Response time is surely one of the important specifications that gamers would need to consider in choosing their gaming monitors. Just to make sure that we are on the same page allow me to give you a quick definition of what is a “response time”. It is basically referring to the pixel response or how fast it takes for a pixel to change from one color to another. It may be black to white or from one shade of gray to another. Take note that a black-to-white should be regarded as the real response time while the shades of gray response time are more of a manufacturer’s advertisement.
How does response time affect your gaming experience?
As you already know that response time shows how fast a pixel can change colors from one to another, it also primarily affects the clarity and accuracy with whatever is being shown in your monitor. In other words, the higher the monitor’s response time, the more trouble it will have to clearly display fast moving objects or else you’ll end up seeing blurred images and or a fading silhouette of it will follow after, also known as ghosting.
To make it short and simple, lower is always a good response time for monitors and the lowest response time we have is 1ms. However there are two things you need to understand especially with the technology used in the manufacturing of modern monitors.
Any monitors that are manufactured today are using two different types of panel: TN (twisted nematic) and IPS (in-plane switching). These two technologies have a number of pros and cons of each, including response time.TN panels have the lowest response time of 1ms, while IPS panels can only go as low as 4ms.
Televisions usually have high response times since it is not as important a stat for their usual purpose. Because of that, manufacturers rarely even include the exact response time in a TV’s specification sheet, but they are mostly in the 8-15 range today. Whatever the case, the TV’s response time will definitely be higher than the 4ms of an IPS monitor.
To sum it all up, if you already have researched a lot and understood the difference between 1ms and 4ms or higher you would surely weight which one fits your preferences. Just a piece of advice, TN has better response time but IPS has better viewing angles and better color reproduction. I would say 1ms TN monitor is best for competitive gamers who need every advantage they can get. On the other hand, 4ms response time is a small price to pay for the superior visuals that an IPS monitor brings to the table.
Response time is just one of those many specifications you need to look out for or be concerned about in choosing the best monitor for gaming. Whatever is your point for sure as gamers we all have one goal and that is to have a great gaming experience.
