Performance - Part I
A monitor review based on descriptive visual analysis will always have the underlying problem of subjectivity; assessments of panel quality will vary from user to user depending on their normative expectations. To get around this we’re deploying Datacolor's Spyder 4 Elite professional monitor analyser to return a quantitative assessment of display quality.
These numerical results, we feel, add extra utility to our reviews allowing us to more accurately benchmark the following display characteristics:
- Colour Gamut relative to sRGB and AdobeRGB industry-standards
- Brightness levels and contrast ratios
- Colour uniformity
- Brightness uniformity
- Colour accuracy
The tests are run under two different scenarios: uncalibrated and calibrated. Uncalibrated performance equates to the ‘out-of-the-box’ settings a monitor ships with; this is the typical end-user experience as very few consumers engage in calibration of their displays before use.
Calibrated performance is what results after the monitor has been put through the Spyder4Elite hardware-calibration process with the following parameters: 2.2 Gamma, 6500k colour temperature and 120 nits of brightness. These calibrated results demonstrate what the monitor is capable of when tuned correctly but the results have limited relevance to most consumers who will not calibrate their monitors.
For all tests run the monitor is connected to our Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti powered system through the DVI interface. Upon connecting a new monitor each time the previous ICC profile(s) is erased. Monitors are tested during day-time hours in a moderately lit room.
Colour
97% sRGB and 76% AdobeRGB coverage for a TN panel is a strong result. This colour gamut performance held consistent before and after calibration which is good news for gamers who are unlikely to care for calibration. Such a large colour gamut allows for a vibrant gaming experience as well as lively multi-media playback.
Colour accuracy may not be crucial to a gamer’s needs, but the Iiyama ProLite GE2488HS delivers a solid average of 2.62 Delta-E. After calibration that number is narrowed down further to an impressive 1.56 Delta-E; that's almost good enough for colour-critical workflows.
Colour uniformity results were average on the GE2488HS and even though they look menacing when graphed above, in-person the monitor appears uniform in colour and differences aren't perceivable. The overall colour profile of Iiyama’s monitor punches above its weight; this is a high quality TN panel.
