Display Enlightment by NCX

New content, review links and summaries, and important site updates are posted in here, along with links to the Best Reviewed Flicker Free Monitor buying guides I put the reviews I source from these 15+ sites across the realm.

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Please support my work via crypto currencies or Paypal (paypal email is thedeepinthesky@yahoo.com).  NCX's Amazon wish list

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My room is lit by a single 2200 lumen (brightness), 6500k color temperature Animen LED light or 4x LIFX BR30 bias lights placed behind my monitors.

All testing done using a SpectraCal C6 HDR2000 (upgraded i1 Display Pro Colorimeter; a colorimeter measures the colors, contrast, brightness, gamma, ect; proof of ownership), HCFR (program used to measure the color presets and verify calibration) and dispcalGUI for calibration. I use my own cables to connect the monitors to my PC and consoles.

PixPixAn's (free software) Chase, Streaky Pictures and Flag tests were all used to test the pixel response times along with the Ghosting test from Test UFO. Input lag was tested with the Leo Bodnar Input Lag Tester.

LCD monitor test images test patterns from Lagom were used to test the colors along with tons of photos from Wallpapers Wide.

PC:

Motherboard: MSI M87
CPU: Intel i7 4770k
Case: Lian Li PC80
GPU: Zotac GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme
Ram: 16gb Patriot G Viper Xtreme 2133mhz
Power Supply: Antec High Current Pro 1200w

Please support my work via crypto currencies or Paypal (paypal email is thedeepinthesky@yahoo.com).  NCX's Amazon wish list

BTC address:

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1GK9FUuyDE5pFMXUvBt51Qzd5KK9EdFpLD

ETH address:

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0x691f1e5d8f02a47b8ad4a1c86672263525a343ff

LTC address:

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LgXrUHKQPHFhkLvy9WDoTVH3tsWbxHbQvP

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My room is lit by a single 2200 lumen (brightness), 6500k color temperature Animen LED light or 4x LIFX BR30 bias lights placed behind my monitors.

All testing done using a SpectraCal C6 HDR2000 (upgraded i1 Display Pro Colorimeter; a colorimeter measures the colors, contrast, brightness, gamma, ect; proof of ownership), HCFR (program used to measure the color presets and verify calibration) and dispcalGUI for calibration. I use my own cables to connect the monitors to my PC and consoles.

PixPixAn's (free software) Chase, Streaky Pictures and Flag tests were all used to test the pixel response times along with the Ghosting test from Test UFO. Input lag was tested with the Leo Bodnar Input Lag Tester.

LCD monitor test images test patterns from Lagom were used to test the colors along with tons of photos from Wallpapers Wide.

PC:

Motherboard: MSI M87
CPU: Intel i7 4770k
Case: Lian Li PC80
GPU: Zotac GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme
Ram: 16gb Patriot G Viper Xtreme 2133mhz
Power Supply: Antec High Current Pro 1200w

Please support my work via crypto currencies or Paypal (paypal email is thedeepinthesky@yahoo.com).  NCX's Amazon wish list

BTC address:

Spoiler (hover to show)

1GK9FUuyDE5pFMXUvBt51Qzd5KK9EdFpLD

ETH address:

Spoiler (hover to show)

0x691f1e5d8f02a47b8ad4a1c86672263525a343ff

LTC address:

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LgXrUHKQPHFhkLvy9WDoTVH3tsWbxHbQvP

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.

Please support my work via crypto currencies or Paypal (paypal email is thedeepinthesky@yahoo.com).  NCX's Amazon wish list

BTC address:

Spoiler (hover to show)

1GK9FUuyDE5pFMXUvBt51Qzd5KK9EdFpLD

ETH address:

Spoiler (hover to show)

0x691f1e5d8f02a47b8ad4a1c86672263525a343ff

LTC address:

Spoiler (hover to show)

LgXrUHKQPHFhkLvy9WDoTVH3tsWbxHbQvP

Please support my work via crypto currencies or Paypal (paypal email is thedeepinthesky@yahoo.com).  NCX's Amazon wish list

BTC address:

Spoiler (hover to show)

1GK9FUuyDE5pFMXUvBt51Qzd5KK9EdFpLD

ETH address:

Spoiler (hover to show)

0x691f1e5d8f02a47b8ad4a1c86672263525a343ff

LTC address:

Spoiler (hover to show)

LgXrUHKQPHFhkLvy9WDoTVH3tsWbxHbQvP

2018: HP 25f Review: Almost-Glossy 75hz IPS with AMD Free-Sync: 25er & 25es successor with AMD Free-Sync, native 75hz, the fastest pixel response times, but worse color accuracy than the 25er & 25es.  2x HDMI and 1x VGA.

2017: HP 24 Envy Review: Semi-Glossy 1080p IPS with 75hz & AMD Free-Sync: The 24 Envy natively supports 75hz (no overclock required), can cover more of the HDTV/REC 709 color space than the 25-27" HP monitors, but is less accurate than the HP 25er and 25es.  Displayport, HDMI and USB-C.

2016: HP 25er/es Review: Non-overclock-able 2016 Almost-Glossy/Low Haze Monitors with slightly more accurate color presets than the rest, especially once the Contrast is reduced from 80 to 75.  2x HDMI and 1x VGA.

2015: HP 27CW, 25XW and 27XW Review: Overclock-able 2015 monitors with worse preset color accuracy than the 25er and 25es.  2x HDMI and 1x VGA.

The 25" and 27" HP CW/er/es/XW series monitors all use the same almost-glossy (Low Haze) coating which HP describes as:

"The reflective-ness typical with glossy screen surface is appreciably reduced with the Low Haze Screen enhancement, without losing clarity and contrast of screen imagery."

HP 25-27VX: These monitors use LED PWM Dimming or Flicker which ruins motion clarity and makes some people suffer from health issues like headaches and/or eyestrain. The VX monitors have less vibrant colors since they have a smaller and less accurate color gamut capable of covering up to 92% of the sRGB color space versus the 25-27CW & XW monitors 97%, and use a pure glossy coating while the 25-27 CW & XW monitors use a treated glossy or almost-glossy coating with some ant-reflective properties.


Review Information and Methodology:

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All testing done using a SpectraCal C6 HDR2000 (upgraded i1 Display Pro Colorimeter; a colorimeter measures the colors, contrast, brightness, gamma, ect; proof of ownership), HCFR (program used to measure the color presets and verify calibration) and dispcalGUI for calibration. I use my own cables to connect the monitors to my PC and consoles.

PixPixAn's (free software) Chase, Streaky Pictures and Flag tests were all used to test the pixel response times along with the Ghosting test from Test UFO. Input lag was tested with the Leo Bodnar Input Lag Tester.

LCD monitor test images test patterns from Lagom were used to test the colors along with tons of photos from Wallpapers Wide.

PC:

Motherboard: MSI M87
CPU: Intel i7 4770k
Case: Lian Li PC80
GPU: Zotac GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme
Ram: 16gb Patriot G Viper Xtreme 2133mhz
Power Supply: Antec High Current Pro 1200w

Please support my work via crypto currencies or Paypal (paypal email is thedeepinthesky@yahoo.com).  NCX's Amazon wish list

BTC address:

Spoiler (hover to show)

1GK9FUuyDE5pFMXUvBt51Qzd5KK9EdFpLD

ETH address:

Spoiler (hover to show)

0x691f1e5d8f02a47b8ad4a1c86672263525a343ff

LTC address:

Spoiler (hover to show)

LgXrUHKQPHFhkLvy9WDoTVH3tsWbxHbQvP

I live in Canada and am a 28 year old European mutt whose ancestors are from multiple European countries such as England, Germany, and Scotland.  I post recommendations frequently on Reddit's r/Monitors. Check out my post history.

My recommendations are based off of testing more than 60 monitors and reading in-depth reviews from over fifteen reviewers across the realm.  I started reading monitor reviews frequently in 2009 and quickly realized that most reviewers kept their content in a bubble, or did not account for competing reviews of the same, or very similar monitors.  Without reading multiple reviews one may miss obvious flaws, and the fact that the same panels can vary greatly, such as the contrast of IPS panels which often varied by 30% between the same panels, and the gamma which may be 1.8 on one unit and 2.2 on another.

One must read multiple reviews since no reviewer tests everything, myself included, since doing so requires thousands of dollars worth of testing gear, and vast amounts of time.  One must read multiple reviews to account for panel variance, see oscilloscope measurements of pixel responses times, in-depth perceptual analysis of pixel response times or overdrive performance, resolution scaling, judder, uniformity, and multiple other areas of performance which no single reviewer covers.  Reading multiple reviews also subjects one to the different ways reviewers prioritize certain areas of performance, and expose a reader to important testing methods and aspects of performance the reader was previously unaware of.  One reviewer may have an oscilloscope for measuring pixel response times, but ignore how clear or grainy a coating is, and not test a monitor with external devices such as consoles to ensure that a monitor display their signals properly. 

I try to account for everything in my analysis, but can't always do so since most monitors are not reviewed by multiple in-depth reviewers.  I do not have an oscilloscope or signal processor, but I provide unique analysis of the perceived black depth and contrast of a display, explain how to properly view (display height and viewing distance) each panel type, and test monitors with consoles.  Reviewer priorities vary based on their own knowledge, access to equipment, priorities, and time they're willing to put into a review.