Monoprice 30" 2560x1600 (16:10) 120 Hz "Overclockable" Gaming Monitor Review

Features

Panel type: IPS
Coating: light matte (semi-glossy)
Frame: matte black metal
Stand: height-adjustable, swivel, tilt, rotate to portrait
Inputs: DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA

Detailed Information

Performance Tests
Refresh Rate	60 Hz only, NOT overclockable (skips frames)
Input Lag	1 frame @ 60 Hz (~16.7 ms)
Ghosting	Inverse ghosting against lighter backgrounds
PWM Flicker	No backlight flicker

Resolutions and Scaling
Resolutions	2560x1600, 1080p, 720p, 480p
Scaling Options	16:10, 4:3, Auto, Overscan
Downsampling	3504x2190 and 3664x2290 possible

Color Tests
Brightness	25-375 cd/m²
Contrast	933:1
Color Settings	Normal, Warm, Cool, User
Color Gamut	Close to Adobe RGB (wide gamut)
Calibration

Downloads
Color Profiles
EDID Dumps

Pictures
Box
Accessories
Monitor
Buttons	Menu, Select, Vol +, Vol -, ▲, ▼, Power
Pixel Structure	AH-IPS pixel structure, RGB layout

Refresh Rate

The refresh rate is NOT overclockable, despite what the product description claims. Frames are skipped on all inputs at any refresh rate higher than 60 Hz (even at 61 Hz), and frames are repeated at lower refresh rates, which causes judder.

Monoprice (left) vs. Catleap (right) at 2560x1600 @ 85 Hz:

A passive DVI splitter was used for this test to eliminate software factors. The splitter cannot handle higher pixel clocks because of the reduced signal strength, so the test was done at 2560x1600 @ 85 Hz.

The Catleap is a 2560x1440 monitor without a scaler, but it can display 2560x1600 with the bottom 160 pixels cut off. The test was done at 2560x1600 to eliminate scaling as a factor on the Monoprice monitor.

Result: The Monoprice monitor skips frames at 85 Hz, while the Catleap does not. The Monoprice is also two frames behind (~23.5 ms) in both photos.

Monoprice at 2560x1600 @ 120 Hz:

The monitor was connected directly to the video card to test 2560x1600 @ 120 Hz.

Result: The Monoprice skips every other frame at 120 Hz, effectively making it 60 Hz. This is visible on the test even without a camera.

Input Lag

Monoprice (left) vs. Catleap (right) at 2560x1600 @ 60 Hz:

This test was done using a passive DVI splitter at 2560x1600 @ 60 Hz to eliminate software and scaling factors.

Result: The Monoprice monitor is consistently one frame behind the Catleap at 60 Hz (~16.7 ms).

Ghosting

Result: The Monoprice monitor uses response time compensation (RTC) or "overdrive" to accelerate response times. The overdrive produces significant inverse ghosting against lighter backgrounds. The overdrive cannot be adjusted or disabled.

PWM Flicker

Monoprice @ 100/50/0 brightness:

Result: The backlight does not flicker at any brightness level.

Resolutions

2560x1600 @ 60 Hz is supported on all inputs including HDMI (may require pixel clock patch for older video cards).
1920x1080 and 1280x720 are scaled properly with "Auto" scaling.
Only 60 Hz and 30 Hz refresh rates are supported properly.

Resolution	DVI	HDMI	DisplayPort
2560x1600 @ 60 Hz	YES	YES	YES
1920x1080 @ 120 Hz	60 FPS	60 FPS	60 FPS
1920x1080 @ 100 Hz	Judder	Judder	Judder
1920x1080 @ 60 Hz	YES	YES	YES
1920x1080 @ 50 Hz	Judder	Judder	Judder
1920x1080 @ 30 Hz	YES	YES	YES
1920x1080 @ 25 Hz	Judder	Judder	Judder
1920x1080 @ 24 Hz	Judder	Judder	Judder
1280x720 @ 120 Hz	60 FPS	60 FPS	60 FPS
1280x720 @ 100 Hz	Judder	Judder	Judder
1280x720 @ 60 Hz	YES	YES	YES
1280x720 @ 50 Hz	Judder	Judder	Judder
1280x720 @ 30 Hz	NO	NO	YES
1280x720 @ 25 Hz	NO	NO	Judder
1280x720 @ 24 Hz	NO	NO	Judder
720x576 @ 200 Hz	NO	NO	NO
720x576 @ 100 Hz	Judder	Judder	Judder
720x576 @ 50 Hz	Judder	Judder	Judder
720x480 @ 240 Hz	NO	NO	NO
720x480 @ 120 Hz	60 FPS	60 FPS	60 FPS
720x480 @ 60 Hz	YES	YES	YES

Scaling Options

The scaling options affect all resolutions and inputs at once, so each input cannot be set independently.
The ▲ button cycles through the scaling options, but switching is slow because it only responds once every 5 seconds.

16:10	Stretches to fill the screen
4:3	Stretches to 4:3 with black bars on the left and right sides
Auto	Preserves aspect ratio
Overscan	Cuts off 5% from each side and stretches to fill the screen

Downsampling

Downsampling is possible with limitations:

Refresh rates near 60 Hz have artifacts, and lower refresh rates repeat frames.
Downsampling only works properly with the "16:10" scaling option.
The vertical total must be between 2201 and 2299 inclusive.

DVI timing parameters for 3504x2190 and 3664x2290:

	Horizontal	Vertical
Active	3504	2190
Front porch	48	3
Sync width	32	4
Back porch	48	4
Blanking	128	11
Total	3632	2201

	Horizontal	Vertical
Active	3664	2290
Front porch	48	3
Sync width	32	3
Back porch	48	3
Blanking	128	9
Total	3792	2299

DisplayPort timing parameters for 3504x2190 and 3664x2290:

	Horizontal	Vertical
Active	3504	2190
Front porch	16	3
Sync width	24	4
Back porch	24	4
Blanking	64	11
Total	3568	2201

	Horizontal	Vertical
Active	3664	2290
Front porch	16	3
Sync width	24	3
Back porch	24	3
Blanking	64	9
Total	3728	2299

Brightness and Contrast

The brightness setting is a proper backlight control that does not crush blacks.
The brightness range is about 25-375 cd/m² in the middle of the screen at the native white point.
Reducing the brightness causes very faint horizontal lines to appear every few lines, mostly noticeable on midtones.
The contrast is about 933:1 at the native white point.
The contrast setting should be set to 75 to avoid banding.
The contrast is set to 70 by default but behaves like 75 until the contrast or color settings are changed.

Brightness	White	Black
100	375 cd/m²	0.40 cd/m²
75	280 cd/m²	0.30 cd/m²
50	196 cd/m²	0.21 cd/m²
25	112 cd/m²	0.12 cd/m²
0	25 cd/m²	0.027 cd/m²

Values are approximate due to measurement variations.

Color Settings

"Normal" produces the native colors of the panel.
Green cannot be reduced without banding, which is unfortunate because IPS panels tend to have too much green.
The presets do not seem to be factory adjusted and are likely the same on every unit.

Preset	Red	Green	Blue	Color Temperature
Normal	100	100	100	5700K
Warm	100	100	80	4500K
Cool	85	85	100	7300K
User	100	100	100	Adjustable

Color temperatures are approximate due to measurement variations.

Color Gamut

Result: The color gamut is close to Adobe RGB and covers all of sRGB. The monitor does not have an sRGB mode, so colors are oversaturated except in color-managed programs with a proper color profile.

Calibration

Native vs. D65 @ 2.2 gamma:

Color Profiles

These profiles can be used at any brightness.
The contrast should be set to 75 for both profiles.
Both profiles were calibrated using the "Normal" preset to avoid banding.

File	Size
monoprice-2.2-native.icc	6704 bytes
monoprice-2.2-d65.icc	6696 bytes

EDID Dumps

Input	File	Size
DVI	vmo1505-dvi.bin	128 bytes
HDMI	vmo1506-hdmi.bin	256 bytes
DisplayPort	vmo5979-displayport.bin	256 bytes
VGA	vmo1504-vga.bin	128 bytes