WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.240 I need to bring a monitor to whale land, but I don't want to tear apart my desk 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:06.680 to take my beloved AW3225QF. 00:00:06.680 --> 00:00:10.860 What am I gonna do? Maybe there's a sale on. 00:00:11.820 --> 00:00:16.960 What do I actually need to gain? 120 Hertz refresh rate is fast enough 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:21.240 and a smaller display is easier to move. IPS has decent motion clarity. 00:00:21.240 --> 00:00:24.920 That's it. Wow. And for only 70 Freedom Box? 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:29.040 What have I got to lose? Whoa. 00:00:29.080 --> 00:00:32.400 And here it is. I actually did go to the land with this puppy 00:00:32.400 --> 00:00:36.600 and it was great. Partly in thanks to this little monitor that could. 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:41.280 And that's thanks to how much display tech has advanced over these last few years. 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:45.600 When you can get a proper nice gaming OLED for around $500 or $600, 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:48.600 you better believe the older gear is out there priced to sell. 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:52.480 And while I can't guarantee that every model is going to be a winner like this one, 00:00:52.480 --> 00:00:57.740 I think the results for this little guy are gonna surprise you. I've got absolutely zero buyers remorse 00:00:57.740 --> 00:01:01.540 because I followed a short list of what I consider to be must-haves 00:01:01.540 --> 00:01:06.220 when shopping for a budget gaming monitor. You might know me as a man who owns a monitor, 00:01:06.220 --> 00:01:11.180 but now I own two. And I'm here to convince you to not overspend on your next display, 00:01:11.180 --> 00:01:15.180 at least if you don't have to. Instead, save your money for our sponsor. 00:01:17.660 --> 00:01:25.540 I know what you're probably thinking. 00:01:26.300 --> 00:01:29.580 You spoiled son of a bitch, stop with the act. But it's true. 00:01:29.580 --> 00:01:36.180 In part because of must-have number one, the refresh rate, 60 or even 75 Hertz, way too low. 00:01:36.180 --> 00:01:41.180 We want the 120 that's on this box, what? 00:01:42.460 --> 00:01:45.740 Wow, maybe it's not. Yeah, maybe it's not actually listed on the box. 00:01:45.740 --> 00:01:50.980 Whatever, it was on the spec page on the monitor section of Best Buy. 00:01:50.980 --> 00:01:56.060 And so I know it's 120 Hertz. Whether you're gaming or working, 120 Hertz feels great, 00:01:56.060 --> 00:02:00.700 thanks to massively reduced latency. And while that can be reduced further 00:02:00.700 --> 00:02:04.860 with a higher refresh rate, the returns start to diminish quickly. 00:02:04.860 --> 00:02:09.220 120 Hertz is also great for modern consoles and at the resolution we'll be using, 00:02:09.220 --> 00:02:11.820 they won't have to worry about poor performance. 00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:17.060 Boom, headshot. Look, 1080p is definitely a compromise, 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:20.600 but at 24 inches, we're still getting over 90 pixels per inch. 00:02:20.600 --> 00:02:23.700 That's under the desired 100 threshold, 00:02:23.700 --> 00:02:27.340 but our price is under that threshold as well. A bigger screen would be nice, 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:30.620 but you can always scooch it towards you or kind of scooch yourself towards it. 00:02:30.620 --> 00:02:35.580 And set up was a breeze. I've brought a 27 inch LED monitor to a LAN before 00:02:35.580 --> 00:02:39.420 and while that was nowhere near as difficult as moving a CRT, 00:02:39.420 --> 00:02:42.480 this thing took up hardly any desk real estate. 00:02:42.480 --> 00:02:46.740 And it was still easy to see over the top when I wanted to talk to someone 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:51.040 on the other side of the table. The last item on my checklist is panel type. 00:02:51.040 --> 00:02:55.140 I dream the dream. That someday OLED will be obtainable 00:02:55.140 --> 00:03:01.140 for the sub $100 mark. But today, it's not that day. 00:03:01.140 --> 00:03:04.180 However, IPS still has solid motion clarity 00:03:04.180 --> 00:03:07.900 while maintaining decent color accuracy and viewing angles. 00:03:07.900 --> 00:03:12.820 Higher end VA panels are fine, but my experience with them on the lower end 00:03:12.820 --> 00:03:17.020 has been a smeary mess. And TN, the clearest of the trio, 00:03:17.020 --> 00:03:22.660 just doesn't pop like IPS or VA do. I wanted a jack of all trades. 00:03:22.660 --> 00:03:26.460 And this is it. Do you think anyone's gonna hate it? Let's go. 00:03:26.460 --> 00:03:30.940 What are we testing? Am I talking about the monitor or the computer? 00:03:30.940 --> 00:03:34.280 The whole thing. The whole thing? Okay. It looks amazing. 00:03:34.280 --> 00:03:38.300 It looks amazing. It looks really smooth. Oh, there was a kitchen, not kitchen, a chicken. 00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:44.740 I think everything's fine. Just I've never really played counter strike, but everything feels smooth and looks fine enough. 00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:49.020 Should I be expecting leg spikes or? 00:03:49.020 --> 00:03:52.180 Well, if he's like really high frame rate, that's for sure. Oh, I just got a headshot. 00:03:52.180 --> 00:03:56.140 Ha ha ha. I've never played these games before. 00:03:57.420 --> 00:04:03.020 This is the most okay monitor I've ever seen. This is sort of comparable to the monitor that I had before. 00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:07.740 I got my upgrade. You could watch that if you'd like. I own a monitor now too. 00:04:07.740 --> 00:04:11.620 Apparently that was a headshot, but that was his chest, but okay. Oh, they're bots, right? 00:04:11.620 --> 00:04:15.620 I'm not that good. Yeah, they're bots. Okay, yeah, I'm not that good. Ha ha ha. 00:04:15.620 --> 00:04:19.980 Like the colors are fine on it, but I wouldn't call it, oh God, I'm terrible. 00:04:19.980 --> 00:04:25.500 Kind of shook, why are you getting me to play this? By my standards, I can see myself using this. 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:30.100 Ploof, this is a really cheap monitor, right? Yeah. The monitor's $70. 00:04:30.100 --> 00:04:33.500 Oh, okay. LG? Yeah. 00:04:33.500 --> 00:04:38.220 Ha ha ha. Really? It looks pretty good. I gotta say, like, what's the refresh rate? 00:04:38.220 --> 00:04:42.140 It feels really smooth. 120 Hertz. 120 Hertz, okay. This has gotta be 1080p. 00:04:42.140 --> 00:04:45.980 1080p? But solid viewing angles. 00:04:45.980 --> 00:04:51.420 Right? Dude, I could get like, one, two, three, four, five, six of them, man. 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:56.820 Ha ha ha. Where'd you get that sick shirt? I got this sick shirt from the Glitch Collection 00:04:56.820 --> 00:05:00.100 at LTTstore.com. Get yours today. 00:05:00.100 --> 00:05:04.220 What surprised me the most was just how color accurate the monitor is in SDR. 00:05:04.220 --> 00:05:07.980 It's not perfect, but with 99% coverage of SRGB, 00:05:07.980 --> 00:05:11.700 it's able to achieve an average Delta E2000 of just 3.5. 00:05:11.700 --> 00:05:16.460 Great for professional creators. Maybe not, but that's more than accurate enough 00:05:16.460 --> 00:05:19.620 for damn near anyone to not only game on this thing, 00:05:19.620 --> 00:05:24.020 but to watch content on it too. It's also got almost zero processing latency 00:05:24.020 --> 00:05:29.540 with their measurements being just a bit above the theoretical perfect while refreshing at 120 Hertz. 00:05:29.540 --> 00:05:32.540 And while the motion clarity isn't amazing, 00:05:32.540 --> 00:05:38.940 it's not awful with great-to-great response time averaging just 6.6 milliseconds with a max under 13. 00:05:38.940 --> 00:05:41.940 I've seen worse on a $30,000 TV. 00:05:41.940 --> 00:05:45.620 If that's not fast enough for you, this does support black frame insertion 00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:49.420 or BFI through its one millisecond motion blur reduction 00:05:49.420 --> 00:05:53.260 setting, cutting our average response time nearly in half. 00:05:53.260 --> 00:05:57.020 For my use case, and I think for most people out there trying to game on a budget, 00:05:57.020 --> 00:06:01.220 there's not much more you need. It's a solid monitor for gaming in a dark room, 00:06:01.220 --> 00:06:05.780 but there are some flaws. I don't mind the lack of brightness. 00:06:05.780 --> 00:06:09.160 350 nits is more than acceptable in a dimly lit land event. 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:14.540 But put this thing near a living room window though, and you're gonna wanna invest in some curtains 00:06:14.580 --> 00:06:18.860 for that midday sun. Also, thanks to that low brightness and edge lighting 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:24.420 instead of a set of full array local dimming zones, this thing sucks when it comes to HDR. 00:06:24.420 --> 00:06:27.460 Frankly, it shouldn't even get the HDR10 rating, 00:06:27.460 --> 00:06:32.940 let alone have it in the name on LG's website. But don't worry, because aside from our poor HDR experience, 00:06:32.940 --> 00:06:36.460 finding a model with better features, refresh rate, size, and resolution 00:06:36.460 --> 00:06:40.620 is actually pretty easy and surprisingly affordable if you're not gunning for the latest 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:43.860 and greatest panel tech. Let me show you. 00:06:43.900 --> 00:06:47.820 This 27 inch, 1440p 180 Hertz Acer model 00:06:47.820 --> 00:06:51.040 looks great on paper and only costs 160 bucks 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:54.700 now that it's a couple years old. Next step, quick review check. 00:06:54.700 --> 00:06:58.180 The lab doesn't have a monitor section yet, so for now, we'll let ratings tell us 00:06:58.180 --> 00:07:02.900 if this is trash or not. However, I kinda stand by IPS in general 00:07:02.900 --> 00:07:06.740 and would probably only look deeper than the storefront reviews 00:07:06.740 --> 00:07:10.320 if it's a higher end purchase or a VA panel. 00:07:10.320 --> 00:07:13.460 Past the coveted 1440p 27 inch range, 00:07:13.460 --> 00:07:17.420 I personally think that increasing the resolution or size 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:22.420 is a lot of diminishing returns real fast, unless you're talking about going ultra wide, 00:07:22.420 --> 00:07:25.900 which is a totally valid, but different bag of worms entirely. 00:07:25.900 --> 00:07:29.100 Once you're at that 1440p 27 inch target, 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:32.820 I think it's better to spring for proper HDR, which we'll get to shortly. 00:07:32.820 --> 00:07:36.020 In terms of refresh rate, 120 Hertz already felt good. 00:07:36.020 --> 00:07:39.300 165 is nicer, but realistically, 00:07:39.300 --> 00:07:44.980 240 Hertz and above is something many of you will only notice in first person shooters. 00:07:44.980 --> 00:07:48.820 If you can tell it all, on a strict budget, I wouldn't move past this price point 00:07:48.820 --> 00:07:54.140 as we're already paying more than double for some nice to haves compared to the goat here. 00:07:54.140 --> 00:07:58.620 If you've got a few more coins in your piggy bank, some mini LED monitors have fallen below 00:07:58.620 --> 00:08:03.100 the $300 price point. This AOC model is going for 260 right now, 00:08:03.100 --> 00:08:06.540 and if you can afford it, OLED is incredible 00:08:06.540 --> 00:08:09.900 and has hit the five or $600 price point 00:08:09.900 --> 00:08:13.460 many of us have been dreaming about. This AOC model looks pretty good, 00:08:13.460 --> 00:08:16.500 or get the Dell Alienware model with similar specs 00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:20.580 for 550 if you trust them more. Personally, I think if you can wait 00:08:20.580 --> 00:08:25.240 even a few more months to save, OLED's incredible HDR performance 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:32.040 with per pixel dimming zones, giving us counts in the millions, is worth the wait. 00:08:32.040 --> 00:08:38.180 Yeah, it's twice the price, but we're getting more zones than our AOC model over here 00:08:38.220 --> 00:08:43.620 to help with bloom. And near perfect motion pixel response times 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:47.580 to keep your screen clear and up to speed in Battlefield 6 or whatever other modern shooter 00:08:47.580 --> 00:08:51.620 you're playing. But maybe you're like me, a gamer with no kids and three money 00:08:51.620 --> 00:08:57.100 buying some of the best displays on the market. Now, for hundreds instead of thousands. 00:08:57.100 --> 00:09:02.020 Well, okay, if you want an oddity like the Samsung Arc, 00:09:02.020 --> 00:09:05.460 you'll be spending more than hundreds, but you get the point. 00:09:05.460 --> 00:09:08.780 You've got options people, many of which we'll have linked 00:09:08.780 --> 00:09:12.620 in the video description below. Tandem OLED is here driving down prices, 00:09:12.620 --> 00:09:17.180 QD OLED still looks incredible, and who knows what will come out next. 00:09:17.180 --> 00:09:21.380 Until then, I'm gonna keep bringing the little LG that could to Whaleland, 00:09:21.380 --> 00:09:25.540 and I'm not going to spend a single second of my time thinking, wow, 00:09:25.540 --> 00:09:30.660 I wish the monitor looked better, because honestly, it looks almost as good as our sponsor. 00:09:30.660 --> 00:09:35.300 Thanks for watching. If you liked this video, maybe watch the one where we fixed my old budget monitor. 00:09:35.300 --> 00:09:40.120 It worked great for a little while. Then I took it to a LAN, and I guess it just jostled around a bit too much 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:43.960 in my car on the way there and it broke. It's not always fixed forever. 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:46.160 Sometimes you're just extending a lifespan.