2 Monitors same model big difference! Had to create a poll for this one.

Which is the better panel Left or Right?

  • Total voters
    18
S

SpongeBob

The Contraceptive Under the Sea
Joined
Jan 15, 2011
Messages
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So I thought to myself this is pretty telling and interesting how a manufacturer can have such differences between them. I don't think too often people get to do this so I figured share it with you guys and you can help put my anxiety to rest and help me pick which display to keep (win win). Take a look at these photos and tell me which monitor you think is the better one to keep. The one on the left or the one on the right.
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These are both the same model monitors, MSI Optix MAG271C, bought a couple of days apart. The pictures are pretty accurate when it comes to how you see them in real life in terms of their differences.

***The one on the left is on HDMI. The one on the right is on Displayport. Both are set in windows 10 to "duplicate these displays". I did a reset on both of them and they are both in the same modes as I said. I could be 100% wrong here but running but color and everything should be the same if running display port or HDMI?



As a side note, I did find a stuck pixel in each monitor as a side note. Blue one on the left, red one on the right. Not that it matters for this. I've in the last few days have had 2 of these monitors and an ASUS VG279Q and all of them had a stuck pixel each. Seems to be the norm now?
 
Pretty sure DP sends more info hence better picture.

Swap cables and see what happens.
 
The one on the left looks better to me in terms of back light bleed and gamma. But I agree with DrLobotomy that you might want to switch the cables and see if it actually used PC range and gamma via HDMI. A blue dead pixel is generally not as bright as a red one. I have a dark blue pixel on a 1366x768 32" monitor somewhere on the left and I don't see it unless there is saturated blue shown. When the monitor is showing bright content, you wont notice a single yellow pixel among the white ones.
I could imagine that everyone returns their monitor when they receive one with a dead pixel until the online trader's warehouse only has those "bad" displays remaining. If it triggers OCD, then check if you can find one that offers a dead pixel test. Some manufacturers also offer separate guarantees aside from Pixel Fault Class II. For example in Germany (all of EU?) BenQ replaces a display if there is any sort of stuck pixel in the central area (when divided into 3x3 rectangles). I haven't needed that service yet, so can't say what the caveat may be. (i.e. different "equivalent" replacement monitor)
 
I'll switch cables and see what happens. The one on the left is more like grey and less vibrant, less black in the blacks.

You can definitely tell the blacks being not as black in the picture with spiderman and venoms face and the scifi girl. You can see the details on the girl more like brightness is turned up on the left where as her boots are hard to see on the right. To me makes me wonder if having black blacks is better cause I can always turn up brightness or contrast etc.

Colours being less vibrant on all the solid photos. The right one wins there. Same with in the picture of the homes on the water. If you look at the bottom left in the water the water is greyish on the monitor on the left and has more blues on the right. It's even more apparent in the windows password login screen and the picture with the space ships.

The black light bleed I would say just follows all the edges on the left monitor. Where it's more apparent in particular spots on the right. However the one on the right it's significantly darker like blacks look more black.

I find this all interesting and frustrating. Kinda feel like we should be further along in monitor tech in 2019, leaning on TN's for far too long instead working on color quality, reducing back light bleed, and other imperfections and I'm not saying it's just MSI.

I will switch the cables tonight and report back, for science! (y)
 
The only difference between HDMI and DP is bandwidth. One will not magically make colors better than the other. HDMI can do 10-bit full RGB just like DP.
 
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I take it you dont' have a calibration device you can use to measure white/black point? These are VA panels with ~3000:1 contrast, so blacks should be VERY good.

It could be a bit of variance in the backlight control. Have your tried lowering the backlight one step on the screen with the not so deep blacks?
 
viivo said:
The only difference between HDMI and DP is bandwidth. One will not magically make colors better than the other. HDMI can do 10-bit full RGB just like DP.
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Sometimes HDMI defaults to TV setting, and limits the color range. Though it's usually more obvious than this. I would still switch the cables.
 
I love my Samsung VA 24" 1080P I bought two of them I wish the stand was adjustable and the power plug didn't fall out with tape.
 
Honestly, I think that calibrating both would eliminate the differences you're seeing. Either way, I don't think I can make a call between the two. Sorry
 
I prefer the left one. While blacks are worse, at least it seems way more consistent - the right panel has clouding/blotching that would bother me more, making the whole image too inconsistent for my taste. Amazing that the same model can vary SO much though, goes to show why different users have wildly different experiences with same monitor models.
 
Calibration won't help much, that is some of the worst clamping variation I've ever seen.
 
The one thing I did notice when I switched the left one over to displayport the blacks improved a bit. So I found that a bit interesting. My new video card has multiple display ports so I can do a proper test tomorrow.
 
Dell has a pixel perfect guarantee on all their premium ultrasharp monitors including their Alienware monitors - model specific, but full warranty against any single pixel failure for 3 years.

Ive recently bought 5 dell monitors and 2 ultrasharp, two studio, and one Alienware, and all were perfect.

I think Dell takes only the best panels. That makes Dell or Alienware a solid choice when possible over the second/third string panel makers like MSI that get the leftover panels (and thus offer a cheaper price).
 
Archaea said:
Dell has a pixel perfect guarantee on all their premium ultrasharp monitors including their Alienware monitors - model specific, but full warranty against any single pixel failure for 3 years.

Ive recently bought 5 dell monitors and 2 ultrasharp, two studio, and one Alienware, and all were perfect.

I think Dell takes only the best panels. That makes Dell or Alienware a solid choice when possible over the second/third string panel makers like MSI that get the leftover panels (and thus offer a cheaper price).
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I beg to differ... I returned 3 of these S2716DG G-Sync monitors. Each one had issues.
 

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SpongeBob said:
I beg to differ... I returned 3 of these S2716DG G-Sync monitors. Each one had issues.
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Thats bad luck, but that isnt the monitor line I recommended as covered under the premium perfect pixel guarantee.

https://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/98/campaigns/dell-premium-panel-guarantee

Per above add the professional line to the guarantee in addition to the Ultra-sharp and Alienware that I said are Dells premium monitors — with the three year warranty and pixel guarantee. Not all monitors from Dell are created equal.

S series is the studio line from Dell. Its a lesser line. Though frankly they may still help you if you got a bad display because Dells customer service (in my experience) is pretty decent.

Dell has multiple series of monitors.
Heres a list I found online.

[Series][Diagonal][Year][Ratio or Resolution][Features]

  1. Series
    • E - Essential. Usually TN anti-glare panel, internal power, simple base, 3-year warranty.
    • P - Professional. Usually IPS anti-glare panel, internal power, height/rotate base, 3-year warranty.
    • S - Home & Small Office. TN, VA, or IPS panel, usually external power, slim base, 1-year warranty.
    • U - UltraSharp. IPS anti-glare panel, internal power, height/rotate base, 3-year warranty.
    • UP - UltraSharp with PremierColor. Additional colour gamut.
    • AW - Alienware. High-end gaming.
    • C - Commercial displays. Large format (>50") for conference rooms and classrooms.
  2. Diagonal
    • Two digit diagonal viewable size rounded to the nearest inch.
  3. Year
    • Two digit year it was released.
  4. Ratio or Resolution - The first uppercase letter after the digits is most commonly the aspect ratio or QHD/UHD resolution
    • S - standard ratio (4:3 or 5:4),
    • no letter - computer widescreen (16:10)
    • H - HD widescreen (16:9)
    • W - Ultrawide (21:9)
    • D - QHD (1440p)
    • Q - 4K UHD (2160p)
    • K - 8K UHD (4320p)
    • The following have also been the first letter, but either on 16:10 (no letter) or discontinued models:
    • T - Touch
    • M - No HDMI (S/U-series only)
    • L - With HDMI (only used when the same model without HDMI exists)
    • N - With VGA (only used when the same model without VGA exists)
  5. Features - The second uppercase letter after the digits can represent a large variety of features such as:
    • C - USB-C input (DisplayPort alternate mode)
    • X - HDMI cable included (instead of standard DisplayPort)
    • T - Touch
    • G - Nvidia G-Sync
    • F - AMD FreeSync
    • J - Wireless charging stand
    • Z - Video conferencing camera
    • A - Arm included (no stand)
 
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Okay round 2 for science! So this time both were using display port and the same settings. I would say there is more light leakage on the one on the right but it's whites are whiter. The whites lean more warm on the one on the right but the blacks are blacker. Tell me / vote for which you think is better. I honestly find this pretty interesting when you put aside how annoying and big of a pissoff this is as a consumer.

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What wallpaper are you using on #7 in the OP? I'm talking about the aerial picture/illustration of the small town during winter. It's absolutely gorgeous… I really want it!
 
SpongeBob said:
At this point it's really just for science! I already chose the one I'm keeping but I think it's interesting to share.
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In that case, the one on the right looks like it has a tiny bit more contrast, but considering these are VA panels with about 3000:1 contrast, it should be largely irrelevant, and small things, like the camera position can impact pictures.
 
Panel said:
What wallpaper are you using on #7 in the OP? I'm talking about the aerial picture/illustration of the small town during winter. It's absolutely gorgeous… I really want it!
Click to expand...
 
Snowdog said:
In that case, the one on the right looks like it has a tiny bit more contrast, but considering these are VA panels with about 3000:1 contrast, it should be largely irrelevant, and small things, like the camera position can impact pictures.
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The light leakage on the left one is what made me opt for the one on the right. While yes the whites are better on the left one by a large margin which you can see in the first bunch of photos its like white vs sorta beige the light pooling in more from the bottom and left side is far more noticeable on the left one. I rather people look like they got a little sun vs light pooling in during black scenes.

Panel said:
What wallpaper are you using on #7 in the OP? I'm talking about the aerial picture/illustration of the small town during winter. It's absolutely gorgeous… I really want it!
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I found all of these at wallhaven.cc if there are any in particular any of you would like of these I can post them later just let me know which ones.
 
Left has better gamma, right has more balanced colors, IMHO. Black levels are fixed now by switch to display port it seems. Good luck picking the best. :p
 
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