When it comes to monitors, you can find multiple different types of them in the market. Each of these types is equipped with different features which are meant for specific tasks and purposes. The two most famous types of monitors are gaming monitors and regular monitors.
Both gaming and regular monitors have their own advantages, and both have features making them better than the other. If you recently bought yourself a gaming monitor, but you now need to use it as a workstation, I have some good news for you.
Unlike what most people usually think, a gaming monitor can successfully be used as a regular monitor. It will function the same way as a standard monitor does. Though gaming monitors have some limitations too; for instance, their color accuracy and image quality are sometimes less than regular monitors, this won’t interfere with your work efficiency much.
To explain the concept of gaming monitors’ usage as regular monitors, I will take you through the similarities and differences between the two.
Similarities Between Gaming Monitor & Regular Monitor
Some of the things that make gaming and regular monitors identical to each other are listed below.
- Purpose of the Monitor
Regardless of your choice of monitor, i.e., whether you choose a gaming monitor or a regular monitor, you need first to determine the purpose you want it for. In the past, gaming monitors, as the name suggests, used to be meant for gaming purposes only. Enthusiast gamers generally rely on these monitors for playing the games they love.
Similarly, users wanting to get done with all the everyday tasks like working on documents generally preferred regular pc over gaming ones. But fortunately, that’s not the case now. You can now use both monitors for each other’s purposes.
For example, if you want to play games and need high-quality displays, you can check out regular monitors too. Likewise, gaming monitors can efficiently perform gaming tasks.
- Use Of Monitors
As I discussed earlier, gaming and regular monitors serve the same purpose. This means that they can be interchanged as far as their usage is concerned. Simply put, you can use a gaming monitor as a regular monitor or get done with the tasks you would typically rely on a standard monitor for and vice versa.
- Screen Resolution
The screen resolution offered by both these monitors is pretty comparable. For instance, if you get a budget gaming monitor, it will provide the exact screen resolution as that of a regular budget monitor. But both monitors’ size and refresh rate can vary even if they have similar prices.
Differences Between Gaming Monitor & Regular Monitor
- Refresh Rate
One of the most important things that would compel you to get a gaming monitor and use it instead of a regular monitor is its higher refresh rate. The majority of the gaming monitors out there come with at least a 120Hz refresh rate.
Thanks to the higher refresh rates of gaming monitors, you can play games more smoothly. Also, this way, the games feel more responsive, and you will see a great reduction in motion blur. This is especially significant when you are playing games like racing, fighting, and FPS, where responsiveness matters the most.
Regular monitors, on the contrary, don’t come with such high refresh rates and generally come with 30 to 90Hz. But that’s not a big problem as you won’t need higher refresh rates while watching videos on the computer.
- Input Lagging
Input lagging, as evident from the name, is the time it takes for an action to take place on the monitor. The monitors with lower refresh rates generally have higher input lagging, while those with higher refresh rates have low input delay. This means that using a gaming monitor as a regular monitor will be a lot more hassle-free for you.
- Price
As gaming monitors come with high refresh rates and low lagging, they obviously are higher priced too. This is why a gaming monitor is a little more expensive than a regular monitor, even if both specifications are the same. But this isn’t always the case because sometimes standard monitors come with extra features like curved screens and improved resolution, making them a bit pricier.
Final Verdict
Now that you have looked at the similarities and differences between gaming and regular monitors, you must have figured out that a gaming monitor is much more impressive in its features compared to regular ones.
Also, the best part is that you won’t have any trouble performing all the tasks you need a regular monitor for, even on gaming monitors. So, don’t waste any more time of yours thinking about the right monitor to choose and get the one that suits your needs and budget the best.
