IPS vs OLED: Disappointed by qd oled msi mag 273QP (should I try another one?)
Hello, I recently bought (and returned after three days) my first OLED monitor: the MSI MAG 273QP QD-OLED, 26.5", 1440p, 240Hz, for €429. My main monitor before that was (and is now, once again) a much cheaper IPS monitor from the same brand: the MSI PRO MP275Q, 1440p, 100Hz (€120), that I mostly use for studying.
It wasn’t my first experience with OLED displays: my samsung phone has a super AMOLED screen, and I also often play on my OLED psvita 1000. Since I really love the display on my Vita, and after watching many videos and reading lots of opinions online, I decided to buy an OLED monitor.
However, as soon as it arrived, I was pretty disappointed. Overall, I actually found myself preferring the colors on my much cheaper IPS monitor. Is this normal?
I see modern OLED monitors are praised everywhere online, almost as if they completely transform the experience, but honestly, I found the colors very strange out of the box, way too saturated. The thing I hated the most was the whites: they never looked truly white on that QD-OLED monitor. Compared to my IPS, they looked pinkish.
At one point I even opened the same PDF on both monitors to compare them, and the OLED looked much darker, even though the brightness should theoretically have been much higher (maybe because of ABL?).
I love watching anime and anime openings, and I disliked how faces sometimes looked slightly brownish instead of having a more natural pale/pearl tone.
Of course, the blacks were undeniably much better on the OLED, but I mean... I’m not planning to stare at black screens all the time. Also, I honestly don’t think IPS blacks are as terrible as people online say. I think they mostly look worse in photos than they do in real life.
During those three days, I really tried hard to appreciate the new monitor. I changed settings on the monitor itself, adjusted Windows settings, mirrored both displays, watched yt videos, played a bit of Cyberpunk and silent hill f, watched an episode of The Boys, and even watched K-Pop Demon Hunters.
In the end, I managed to make the OLED look less saturated and more similar to my IPS using AMD software. But at that point, I was basically paying €429 for a monitor that I was trying to make look like one that cost me a quarter of the price, so I decided to return it.
I also didn’t notice much difference between 100 hz and 240 hz, honestly almost no difference at all. Of course, I only used it for three days and didn’t game that much, but still. And yes: I did set the correct refresh rate in Windows.
Anyway, my GPU is an RX 9060 XT 16GB, so I don’t care that much about ultra-high refresh rates.
Right now I don’t have much time for gaming (I’m in uni and mostly play vn and retro on handhelds), but when I do play, I want to have a really good experience, at least in terms of colors and image quality, so for me it's ok to spend 300-500 euro but it has to be worth it.
So here’s what I’d like to ask:
Was that particular model just bad, or are OLED monitors a bit overrated?
Does anyone here have experience with the two monitors I mentioned? Are they good for single-player/story-driven games (tlou, Cyberpunk, SH f, RE, gow, Elden Ring, etc.)?
Do you have suggestions for other OLED monitors that really feel like a game-changing experience? I’m okay spending around €300–500, but it has to genuinely feel worth it. While using that monitor, I honestly started feeling like people online praise OLED mostly to justify the money they spent.
Sorry for my bad english (it’s not my first language) and for the huge wall of text, thanks for your patience, and please be respectful.
Damn while looking at the pictures of the wallpaper I'm almost starting to appreciate and miss that oled