A comparison of premium gaming monitors – connect-living

The monitor quartet Acer Predator X34GS, Benq Mobiuz EX3210U, Lenovo Legion Y32p-30 and LG UltraGear 32GQ950-B is between 900 and 1150 euros at the time of testing. The 16:9 displays from Benq, Lenovo and LG to a native 4K resolution of 3840 x 2140 pixels and achieve frame rates of at least 144 Hz.

The Acer Predator X34GS poses with his 21:9 format 3440 x 1440 pixels (WQHD) is a slightly lower resolution, but it is ahead of the competition with refresh rates of up to 180 Hz.

On topic reaction time the test candidates again give a uniform picture, because they each convince with very low switching times and thus cut a sovereign figure even with fast action titles. There is also agreement on HDR. Each of the monitors comes with one DisplayHDR certification and thus achieves a guaranteed minimum HDR brightness according to the respective certification level. This is 400 cd/m² for the Acer and Lenovo, 600 cd/m² for the Benq and even 1000 cd/m² for the LG UltraGear 32GQ950-B.

Here are our test candidates:

1. Lenovo Legion Y32p-30 in the test: very good (900 points out of 1000); “test winner”
2. LG UltraGear 32GQ950-B in the test: very good (880 points out of 1000)
3. Acer Predator X34 GS in the test: very good (873 points out of 1000); “Winner Price/Performance”
4. Benq Mobiuz EX3210U in the test: very good (872 points out of 1000)

Test procedure monitors

We rate each gaming monitor in the categories picture quality (40%), ergonomics (20%), Furnishing (20%), energy efficiency (10%) and service (10%).

• The picture quality we measure with the spectroradiometer Konica Minolta CS-2000.
• To determine the response times we measure the signal delay when transmitting the image signal from the graphics card to the monitor (input lag).
• In the Furnishing In addition to interfaces and gaming features, there are also extras such as HDR and an ambient light sensor.
• For a high ergonomics rating the monitor must be set up as flexibly as possible.
• In the efficiency the light output per watt and the power consumption are decisive.
• At the service we evaluate the warranty period.

© Konica Minolta

Expert opinion: Manuel Masiero, author

The displays from Acer, Benq, LG and Lenovo all deliver a very impressive gaming performance and make gamers’ hearts beat faster with their consistently good image quality. If there is no high-end graphics card in the PC, the test candidates can hardly be lured out of their reserve, because then a lot of frame rate potential simply remains unused. Only the price-performance winner Acer Predator X34 GS sets the hardware requirements slightly lower than its 4K colleagues, where the graphics card has to calculate around 1.6 times the number of pixels due to its WQHD resolution.

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Info: Input lag on gaming monitors

How fast are gaming displays? To do this, we determine the in the test laboratory for all screens video latencies at 60 and 120 Hertz. The shorter the response times of a gaming monitor, the more streak-free its display. In the data sheets, the response times are given in milliseconds and often refer to the gray-to-grey change.

This means the time it takes for a pixel to switch from one shade of gray to another. Response time information can also refer to the black and white change. On gaming displays, they are also often specified as MPRT (Moving Picture Response Time), a measure of perceived motion blur.

© connect-living.de

None of these numbers are really meaningful, because the monitor manufacturers only give the optimal value in the specifications. We therefore measure it ourselves and determined the input lag for all four test candidates.

Since there is no fixed standard for this, it can be defined in very different ways. Our measurement focuses on the video latency and determines the time that elapses between the generation of a video image and its output on the display.

For this we create with the professional signal generator Murideo SEVEN 8K generator at the HDMI input of the gaming display a 60 Hz signal and in another measurement a 120 Hz signal. A USB probe attached to the display then captures the screen output, taking into account the image build-up time. Finally, the Murideo software returns the latency in milliseconds.

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