Only the latest graphics cards,
including the Nvidia GeForce RTX
3080, can do 4K at 120Hz over HDMI.HDR performance, the AOC AG344UXM
and ViewSonic XG341C-2K should be
interesting for gamers. Both are IPS
monitors due this year and have the same
basic form as the Alienware AW3423DW
OLED panel. So that’s 34-inch ultrawide
and 3,440 by 1,440 pixels. The AOC will be
good for 170Hz, while the Viewsonic will
crank out 200Hz.
Both have mini-LED backlights with
1,152 zones and so should be able to
deliver a true 1000-nit HDR experience
rather than the pseudo-HDR that comes
with DisplayHDR 400 panels only capable
of 400 nits of brightness and which
typically lack local dimming of any kind,
let alone hundreds of mini-LED zones.
The Samsung Neo G8 looks pretty
hot, too. Due any day now, it’s a 32-inch
4K model with a 1,196-zone mini-LED
backlight that’s good for a whopping
240Hz. If that’s likely to be pretty pricey,
the likes of the Acer Predator X27S and
Cooler Master GP27-FQS should be
more attainable. Both are 27-inch 1440p
models running at 160Hz powered by 576-
zone mini-LED backlights. Overall, expect
plenty more mini-LED monitors this year
and hopefully at ever-lower prices.
If you’re getting the sense that higher
refresh rates are becoming the norm,
that’s going to be even more true as
2022 progresses. How much ever higher
refresh matters for most gamers once you
get beyond, say, 240Hz is open to question.
But multiple 360Hz monitors are already
available with 480Hz incoming, quite
possibly by the end of 2022. Both LG and
AU Optronics are close to releasing 480Hz
IPS panels to monitor manufacturers.
They’re both expected to be 1080p 24-inch
models, aimed at serious eSports addicts
and pro gamers. Of broader interest, LG is
working on a 1440p panel with a refresh
rate beyond 240Hz. That should be out this
year and sounds pretty sweet on paper.Beyond all that, there will inevitably
be detailed further improvements to
existing LCD panel tech. LG debuted
its so-called IPS Black high contrast
technology in the Dell U3223QE earlier
this year, which we reviewed recently (see
our May 2022 issue). While it disappointed
on first viewing, here’s hoping future
implementations improve. The one thing
IPS tech could do with is a contrast boost
and better native black tone rendering.
LG is also working on further improving
both the pixel response and color accuracy
of its IPS panels, including exceeding
100 percent of the DCI-P3 digital cinema
space, which will be impressive if it
happens. In terms of response, LG is
planning on reducing the overshoot and
inverse ghosting that results from heavily
overdriven pixels, which in turn should
improve the usable response time. LG
hasn’t divulged any specifics, but we’d
estimate it will release its first 0.5ms GTG,
rather than the even more forgiving MPRT
metric, IPS panels. Here’s hoping.
Still, if you add up all of the possible
developments for conventional LCD tech
in 2022, you arrive at a pretty spectacular
overall solution, even without OLED
becoming more widely available. If 2022
won’t quite be the year of cheap OLED
monitors for all, it is shaping up to be a
good time to buy a new PC monitor.