If budget is a concern and you engage in casual gaming or require a monitor for productivity tasks with a very good performance, the Gigabyte M28U is a solid choice. However, if you're willing to spend more for premium image clarity and color, perhaps for better media consumption experience and some HDR gaming, the Sony M9 with its higher brightness and contrast may be the better option. Keep in mind though, for competitive gaming, neither monitor stands out as the absolute best, but they do offer features that are generally good for gaming, such as variable refresh rate and low response time. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Gigabyte M28U (IPS)
The Gigabyte M28U (IPS) has no clear advantages over the Sony M9 (IPS FALD).
Advantages of the Sony M9 (IPS FALD)
Good for casual gaming
Best in class for productivity
Good for media consumption
Very good text clarity
Very good image clarity
Good contrast
Good brightness
Good color volume
Key differences
Casual Gaming
6.1/10
7.3/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
1228:1
NATIVE CONTRAST
1000:1
312 nits
SDR PEAK BRIGHTNESS
432 nits
495 nits
HDR PEAK BRIGHTNESS
695 nits
65.0 %
DCI-P3 COLOR GAMUT
67.7 %
Matte
COATING
Matte
The Sony M9 (IPS FALD) is good for casual gaming, while the Gigabyte M28U (IPS) is only fair.
Productivity
8.8/10
9.6/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
160 PPI
PIXELS PER INCH
163 PPI
Yes
ADJUSTABLE STAND
Yes
Matte
COATING
Matte
The Sony M9 (IPS FALD) is best in class for productivity, while the Gigabyte M28U (IPS) is very good.
Media Consumption
6.7/10
7.5/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
1228:1
NATIVE CONTRAST
1000:1
312 nits
SDR PEAK BRIGHTNESS
432 nits
495 nits
HDR PEAK BRIGHTNESS
695 nits
Matte
COATING
Matte
The Sony M9 (IPS FALD) is good for media consumption, while the Gigabyte M28U (IPS) is only fair.
Cost
$470
$800
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
The Gigabyte M28U (IPS) has a price of $470 and the Sony M9 (IPS FALD) costs $800.
HDR Gaming and Media Consumption
No
Yes
The Gigabyte M28U (IPS) is not suitable for HDR gaming and media consumption while the Sony M9 (IPS FALD) is suitable for HDR gaming and media consumption.
Key similarities
Competitive Gaming
5.7/10
5.7/10
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
7.7 ms
TOTAL RESPONSE TIME
8.0 ms
20 - 144 Hz
VARIABLE REFRESH RATE
24 - 144 Hz
Yes
STROBING / BFI
No
312 nits
SDR PEAK BRIGHTNESS
432 nits
The Sony M9 (IPS FALD) and Gigabyte M28U (IPS) are both poor for competitive gaming.
Digital Photo Editing
Yes
Yes
Both the Gigabyte M28U (IPS) and Sony M9 (IPS FALD) are suitable for digital photo editing.
HDR Video Editing and Color Grading
No
No
Both the Gigabyte M28U (IPS) and Sony M9 (IPS FALD) are not suitable for HDR video editing and color grading.
Print Photo Editing
No
No
Both the Gigabyte M28U (IPS) and Sony M9 (IPS FALD) are not suitable for print photo editing.
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How the Gigabyte M28U (IPS) and the Sony M9 (IPS FALD) compare to other monitors
"Fundamentally the M28U is an impressive 4K monitor; between the resolution, refresh rate, and IPS panel, it's a great all-rounder for the step up to 4K. Even beyond PC gaming, the inclusion of a HDMI 2.1 port offers 120Hz gaming for consoles, so it's quite the multi-faceted package for its price. Gigabyte has made no major sacrifice to tick all the checkboxes with the M28U."
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec monitors team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest monitor information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the monitor team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Monitors Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.