximum frame rate. It’s usually measured in Hertz

(Hz), and a 165-Hz display, for example, can update the display 165 times per second. Higher refresh rates provide

silky smooth action. Response time Similar to above is the

Lenovo G27QC-30 This curved gaming monitor will sweep you away with its QHD resolution, vibrant colour reproduction, and high contrast. As a bonus, it’s designed to tone down blue light emissions that can harm vision. AT A GLANCE 27” VA LED QHD 165Hz 1ms 4000:1 1500R 2x HDMI DisplayPort

response time, which is how long the pixels in a monitor take to switch colours. This is usually measured in milliseconds (ms). Contrast

A good monitor can display both bright lights and dark shadows well, and this is measured as a contrast ratio, such as 1000:1. Curvature Some monitors curve inwards, bringing the display into your peripheral vision for total immersion. The sharpness of the curve is measured as a number with an R after it, and the smaller the number the sharper the curve. So a 1500R monitor has a more gentle curve than a 1000R monitor.

Samsung Odyssey G6 Samsung knows the game better than most. The Odyssey G6 is a premium gaming monitor with a sharp curve for

deep immersion, a buttery 240Hz refresh rate and the option to stretch out to an ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio. AT A GLANCE 27” VA LED QHD 240Hz 1ms 2500:1 1000R 2x HDMI DisplayPort 2x USB

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