BGR Vs. RGB – Which Subpixel Layout Offers the Best Display?

There’s a huge list of features that buyers have to keep track of when buying a monitor. But one such feature that’s not readily advertised by monitor manufacturers and even sellers is the subpixel layout of the monitor.

In their defense, though, they simply don’t think the feature’s worth listing, but we’re here to tell you that the specific subpixel layout of a monitor greatly affects its image output, especially when it comes to the sharpness or clarity of the text.

Thus, if you intend to use your newly acquired monitor for a lot of typing and reading, make sure you take an in-depth look at all the reviews of a specific monitor to find out if it features an RGB or BGR subpixel layout.

Meanwhile, allow us to clue you in on which layout offers the best display in the article below and finally settle the eternal BGR vs. RGB debate by clueing you in on the key differences between the two layouts.

Difference Between BGR and RGB Subpixel Layout

BGR (Subpixel Layout)

Computer experts and even non-experts have at one point, or another heard of BGR or an RGB layout, but what exactly is a BGR subpixel layout? Well, as the name suggests, the BGR layout is the inverse of the standard RGB layout or subpixel arrangement.

Due to this inverse arrangement, the text on monitors often appears to be blurry and distorted, which is especially visible in small text.

This problem is more pronounced when you’re running Windows on the monitor, as Windows carries out subpixel anti-aliasing according to the standard RGB layout.

This is mostly why only a select few monitors offer displays in the BGR subpixel layout. If you decide to visit the market at this point, you’ll only notice 43-inch 4K monitors or the older models using the BGR layout, which results in the text appearing blurry or distorted.

There are a few ways in which you can improve the text clarity in monitors that use the BGR subpixel, especially on Windows. For example, popular 43-inch 4K monitors usually have a really low pixel density which greatly affects text clarity on Windows.

So, one way to make the text appear sharper is to apply to scale to make the text larger and more visible by sacrificing a little bit of screen real estate. 

RGB (Subpixel Layout)

What can we tell you about an RGB subpixel layout that hasn’t been said a thousand times already?

As you would’ve understood by now, RGB is the standard subpixel layout used in most of the monitors being manufactured these days and is also the more recognizable of the two layouts.

And as we alluded to earlier, text clarity is a lot better in monitors that use RGB layouts as the text appears less fuzzy and blurry.

As a result, monitors that use RGB subpixel layouts also cause less strain on your eyes as you won’t have to focus too much on reading the text that’s easily readable at first glance.

The RGB layout offers an especially clear display if you’re running Windows on your system for reasons we’ve alluded to in the previous section. 

Which Display is Better?

In the olden days, the general consensus among monitor owners was that the RGB subpixel layout is leagues better than the BGR layout mostly because it makes text documents more readable and causes less eye strain to users, thereby allowing them to put in long hours on their system.

It also favored those individuals who used their monitor primarily for typing or reading documents. However, with the increase of 43 inch 4K monitors that use the BGR subpixel layout, more and more people have started realizing that BGR screens like some newer Gigabyte models offer greater color accuracy than RGB screens, especially while watching movies or video editing.

Thus our final verdict depends on the type of work you intend to do on your monitor. If you intend to use your newly acquired monitor for the sole purpose of video editing or image rendering, then we’d recommend some of Gigabyte’s newer 43 Inch 4K models that use a BGR layout.

On the other hand, if your intention is to primarily do typing or reading on your monitor, then we’d recommend the numerous monitors on the market that use an RGB layout.

Our general verdict, though, is that RGB screens are better than BGR screens solely because they cause less eye strain and are more readily available in the market.

How to Know if a Monitor Uses BGR or RGB Layout?

Unfortunately, most monitor manufacturers don’t outright list the subpixel layout of a specific monitor as they don’t consider it to be an important feature of the monitor.

Due to this, sellers also fail to list the subpixel layout of monitors as part of the original product description and look past its subpixel layout.

However, if you just move to the review section and view all the reviews, good and bad, that a specific monitor has received, we’re pretty sure you’ll be able to figure out the subpixel layout the monitor is sporting.

Conclusion:

Ever since these newer BGR monitor models have started popping up, the previously heated debate of BGR vs. RGB has started picking up steam once again, and for a good reason, as well as people have started noticing the benefits of using BGR screens over RGB screens.

However, we still believe that RGB screens are the better option in the long run only because they cause less strain on the user’s eyes, making them the better option for users who like to put in extended shifts on their system.

But, in the end, it all depends on the type of work you intend to do and the screen that best supports that work.

FAQs: