Hardware & Technical What monitor? Advice, please

Thanks for all the useful comments.

Looks like it will be a 27" 2560x1440 with G-sync and IPS - does that sound reasonable? The ones that fit the bill seem to be the following, from this source:

  • Acer XB270HU ±£578
  • ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q ±£509
  • Dell S2716DG ±£526
  • BenQ XL2730Z ±£460 (but Adaptive-Sync, not G-sync - don't know if that's any use with a Nvidia card?)
Except for the BenQ, prices are much of a muchness, and I suspect that I wouldn't be able to notice any difference - so I'm dependent upon your good advice again, please, re the brands.

Should I upgrade my current GeForce GTX 660? If so, what would drive such a monitor comfortably, without going totally OTT?
 
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You need to consider the amount of Black in this game. I have an IPS that looks amazing on every game, but I had to fiddle around with it lots to get good Blacks for ED. it still isn't perfect with a slight glow. I'm gonna get a new one too once I've recovered from Christmas.
 
Digiland in Telford (find their website) are the service centre for Samsung. They deal with their returns and surplus stock. You can buy as new ones from there with a proper 12 month guarantee at about 75% of the normal price. I bought a 28" 4K one from there for £300. I got all my TVs from there too -all perfect. The 4k TVs also work as 4K monitors, so you can get one of those instead and kill two birds with one stone.
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Bear in mind that consumer 4k TVs only support 30 cps, as opposed to 4k monitors which support 60 cps.
 
cps? Not fps?
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Thanks for all the useful comments.

Looks like it will be a 27" 2560x1440 with G-sync and IPS - does that sound reasonable? The ones that fit the bill seem to be the following, from this source:

  • Acer XB270HU ±£578
  • ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q ±£509
  • Dell S2716DG ±£526
  • BenQ XL2730Z ±£460 (but Adaptive-Sync, not G-sync - don't know if that's any use with a Nvidia card?)
Except for the BenQ, prices are much of a muchness, and I suspect that I wouldn't be able to notice any difference - so I'm dependent upon your good advice again, please, re the brands.

Should I upgrade my current GeForce GTX 660? If so, what would drive such a monitor comfortably, without going totally OTT?
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Seeing as my HD 7950 could probably only just about cut it at that res (looking at AnandTechs GPU bench) I doubt your 660 would, did you not look at the their bench I linked you? (other thread I think)
 
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response time.
but with elte, response time doesn't matter.
so I use a 42" 3d Vizeo TV
LOVE it.
cant ue my 19" monitor for anything anymore.
it is my second screen

you WILL notice a little mouse lag on a tv ... but it really is minimal.
get a monitor, and will not have any mouse lag.

that is the response time, they have posted on the monitor.
 
Seeing as my HD 7950 could probably only just about cut it at that res (looking at AnandTechs GPU bench) I doubt your 660 would, did you not look at the their bench I linked you? (other thread I think)
I did indeed, but not sure how to interpret the results. Please be patient with my lack of tech knowledge :)

My 660 definitely seems inferior to almost all of the others, but I'm not clear on how to work out what would be good enough? Do I look at those that deliver above 60fps? Which game do I select as nearest to ED - Shadow of Mordor? I'm confused also by seeing that in some games a GTX 690 gives better FPS than a GTX 980 - do higher GTX-numbers not mean a beastier card?

The market makes it even more confusing. E.g., the GTX 980 - it seems from Scan's and Overclockers' offerings that not all 980s are created equal. And then there are different manufacturers. My 660 is EVGA - should I go for that manufacturer again, or doesn't it matter?
 
Thanks for all the useful comments.

Looks like it will be a 27" 2560x1440 with G-sync and IPS - does that sound reasonable? The ones that fit the bill seem to be the following, from this source:

  • Acer XB270HU ±£578
  • ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q ±£509
  • Dell S2716DG ±£526
  • BenQ XL2730Z ±£460 (but Adaptive-Sync, not G-sync - don't know if that's any use with a Nvidia card?)
Except for the BenQ, prices are much of a muchness, and I suspect that I wouldn't be able to notice any difference - so I'm dependent upon your good advice again, please, re the brands.

Should I upgrade my current GeForce GTX 660? If so, what would drive such a monitor comfortably, without going totally OTT?

I am running a 970sc at 1440P. It drops to high 30's fps at stations on planets, everywhere else above 60 fps. I recommend getting a 980ti for 1440P.
 
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Brand doesn't really matter as far as performance goes (at default clocks anyway), but, some will have longer warrantees, some will have better coolers (quieter or more effective, or both!), oh & some will have factory overclocks which will help performance, but they are not always worth the extra cost, & sometimes the overclocks are simple not stable with some games! Regarding all of the above, I'm afraid you're just going to have to search for reviews & read through them to pick the right one! ;). AnandTech's my favourite, but THG, X-bit & many others do good reviews too.
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Re the bench results, sometimes an older generation card will outperform a newer generation card on older games due to the way GPUs are optimised, that's usually what it is in those cases anyway.
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As for which game is closer to ED in performance, who knows! ;). But what you want to look at is the overall performance of the card(s) you have in mind at the resolution you intend to play at across all the those games. And as for what FPS is the minimum & ideal, well that can vary between people & between games!
That said, prior to G-sync, it is generally considered that 30 FPS is a bare minimum with 60 being ideal (excluding 120+ Hz monitors), bear in mind that some reviews only post average FPS & don't include the minimum! You don't want the min FPS dropping below 30.
G sync is totally new to me, I know nothing about it so I don't know how it changes things!
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Anyway, I've got 1hr left to play ED, so I'm off for today ;)
 
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I wouldnt get anything than a 21:9 Monitor! The "Field of view" makes the whole game come aLife so much more!
Any 3d and first Person game really! Once you played on 21:9 you will never want to go back! ist such a HUGE difference...

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Something else to consider is the Occulus Rift which goes on sale tomorrow... even better than any Monitor...
 
Beware when you look for a monitor. There are monitors and GAMING monitors with a world of difference between them. BenQ has some excellent gaming monitors out.

Here's a top ten review from last year. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2402169,00.asp

They all have 1080 res which should be fine for anyone. 4K isn't that prevalent at the moment and you'll pay a premium for it today.

Tom's Hardware is a good place to look for info on new gear as well.

Last, remember that the human eye is limited and you may be paying for a resolution you can't actually see.
 
Beware when you look for a monitor. There are monitors and GAMING monitors with a world of difference between them. BenQ has some excellent gaming monitors out.

Here's a top ten review from last year. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2402169,00.asp

They all have 1080 res which should be fine for anyone. 4K isn't that prevalent at the moment and you'll pay a premium for it today.

Tom's Hardware is a good place to look for info on new gear as well.

Last, remember that the human eye is limited and you may be paying for a resolution you can't actually see.

So called "gaming" monitors are mostly overclocked TN panels with bad view angles (because TN) and bad black colors (again, because TN). Also, they tend to have high prices (because you know, they're "premium gaming hardware").
DO NOT buy these if you want a good visual experience. Especially with games that really need good black, like space sims.
DO buy these if you're a 12-year old Call of Duty fan who tends to trust advertisements.
 
I've got an Aoc 34" ultrawide with only an nvidia 750ti (I need the low profile). Perception of of performance is arbitrary but elite runs full resolution on high settings without notable issues.
 
So called "gaming" monitors are mostly overclocked TN panels with bad view angles (because TN) and bad black colors (again, because TN). Also, they tend to have high prices (because you know, they're "premium gaming hardware").
DO NOT buy these if you want a good visual experience. Especially with games that really need good black, like space sims.
DO buy these if you're a 12-year old Call of Duty fan who tends to trust advertisements.
Actually they do have their place for some games, particularly if played competitively, TNs quicker response times do help to reduce ghosting when panning quickly e.g FPS games, that said it seems that most modern IPS screens have closed the gap a lot, so it isn't an issue for many people now. Agreed with the rest ;).
 
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I forgot to mention - G-sync monitors are always more expensive than Freesync, but it's probably wise to stay with Nvidia cards for ED. Also, up until now most G-sync monitors have been TN panels, IPS only started coming out last year. I think the least expensive would be the Acer Predator XB270HU, which is a pretty nice 27" screen and ticks all the boxes, but it's around 500-600 pounds.

Watch this review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LTHr96NueA. I'm making this my next monitor.
 
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