You have just gotten your favourite gaming monitor. It’s plugged in and powered up. You're all set to start shooting enemies at breakneck speed. Not so fast! There is so much more to a gaming monitor than what meets our eyes. If you had done some research before purchasing your gaming monitor, you might have an idea about its features and specifications. But to everyone’s surprise, most of these features are not turned on by default. You have to manually adjust the monitor settings in such a way that you get the most out of your invested money. 

There are now numerous brands available in the industry, and each of them has different optimization settings. Knowing what settings are important to configure and what look good only on paper is very important for all pro-gamers. If you are looking to set your AOC, ASUS, or MSI monitor for gaming, then this article is the best place for you. Let’s get started! 

Adjust the Physical

Firstly, it doesn’t matter what monitor you have; there are some settings that are equally important for all gamers. Adjusting the physical settings of your computer monitor is one of them. 

When you keep the PC monitor on its desk or within your gaming station, the first consideration is that it is placed at an ideal height and angle. For instance, if your gaming monitor is not kept at the right angle, the viewing angle will get distorted. The colours on your screen can get affected, and you can also be exposed to screen glare. All of this significantly hinders your monitor experience. Imagine spending thousands of bucks on a monitor just so you could watch your favourite games with compromised colour quality and irritating side glares. Fortunately, you can avoid this by simply taking some time out to perfectly adjust your monitor in a way that suits your eyes and your gaming station. 

Ideally, the height of the monitor should be adjusted in a way that it is equivalent or near to your eye level. Most of the monitors come with height adjustment options, and this is also critical for ensuring a good user experience. However, if you have a monitor with a huge chassis or a heavier body, then flexibility can be constrained. 

Next comes the display tilt. Preferably, the screen should be tilted in a way that you are looking straight at the screen. But if you think that the brightness of a front-facing screen is not perfect for your needs, you can adjust the tilt so that it fits you! 

Finally, adjust the cables in such a way that your gaming station doesn’t look like a messy rat’s nest. Scattered cables can hinder your gaming responsiveness. Imagine that you are shooting at an ultra-fast rate with your gaming mouse, and it gets stuck within a monitor cable. Alas! Thereby, to save any such disappointments, the gaming station should be kept neat and tidy. If you have a multi-monitor setup and the cables are too much for you to handle, then you can also have a cable management stand built into your gaming station. 

Now, let's have a look at the settings that are personalised for each of these brands and their monitors. 

Part 1: Setting up an ASUS monitor 

Once you are done with the physical adjustment, follow the below-mentioned process to setup your ASUS monitor for gaming!  

Pick the preset

There are different presets available on ASUS and ROG gaming laptops. The colour contrasts, vibrancy, and sharpness levels are different in each of these. For instance, if you want to look at a picture with extra-vivid visuals, you can select a different preset, and if you want to beat the opponents in a fast-paced game, then you can select a different preset. Overall, a preset sets your mood as per your precise requirements. 

  • The settings buttons are available on the back, side, or bottom of the ASUS monitor. 
  • Tap on the "settings" button, and a pop-up will appear on the screen. This is called an "on-screen display (OSD)." 
  • You can navigate on the OSD with the same button. You can go left, right, and inward. Picture presets are available under the "Game Visual" category. 
  • "Racing mode" is full of vibrant colours and comes with a wide colour gamut. If you like extra-vivid visuals, you can turn this preset on even if you are not racing. 
  • The sRGB mode is best for content creation as it shows the colours in their most original form. You can also use it for gaming if you want to experience the game's visuals in their original colour balance. 
  • The "Moba" preset enhances the colours of enemies’ health bars and lifelines in the game. The frames per second in this presentation also significantly increase the visibility of enemies. 

Adjust Brightness

When you have selected your preset, adjust the brightness in a way that suits you best. If you are someone who has their gaming station setup in darker surroundings, then a lesser brightness will suffice. But if your PC monitor is placed where it gets sunlight’s glare, then higher brightness levels will be needed during the day. 

Some of the ASUS monitors come with "Local Dimming," which automatically adjusts your brightness levels as per the background. For instance, during the day, the light can be enhanced, and during the night, the pop within the screen can be increased. For instance, the ASUS ROG Swift (PG329Q) is one of the best 4K gaming monitors that comes with a local dimming feature. 

Set Refresh Rate

If you are paying extra for an extraordinary gaming experience, then make sure that you get paid back for every penny spent on your computer monitor. For setting the refresh rate, simply follow these steps. 

  • Right click on your laptop screen. Open "Windows Display Settings." 
  • Click on that and scroll down. You will see an option named "Advanced Windows Display Settings". 
  • Go further down. You will see a page named "Refresh Rate". 
  • Click on this and make sure that it goes as high as possible. 

Set the over-drive

Over-drive, as the name suggests, improves your panel’s in-built response time. Setting it to an optimal balance can reduce ghosting, enabling high-paced gaming and combat. However, setting it too high can also lead to several problems, such as overshooting. So, having the perfect balance is very important. 

Setting the overdrive solely depends on your needs and preferences. For instance, one picture might look good in a lower over-drive while the other may look better with a higher overdrive. The same goes for gaming. You can easily change your overdrive settings depending on the game that you are playing. 

Once you are done with all these steps, your ASUS monitor will be all set to go! 

Part 2: Setting up an AOC Monitor 

Setting up an AOC monitor is very similar to the steps mentioned in the previous section. Let’s have a look! 

Display settings

The fundamental settings on every PC monitor include refresh rate, response time, brightness, contrast, and colour temperature. On your AOC monitor, right-click on the desktop and open each of these settings. 

  • For refresh rate, going as high as possible is preferable. Higher refresh rates mean ultra-fast gaming with no latency. For instance, the AOC AG274QS comes with a refresh rate of 300 Hz, which is extremely fast. But sometimes the in-built settings may include a reduced refresh rate. So, adjusting the refresh rate before starting your gaming sessions can give you a competitive edge over your enemies.
  • Response time should also be set to the highest possible number. This will reduce the time each pixel takes to change the screen's colors. A higher response time means lower action-to-display latencies. 
  • Brightness and contrast: The brightness of the display should be set so that it shows you the real colours within the gaming arena. However, this is a setting that can be easily changed. Just check the lower-right corner of your AOC monitor, and you will see the option for adjusting the screen’s brightness. 
  • Color Temperature: This is a fundamental setting for gamers, as it depicts the warmth of images and colours appearing on your screen. 

Select the gaming style 

When the four fundamental settings are done, next comes the time for some personalised adjustments. The AOC computer monitor offers different gaming styles to its users. Each of them comes with different brightness levels, colour contrasts, and image sharpness. The styles include the following: 

  • Racing 
  • Beat’m up 
  • FPS (e-sports) 
  • RTS 
  • E-sports 
  • Action 
  • Shooters 
  • MMORPG 

You can set the style that meets your preferences and requirements. For example, if you are someone who enjoys first-person shooting, then Beat’m Up is the ideal gaming style for you! 

Low-blue light 

Gamers are always guilty of spending more time in front of the screen than they should. To ensure maximum eye protection while enjoying blazingly fast refresh rates and extra-vivid displays, enabling the "low-blue light" option within your AOC monitor is highly recommended. 

When enabled, this feature reduces the exposure of your eyes to any harmful radiation. Moreover, it reduces eye strain and makes screen time comfortable for both you and your precious eyes. Also, keep in mind that turning on the low-blue light mode will still keep your screen’s colour placement and brightness levels exactly the same. 

Shadow Control 

If you are paying to get extra features within your gaming laptop, it is also important to ensure that you are getting payback for your every penny. This is a bonus gaming feature available on exclusive AOC gaming monitors. It enables higher visibility in darker areas of the games. For instance, the AOC AGON (AG254FG) has this feature. 

Just go to "Display Settings." Look for shadow control and turn on "Enable." 

Quick switch

Pro-gamers have different display settings customised for different games. If you are a true gaming freak, you may also have similar requirements. But switching between different settings midgame can make you lose to your rivals. 

Set up the quick switch on your AOC monitor to avoid this. The favourite display settings can be saved on the screen and switched with a single tap! 

If you have completed all of these steps, your AOC gaming monitor is all set to provide you with an extravagant gaming experience! 

Part 3: Setting up an MSI Monitor 

MSI monitors are usually very easy to setup. If you go through this article carefully, you’ll be able to setup your MSI gaming station within a few minutes only. Just a few clicks here and there, and you’re all set to go! Without further ado, let's get started. 

Choosing the right mode 

People usually neglect choosing the right display mode as they think it won’t make much difference. But that’s not true! Choosing the right display mode can not only enhance your visuals significantly, but it can also help you win games. Don’t believe us? Well, once you start changing the display modes on your gaming monitors, you will be as amazed as we were. 

MSI laptops are known for having a variety of gaming modes to accommodate every type of gamer. If you enjoy fast-paced gaming, such as racing, you can turn on "FPS Mode." The FPS mode reduces all distractions and lets you focus on the subject and target. Not only this, but you might also have noticed that in FPS games, enemies can hide under darker shadows (a highly used tactic in gaming). As most monitors have darker edges, it gets harder for the gamer to spot hidden enemies. But with your FPS mode turned on, the MSI monitor will automatically brighten these areas, highlighting the whereabouts of all your rivals within the game. 

Similarly, if you are a fan of RTS games such as League of Legends, Age of Empires, or Star Craft, selecting the RTS mode is the best choice for you. These games include multiple skins and characters, so the colours are highly saturated. Moreover, the most used games, i.e., green, and red, are exclusively balanced as they are the most used within these games. 

Customising the Display Settings 

Once you have selected the right mode for your PC monitor, go to "Display Settings." When you scroll down, you will see refresh rate, response time, overdrive, and colour saturation. You can manually adjust each of these to fit your requirements in the best possible way. 

If you have Windows 10 as your OS, then follow the below-stated guidelines for adjusting your screen’s resolution. 

  • Right-click on the screen and click on "NVIDIA Control Panel." 
  • Go to display and click on "change resolution." 
  • You will see multiple resolution options shown below that. Select the highest option possible. 

Colorimeter

A colorimeter is a very useful tool that can be used as a supplement to experience higher colour accuracy in your gaming session. By using a colorimeter, you can enjoy colour output closest to the original colours or contrasts. On a MSI computer monitor, this can be used for professional gaming where gamers want to have a lifelike gaming experience. 

Additional Tips!

Here are some additional tips for taking your gaming experience to another level. 

HDR Monitors

If you have an HDR monitor, the monitor will automatically detect all HDR signals. For instance, the ASUS TUF (VG32VQ1BR) comes with HDR-10 technology, which is highly intelligent and automatically turns on HDR mode when it catches any such signals. Thanks to HDR-10, the light and dark areas within the game can be adjusted in a way that offers a lifelike gaming experience. 

But some games may require you to manually turn on the "HDR signal" from the monitor’s settings. In this case, you can simply turn the "HDR" feature on from the display settings of the monitor. 

Adaptive Sync Technology 

If your gaming monitor comes with "Adaptive Sync" technology, make sure to turn that on. This will reduce screen tearing. Now, these technologies can have different names for different GPUs. The two most commonly used GPUs in gaming monitors are NVIDIA GeForce and AMD Ryzen. 

  • If you have an NVIDIA GeForce GPU in your gaming monitor, then right click on the desktop. Go to the NVIDIA Control Panel and "enable" G-Sync technology. 
  • If you have an AMD GPU, right click on the desktop, and open the "AMD Radeon Software". There will be a gear icon in the upper right corner. Click on that and go to "Display," then finally "Enable" the "Radeon Free Sync." 

Ghosting UFO Test 

Setting the overdrive in such a way that it provides optimal display settings can be challenging for any user. To make this easier, you can do the "UFO Test: Ghosting" on your gaming monitor. This will tell you the ideal frame rate, refresh rate, frames per second, and pixels per second for top-notch gaming. 

You can select the options that are most convenient and friendly for you. Then the outcome can be used for customising the monitor’s in-built display settings. This way, you won’t go too fast, or too slow. Enable just the right fit! 

Wrapping Up!

In this article, we have comprehensively described the setup guidelines for ASUS, AOC, and MSI gaming monitors. Other than the above-mentioned settings, there are several other bonus features that can be enabled for an optimised gaming experience. But these are the basics, and even enabling them will take your gaming sessions to another level.