Sony’s first OLED gaming monitor is swift, but it’s not suitable for most gamers

Update: Sony has clarified that the one-year warranty covers burn-in.

Just as 27-inch 1440p OLED gaming monitors are gaining popularity among more PC gamers thanks to continued price drops, Sony is taking the challenge with its first OLED monitor, the $1,099.99 InZone M10S. The M10S retains the unrivaled contrast and brilliant image quality that OLED is famed for, but instead of joining the ranks with the widely used 240Hz refresh rate, it instead raises the bar with 480Hz.

The increased refresh rate is a standout hardware feature of the M10S and is a massive advantage if you’re a PC gamer who wants cutting-edge technology to improve your performance. (On the other hand, a 0.03 millisecond response time is more in line with current industry standards for OLED monitors.) When paired with a swift enough GPU, the M10S can run a variety of online multiplayer games, including Counter-Strike 2, Fortnite, Overwatch 2, Evaluationand more in 1440p resolution up to 480 frames per second. This may seem excessive or perhaps elusively swift, but it’s a worthwhile upgrade for people who play these games at a competitive level. The M10S is one of two monitors that support 480Hz at 1440p, the other being Asus monitor for $999.

I spent some time testing the 480Hz mode while gaming on a Windows PC Counter-Strike 2. The game immediately set the refresh rate to 480Hz, although even with all settings turned off, my Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti machine had a strenuous time maintaining a consistent 290fps at 1440p resolution. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant experience, although I personally didn’t notice much of a difference at 480Hz compared to 240Hz.

The value of the M10S’s swift refresh rate and response time is quite obvious for professionals, but may be questionable for casual gamers who don’t have a powerful gaming PC or don’t have the passion for competition. Even for those who If well-equipped, immense gaming areas do not support such high refresh rates. On a brighter note, if you don’t spend most of your time maxing out the refresh rate, you won’t see much of a difference between the M10S and a cheaper OLED gaming monitor.

I love playing horror games on the M10S, even if they aren’t swift, high refresh rate titles that take full advantage of its features. I wanted to get through Separate ways DLC for Resident Evil 4 remake as well Dead space remake, and these are the games in which M10S and other OLEDs perform best. When HDR is turned on, shadowy gaming scenes look bold and appropriately memorable. And since Halloween is coming, I also played in Silent Hill 2 remake after connecting M10S to my PS5. For PS5 and Xbox Series The M10S does not have built-in speakers, but for me this is not a disadvantage; I prefer to listen to the game audio through headphones anyway.

Sony developed the M10S with gaming professionals Fnatic to make it the preferred choice among hair-breaking esports athletes. We hope more of them will appreciate the unique combination of speed, great viewing angles and excellent color fidelity of OLED displays compared to TN LCD panels. TN panels are the fastest panels on the market, reaching a peak refresh rate of 540 Hz, but with poorer overall image quality. To that end, Sony has come up with some clever ways to appeal to its target audience of competitive gamers, including the ability to shrink the M10S’s display to the 24.5-inch size popular among professionals with black bars on the sides. And for those making the switch to OLED, the Sony monitor comes with FPS Pro preset visual presets, which ironically change the look of the OLED to mimic the TN panel they’re used to, but without the extra response time of gaming on one . These features don’t mean much to me, but I think they matter a lot to some players.

Apart from the product itself, I had doubts about the M10S’s one-year warranty, as reported by the BadSeed Tech YouTube channel review indicated, he did not mention protection against burnout. However, Sony confirmed to Polygon that panel burn-in is and always has been covered by a one-year warranty. The company mentions it now in Frequently asked questions about the monitor in the “Troubleshooting” section.

If you’re a casual gamer, I’ve already mentioned that I think you should opt for a cheaper OLED gaming monitor, many of which are close enough to the M10S’s specs. Heck, OLED monitors up to 39 inches can be found for less than $1,000. After review Sony’s first gaming monitor in 2022I said it was good, but not good enough for the price. Unless you’re a pro who will make the most of the M10S’s 480Hz refresh rate, unfortunately I feel the same way about the M10S. It will be easier to recommend at a lower price, but I feel more comfortable referring competitive players to it Competitive Asus monitor 480 Hz 1440p covered by a 3-year warranty against burn-in (compared to Sony’s 1-year warranty) or save even more with a 240Hz monitor.