Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Page 5 of 9:

Gamma Response

Image 1 of 4

Gamma is where the XR needs the most help. There are presets, but none will fix the tracking squarely on 2.2. You choose to ride a little below or a little above the line. We selected the latter by using the 2.4 preset. You can see by the graphs that without changes to the contrast slider there is a sharp drop at 90%, which indicates clipping. That will affect highlight detail and color saturation in bright content. We gave up a bit of sequential contrast to fix the issue, and the real-world results are worth it.

Comparisons

Image 1 of 2

Charts aside, the XR382CQK tracks pretty well compared to the competition. Not surprisingly, the LG 38UC99 comes closest to perfection. Since they make the panel part, it stands to reason they’d eke out a little extra performance. Acer isn’t too far behind the mark, however. Viewed side-by-side, the two images appear identical. A fifth-place finish in the deviation test simply means we couldn’t quite nail 2.2. The 2.4 preset provides the best picture though.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: Best Professional Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: How To Choose A Monitor

MORE: All Monitor Content

Current page: Gamma Response

Prev Page Grayscale Tracking Next Page Color Gamut & Luminance

TOPICS

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.