Displays: Benchmark Methodology & Test Setup

We're looking back at our testing nonitor methodology and try to simplify it to make it a little more accessible. We're not changing the hardware we use or the way we use it, and we still think that test patterns are too subjective.

That’s why we’re still relying on our spectrophotometer and monitor calibration software (specifically, a Spectracal-certified i1Pro, Spectracal's CalMAN [luminance and gamut measurements], X-Rite's i1Match [default state], and ColorEyes Pro [calibration] to examine specific performance characteristics).

Previously, our display benchmark suite generated a ton of results, and that density made the benchmarks difficult to cut through. In order to make our measurements and analysis more intuitive, we’re only recording the non-calibrated performance of luminance and contrast. At the end of the day, those are the only two variables that matter to folks who plan to buy a monitor, but don't anticipate calibrating it.

Unfortunately, when it comes to color production, we do have to calibrate our displays in order to offset other variables like brightness, color temperature, and gamma.

If you, personally, want to see other aspects of display performance measured, let us know in this story's feedback thread. We read through all of the commentary, and will try to accommodate requests where it makes the most sense. In the meantime, our current suite gives you a good idea of what to expect, whether you are gaming or just watching video on Hulu.

Test Hardware
Processor	Intel Core i5-2400 (Sandy Bridge), 32 nm, 3.1 GHz, LGA 1155, 6 MB Shared L3, Turbo Boost Enabled
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3
Memory	Kingston Hyper-X 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1333 @ DDR3-1333, 1.5 V
System Drive	OCZ Vertex 3 240 GB SATA 6Gb/s
Graphics	Palit GeForce GTX 460 1 GB
Power Supply	Seasonic 760 W, 80 PLUS Gold
Calibration Tools	X-Rite i1Pro
System Software and Drivers
Operating System	Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
DirectX	DirectX 11
Driver	Graphics: Nvidia 270.61 RST: 10.6.0.1002 Virtu: 1.1.101