Gaming Monitor OR Gaming Television: A Review
Technology is evolving so fast, we are seeing brand new ways to utilize devices for multiple purposes. Gaming is one of the most rapidly growing field. In order to get the best out of gaming skills, the right hardware setup is required. Gameplay display is normally done via a monitor screen, whereas, the ideal pairing will be a game-grade monitor. The introduction of smart TV screens has revolutionize the entertainment world, gaming is no exception. Any TV screen with a high definition output and low input-lag can be used as gaming television, fortunately latest LED smart televisions are good at doing that. We are seeing a large number of PC gamers switching from gaming monitor to a smart television screen. At the end of the day it all depends on what choice do you make, monitor or television both can work as efficient gaming display. In the later section, we will provide discussion on the pro and cons of monitor and television for playing games.
Smart Gaming TV; One Screen Multiple Uses
Gaming monitor fail to offer the versatile uses that a modern television screen has to offer. The evolution of smart tv screens has enabled us to use them as one output device from large number of visual input options. All you need to do is hook up the compatible wire to get the visuals+sound signals into the smart television. Some of the key uses of today’s cutting edge television screen includes:
- Desktop Computers
- Laptop Computers
- Tablet, Ipads
- Smartphones, Iphones,
- Gaming Consoles; Xbox, Playstation, Wii etc,
- Internet Surfing, e.g; YouTube videos, Facebook, Websites
- Dish/ Cable Television Channels
- DVD, Bluray players
Gaming television can successfully render fast game graphics coming from your PC graphics card. It’s amazing to play console based (e.g; Wii games) or PC games on your large TV screen.
Low-Input Lag Gaming Monitor and TV For Fast PC Gameplay
One of crucial factor of rating a monitor or a television screen to be consider good for gaming purpose is measuring its’s input lag time. A low input lag can only be achieved if the screen processing is very fast and gives a fast response time. Having a display with graphics lag issues will cause glitches during a gameplay, thus affect your game performance. It’s ideal to find a screen with lowest lag time such as 1ms (milli-seconds), though it will take some time in processing the visual signal coming from your computer and convert into an image. New monitors and smart TVs tackle the lag issue pretty well and we are seeing faster display screens in both genre.
Full HD & UHD 4K Resolution of Monitor and Television Display
The lowest resolution that a gamer seeks is a 1080p or a full high definition screen. We can find monitors with a 720p which still stands as a HD but not an ideal screen for playing video games. Modern computer games runs on high settings giving a smooth frame rate at full high definition resolution, so output device should be compatible. On the other hand, the big and the bold 4k resolution is getting popular, where the screen resolution is four times larger than a normal HD, 4k is also named as ultra-HD resolution. We can find plenty of 4KTVs in the market that will help you build your dream gaming rig. However, we are seeing 4k monitors entering the market as well. Just note one thing that 4k supported monitors and TV screens comes with heavy price tags. These should only be considered when you have high budget and pursuing a serious gaming system build.
Note: In order to play at 4K resolution, you need super heavy video card setup, ideally dual GPU via crossfire or SLI configuration to render graphics on uHD at smooth frame rates.
Gaming Televisions Are Expensive Than Monitors
Obviously a small screen will cost less, so gaming monitors are cheaper than televisions screens. However, there are some exceptions, so quality driven high-end gaming grade monitors are super expensive and cost higher than average television screens. On the macro level, smart televisions are expensive in comparison to monitor screens. The price curve moves upward when you try to look for larger size, resolution and other features. Now-a-days curved and 4k TV are among the display that come with big price tags.
Gaming is an expensive hobby especially when you not ready to compromise on the quality and performance. Televisions gives better game visuals but cost higher than monitors.
Gaming Monitors Best Fit for Small Spaces
Gamers usually setup their computer in their study/ bedroom, so available space is limited most of the time. In given situation, large television screens are hard to fit. So if gamers choose a gaming television, then the chances are that they will go for a smaller dimension one such as 32″. Whereas, the most common computer monitor sizes fall between 18″ to 30″, however, 21″ to 27″ are best suited for displaying quality game graphics. The tricky part is that most gamers view television screen only as a second option to play PC games but other does take them seriously as part of high-end gaming rig. Both gaming monitor and television display screens can easily be mounted on wall.
What’s the allowed area in which you are building your gaming rig? small spaces are big pain, better stick to monitor if you are confined to small room. If not then enjoy gaming on a large screen.
Wall Mount-ability of Monitor & TV Screens
As mentioned earlier, monitors are ideal candidate in a gaming setup where are fall short of space. However the wall-mount can be used for television screen as an alternative to setting on a computer desk. This is also true for a monitor display, so the only thing matters is your decision, whether you like a wall-hanging screen for your game visuals or not? Wall mounting is done via a compatible rack with screw that you can drill holes in wall and tight the screws. Whereas, the monitor or television screen simply sit on the wall mount rack. Again large televisions are best suited in a living room, they might look awkward in a small room. So a small size TV is what appeals most gamers.
It does not matter if you have a monitor or a smart TV, if you are good with hanging them on your room’s wall, space problem won’t hurt you much.
Curved Televisions Vs Straight Screen TVs
If you have no trouble of space and you have made your mind on a television screen then the next question that arises is whether go for a straight face or a curved screen? Curved television screens cost higher than traditional rectangular plain screens. There are some key benefits of owing a curved screen for rendering gaming visuals. First of all it delivers an immersive panoramic view and result in more covered area. Secondly the curvature enables to give a sense of realistic screen, so a curved panoramic screen provides more natural view. Curved monitors are also entering the mainstream and marketers anticipate their high demand in near future. Checkout the collection of top 10 smart curved TVs for home cinema and gaming (playing PC and console based video games).
Curved screen will allow you to view the gameplay from a whole new angle, the great panoramic curvature allows a more natural field of view, resulting in more realistic graphics on the screen.
