Hardware & Technical What monitor? Advice, please

Anton_

Anton_
I'm on the verge of getting a new monitor but I'm paralysed by the enormous choice available. Any of the modern ones would be a whole lot better than my 9 year old 19* 1280x1024 LCD, but I'd be stupid not to ask for some pointers from the more knowledgeable members of this forum.

To narrow the field for myself, I've more or less settled on:
  • bigger, better, crisper, more detail
  • probably BenQ - my son is in VFX and swears by his, and it's been recommended by other people too
  • 1920x1080 or better
  • 27"
  • single screen
  • runs on my current Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 (but I'm not totally averse to an upgrade there)

I want to be reasonably future-proofed so, while I'm not over-concerned about the price, I'm also not in the Rolls-Royce-of-displays category. Most of the time spent on my home PC is gaming and most of that is ED and a bit of Factorio and Minecraft. I also do a bit of graphics/DTP and some work-related stuff (Excel etc).

I'd be most grateful for any comments, please?
 

d8veh

d8veh
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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Wasp0

Wasp0
If your desk space can handle it, then take a look at the 40" 4k Phillips Brilliance Monitor, (Not TV, But True PC Monitor). I have gone from a 3 screen setup to this and it is BETTER!
 

Hellhawk666

Hellhawk666
2560 x 1440 is still the current sweet spot for monitors. Better resolution than 1080 (to be honest not enormously so, but it is definitely noticable. 4k is a different world, but you need a much better card than a 660). A GTX 660 would just run a 1440 screen, but I'd still be looking at a better video card. A GTX 780ti will drive a 1440 screen very well and the prices are good - not enormous framerates, but certainly usable. I was using a 3 year old GTX 780 up until a few weeks ago on a 1440 screen and it was fine.

Do you need to buy now or can you wait 12 months - some big things are happening with both monitors and cards next year.

Whatever you get I'd urge you to buy a monitor that has hardware synchronization - either G-sync (if an Nvidia user) or Freesync (if AMD). It makes a great difference, particularly at low frame rates. 30fps becomes quite acceptable with hardware sync. Also look for a high refresh rate, and if possible an IPS panel. TN panes are faster, but the colour is inferior and ED does not require 1ms GtG.
 

Anton_

Anton_
Thanks for those comments. Just to confirm - a 4K monitor will demand a better graphics card than my 660 though?

Edit: Just saw Hellhawk's comment, which confirmed what I'd expected about my card - thank you :)
 
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Hellhawk666

Hellhawk666
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.
 

tawittle

tawittle
So the nice features of expensive monitors are increased refresh rate (144 hz vs. 60 hz) and higher resolutions (2k and 4k resolution). With a 660, you can't take advantage of those features.

I would personally get a cheap 27' monitor from asus, newegg has several asus monitors for 150$. Don't spend more than 150$-200$ when you can't even take advantage of the useful features of an expensive monitor.
 

pocketmoon

P
If you card supports it get one with g-sync - made a huge difference for me and allows my GTX970 to run at x1440 and still appear smooth even at sub 60fps.
 

CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE

CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE
Another vote here for adaptive sync (G-sync or Freesync). Especially useful on planets when the FPS starts to drop.

If you want some future proofing I would consider going at least one level above 1920x1080 - that res could be considered entry level these days.

Can highly recommend 21:9 Ultrawide for increased immersion, though this will push the price up and may require a GPU upgrade esp. if 3440x1440:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-vs-ultrawide-21-9-cinematic-pc-gaming
https://pcmonitors.info/articles/games-movies-and-the-desktop-at-3440-x-1440/
https://pcmonitors.info/articles/the-219-2560-x-1080-experience/
 

Khazul

K
Anton_ said:
  • runs on my current Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 (but I'm not totally averse to an upgrade there)
Click to expand...

I think most modern monitors can scale the image, so it may not be worth limiting yourself to your current gfx card.

A more important question might be what gpu do you plan on getting next - in particular what resolution and capabilities and do you favour nvidia or amd going forward. Monitor tenmd to be something you stick with for a long time, som worth thinking ahead IMHO.
Answer those questions, and then you can think about 4k monitors (2160), ultra-wide gaming monitors (1080/1440), amd freesync or nvidia equivalent etc.

Certainly 27/28" is a good size, any bigger and I think it starts to impact on viewing angle unless a curved ultra-wide.

Its definately worth having a look around hardware review sites when you find some models of interest.
 

Defect0r

Defect0r
I've just bought a BenQ GW2765HT. It's 27" WQHD 60Hz.

It's an IPS panel so colours are absolutely incredible and blacks are really very good (perfect for ED). It had a bit of motion blur (it is IPS), bit I'm fine with it and it doesn't cause me any issues while playing. I've also tried using it with GTA V on Xbox and the motion is completely fine unless you do a slowish pan (weirdly). Is subjective though, so you might want to see one in the flesh.

The brightness on it is amazing as well, makes you want to squint coming out of a jump in front of a sun, even with brightness down from default 100% level!

I'm also a Benq fan and build quality is great IMO.

BTW running on Ultra settings @ WQHD with a R9 280 dual X, with only minor FPS drops in station (AMD supercruise issue excepted).
 
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Assimilator1

Assimilator1
[edit], nm ;) WQHD = Wide Quad Hi Def 2560x1440

Hellhawk666 said:
2560 x 1440 is still the current sweet spot for monitors. Better resolution than 1080 (to be honest not enormously so, but it is definitely noticable. 4k is a different world, but you need a much better card than a 660). A GTX 660 would just run a 1440 screen, but I'd still be looking at a better video card. A GTX 780ti will drive a 1440 screen very well and the prices are good - not enormous framerates, but certainly usable. I was using a 3 year old GTX 780 up until a few weeks ago on a 1440 screen and it was fine.

Do you need to buy now or can you wait 12 months - some big things are happening with both monitors and cards next year.

Whatever you get I'd urge you to buy a monitor that has hardware synchronization - either G-sync (if an Nvidia user) or Freesync (if AMD). It makes a great difference, particularly at low frame rates. 30fps becomes quite acceptable with hardware sync. Also look for a high refresh rate, and if possible an IPS panel. TN panes are faster, but the colour is inferior and ED does not require 1ms GtG.
Click to expand...
.
I was just beginning to think that, when someone in the other thread suggested TNs only I did some reading up, seems TNs are far more important for FPSs, & that more recent IPS are plenty fast enough for most games (& better colours of course).
Thx for mentioning that :).
.
Are other IPS owners happy with there monitor in ED?
.
Btw, like the op I will also be upgrading form a 19" 1280x1024 screen, currently running an HD 7950 (similar clocks to the Boost version), but I would consider upgrading if need be. Think I'll want a 27" IPS with 2560x1440.......
 
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Cmdr BrinBrown

Cmdr BrinBrown
40" + TV's are cheap now, I use a 40" LCD TV, only cost $263. My 24" 3 year monitor cost almost the same!
Big screen is better for ED:)
BB
 

Xorog

Xorog
I use two Eizo FS2434 and I am very happy with them. There is a "big brother" - fs2735. 27", 2k resolution. Somewhat expensive, IPS panel. Drawback: no 3D, no 120/144hz tech.
 

Porina

Porina
A bit bigger than stated, but have you considered ultra-wide displays? I've got an LG 34" and it makes a difference in ED without the multi-monitor problems. Personally I would only look at IPS panels and don't have any problem with motion blur with any one I've ever had. Never felt a need to go above 60fps typical refresh rate, but will admit that something like g-sync might help if you can't sustain that. To me limiting to 30fps feels better than a 40-something variable with a non-G-sync monitor for example.
 
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