IPS screens in 3DS

[Etown20]

A couple weeks ago I decided I wanted to pick up a 3DS for the first time to play New Leaf and some other games I have missed over the years.

I bought a used black New 3DS XL on Facebook marketplace for $200. It's definitely not in bad condition, but it had a bit more wear on it than what the pictures let on. It was owned by a young kid and I could tell it has been played a lot by looking at the buttons. The seller told me it has had screen protectors on the entire time. It also had one of those rubbery shell covers on it, so the front/back is in pretty good shape, but some of the paint has chipped off the corners where the shell was exposed.

A few days later, I saw a used galaxy New 3DS XL on my Facebook marketplace for only $110 that looked like it had less wear on it, so I picked it up with the intention of reselling the first one. It's not in perfect shape, but overall it's clear it has been played much less and was owned by an adult. There are some streaks/scratches on the screen, but I haven't noticed them while playing.

As mentioned, I was planning on selling the black one and keeping the galaxy one, but then today I discovered the black one has a top IPS screen and the galaxy one does not. Now I'm not sure which one to keep:

The black one with more button/shell wear and top IPS screen
The galaxy one with less wear but no IPS screen

Does the IPS screen make a big difference or is it the type of thing that is hard to notice when playing?

 

[mirukushake]

IPS screens are more vibrant and less washed out but I don't find it to make a huge difference unless you're going to be playing at weird angles. (I have two IPS and one TN) At this point, the 3DS is discontinued and at some point so will repairs/production of replacement parts, so I'd rather have a system with less wear that will hopefully last longer.

 

[Neb]

A good way to test if your 3DS has an IPS screen is by setting the brightness to “5.” If the screen is white and washed out you have a TN screen. If the colors still look vibrant then you have an IPS screen.

 

[BluebearL]

I have owned both IPS and TN screens N3ds systems before, while side-by-side the difference is noticeable, it never really bothered me to be playing on a TN screen at all. The difference isn't big enough to sacrifice the quality of the system imo. I would personally pick the one in better shape over the IPS screen. Up to you in the end though.