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New Gaming Monitor - What's "Good" Nowadays?
Heir
Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
So last time I bought a monitor, LED backlit monitors were just becoming a thing. I have a Samsung SA350 24" monitor. It's served me well, but I've noticed some dimness issues, some screen tearing, and a couple other things that don't appear to be related to my video card.
So I'm in the market for a nice new gaming monitor. Big screen, crisp picture, nice resolution. Budget is up to $1000 (just to see what's out there). What's good nowadays? Should I go with a 4k? 30" or bigger?
Mostly use my home computer for gaming (While I play some action-y games like Dark Souls 3, I don't play a lot of FPS games...mostly slower stuff like Civ or RPGs). Also watch movies on it from time to time.
Current Specs:
Intel i5-6600 3.3GHz
Geforce GTX 980 Ti
16gb Ram
So I'm in the market for a nice new gaming monitor. Big screen, crisp picture, nice resolution. Budget is up to $1000 (just to see what's out there). What's good nowadays? Should I go with a 4k? 30" or bigger?
Mostly use my home computer for gaming (While I play some action-y games like Dark Souls 3, I don't play a lot of FPS games...mostly slower stuff like Civ or RPGs). Also watch movies on it from time to time.
Current Specs:
Intel i5-6600 3.3GHz
Geforce GTX 980 Ti
16gb Ram
0
Posts
Personally, since my computer was intended primarily for VR I ended up getting a budget Acer monitor for sub-$300. I don't like Acers now, actually, because mine has a 12 second splash screen every time I turn it on, but when I complained about it on the Acer forum they said that in response to customer feedback they were removing this from new monitors and were going to release a firmware update to get rid of it on existing screens. Hasn't happened yet, though.
Thanks for that link. The main thing I don't understand is what are the differences in some of the options out there? Do I need 4k? 1440p? What does G-sync mean?
G-sync is Nvidia's solution to screen tearing. The short version is that Nvidia has a board that changes the refresh rate on the monitor itself to match the frame-rate of what your card is pumping out.
FreeSync is AMD's version...but is supposed to be baked in with DisplayPort 1.2a standard (as opposed to being proprietary add-in tech supplied by Nvidia).
People like G-Sync/Freesync a lot. Since you have an Nvidia card that means going with the G-Sync monitors (which are more expensive than their AMD-compatible counterparts, boo).
Thanks for everybody's replies. Very helpful!
It all depends on who you ask. Bearing in mind that I went with a 1080p monitor, for me, the hierarchy goes something like this: G-sync > Price(TN) > 1440p resolution > IPS (so, for me, I'd say 1440p + G-sync is worth sacrificing an IPS panel)
Ask other people, and they'll probably say 1440p > G-Sync > IPS > Price(TN)
(and yes, I'm linking TN with price in that hierarchy chain)
EDIT - in summary, you can have 1440p and G-Sync at a decent price...you can have 1440p and IPS at a decent price...but it's combining all three where you really see the escalation in price.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/460009/Predator_XB271HU_27_WQHD_IPS_G-Sync_Display_Monitor
But seeing how we're so close to January and HDR, OLED, and QLED is becoming a thing I'm going to hold out and not dump $750 on my Amazon prime card.
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-XB321HK-bmiphz-Widescreen/dp/B01A3N60A2
I'd hope so cause gsync with 60hz is useless
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
I'd say either:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236405
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824106004
with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260333 as the third-runner up for if you want to reallocate $100 for other components
Here's a hugemongous monitor at 100HZ
https://www.amazon.com/Curved-3440x1440-G-SYNC-Gaming-Monitor/dp/B01C83BE6U/ref=as_li_ss_tl?tag=amazon0251-20&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1468702727&sr=1-4&keywords=monitor&refinements=p_72:1248879011,p_n_size_browse-bin:3547805011|3547806011|3547807011|3547808011|3547809011,p_n_condition-type:2224371011,p_36:99000-99999999&linkCode=ll1&linkId=f6f2a95ff378ed1606fec9db663f2a74
As for it being too big...maybe. But then again, I remember 24" seeming huge 5 years ago. Thankfully I also got a chance to play around with a 32" monitor yesterday and it felt about right for what I was looking for.
Desk? I got a wall that's the perfect distance from me (doubly so if I had a hybrid seated/standing desk).
I have a new 34" ultra-widescreen. It looks huge at first, but you get used to the size very quickly.
And movies and games look amazing.
Before:
After:
Sounds like you already pulled the trigger, but I just wanted to chime in to second Erlkönig. I went down the monitor upgrade research hole recently, and ended up deciding I wanted 27", 144Hz and G-sync. With those criteria, these three monitors are really it.
I ended up trucking up to a Microcenter to try to get a look at some of these in action. Unfortunately, they have them hooked up to umpressive machines with nothing that really puts G-sync through its paces. The sales guy let me download the Nvidia G-sync utility (a great pendulum swinging back and forth), but since the GPUs on these machines were nothing special, it was hard to tell what the price premium would get beyond a nice picture you could get on a $200 screen.
As it turns out, the Dell had been discontinued at Microcenter, so I offered them $400 for the floor model and walked out with it boxless. Bit of a gamble. We'll see how it goes. (Unfortunately I then had to head out of town for a week, so it's sitting here behind me unconnected. Soon, my darling, soon....)
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That's an amazing deal. I love this monitor...
How are the viewing angles? I know that TN panels get a bad rap for angles.
Hasn'the been an issue for me sitting at my desk or watching my son play Civ VI over his shoulder.
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