10-Bit vs. 8-Bit: Does Monitor Panel Bit Color Depth Matter (2024)

Yes, and to be honest, you should aim to get one anyway. As we just said, 8-bit color is very 1980s. In an age of 4K HDR you really want to have a 10-bit color depth display to get the benefit of modern graphics and content.

Games for contemporary PCs and modern consoles all render in 10-bit color as a minimum, and HDR is becoming universal. Of course, they’ll technically work with a low cost 8-bit panel but you’ll miss out. Also, 10-bit displays open up proper HDR10, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+ performance, which just won't run right on an 8-bit color depth screen.

In that regard gaming’s no different from serious movie watching, streaming, photography, or video editing. For all of them, source content keeps increasing in detail and quality. Obviously, the display you use should keep up with the content, not stay stuck in the past. That means 10-bit or more, since 8-bit, while reliable and proven, simply doesn’t show you the whole picture.

With 10-bit you get a more detailed image and as resolution increases, there are more details to display. Force a game to run on an 8-bit color depth panel and you’ll get less complex darks, washed out or banded brights, and approximated textures instead of the ones intended by the artists. Even if not shocking, the difference is becoming increasingly important.

10-Bit vs. 8-Bit: Does Monitor Panel Bit Color Depth Matter (2024)
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