Some of the best PC upgrades have nothing to do with the internals of your system. A new monitor can be a huge breath of fresh air for your setup, especially if it has a higher resolution and refresh rate than your previous one. While my recent upgrades varied in both of those categories, the reason why it was so transformative had nothing to do with either of those specs. It's all in the panel type, and after going to OLED, I'm not sure that I can go back to anything else.
I've always used a specific type of monitor
I loved ultra-high refresh rates
For the last decade or so, I've always targeted one spec when buying monitors, and that was refresh rate. I couldn't care less about image quality or even resolution, since all I did was very light content creation and played esports titles. I hadn't experienced great image quality outside of a TV, and to me, that was fine. 1080p TN panels with their poor contrast ratios and terrible viewing angles really didn't bother me. I was looking for speed, so I went from one ZOWIE esports monitor to another, paying for a bump in refresh rate each time I "upgraded".
That is, until I stopped playing so many games, and had begun to do more work than play during the day. I wanted something a little bigger than 24", which was the standard size for esports displays. I went for a 27" 1440p Acer display that was 180Hz. This was a far cry from the 240 I was used to, but I was prioritizing other specs, and the payoff was worth it.
Going to IPS made a big difference
But it wasn't the final form I wanted
As someone who competed in Counter-Strike at a decently high level, I could tell the difference between 180Hz and 240Hz, but it was very slight. If I wasn't actively testing them side by side, I wouldn't be able to tell. The resolution was a big bump though, and improved clarity quite a bit on basically everything.
The swap to this 1440p display came with a change in panel as well. Going from a TN to an IPS was pretty significant. The blacks were deeper, the contrast was more defined, and everything felt a lot more natural to look at. It wasn't like everything was put through a deep-fried meme filter, which is sometimes what viewing media on an esports monitor felt like. The blacks were patchy to increase visibility in dark areas of games, and I usually played with digital vibrance cranked to the max.
Although the swap to IPS was noticeable, nothing could prepare me for an OLED, even with the bump in other specs it would bring.
OLED is a whole new ballgame
I can't see myself needing another display ever again
After swapping to an OLED, I really couldn't believe the chasm between it and the rest of the panel types. It's basically a no contest in terms of image quality, contrast ratios, and viewing angles. I went with a 4K 240Hz OLED, and it was stunning.
The bump in resolution was honestly more of an annoyance than anything. 4K comes with a bunch of one-time scaling issues to sort out, but I can't deny it looks gorgeous. The return back to 240Hz was also super welcome, I won't deny that. But neither of those things made as big of a difference as the panel type. Any text on screen was clearer, games looked stunning, and all the media I watched finally looked worthy of a display other than my TV.
I'll stand by TNs and IPS displays if you're doing competitive gaming specifically though. They're relatively inexpensive, at least compared to OLED displays, and offer features that will absolutely satisfy players. But if you do literally anything else on your PC, you really can't beat an OLED. They're at a premium for a reason, and while the price certainly hurt my wallet, my eyes have never been treated better.
Panel type should be a primary consideration when upgrading
Resolution and refresh rate have a lot to do with how a monitor looks and feels during use, but by no means is it the be-all, end-all. The difference between 144Hz and 240Hz is significant, as is the jump from 1080p to 4K, but nothing really prepared me for the jump from TN to OLED.
If you're currently on a TN or VA panel, the jump to IPS is significant, but if you're looking for true gains in image quality, nothing beats an OLED. If you want to maintain your high refresh rates and don't particularly care about anything other than that, TNs and IPS displays can be a great value.
