Is There Still a Future for 240Hz+ IPS panels in 2026?

[Anonymous703819]

Hi everyone,

Lately it feels like the high-end monitor space has shifted almost entirely toward OLED / QD-OLED. If you want flagship-tier specs, that’s basically where everything is happening now unefortunately.

So it makes me wonder: is IPS still worth it in 2026?

I recently tested a 4th gen tandem 1440p 280Hz OLED and, honestly, I came away disappointed for several reasons. It just didn’t click for me.

For the past few months I’ve been using a Zowie XL2546X. I really enjoy the motion clarity and DyAc2 experience, but I genuinely miss 1440p / 4K resolution. So I started looking into 1440p high refresh options (240Hz+/mostly 360hz) on IPS.

And here’s the strange part:
Reviews are scarce, deep panel analysis is even rarer, and LCD-focused content feels almost gone.

On Reddit it’s either:

- ”Every monitor is perfect” takes with no real standards
- Or zero meaningful feedback at all

The market has clearly evolved because older references are discontinued, new models are out but where’s the proper breakdown of the panels? DisplaySpecifications doesn’t even list panel models on many recent releases anymore.

Aside from a couple Monitor Unboxed reviews showing some IPS panels with ~20% refresh rate compliance or 40–50% overshoot in certain transitions… it’s not exactly confidence-inspiring.

I’d actually like to stick with LCD and specifically IPS, even though I avoided it for years. I still don’t love OLED for my use case.

So my question to the motion community here:

Are there any genuinely good 1440p 240Hz+ IPS panels in 2026?
Anything with solid overdrive tuning, good refresh compliance, and minimal overshoot artifacts?

Would love to hear from people who’ve actually tested them properly.

Thanks!

[kyube]

Lately it feels like the high-end monitor space has shifted almost entirely toward OLED / QD-OLED. If you want flagship-tier specs, that’s basically where everything is happening now unefortunately.
So it makes me wonder: is IPS still worth it in 2026?
I recently tested a 4th gen tandem 1440p 280Hz OLED and, honestly, I came away disappointed for several reasons. It just didn’t click for me.
For the past few months I’ve been using a Zowie XL2546X. I really enjoy the motion clarity and DyAc2 experience, but I genuinely miss 1440p / 4K resolution. So I started looking into 1440p high refresh options (240Hz+/mostly 360hz) on IPS.
The market has clearly evolved because older references are discontinued, new models are out but where’s the proper breakdown of the panels? DisplaySpecifications doesn’t even list panel models on many recent releases anymore.
Aside from a couple Monitor Unboxed reviews showing some IPS panels with ~20% refresh rate compliance or 40–50% overshoot in certain transitions… it’s not exactly confidence-inspiring.
I’d actually like to stick with LCD and specifically IPS, even though I avoided it for years. I still don’t love OLED for my use case.
So my question to the motion community here:
Are there any genuinely good 1440p 240Hz+ IPS panels in 2026?
Anything with solid overdrive tuning, good refresh compliance, and minimal overshoot artifacts?
Would love to hear from people who’ve actually tested them properly.

The QHD +240Hz market hasn't changed much the past 4 years, they're still using the same panels.
Most of which you've tested, as per your signature.
The only exceptions to your list would be: Q25G4SR, Titan Army P2510S/Innocn 25G2S, PG27AQN, XG27AQNGV (1/4 of the new Pulsar models)

The Pulsar models are the fastest IPS up to date. See the pros & cons here

[Anonymous703819]

The QHD +240Hz market hasn't changed much the past 4 years, they're still using the same panels.
Most of which you've tested, as per your signature.
The only exceptions to your list would be: Q25G4SR, Titan Army P2510S/Innocn 25G2S, PG27AQN, XG27AQNGV (1/4 of the new Pulsar models)

The Pulsar models are the fastest IPS up to date. See the pros & cons here

Really?
Because I was thinking, it's been years since I've tried IPS monitors. I tried one or two three years ago, so I figured they'd changed the panels since then and improve this area since now OLED is the new focused area. It's disheartening to read you say that...

"Titan Army/Innocn" ? What is this ? Never heard of these brands, Is it like those cheap KTC screens?

Btw holy crap, since when we got a 24" 1440p high refresh rate monitors? (i talk about the Q25G4SR you mentionned) it seems great for people's that want smaller size, but unefortunately, i want to go on a 27inch display.

As for PG27AQN, i know this screen since years, it's my dream monitor but the price not even move during years where i'm from, so it's quite disappointing even if it seems perfect about performance.

And finally, as for Pulsar panels, i've heard about them few month ago and see a video from "That Display Guy" and "Monitor Unboxed" and they seems to be really good but does the "Pulsar G-Sync" are not requiring V-Sync + G-Sync ? if so then the input latency and the feeling in game would be awful, right?

Because i can't stand any form of Freesync/Adaptative-Sync/ELMB-Sync and G-Sync, i always tried them a LOT of times and never managed to like to play with. Tell me it's a different technology, because i kinda know what is G-Sync Pulsar, it's practically like ELMB-Sync ? Like, having G-Sync and Strobing implementation?

If so, i wonder how input lag is/feels in games, btw they seems more promising to me than OLED, thanks for the link, i will check all of that.

Edit: Thanks to you and discorz for your huge jobs about clarifying on these Pulsar new models, i will test either the AOC or the Asus, i'm sensitive to PWM/Strobing so i will see if it's good to me.

[kyube]

Really?
Because I was thinking, it's been years since I've tried IPS monitors. I tried one or two three years ago, so I figured they'd changed the panels since then and improve this area since now OLED is the new focused area. It's disheartening to read you say that...

Just to be specific, I was referring to LCDs.
OLEDs have changed since their first arrival in 2022.
RGWB (LG 3rd/4th gen WOLED; out now), RGB stripe (5th gen QD out now & 5th gen LG coming in Q2 2026) & triangular RGB (3rd & 4th gen QD-OLED; out now) come in various different display resolution & refresh rate combinations.

Btw holy crap, since when we got a 24" 1440p high refresh rate monitors? (i talk about the Q25G4SR you mentionned) it seems great for people's that want smaller size, but unefortunately, i want to go on a 27inch display.

I'd argue that for the vast majority of users online, 24" QHD is a far better pixel density target than 27" QHD

As for PG27AQN, i know this screen since years, it's my dream monitor but the price not even move during years where i'm from, so it's quite disappointing even if it seems perfect about performance.

I've only mentioned the PG27AQN for the sake of mentioning it.
The Pulsar models render that model (PG27AQN) completely useless & redundant to purchase as of Q1 2026.

And finally, as for Pulsar panels, i've heard about them few month ago and see a video from "That Display Guy" and "Monitor Unboxed" and they seems to be really good but does the "Pulsar G-Sync" are not requiring V-Sync + G-Sync ? if so then the input latency and the feeling in game would be awful, right?
Because i can't stand any form of Freesync/Adaptative-Sync/ELMB-Sync and G-Sync, i always tried them a LOT of times and never managed to like to play with. Tell me it's a different technology, because i kinda know what is G-Sync Pulsar, it's practically like ELMB-Sync ? Like, having G-Sync and Strobing implementation?

ELMB-Sync == Pulsar == GSYNC+Backlight Strobing
They're identical, it's a marketing term.
Do note that Pulsar adds additional processing latency.
GSYNC+VSYNC+Reflex setup does not add additional processing latency. I strongly suggest using all 3 in combination.

Edit: Thanks to you and discorz for your huge jobs about clarifying on these Pulsar new models, i will test either the AOC or the Asus, i'm sensitive to PWM/Strobing so i will see if it's good to me.

There are 4x Pulsar models to choose from, you don't need to go for the ASUS one in particular
The AOC Q25G4SR should have a successor coming this year (the panel used by the P245MS Pro; 24.5" QHD 380Hz)

[Anonymous703819]

Just to be specific, I was referring to LCDs.
OLEDs have changed since their first arrival in 2022.
RGWB (LG 3rd/4th gen WOLED; out now), RGB stripe (5th gen QD out now & 5th gen LG coming in Q2 2026) & triangular RGB (3rd & 4th gen QD-OLED; out now) come in various different display resolution & refresh rate combinations.

I know, I was just saying that I find it a shame that only OLED is being highlighted so much, Pulsar series brings LCDs (IPS) back into the spotlight, but the market had been sidelined for a long time in favor of a focus on OLED.

I'd argue that for the vast majority of users online, 24" QHD is a far better pixel density target than 27" QHD

I tried the first AOC 1440p (165hz I think) a half year ago, I didn't find it amazing at all, I returned it very quickly, I prefer 27 inches even for 1440p.

I've only mentioned the PG27AQN for the sake of mentioning it.
The Pulsar models render that model (PG27AQN) completely useless & redundant to purchase as of Q1 2026.

Obsolete? It remains a very good, exceptional screen among IPS displays tho. Even though its price is sill very high. I heard that the brightness would be low on new screens with Pulsar enabled, that would be a shame.

ELMB-Sync == Pulsar == GSYNC+Backlight Strobing
They're identical, it's a marketing term.
Do note that Pulsar adds additional processing latency.
GSYNC+VSYNC+Reflex setup does not add additional processing latency. I strongly suggest using all 3 in combination.

That's what I thought. As for "GSYNC+VSYNC+Reflex does not add additional processing latency."
Could I ask you for clarification on one point?
The fact is, I've always found the opposite. It's not a variable issue I've noticed, nor a placebo effect on two or three monitors, but on every monitor I've owned.

Indeed, I've never liked playing with G-Sync + V-Sync (even if reflex settings are enabled/ultra or not). I feel like the game doesn't run the same; I don't like the feeling (especially with the mouse). When I turn off G-Sync, everything seems faster. It's very very subtle, but I feel it during intense sessions.

I know there have already been concrete measurements, but I clearly feel it. Also, are we talking about true G-Sync? Or adaptive Sync?

For example, on my XL2546x with adaptive sync (so G-Sync enabled) + V-Sync + Reflex (Ultra or Enabled), the in-game feel is definitely slower, even with 223/225fps set in riva tuner or in Nvidia App/In-game, i've tested all scenarios. That's a fact for me. Or maybe something's wrong with the games I play (Overwatch/Apex Legends). I've always read that Reflex cancels latency with G-Sync, which is certainly true. However, for some reason, I find the feel incredibly sluggish, slow, compared to without G-Sync.

Perhaps because, since I usually play with DyAc 2, what I perceive as "lower latency" is actually a trick of my brain. Technically, because the image is less blurry, I react faster because I'm less constrained by motion blur. Is my theory correct?

There are 4x Pulsar models to choose from, you don't need to go for the ASUS one in particular
The AOC Q25G4SR should have a successor coming this year (the panel used by the P245MS Pro; 24.5" QHD 380Hz)

Yes i know, except that the MSI one are too expensive where i'm from, Acer one is not available, only AOC and Asus are available, i don't really like Asus monitors for some reasons.

I'd also like to ask you a question on a specific topic. I had an XG27AQWMG (in my initial post I mentioned that I recently tested an OLED and didn't like it; it's this one). I tried the first-generation Corsair Xeneon OLED and it was returned within a week. It was one of the worst monitor I've ever owned. So I waited a long time and I decided to retest OLED with this 4th generation tandem, hailed as perfect by Monitor Unboxed and others, I have several questions about this monitor. I know you're referring to figures and statistics, but what I experienced is bizarre but true:


1. OLED flicker, I'm not talking about VRR flicker related to G-Sync, but the typical flicker of an OLED.
Why did I experience refraction issues with my eyes and occasional mild nausea in front of the screen, while on an XL2546x with DyAc 2 I have absolutely zero problems? I know that on smartphones like some low-end Samsung AMOLED screens give me a slightly similar feeling of visual discomfort compared to Xiaomi/Honor phones with higher PWM frequencies. Does this Asus OLED Tandem have a particular flicker implementation? Did LG handle this panel differently? Because it was quite severe; I couldn't even concentrate 100% to read text. Both my wife and my friend had the same issues. On my LG OLED TV, there's no problem, and it's the same on smartphones in general.

2. This OLED (like all OLEDs) has a near-instantaneous response time, zero latency; they're the perfect monitors for low latency and for reacting perfectly in games, right? Again, you might bring up the strobing argument in comparison (and you might be right, I don't know), but is it normal that I absolutely hated the feel of this screen in games?
I'm a high-level player on Apex Legends and I'm "pretty good" at Overwatch, so I couldn't tell you how confused I was about this Asus, you might even say I'm crazy: I also own an Acer XV272UX 1440p 270hz QD-IPS (an old AUO panel from 2020) and well... I found my IPS to be "smoother", as if I had twice the refresh rate, it's disconcerting to say, maybe it's due to ghosting/motion blur which adds a "softness" to each frame on my IPS since OLED displays images "brutally" a bit like Zowie with strobing, it's harsher.

So I found my IPS more pleasing because it was smoother (admittedly blurry in motion), but I didn't find the OLED less blurry in motion than my IPS. Yet, concrete evidence proves that OLED does have less ghosting (yes, I know, OLED needs a higher refresh rate to have less blur, I read it here on this site), but I also read that since there's no ghosting at all, the image would be much clearer, far more so than an IPS. So...is that wrong? You're going to say I'm crazy, but I found it blurrier...it doesn't make sense.

Regarding the comparison with my TN panel, whether it's my Zowie with strobing compared to the OLED, they feel the same in terms of smoothness, though the frame rate is more "raw," so I might see a slight, constant juttering when I play, but it doesn't bother me too much. The fact is, I play 500 times better on the TN than the OLED, even though it's 280Hz and the TN is 240Hz. But when I turn on strobing on the Zowie, I get insane and inhuman results at times, especially in Overwatch.

On OLED, it's not that smooth, I don't have a good keyboard/mouse feeling (even if it seems illogical or a placebo effect, I definitely felt that way), and regarding my reaction time in games and my scores, I tried OLED for 30 days, practically non-stop. I'm part of an Overwatch team, and my teammates literally all told me to get rid of the screen and that something was wrong. I was playing much worse, and in fast-paced scenes, I couldn't understand anything at all. Combine that with point "1" above, and you have an abominable experience with this OLED tandem monitor that I actually wanted to like...

So I'm wondering, will my experience be the same if I test another OLED, or this OLED had something off?
I thought I heard that QD-OLEDs were very good.

[yehaw]

Hi everyone,

Lately it feels like the high-end monitor space has shifted almost entirely toward OLED / QD-OLED. If you want flagship-tier specs, that’s basically where everything is happening now unefortunately.

So it makes me wonder: is IPS still worth it in 2026?

I recently tested a 4th gen tandem 1440p 280Hz OLED and, honestly, I came away disappointed for several reasons. It just didn’t click for me.

For the past few months I’ve been using a Zowie XL2546X. I really enjoy the motion clarity and DyAc2 experience, but I genuinely miss 1440p / 4K resolution. So I started looking into 1440p high refresh options (240Hz+/mostly 360hz) on IPS.

And here’s the strange part:
Reviews are scarce, deep panel analysis is even rarer, and LCD-focused content feels almost gone.

On Reddit it’s either:

- ”Every monitor is perfect” takes with no real standards
- Or zero meaningful feedback at all

The market has clearly evolved because older references are discontinued, new models are out but where’s the proper breakdown of the panels? DisplaySpecifications doesn’t even list panel models on many recent releases anymore.

Aside from a couple Monitor Unboxed reviews showing some IPS panels with ~20% refresh rate compliance or 40–50% overshoot in certain transitions… it’s not exactly confidence-inspiring.

I’d actually like to stick with LCD and specifically IPS, even though I avoided it for years. I still don’t love OLED for my use case.

So my question to the motion community here:

Are there any genuinely good 1440p 240Hz+ IPS panels in 2026?
Anything with solid overdrive tuning, good refresh compliance, and minimal overshoot artifacts?

Would love to hear from people who’ve actually tested them properly.

Thanks!

RTings and TFTcentral have good in-depth monitor reviews.

As far as IPS still being worth it comes down to your preferences. It's more than capable for me, as I'm still happily running my XG2431. From what I've seen, Reddit likes to overblow how bad IPS is compared to OLED. They typically share over exaggerated photos side by side to oled in dark rooms, etc. IPS shines with the lights on in your room and at lower brightness.

I get very good colors and no visible IPS glow at 21 brightness, but I'm not playing in a dark room with the lights off. More than enough brightness for me and this is what certain reviews like RTing share as best brightness for color accuracy. I have a light dimmer for my computer room that I set to about half brightness, not super dark, not super bright. I also find a decently lit room helps avoid a lot of eye strain issues.

If you like playing in a dark room with high brightness, then yeah, IPS is probably a bad pick. If you play with the lights on at respectable brightness levels, IPS is still very good and has certain advantages over OLED.

[bobbie424242]

Yes, IPS is far from dead as OLED enthusiasts would like us to believe. Monitor Unboxed and TFTCentral have a tendency to over-hype OLED, neglecting LCD / IPS or considering it semi-dead and uninteresting. They find dubious "excuses" to OLED specific issues. I know that no monitor tech is perfect, but still...

Besides the new mentioned Pulsar monitors, there are 27" dual 5K (165Hz)/1440p(330Hz) monitors coming (one model might already be available), in standard and miniled variants.

IPS has plenty advantages such as:

- no burn-in
- no need to baby care the monitor and stress about it
- excellent font rendering with no fringing (will be fixed by newer OLED monitors coming with RGB stripe, but that will be limited in available sizes, and you can bet, expensive)
- no OLED VRR flicker
- no OLED gray banding (model specific)
- no PWM at lower brightness
- easy to clean without the risk of destroying it
- excellent colors and brightness in a well lit room (naturally lit or not)
- less expensive (debatable for Pulsar)

Now, if you live in a dark gaming cave playing dark games or cannot stand anything than pure black black blacks and infinite contrast ratio, IPS might not be the best choice.

[kyube]

Obsolete? It remains a very good, exceptional screen among IPS displays tho. Even though its price is sill very high. I heard that the brightness would be low on new screens with Pulsar enabled, that would be a shame.

• Too high of a pricepoint, which can get you one of the Pulsar models.
• The exact same line-up of the panel (M270DAN10.0 on PG27AQN vs M270DAN10.6 on Pulsar models)
• The Pulsar models have more OD adjustment steps, compared to the fixed 2-3 ones of the PG27AQN
• QD backlight on Pulsar making ULMB2 viable (relatively speaking) compared to the KSF/PFS backlight of the PG27AQN.
• Same detriments in form of port output. (HDMI 2.0 & DP1.4; forced DSC)
• A negative, compared to it's predecessor line-up, is the lack of pulse width adjustments in the ULMB2 mode on the Pulsar models.

The Pulsar models are, by all metrics, rendering the PG27AQN obsolete in every aspect.

That's what I thought. As for "GSYNC+VSYNC+Reflex does not add additional processing latency."
Could I ask you for clarification on one point?
The fact is, I've always found the opposite. It's not a variable issue I've noticed, nor a placebo effect on two or three monitors, but on every monitor I've owned.
Indeed, I've never liked playing with G-Sync + V-Sync (even if reflex settings are enabled/ultra or not). I feel like the game doesn't run the same; I don't like the feeling (especially with the mouse). When I turn off G-Sync, everything seems faster. It's very very subtle, but I feel it during intense sessions.
I know there have already been concrete measurements, but I clearly feel it. Also, are we talking about true G-Sync? Or adaptive Sync?
For example, on my XL2546x with adaptive sync (so G-Sync enabled) + V-Sync + Reflex (Ultra or Enabled), the in-game feel is definitely slower, even with 223/225fps set in riva tuner or in Nvidia App/In-game, i've tested all scenarios. That's a fact for me.
Or maybe something's wrong with the games I play (Overwatch/Apex Legends). I've always read that Reflex cancels latency with G-Sync, which is certainly true. However, for some reason, I find the feel incredibly sluggish, slow, compared to without G-Sync.

I believe you're likely noticing the frametime difference of fixed refresh rate & uncapped VS variable refresh rate (where frame rate is much larger than refresh rate), as you're on a 240Hz LCD model.
I've also read of people complaining about Zowie's VRR implementations, though I haven't found any credible source confirming this claim.
If you were to run the GSYNC+VSYNC+Reflex setup, you'd be looking at 225FPS @ 240Hz.
Always rely on the auto-cap, never on external frame rate limiters (exception being NvLimiter V3, but only in conjucton with Reflex)
If you play games such as OW2/CS2/Fortnite, the frametime difference is massive enough to warrant not using it.
Apex is a slight exception, as the game is limited to 300FPS internally. Though, a higher refresh rate still nets you lower total display latency in form of a faster scan-out.
I believe your perception of GSYNC might change with a non-Zowie product of a higher refresh rate. E.g.: a 600-750Hz TN.
To be specific, trying it in a scenario where your general frame rate is encapsulated entirely by your refresh rate.
Perhaps even a GSYNC+Strobing setup, if your game is limited internally such as OW2.
GSYNC, the technology itself, does not add processing latency. Neither does running a GSYNC+VSYNC setup.
Reflex is a separate entity of GSYNC. "Ultra" Reflex doesn't exist, that's Nvidia's 'Low Latency Mode' (former Maximum Pre-rendered frames), a driver-level toggle. Reflex works on a lower-level.

Perhaps because, since I usually play with DyAc 2, what I perceive as "lower latency" is actually a trick of my brain.
Technically, because the image is less blurry, I react faster because I'm less constrained by motion blur. Is my theory correct?

There is a strong chance that this can also be the case, yes.
DyAc2 clarity benefits are much more massive than the "tearing-free" experience for esports games, especially in faster-paced games such as Apex & OW2.
This is a personal struggle of mine, where I'm trying to balance total clarity in motion and the light flicker aspect of PWM.
Hence why I think exposing yourself to flicker unnecessarily (when MPRT isn't <1ms) is ridiculous. (e.g.: as is the case with <200FPS Pulsar)

1. OLED flicker, I'm not talking about VRR flicker related to G-Sync, but the typical flicker of an OLED.
Why did I experience refraction issues with my eyes and occasional mild nausea in front of the screen, while on an XL2546x with DyAc 2 I have absolutely zero problems? I know that on smartphones like some low-end Samsung AMOLED screens give me a slightly similar feeling of visual discomfort compared to Xiaomi/Honor phones with higher PWM frequencies. Does this Asus OLED Tandem have a particular flicker implementation? Did LG handle this panel differently? Because it was quite severe; I couldn't even concentrate 100% to read text. Both my wife and my friend had the same issues. On my LG OLED TV, there's no problem, and it's the same on smartphones in general.

The OLED flicker isn't that grand of an issue, relatively speaking.
No desktop OLED has a measurable light flicker akin to mobile AMOLED devices.
The only light flicker they exhibit is the display scan-out related one, which happens due to the internal capacitance of the voltage driver circuitry inside the OLED panels.
LCDs are voltage-driven electronic visual displays, while OLEDs are current-driven electronic visual displays.
You could be sensitive to the dithering algorithm employed by OLED or perhaps the different subpixel structure messing with you.
You could also be sensitive to DSC's visual artifacting, which isn't impossible.
Eye-strain culprits is something I can only give you clues on... It's sadly a matter of trial & error, while being aware of different panel techonologies & display model intrinsics...

2. This OLED (like all OLEDs) has a near-instantaneous response time, zero latency; they're the perfect monitors for low latency and for reacting perfectly in games, right?

"Zero latency" doesn't exist. I like to frame it more as "lower total display latency than LCDs" or as "current refresh rates aren't limited by the G2G RTs; therefore much more truthful" than to call them "perfect".
They're the best sample & hold display technology we have on the market across all G2G RT combinations, yes.
They're not perfect for the extreme game optimization problem that plagues the vast majority of game engines, which limits their total clarity potential.
They can also be a side-grade or a non-upgrade if the games you play are within the strength's of a a particular LCD type (e.g.: rise times for IPS; fall times for TN)

Again, you might bring up the strobing argument in comparison (and you might be right, I don't know), but is it normal that I absolutely hated the feel of this screen in games?
I'm a high-level player on Apex Legends and I'm "pretty good" at Overwatch, so I couldn't tell you how confused I was about this Asus, you might even say I'm crazy: I also own an Acer XV272UX 1440p 270hz QD-IPS (an old AUO panel from 2020) and well... I found my IPS to be "smoother", as if I had twice the refresh rate, it's disconcerting to say, maybe it's due to ghosting/motion blur which adds a "softness" to each frame on my IPS since OLED displays images "brutally" a bit like Zowie with strobing, it's harsher.

Yes, the experience you're describing here can be attributed to the 2x longer fall G2G RT's of IPS LCDs, making the total clarity feel "fuzzier/blurrier/more-vaseline-like".
Coating differences can also exacerbate & change your opinion.

So I found my IPS more pleasing because it was smoother (admittedly blurry in motion), but I didn't find the OLED less blurry in motion than my IPS. Yet, concrete evidence proves that OLED does have less ghosting (yes, I know, OLED needs a higher refresh rate to have less blur, I read it here on this site), but I also read that since there's no ghosting at all, the image would be much clearer, far more so than an IPS. So...is that wrong? You're going to say I'm crazy, but I found it blurrier...it doesn't make sense.

It's not the case that "OLED needs a higher refresh rate to have less blur".
This is the fundamental way that sample & hold works altogether. The underlying operation principle is the same on LCD & OLED.
All displays which function this way require raw refresh/sample rate to 'emulate' analog reality. It's the 'law of nature', if you want to frame it that way. See this recent video
Your experience is heavily dependant on the in-game map (to phrase it differently — color combination of G2G values) you've tested both displays in.
You could've tried a in-game map, which was favorable to IPS LCD's strength (great rise G2G RTs), making the difference between OLED & LCD (relatively) indistinguishable from your PoV.

Regarding the comparison with my TN panel, whether it's my Zowie with strobing compared to the OLED, they feel the same in terms of smoothness, though the frame rate is more "raw," so I might see a slight, constant juttering when I play, but it doesn't bother me too much.
The fact is, I play 500 times better on the TN than the OLED, even though it's 280Hz and the TN is 240Hz. But when I turn on strobing on the Zowie, I get insane and inhuman results at times, especially in Overwatch.

Yes, that's the removal of sample & hold blur, the limitation of low sample/frame/refresh rate of games & displays.
Backlight strobing is absolutely a competitive advantage, when implemented correctly.

On OLED, it's not that smooth, I don't have a good keyboard/mouse feeling (even if it seems illogical or a placebo effect, I definitely felt that way), and regarding my reaction time in games and my scores, I tried OLED for 30 days, practically non-stop. I'm part of an Overwatch team, and my teammates literally all told me to get rid of the screen and that something was wrong. I was playing much worse, and in fast-paced scenes, I couldn't understand anything at all. Combine that with point "1" above, and you have an abominable experience with this OLED tandem monitor that I actually wanted to like...
So I'm wondering, will my experience be the same if I test another OLED, or this OLED had something off?
I thought I heard that QD-OLEDs were very good.

Let's put it this way:
(note: this completely disregards the stroboscopic effect; "effective refresh rate" is Nvidia's marketing term for the strobe on period)
With your XL2546X, your "effective refresh rate" exceeds far beyond what you could achieve with a 540FPS @ 540Hz OLED.
Overwatch is 'limited' to 600FPS/Hz, meaning that's the maximum you can achieve, which is relatively slow compared to the fast-paced gameplay of OW2.
With DyAc2, you can achieve +1000FPS @ +1000Hz of "effective refresh rate", which is very noticable in games.
I suggest that you stick to displays with a good backlight strobing implementation, if you primarily play faster-paced games.

Wait till OLED fully switches to RGB stripe (perhaps in early 2027; as Q2 2026 is 27" 4K 240Hz only & 34" UW 360Hz is a bit meh for competitive) & till proper BFI implementations arrive (to be a pessimist — don't expect this to happen at all )

Hope this helps.

- no OLED VRR flicker
- no OLED gray banding (model specific)
- no PWM at lower brightness

Desktop OLED display don't exhibit PWM light flicker at any setting.
This is solely a phone & portable screen OLED phenomena.

"Gray (vertical) banding" seems to be the most prevalent on LG's OLED panels. Here's a recent article in regards to that.

I agree, LCD still has a market, as I've written above.

[Anonymous703819]

RTings and TFTcentral have good in-depth monitor reviews.

As far as IPS still being worth it comes down to your preferences. It's more than capable for me, as I'm still happily running my XG2431. From what I've seen, Reddit likes to overblow how bad IPS is compared to OLED. They typically share over exaggerated photos side by side to oled in dark rooms, etc. IPS shines with the lights on in your room and at lower brightness.

I get very good colors and no visible IPS glow at 21 brightness, but I'm not playing in a dark room with the lights off. More than enough brightness for me and this is what certain reviews like RTing share as best brightness for color accuracy. I have a light dimmer for my computer room that I set to about half brightness, not super dark, not super bright. I also find a decently lit room helps avoid a lot of eye strain issues.

If you like playing in a dark room with high brightness, then yeah, IPS is probably a bad pick. If you play with the lights on at respectable brightness levels, IPS is still very good and has certain advantages over OLED.

I've never really checked TFTCentral, regarding Rtings, I used to go to their sites every week years ago but they stopped reviewing screens regularly, either they're doing the latest OLEDs or it takes them a decade to release a test, there are a ton of screens they've simply never tested.

When I said if IPS is still worth it, it was to find out if they had made an improvement on those dating from between 2020 and 2024, which did not suit me. I had the XG2431, easily in my top 5 worst monitors I've ever owned.

Regarding OLED/IPS on Reddit, we're in complete agreement. I'm also annoyed by these kinds of irrelevant posts where they put that famous picture of an IPS in the dark next to an OLED and add a clickbait title like: "New Era, Here Comes OLED, Put Your LCDs Away!" I mean, yeah OLED is cool 2 minutes, except if like me you play FPS games and do office work very often/watch anime, it's not the ideal technology, at least not the ones I've tried. I'm not pretentious enough to say that all OLEDs are bad, but the two I had were bad for my use.

My setup is dark, with an orange/wood aesthetic, so it's quite dark at night, but I can't stand any screen with more than 60% bright. Four or five years ago, I was playing with 100% brightness; I don't know how I managed that, lol.

[Anonymous703819]

Yes, IPS is far from dead as OLED enthusiasts would like us to believe. Monitor Unboxed and TFTCentral have a tendency to over-hype OLED, neglecting LCD / IPS or considering it semi-dead and uninteresting. They find dubious "excuses" to OLED specific issues. I know that no monitor tech is perfect, but still...

I agree and i don't like that approach..
Yet I was one of these OLED enthusiasts, It was sold to me as something that doesn't flicker (no strobing), that has no ghosting (still motion blur of course) but no ghosting, with certainly at equivalent hertz rate a motion blur almost similar but supposed to always be less blurry, with incredible color quality, much better than IPS (then, the two OLEDs I had were horrible in colorimetry) and I didn't like it no matter the profile downloaded or the settings.
And in the end, each time I return them very quickly for many other reasons, including the flicker (not VRR Flickering) inherent in OLEDs which I cannot stand.

Besides the new mentioned Pulsar monitors, there are 27" dual 5K (165Hz)/1440p(330Hz) monitors coming (one model might already be available), in standard and miniled variants.

Where did you know that some screen will comes out soon? any website recommendation?

IPS has plenty advantages such as:

- no burn-in
- no need to baby care the monitor and stress about it
- excellent font rendering with no fringing (will be fixed by newer OLED monitors coming with RGB stripe, but that will be limited in available sizes, and you can bet, expensive)
- no OLED VRR flicker
- no OLED gray banding (model specific)
- no PWM at lower brightness
- easy to clean without the risk of destroying it
- excellent colors and brightness in a well lit room (naturally lit or not)
- less expensive (debatable for Pulsar)

Now, if you live in a dark gaming cave playing dark games or cannot stand anything than pure black black blacks and infinite contrast ratio, IPS might not be the best choice.

I would even add one more thing, since IPS (without strobing) does not flicker at all (no PWM) you have less headache and eye strain, which was my main concern compared to the OLEDs I had.