Comparison Samsung S27AG520PP 27 " black vs Samsung Odyssey G52A 27 27 "

The size of one dot (pixel) on a monitor screen. This parameter is related to the maximum resolution of the monitor and its diagonal size — the higher the resolution, the smaller the pixel size (with the same diagonal) and vice versa, the larger the diagonal, the larger the size of one pixel (with the same resolution). The smaller the size of one pixel, the clearer the image will be displayed by the monitor, the less grainy it will be noticeable, which is especially important on large monitors. On the other hand, a small pixel size creates discomfort when working with fine details and text — this mainly applies to monitors with a small diagonal.

The colour depth supported by the monitor.

This parameter characterizes the number of shades that the screen can display. And here it is worth recalling that the image in modern monitors is based on 3 basic colours — red, green, blue (RGB scheme). And the number of bits is indicated not for the entire screen, but for each base colour. For example, 6 bits (the minimum colour depth for modern monitors) means that the screen is capable of producing 2 ^ 6, that is, 64 shades of red, green and blue; the total number of shades will be 64 * 64 * 64 = 262,144 (0.26 million). An 8-bit colour depth (256 shades for each base colour) already gives a total of 16.7 million colours; and the most advanced modern monitors support 10-bit colour, allowing you to work with more than a billion shades.

Screens with support for FRC technology are worth a special mention; nowadays, you can find models marked " 6 bit + FRC " and " 8 bit + FRC ". This technology was developed to improve picture quality in situations where the incoming video signal has a greater colour depth than the screen, such as when 10-bit video is fed to an 8-bit matrix. If such a screen supports FRC, the picture on it will be noticeably better than on a regular 8-bit monitor (although somewhat worse than on a full-fledged 10-bit monitor, but “8 bit + FRC” scre...ens are much cheaper).

High colour depth is important primarily for professional graphics and other tasks that require high colour fidelity. On the other hand, such features significantly affect the cost of the monitor. In addition, it is worth remembering that the quality of colour reproduction depends not only on the colour depth, but also on other parameters — in particular, colour gamut (see below).

Monitor colour gamut Rec. 709 or sRGB.

Any colour gamut is indicated as a percentage, however, not relative to the entire variety of visible colours, but relative to the conditional colour space (colour model). This is due to the fact that no modern screen is able to display all the colours visible to humans. However, the larger the colour gamut, the wider the monitor's capabilities, the better its colour reproduction.

Nowadays, sRGB is actually the standard color model adopted for computer technology; This is what is used in the development and production of most video cards. For television, the Rec. standard, similar in parameters, is used. 709. In terms of the range of colors, these models are identical, and the percentage of coverage for them is the same. In the most advanced monitors it can reach or even exceed 100%; These are the values that are considered necessary for high-end screens, incl. professional.

— KVM switch. The presence of a KVM switch in the monitor - Keyboard, Video, Mouse. This module allows you to control two or more computers using one monitor, one keyboard and one mouse, quickly switching between different PCs (for example, a desktop computer and a laptop). A KVM switch improves productivity when you need to use multiple computers at the same time or one at a time and eliminates desktop clutter. To switch from one computer to another, just one click of the mouse in the proprietary software or a programmed button on the keyboard is enough.

— Light sensor. A sensor that monitors the brightness of ambient light. It is mainly used to automatically adjust the brightness of the monitor itself to the specifics of the situation: for example, if the room gets dark, the image on the screen can also be made dimmer, and under sunlight for normal visibility, the brightness should be high. This provides additional comfort for the user and also contributes to energy savings.

— Presence sensor. A sensor that detects the presence of a person in front of the screen. Most often used to automatically control sleep mode: if there is no one in front of the monitor for a certain time, the screen backlight turns off, and when the user returns, it turns back on. This contributes to energy savings and increases the life of the matrix. In addition, the sen...sor can be useful for more specific tasks — for example, to control the presence of an employee at the workplace.

— PBP (Picture by Picture). Possibility to display two "images" on the monitor at the same time — from two different sources, each of which is connected to its own video input. This feature can be very useful in cases where you have to work with two devices at the same time — for example, with a laptop and the main system unit. The image from both devices is usually displayed side by side. Note that for PBP to work effectively, the screen must be quite large, so this function is found mainly among monitors with the appropriate diagonal — from 27 "and above.

— Flicker Free. Brightness control technology that eliminates excessive screen flicker. The idea of this technology is to reduce the brightness of the image directly by reducing the brightness of the backlight (whereas in monitors without Flicker Free, the brightness is adjusted by turning the backlight on and off at a high frequency). Due to the absence of flicker, the load on the eyes and nervous system is reduced, and working with the monitor (especially for a long time) becomes more comfortable.

— AMD FreeSync. Monitor compatible with AMD FreeSync technology. As the name suggests, this technology is used in AMD graphics adapters — so it's worth looking for a monitor with this compatibility if your computer has an appropriate graphics card. And the general idea of FreeSync is to match the frame rate of the monitor and the frequency of the video signal from the graphics card. Such a need arises in the light of the fact that in some cases the frame rate of the video signal can “float” (this is especially true for modern games and other resource-intensive tasks); and a mismatch with the monitor's refresh rate can result in jaggies, jerks, and other artifacts. FreeSync avoids this.
Note that in this case we are talking about the original version of this technology — support for FreeSync Premium and Premium Pro is indicated separately, for these versions, see below. A similar solution from NVIDIA is called G-Sync; it is also described below.

— AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. The most advanced (at the beginning of 2020) version of the FreeSync technology described above, formerly known as AMD FreeSync 2 HDR. As the first name implies, one of the features of this version is HDR support. In addition, FreeSync Premium Pro claims a frame rate of at least 120 fps at Full HD resolution, as well as low frame rate compensation (LFC). The essence of this function lies in the fact that when the frame rate of the source video signal falls below the minimum frequency supported by the monitor, the same frame is displayed on the screen several times, which allows you to maintain the maximum smoothness of the “picture”. According to the creators, FreeSync Premium Pro works especially well in games; and many modern games are originally designed to work with this technology.

— AMD FreeSync Premium. An intermediate option between the basic AMD FreeSync technology and the advanced FreeSync Premium Pro. Both of these versions of the technology are described in more detail above; and FreeSync Premium does not have HDR support (unlike the Pro version), but works at the same frame rate (at least 120 fps at 1920x1080 resolution) and also uses LFC low frame rate compensation technology.

— NVIDIA G-Sync. A technology for matching the frame rate of the monitor and the frame rate of the video signal used in NVIDIA video cards. The need for such coordination arises due to the fact that in some cases the frame rate of the video signal can “float” (this is especially true for modern games and other resource-intensive tasks); and a mismatch with the monitor's refresh rate can result in jaggies, jerks, and other artifacts. A similar technology from AMD is called Freesync (see above).
Note that in this case it means support for the original G-Sync technology, which was originally incorporated during production. Support for the more advanced G-Sync Ultimate, as well as G-Sync Compatible compliance, are listed separately (see below).

— NVIDIA G-Sync Ultimate. A variation of the G-Sync technology described above, which provides not only for matching the frame rate with the graphics card, but also for a number of improved characteristics of the monitor itself. So, models with this marking necessarily support HDR (and according to a very high standard — not lower than DisplayHDR1000), and also have an extensive colour gamut, often measured by DCI P3 (see above for both). Most of these monitors are gaming monitors (see "Type").

— NVIDIA G-Sync compatible. This feature is indicated for monitors that were not originally designed for use with G-Sync technology (see above), but according to the results of testing, they turned out to be compatible with it. All such devices are models with the AMD FreeSync function (also described above), which were tested by nVIDIA and showed the ability to fully work with G-Sync as well (however, we emphasize that FreeSync support by itself does not yet guarantee compatibility with G-Sync) . Anyway, from the user's point of view, the difference lies in the fact that G-Sync Compatible monitors are much cheaper than their counterparts with G-Sync, but may be inferior to them in picture quality. This is due to the fact that these monitors do not undergo additional image quality tests that are required for devices with native G-Sync support. In addition, in G-Sync Compatible models, correct frame synchronization when working with NVIDIA video cards is guaranteed only if the graphics card is based on the GeForce GTX 10-series and GeForce RTX 20-series GPUs — these are the adapters that compatibility testing is carried out on.

— Adaptive Sync. Screen support for VESA Adaptive-Sync technology. The feature aims to synchronize the display's refresh rate with the GPU's frame rate to reduce latency, minimize artifacts, and eliminate visual tearing. Adaptive-Sync certified screens should run at a default refresh rate of 120Hz, but should be able to drop the frame rate down to 60Hz. The actual response time of such displays should be less than 5 ms. It is important to note that VESA Adaptive-Sync technology is only available for DisplayPort version 1.2a or later.

— CalMAN certification. The monitor has a CalMAN Verified certificate. This certification is given to high-quality screens after they have been tested and calibrated using CalMAN, a professional suite of software tools used for colour manipulation and sensor colour adjustment. The accuracy of these tools is such that even Hollywood filmmakers use them; and in the case of monitors, CalMAN certification is an additional sign of high quality — it means that the colours on such a screen will be displayed as faithfully as possible. Such models are intended mainly for professionals working with colour, as well as for connoisseurs of high-quality video content.

— Pantone certified. The presence of the monitor certificate "Pantone Validated" — that is, a certificate of compliance with the Pantone colour system (PMS). This is a professional colour system created by the company of the same name and widely used in design and printing. One of Pantone's basic ideas is that each colour should remain the same at all stages of work — from agreeing on a general idea to printing / releasing the final product; To do this, all shades covered by the system are assigned code names, which are used in the work. In the case of monitors, Pantone certification means that when working with materials and software tools that use a given colour scheme, the colours on the screen will match the actual Pantone hues as closely as possible. We emphasize that there is no question of perfect correspondence (LCD matrices are not physically capable of adequately displaying some shades); in addition, monitors with such certification may have different colour gamuts — both in percentage and in the systems used for designation (sRGB, Adobe RGB, DCI P3 — see above). However, even if the colour is beyond the capabilities of the screen, it will be displayed as accurately as possible. Therefore, for professional tasks associated with intensive use of Pantone, it is worth choosing monitors with official certification; An example of such tasks is the printing of image printing.

— Aim. The ability to display crosshairs on the screen (usually in the centre) — moreover, due to the operation of the monitor itself, regardless of the game settings. This feature can be useful in some "shooters" — for example, if the game itself does not have a traditional crosshair and accurate shooting is possible only when using sights on weapons, or if some types of weapons do not provide crosshairs at all. On many monitors, the shape and/or colour of the crosshairs can be selected from several options.

— Timer. Possibility to display time counter on the screen. This feature is designed mainly for real-time strategy, although it can be useful in other cases — for example, if a gamer tends to get carried away and forget that you need to stop the game in time. Usually, the timer scale is made translucent — this provides good visibility and at the same time does not interfere with the process.

— FPS display. The ability to display the current frame rate on the monitor right during the game. This function allows you to control the load on the video adapter and makes it easier to select the optimal detail settings so that the game does not turn into a “slideshow” and at the same time the picture remains more or less high-quality. Note that the ability to display FPS is available in some games, but for a full guarantee it is better to have suc...h a tool in the monitor itself.

— Highlighting dark areas. A function that allows you to increase the brightness of certain dark areas on the screen without "highlighting" the rest of the image. One of the most popular ways to use this feature is to detect enemies hiding in dark places.

Rated power consumption of the monitor. Usually, this item indicates the maximum power that the device can consume during normal operation — that is, the energy consumption at maximum brightness, the highest volume of the built-in acoustics, etc. Actual power consumption can be noticeably lower, however, when choosing, it is still best to focus on the value stated in the specifications.

In general, the lower the power consumption, the more economical the device in terms of electricity consumption (ceteris paribus). In addition, this characteristic can be useful when selecting an uninterruptible power supply for a PC and in other specific situations when it is necessary to accurately determine the power consumption of equipment.

This parameter characterizes the efficiency of electricity consumption. Classes are designated in Latin letters from A to G, in ascending order of energy consumption. Actually, this was originally conceived, until more energy-efficient models pulled up to class A, which eventually received the marking A +, A ++, A +++. Further development of technologies allowed us to go even further, and in order not to produce pluses in energy efficiency labeling, in March 2021, manufacturers returned to the previous indices from G to A, where A is the most energy efficient monitor. Accordingly, the 2021 models will have modern markings, while older models will be marked in the same way.

The power supply, made separately, outside the monitor case — usually right on the power cord (similar to how it is implemented, for example, in many laptops).

This arrangement allows you to take out a fairly significant part of the hardware outside the case. Therefore, monitors with an external power supply are themselves thinner and more elegant than similar models with a built-in power supply. On the other hand, the need to look for a place for the PSU itself in some situations can cause inconvenience. Therefore, when choosing, it is worth considering the peculiarities of the situation: in some cases, an integrated power supply may well be the best option.