TN vs VA vs IPS | Which is best display panel for gaming?

Hello guys and welcome back to your own tech guide: TechAnalysia. So as you already know from the title that today we are here to discuss some display panel types used in the electronic market widely these days, especially in laptops and desktop monitors.

Whenever you try to opt for a good panel type for your PC/laptop whether it's for gaming or editing or video rendering etc., you often came across some basic types of display panels available in the market. Like; IPS, VA, TN panels. Then while you are deciding which one to buy there are some questions hovering around in your mind like:-

Are IPS better than TN?

Is TN or IPS better for gaming?

Is the VA panel better than IPS?

TN vs VA vs IPS: which is best for gaming?

Today we are here exactly for all these questions. We try to get all these questions to be answered in this article. So with all that said, let's get started.

So let me tell you first there are some other factors to keep in mind while choosing a monitor display type or laptop display type likewise:- refresh rate, response time, and contrast ratio but maybe you don't know that these stated factors completely depend upon the type of panel that displays particularly uses. So today I am going to tell you about some differences and advantages of these display panels. And we are going to look at a display tech comparison against each other. 

TN vs VA vs IPS: Which is the best display for gaming?

TN (Twisted Nematic) Panels

Twisted Nematic or TN panels are the oldest LCD panels out there and they are being used since the 1980s they are still in the use today in full swing. If you are buying a monitor or laptop and you can't find any label for the display type and you can't find out which type of display is this then it means it's a TN panel. You find these panels in entry-level laptops or in super-budget desktop monitors. TN panels are so famous in the budget segment that they are the cheapest available display panel type in the market.

The color reproduction, color accuracy, and viewing angles are the worst in these panels. When you move your display up or down you can clearly see that colors are washed out and details are lost, in this condition you are not able to view your content easily. However on the other hand the TN panels are the fastest among all three panels. TN panels are often found in gaming laptops or monitors because they can run at higher refresh rates like 120 or 144 Hz without breaking a sweat. There are some expensive TN panels available in the market, and these are generally found in high end & competitive gaming PCs or laptops. Though high-end TN panels with good preproduction and good viewing angles still can't compete with the IPS or VA panels. 

ADVANTAGES:

1. Fast response times
2. Higher refresh rates
3. Cheap

DISADVANTAGES:

1. Worst viewing angles
2. Worst color reproduction

Best suitable for high end & competitive gaming. So if you are a hardcore gamer & love gaming a lot then you might consider this type of display panel if you are ready to compromise with dull colors and poor viewing angles. It's up to you.

VA (Vertical Alignment) Panels

Also termed as SVA (Super Vertical Alignment) by Samsung and AMVA (Advanced Multi-Domain V Vertical Alignment) by AU Optronics. All these are the same panels. Basically, VA panels sit between TN and IPS panels. They are having the best-in-class contrast ratio and Image depth among all three panels. They have deep blacks too, which helps them to stand out between all three panels in the field of image depth and clarity. They're quite better than TN panels in both areas which are color reproduction and viewing angles, but not enough to pass the quality of IPS panels, thus making VA panels a reasonable mid-range choice. The only major flaw of VA panels, when compared to the likes of IPS panels out there, is that when viewed from certain angles the colors are likely to shift a bit. 

You can find VA panels with high refresh rates at some point but can face some motion blur due to latency issues. So if you're in competitive gaming or so then avoid VA panels. VA panels have a slower response time than TN and IPS. 

ADVANTAGES:

1. Color production is good from TN can be comparable with IPS 
2. Best in class contrast ratio
3. A solid mid-ranger display panel type provides a balance between pricing and performance

DISADVANTAGES:

1. Longer response times
2. The problem of Motion Blur

Best suitable for someone who is a casual user and uses his\her laptop or PC for general and moderate use like browsing, watching movies, working on word & excel, etc.

IPS (In-Plane Switching) Panels

This term was first introduced by LG. Samsung calls this similar technology as PLS (Plane to Line Switching). It's a very popular type of display panel used in a variety of electronic devices such as laptops, desktop monitors, smartphones, TVs, etc. IPS panels have the best viewing angles and most color-accurate panels when compared with TN and VA panels. The color reproduction is best in class in IPS panels due to which you find excellent visuals in these panels.  And the colors won't fade away no matter where you're looking at them from. The only drawback of the IPS panel is that they have a longer response time, making them slower, especially from a TN panel. And IPS panels are also not good in contrast ratios when compared with VA panels. 

Most IPS panels generally have a response time of 4ms or above, although nowadays new IPS panels can be configured at low response times as low as 1ms. And these panels are quite expensive than VA or TN panels, this is why you find an IPS display in upper mid-range or high-end laptops & desktop monitors. 

ADVANTAGES:

1. Excellent viewing angles
2. Best color reproduction
3. Great Visuals

DISADVANTAGES:

1. Slower response time
2. Lower refresh rates
3. Bit expensive

It is best suitable for those who use their laptops for content creation, video & photo editing, color-intensive works, and professional designers.

CONCLUSION

TN panels are the cheapest and have higher refresh rates, fast response times, though they are very bad at color reproduction and viewing angles. These are used in ultra-fast gaming displays and in the budget segment displays in laptops and desktop monitors. If you are in professional and competitive gaming, then you cant opt for this.

VA panels are the slowest among the three types. But on the other hand, it can easily beat the other two when it comes to contrast ratio and deep black levels. Color reproduction isn't quite promising like IPS panels but better than TN panels. And provide slightly better viewing angles than TN panels but not quite up to the IPS. 

IPS panels have an upper hand in the terms of color reproduction and viewing angles from the other two. It'll give you some mid-level response time, refresh rates, and also black level. The IPS panel provides the best viewing angles and better color accuracy for some extra bucks. If you want to enjoy games in live-like colors then go with IPS panels.

So that's it for today. I hope now you'll get a better idea regarding the display panel technologies out there and I'll hope this will help to choose the right monitor or laptop for the best-suited purpose. And let me know your thoughts in the comment section down below regarding the same. And If you have any suggestions\ideas or something I missed here then also tell me in the comment section.

And today if you learned something new and loved what you just read then share it with your family and friends. 

See you guys next time with another interesting tech dose till then bye and take care.