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Viewing Angles, Uniformity, Response and Lag

Viewing Angles

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

Good screen uniformity is tough for ultra and mega-wide monitors to achieve. You can see that the Samsung is in last place, though its score of 13.61% deviation-from-center isn’t too bad. The AG493UCX does better at a respectable 10.04%. There was no visible hot-spotting, but our meter detected a little extra brightness in the upper corners. Our sample had no obvious bleed or glow issues, and images of all types looked smooth and uniform.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

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The AG493UCX’s screen draw time is as expected for a 120Hz monitor. With overdrive on, it rendered a full white frame in 8ms. You won’t need to use the motion blur reduction feature, which only reduced light output and took Adaptive-Sync out of the equation.

We also achieved predictable measurements in the input lag test. 34ms is about average for 120Hz screens, but surprisingly, the results do not rank by refresh rate. The CG437K is the fastest but tops out at 144Hz. But the X35 running at 200Hz only lags by 1ms, a paltry amount. These monitors are quick enough for all but the most highly-skilled gamers. We had no issues when playing our usual bevy of trigger-happy titles.

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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.