Any setup is incomplete without a great monitor. Whether you're a hardcore gamer, a professional, or a little bit of both, you can't fully enjoy your high-end PC without an equally impressive monitor. While my current IPS monitor from LG is still doing well, I've been craving an upgrade to something more.

I've finally decided to invest in a high-end OLED monitor to experience the zenith of display technology. Ready to leave terrible IPS glow and non-existent HDR behind, I'm also prepared to tackle the drawbacks that come with an OLED monitor. The tradeoffs, I believe, are worth the game-changing experience in store.

4 The image quality of OLED is unparalleled

Infinite contrast, lifelike colors, and more

One of the biggest motivators for people to switch to an OLED display is the significantly higher contrast ratio. Due to each pixel on an OLED screen being self-emitting, it can turn on and off completely, leaving no room for things like backlight bleeding. This granular control also allows an OLED screen to have a technically infinite contrast ratio, something that no other panel technology can claim.

OLED monitors also boost lifelike image quality that is incredibly color-accurate as well. Whether it's viewing angles, HDR performance, or motion handling you're worried about, an OLED monitor scores incredibly high on all parameters. As someone who spends around 8 hours on a PC daily, upgrading to an OLED monitor will take my workflow to the next level.

Text fringing is a known issue on many QD-OLED and WOLED monitors due to relatively unusual subpixel layouts, but I can stomach slightly compromised text clarity when I'm getting superb performance in all other areas.

3 OLEDs promise peak immersion for gaming

Mini-LEDs have gotten close, but not quite

Most of my weekdays are reserved for work, but I do manage to carve out some time for gaming on the weekends. This is where a high-end OLED monitor will truly shine — delivering an unbeatable, highly immersive experience. The biggest change I'm looking forward to is finally witnessing true blacks. My IPS monitor is woefully unequipped to accurately depict dark scenes, managing only bright grays that ruin the entire experience.

Even if I play in a completely dark room, my IPS can't hope to match the inky blacks that an OLED is capable of. This ability, coupled with 1000 nits of peak brightness, makes OLED monitors uniquely suited to delivering real HDR gaming, not something you get from something with a DisplayHDR rating that doesn't mean anything in reality.

Another highlight of OLED monitors is the instantaneous pixel response time that works wonders for producing a clear image even during fast motion. OLED pixels can react faster than those on other panels, delivering a smoother image no matter what you're playing. And yes, I'm aware of automatic brightness limiters on OLED monitors sacrificing luminance in some scenes, but the superior contrast makes up for it. Besides, I play in a dark room, and even draw the curtains during the day.

2 Pixel cleaning and burn-in aren't dealbreakers

A few minutes of standby is all that's needed

Some of the OLED concerns I've written about before are the frequent pixel refresh routines and the risk of burn-in. OLED monitors are known to prompt the user for a pixel refresh cycle every 4 hours or so (different from the longer cycle that's needed every 2,000 hours approx.). This can get annoying, especially if you can't stop what you're doing even for a few minutes.

Fortunately, my day is structured with a lot of breaks in between. Whether it's getting up for a stretch or breaking for lunch, I leave my setup often, giving the monitor enough time to run a soft pixel refresh during standby. Even if I'm gaming, I rarely keep going non-stop for more than 2 hours. These routines are necessary to prevent image retention or burn-in on OLED monitors, and I can easily accommodate them in my own routine.

Talking about burn-in, it's a genuine concern on many OLED monitors, but some of the newer WOLED and QD-OLED panels are more burn-in-resistant than others. Besides, manufacturers offer long burn-in warranties these days, covering any potential burn-in damage. If I'm careful enough, and remember to use the best practices for using an OLED display, I can make it last as long as any other monitor.

1 Prices of 27" QHD OLEDs have come down

I've no qualms about staying at 1440p

Finally, we come to the price. OLED monitors offer the best image quality and motion handling on the market, and you have to pay a premium for them. Yes, you can get a $250 budget IPS or a $350 budget Mini-LED monitor, but you're making a different set of compromises in those cases. I've already mentioned the weaknesses of my current IPS monitor above, and Mini-LEDs suffer from blooming and inferior local dimming compared to OLEDs.

Moreover, the specs that I'm targeting for my OLED monitor are 27", 1440p, and 240Hz. This combination used to cost close to $1,000 a few months back, but can now be had for as low as $600. It's still much more than competing models, but you're paying for a night-and-day difference in image quality and gaming experience. Moving to a 4K monitor isn't my cup of tea, as I don't want to have to shell out for a flagship GPU to power the additional pixels.

OLED monitors have come a long way, and they're so close to perfection

OLED, as a technology, has grown significantly over the last few years. Most of the issues have been overcome or resolved to a great extent, and once manufacturers manage to rein in burn-in completely, OLED monitors will have achieved display nirvana. Prices will also come down gradually, and I'm confident we'll soon see the era of sub-$500 OLEDs from the top players, in the 27", 1440p, 240Hz segment.