Long-term OLED monitor burn-in test shows visible issues but gamers have nothing to worry about

Over the last 18 months, Monitors Unboxed (MU) has been running a long-term OLED monitor burn-in test on their MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED gaming monitor. The test involves using the monitor for productivity workloads involving “95%+ static desktop apps”, at 200 nits of brightness for at least 8 hours a day/60 hours per week. During the test, all burn-in reducing features of the monitor were turned off except for a Pixel Refresh Cycle once a day.

In their latest 3-month update, MU shows that sections of the monitors that already suffered from burn-in have gotten worse. The main offenders here are the static, dark Windows Taskbar, a clearly visible line marking the boundary of side-by-side apps, and the area to the right of the said line where the most used static app was placed. Interestingly, aside from these three key issues, the monitor doesn’t appear to have developed new image degradation.

Moreover, MU explains that burn-in has affected the Green sub-pixels of the RGB matrix the worst, and the Red sub-pixels the least. This has reportedly caused the color temperature to shift towards the Red tones.

Aside from the image degradation and the slight color temperature shift, the MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED exhibits no other issues. So, there seemingly has been no reduction in the brightness of the panel, which is something that usually accompanies OLED burn-in.

On the surface, MU’s testing of the MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED returns disappointing results, as the MSI MPG 321URX is an expensive gaming monitor (although it is currently retailing for less than list price on Amazon). However, the overall picture looks quite different if we pay close attention to the results and the extreme conditions that the monitor was put in.

OLED displays, whether in TVs, monitors, or smartphones, degrade over time. The rate of degradation is directly proportional to the usage. So, the more you use an OLED gaming monitor, the worse the burn-in and the faster the panel degrades. In this case, MU used the monitor for 4,000 to 4,500 hours, without any burn-in reducing features enabled, except for a Pixel Refresh Cycle once a day.

So, with burn-in compensation features enabled, using a more frequent Pixel Refresh Cycle as the manufacturer recommends, and using the monitor for multimedia like gaming rather than purely static work, the OLED monitor should show no visible signs of burn-in for years.

In other words, if you’ve wanted an OLED gaming monitor but were hesitant due to possible image retention, MU’s testing should put your fears to rest. Moreover, now is a pretty good time to get an OLED monitor, since there are plenty of options on the market at reasonable prices.