Sony presents two new gaming monitors

Monitors from Sony are rare. The Japanese manufacturer is now launching two new models on the market. One of them is specifically designed for professional e-sports, while the other is aimed more at the gaming masses. Both are not exactly cheap, but are likely to find their niche.

Inzone M10S: 27 inch, OLED, 1440p, 480 Hertz

Sony's new flagship is the 27-inch Inzone M10S. It has LG's new WOLED panel with a resolution of 2560 × 1440 pixels and a frame rate of 480 hertz. This makes it perfect for fast-paced games such as competitive shooters. The Sony Inzone M10S costs 1299 francs and will be available from October.

Monitor

EUR1591,59

Sony Inzone M10S

2560 x 1440 pixels, 26.50"

Monitor

EUR1591,59

Sony Inzone M10S

2560 x 1440 pixels, 26.50"

According to Sony, the peak brightness in the three per cent window is 1300 nits, a very high value. The colour space coverage of 98.5 per cent DCI-P3 is also good. Sony has also opted for a simple design with a very compact stand. This is less in the way than the tripods of other screens. Nevertheless, it makes a stable impression when I shake it during the live presentation.

There are two HDMI 2.1 connections and one DisplayPort 2.1, although the latter only supports UHBR10. This is not sufficient for uncompressed 1440p at 480 hertz. The signal has to be compressed using DSC - just like with DisplayPort 1.4. This is not a bad thing, but it makes the new connection superfluous. This makes it look like a marketing gimmick, which presumably drives up the costs due to the controller required.

Does it need DisplayPort 2.1?

DisplayPort 2.1 supports higher data rates than version 1.4 - exactly how much depends on the standard: UHBR10 comes to 40 Gbps, UHBR13.5 to 54 Gbps and UHBR20 to 80 Gbps. Current AMD graphics cards support DisplayPort 2.1 with UHBR13.5. The high data rates are not absolutely necessary. This is because the image signal can be reduced in size using Display Stream Compression (DSC) - without any visible loss of quality, according to most experts.

The price at launch is slightly higher than the competitor model with the same panel, the Asus PG27AQDP. In return, Sony has given the Inzone M10S a few extra tricks that were developed together with the e-sports team "Fnatic": Firstly, the monitor has a 24.5-inch mode. Many professional gamers prefer the smaller diagonal in order to have a better overview of the entire image. The image section can be positioned either in the centre or at the bottom of the screen.

Secondly, the Inzone M10S comes with several picture modes that have supposedly been specially developed for e-sports. The "FPS Pro+ Mode" is supposed to ensure optimum contrast in "Valorant", for example, so that you can recognise opponents more clearly and earlier. The "FPS Pro Mode", on the other hand, simulates the familiar image look of classic LCDs.

Inzone M9 II: 27 inch, mini LED, 4K, 160 hertz

Sony has also unveiled the successor to the Inzone M9. The Inzone M9 II costs 949 francs and will also be available from October. The new version continues to rely on an IPS panel with UHD resolution and mini LED backlight. It features full array local dimming. However, this is rather coarse-meshed with only 96 zones.

Monitor

EUR1168,83

Sony Inzone M9 II

3840 x 2160 Pixels, 26.90"

Monitor

EUR1168,83

Sony Inzone M9 II

3840 x 2160 Pixels, 26.90"

The maximum brightness is 750 nits. This value should also apply to a 100 per cent window, as the luminosity of LED monitors does not normally depend on the average picture level (APL). The colour space coverage is 95 per cent of DCI-P3.

With a frame rate of 160 hertz and a response time of one millisecond (grey to grey), the Inzone M9 II is not aimed at you if you mainly play shooters. However, it is well suited to other genres such as role-playing games, also thanks to its high pixel density of 163 pixels per inch.

The connections (1 × DP 2.1 UHBR10, 2 × HDMI 2.1) and the design of the Inzone M9 II are modelled on its more expensive brother. It is also finished in plain black plastic with a round stand. Both monitors can be tilted, swivelled and rotated 360 degrees.