As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

New Gaming Monitor - What's "Good" Nowadays?

2»

Posts

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    edited October 2016
    Buying a 4K monitor right now is well and truly pointless. Your 980 Ti will be able to push that at 40-50 frames, if you're lucky. We're at least one more generation of video cards away from 4K being something I would recommend for people who don't have 1800 bucks to throw at video cards.

    Glad you like the display, but for other people reading this looking for recommendations, ultra wide/4K are a serious reach right now if you aren't doing SLI systems.

    GnomeTank on
    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • SmokeStacksSmokeStacks Registered User regular
    GnomeTank wrote: »
    ...for other people reading this looking for recommendations, ultra wide/4K are a serious reach right now if you aren't doing SLI systems.

    You're absolutely right about 4K, but ultrawide isn't a serious issue in terms of performance. 3440x1440 is just over half of the pixel count of 4K, and 2560x1080 is around a third the pixel count.

  • ConstrictorConstrictor The Dork Knight SuburbialandRegistered User regular
    Simpsonia wrote: »
    Iolo wrote: »
    Anyone still eyeing the Dell S2716DG, Best Buy's got it for $480 with free shipping.

    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.

    No issues for me. It's on my desk and I look at it directly.

  • IoloIolo iolo Registered User regular
    ASUS ROG PG278Q on sale at NewEgg for $603 with + 10% off promo code GAMEMNTR.

    Lt. Iolo's First Day
    Steam profile.
    Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
  • M-VickersM-Vickers Registered User regular
    GnomeTank wrote: »
    ...for other people reading this looking for recommendations, ultra wide/4K are a serious reach right now if you aren't doing SLI systems.

    You're absolutely right about 4K, but ultrawide isn't a serious issue in terms of performance. 3440x1440 is just over half of the pixel count of 4K, and 2560x1080 is around a third the pixel count.

    I can testify to the latter. I have an ultrawide display, and there was only a modest framerate drop going from 1920x1080. The extra width make a surprising difference. It's 34"' and lovely.

    I think 4k is a few years off, for me. I am looking forward to it, though.

  • DhalphirDhalphir don't you open that trapdoor you're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
    Yeah, as much as the 1080 looks like it can do single-GPU 4k on paper from benchmarking in reviews, in the real world that's not going to be that great an experience.

    I think we're waiting until the generation after this. Even the Pascal Titan isn't incredible at single-GPU 4k.

  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    Iolo wrote: »
    ASUS ROG PG278Q on sale at NewEgg for $603 with + 10% off promo code GAMEMNTR.

    I have this monitor and it's great. It wasn't so great when the first one I had broke after a couple of months and had to pay $200 shipping it back to them.

    The new one works great so far.

  • PriestPriest Registered User regular
    Iolo wrote: »
    ASUS ROG PG278Q on sale at NewEgg for $603 with + 10% off promo code GAMEMNTR.

    I have this monitor and it's great. It wasn't so great when the first one I had broke after a couple of months and had to pay $200 shipping it back to them.

    The new one works great so far.

    They reimbursed you for that, right? Because that's a solid warranty issue, and I'd be livid if they made me eat that cost.

  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    Nope. The issue was that I didn't have the original box any longer so I had to ship it through FedEx custom shipping. The materials to pack it up properly ended up costing more than $200. I had the option to just ship the thing regularly but was told by ASUS that if there was any physical damage incurred in shipping it would effectively void the warranty.

    Moral of the story is keep your box.

  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    GnomeTank wrote: »
    Buying a 4K monitor right now is well and truly pointless. Your 980 Ti will be able to push that at 40-50 frames, if you're lucky. We're at least one more generation of video cards away from 4K being something I would recommend for people who don't have 1800 bucks to throw at video cards.

    Glad you like the display, but for other people reading this looking for recommendations, ultra wide/4K are a serious reach right now if you aren't doing SLI systems.

    I'd also recommend 1080p or 1440p. Personally I would more strongly recommend the later over an ultrawidescreen setup, but that's just because you'll end up having a not-quite-old games that can do 16:9 at various resolutions (even 4K) but not 21:9--so you end up with either a stretched image or, less horribly, black bars. If you only play new games, it's a nonissue and a lot of games can immediately benefit from the wider field in a way that you wouldn't get with, for example, G sync.

    People are going to scream at me for this, but you can actually have a good (40 to 50 FPS consistently) framerate with a single GTX 1080. In my case, I don't use multisampling past 1.00, and I can consistently hit +50 FPS with my EVGA GTX 1080 FTW in Hitman or Elite Dangerous. But that's an average increased benchmark of 30% over the 980 ti--almost a third more powerful in benchmarks.

    Hence, 1080p or 1440p. Frankly, your 980 ti isn't going to hit 144 fps either at 1440p (you'll be lucky if you hit half that), because that GPU--like something that can always hit 60 FPS at 4K--doesn't exist currently. Keep that in mind. G sync is a neat feature to have, but I'd argue you're better off putting that +$100 that it costs potentially (or more) into, for example, ultrawidescreen.

    Just my two cents.

  • ThirithThirith Registered User regular
    One thing to remember about G-Sync is that games on it will feel a lot smoother regardless of framerate. Obviously a framerate below 30 won't magically seem like 60 or 120 fps, but a framerate drop without G-Sync tends to be much more noticeable than one with G-Sync. At least that's what I've heard and read; I've now been using a 1440p G-Sync monitor for a few months and I've not been aware of framerate drops since. Granted, I've got a GTX 1080, but I'm running all my games at maximum settings, and I doubt that current maxed out games would all run at 144 fps (or even 60 fps) on a 4790k.

    Having said that, this is very much based on gut instinct. My first reaction to running things on the new screen was being somewhat underwhelmed, but I've since come to love the smooth image. And how people react to framerates seems to be extremely individual anyway.

    Weirdly enough, the one thing that is more juddery than beforehand (on a 60Hz 1080p screen) is Blu-rays played on PowerDVD. No idea if that's the program, the resolution (PowerDVD shouldn't do anything other than upscale the image; all fancy effects are disabled) or whether it's that PowerDVD doesn't play well with G-Sync.

    webp-net-resizeimage.jpg
    "Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
  • DhalphirDhalphir don't you open that trapdoor you're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
    Nope. The issue was that I didn't have the original box any longer so I had to ship it through FedEx custom shipping. The materials to pack it up properly ended up costing more than $200. I had the option to just ship the thing regularly but was told by ASUS that if there was any physical damage incurred in shipping it would effectively void the warranty.

    Moral of the story is keep your box.

    This is why I buy things from physical stores where I can so I don't have to rely on shipping something back to a manufacturer. I deal with the store, and then the store deals with the manufacturer.

  • DhalphirDhalphir don't you open that trapdoor you're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
    Actually a big problem I have with my 144hz monitor which I didn't have before is that when loading a windowed game, my side monitors lag. For example, if I go through a load screen transition in WoW while watching an NBA game on League Pass on my second screen, the video feed of the game lags until WoW finishes loading.

    No idea what causes it.

  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    edited November 2016
    Dhalphir wrote: »
    Nope. The issue was that I didn't have the original box any longer so I had to ship it through FedEx custom shipping. The materials to pack it up properly ended up costing more than $200. I had the option to just ship the thing regularly but was told by ASUS that if there was any physical damage incurred in shipping it would effectively void the warranty.

    Moral of the story is keep your box.

    This is why I buy things from physical stores where I can so I don't have to rely on shipping something back to a manufacturer. I deal with the store, and then the store deals with the manufacturer.

    This isn't bad advice. Amazon is similarly much, much more flexible about monitor issues--their return periods are longer than for other products, and usually have no fees to incur. Shipping is free.

    Of course, you still have to keep the box, but I'm crazy enough to save my monitor boxes just because there's not an easier way to transport a monitor necessarily.

    Synthesis on
  • RobesRobes Registered User regular
    Dhalphir wrote: »
    Actually a big problem I have with my 144hz monitor which I didn't have before is that when loading a windowed game, my side monitors lag. For example, if I go through a load screen transition in WoW while watching an NBA game on League Pass on my second screen, the video feed of the game lags until WoW finishes loading.

    No idea what causes it.

    I have this problem and I have a 144hz monitor. I used to think it was just a bandwidth issue with my internet.

    "Wait" he says... do I look like a waiter?
  • IoloIolo iolo Registered User regular
    Cross-posting from the Build thread:
    Iolo wrote: »
    Simpsonia wrote: »
    Simpsonia wrote: »
    Has anyone used sites like Ebates or BeFrugal before? It looks like Dell has the S2716DG (that everyone has been saying is a great 27" g sync 1440p value) for $475. Slickdeals is also telling me that those sites currently have 12% cash back when using their affiliate portal for Dell.com. I'm strongly tempted to buy the monitor right now, especially since I just picked up a GTX1070. Someone convince me to pull the trigger!

    Pull the trigger. I paid $580 for mine and am very satisfied.

    Thanks, that's the push I needed. Monitor upgrade get! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the $24 credit I got at Dell that expires in 90 days.

    I've got the S2716DG and it is pretty sweet. I think you'll be happy. Be sure to check out this ICC profile for color calibration.

    Deal on Slickdeals.

    Lt. Iolo's First Day
    Steam profile.
    Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
  • SimpsoniaSimpsonia Registered User regular
    Iolo wrote: »
    Cross-posting from the Build thread:
    Iolo wrote: »
    Simpsonia wrote: »
    Simpsonia wrote: »
    Has anyone used sites like Ebates or BeFrugal before? It looks like Dell has the S2716DG (that everyone has been saying is a great 27" g sync 1440p value) for $475. Slickdeals is also telling me that those sites currently have 12% cash back when using their affiliate portal for Dell.com. I'm strongly tempted to buy the monitor right now, especially since I just picked up a GTX1070. Someone convince me to pull the trigger!

    Pull the trigger. I paid $580 for mine and am very satisfied.

    Thanks, that's the push I needed. Monitor upgrade get! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the $24 credit I got at Dell that expires in 90 days.

    I've got the S2716DG and it is pretty sweet. I think you'll be happy. Be sure to check out this ICC profile for color calibration.

    Deal on Slickdeals.

    As an addendum to that, I signed up for Ebates.com (a website that gives cash back when buying after using their affiliate link) which is currently giving 12% back on any purchases through www.dell.com. Now the really cool part I just noticed is that I got 12% back on the full retain price of $799, which gave me $96 back, on top of the $24 in Dell credit from their loyalty program, got it all down to less than $400.

  • RoeRoe Always to the East Registered User regular
    Simpsonia wrote: »
    Iolo wrote: »
    Cross-posting from the Build thread:
    Iolo wrote: »
    Simpsonia wrote: »
    Simpsonia wrote: »
    Has anyone used sites like Ebates or BeFrugal before? It looks like Dell has the S2716DG (that everyone has been saying is a great 27" g sync 1440p value) for $475. Slickdeals is also telling me that those sites currently have 12% cash back when using their affiliate portal for Dell.com. I'm strongly tempted to buy the monitor right now, especially since I just picked up a GTX1070. Someone convince me to pull the trigger!

    Pull the trigger. I paid $580 for mine and am very satisfied.

    Thanks, that's the push I needed. Monitor upgrade get! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the $24 credit I got at Dell that expires in 90 days.

    I've got the S2716DG and it is pretty sweet. I think you'll be happy. Be sure to check out this ICC profile for color calibration.

    Deal on Slickdeals.

    As an addendum to that, I signed up for Ebates.com (a website that gives cash back when buying after using their affiliate link) which is currently giving 12% back on any purchases through www.dell.com. Now the really cool part I just noticed is that I got 12% back on the full retain price of $799, which gave me $96 back, on top of the $24 in Dell credit from their loyalty program, got it all down to less than $400.

    Great price for a 4k monitor.

    oHw5R0V.jpg
  • SniperGuySniperGuy SniperGuyGaming Registered User regular
    edited January 2017
    I've got 1 1080p and 1 1680x1050 both normal 60hz monitors right now. I was looking at maybe getting a nicer one and handing down one of my current ones to the gf who is currently using an old tv which is pretty bad.

    GPU is a 1060 so I'm not looking for crazy 4k or anything. Is 144hz worth going for? Are there any nice quality good sized 1080p screens anyone can recommend? Was thinking of spending somewhere under 200 bucks if that's feasible.

    Edit: And I assume something like 24" is a good place for 1080?

    SniperGuy on
  • IoloIolo iolo Registered User regular
    Best Buy deal on the Dell S2716DG for $475 if you use Visa checkout. ($500 without Visa checkout, which is still a good price.)

    Lt. Iolo's First Day
    Steam profile.
    Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    SniperGuy wrote: »
    I've got 1 1080p and 1 1680x1050 both normal 60hz monitors right now. I was looking at maybe getting a nicer one and handing down one of my current ones to the gf who is currently using an old tv which is pretty bad.

    GPU is a 1060 so I'm not looking for crazy 4k or anything. Is 144hz worth going for? Are there any nice quality good sized 1080p screens anyone can recommend? Was thinking of spending somewhere under 200 bucks if that's feasible.

    Edit: And I assume something like 24" is a good place for 1080?

    I don't think you'll be getting close to 144 FPS at 1080p with a GTX 1060 unless you run any recent game on medium (or less). Which is absolutely an option.

    In my own limited experience in this particular area, Acer's GN246HL is pretty popular. It comes with 3D functionality, which I'd assume you wouldn't use, but is pretty robust on its own.

  • SniperGuySniperGuy SniperGuyGaming Registered User regular
    Ah, I wasn't actually sure what the 144hz meant other than "shinier" so the FPS thing makes sense.

    Perhaps I will stick to 60hz for now.

  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    edited January 2017
    As others in this thread can better explain, that's your monitor's refresh rate (as in times a second). That becomes the ceiling as to what your practical FPS can possibly be. Generally that means a "smoother", if not shinier experience, but there are exceptions. A few games are, regrettably, locked at 30 FPS on PC. More are locked at 60 FPS. Among those that aren't, quite a few can run at over 60 FPS, but going much past 80 or 90 FPS (or even before that), their internal timing starts to very badly fuck up and the game becomes crashy, broken, or both. Skyrim is a good example of this (of course, it's optimized like a garbage truck on PCs and came out in 2011)--there are some unofficial patches that let it run over 60 FPS, but they don't work for everyone, and when they don't, the game quickly goes into "floating AI going backwards" mode. Diablo III gets bad graphical errors over 60 FPS on certain monitors, but not others?

    But there are quite a few games that can run at over 60 FPS--it just becomes very demanding to even approach that upper limit (not that it helps me personally, I can't tell the change over 90 FPS or so).

    Synthesis on
  • BlindZenDriverBlindZenDriver Registered User regular
    edited February 2017
    I am late to this thread, but here is a couple of points I think ought to be made.
    • I highly recommend considering a 40" 4K monitor rather than say a 34" ultra-wide or a 32" one. Gaming on a big screen is so much more immersive an for doing a bit of serious stuff in between a 40" is certainly better than a pair of smaller monitors. It is like having a big desk vs. a small desk - with the big desk there simply is room for more. Also a 40" with a VA panel his such good black that it can really act as a ultra-wide aspect monitor.
    • I know that with 4K, regardless of the monitor size, it is expensive in graphics hardware if not impossible to reach the high refresh rates. However just a moment ago gaming with 60 Hz or even less was perfectly fine and it still is - to me if the choice is between say 100 fps or more vs. 4K with say 20-30-60 fps on a 60 Hz monitor then 4K wins every time.
    40" 4K monitors is a rather new thing and they are not to be confused with TV's. The panels used may be the same, but the electronics are different and you want a monitor. There are lots of videos on youtube which cover the 40" 4K monitors, here is a link to get informed:
    https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=40"+4k+monitor

    BlindZenDriver on
    Bones heal, glory is forever.
  • PolaritiePolaritie Sleepy Registered User regular
    Glad this thread is here.

    Found my (old, cheap) monitor sagging forward. Try to tilt it back up and the hinge screws snap their housings. I think I know why it was leaning?

    Steam: Polaritie
    3DS: 0473-8507-2652
    Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
    PSN: AbEntropy
  • HandgimpHandgimp R+L=J Family PhotoRegistered User regular
    Get a VESA mount?

    PwH4Ipj.jpg
  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    Not a bad idea. You can at least use a good stand after you replace the monitor too.

  • PolaritiePolaritie Sleepy Registered User regular
    edited April 2017
    Handgimp wrote: »
    Get a VESA mount?

    Edit: Well, huh. I hadn't thought of that. I'd never noticed the screw holes for mounting it before.

    Still went with upgrading for now. Will figure out something to do with it later.

    Polaritie on
    Steam: Polaritie
    3DS: 0473-8507-2652
    Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
    PSN: AbEntropy
  • GeorgFourGeorgFour Registered User new member
    what thoughs about this one ? i know it's Acer but i think its pretty cool,Acer Predator XG270HU

  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    edited April 2017
    It's a little on the pricey side given the resolution and having Free-Sync (rather than G-Sync)--of course, if you're using an AMD video card that's what you want anyway. You're paying premium for a premium monitor (with bright red furniture). Keep in mind it is not IPS, which may make a difference for you.

    Synthesis on
  • McStabbyMcStabby Registered User regular
    Synthesis wrote: »
    SniperGuy wrote: »
    I've got 1 1080p and 1 1680x1050 both normal 60hz monitors right now. I was looking at maybe getting a nicer one and handing down one of my current ones to the gf who is currently using an old tv which is pretty bad.

    GPU is a 1060 so I'm not looking for crazy 4k or anything. Is 144hz worth going for? Are there any nice quality good sized 1080p screens anyone can recommend? Was thinking of spending somewhere under 200 bucks if that's feasible.

    Edit: And I assume something like 24" is a good place for 1080?

    I don't think you'll be getting close to 144 FPS at 1080p with a GTX 1060 unless you run any recent game on medium (or less). Which is absolutely an option.

    In my own limited experience in this particular area, Acer's GN246HL is pretty popular. It comes with 3D functionality, which I'd assume you wouldn't use, but is pretty robust on its own.

    Not trying to be too pedantic, but getting that high of a framerate can actually be as hard on your CPU as your GPU. CPUs set the max framerate. You can drop visual fidelity settings (things like AA, but changing resolution doesn't affect the CPU). In a competitive game like CS:GO, you don't need a very high end CPU to hit 144 fps, but in something like Battlefield 1, you need at least an 7th Gen i5 or R5 1600X to get framerates there (albeit at like Medium settings). For High or Very High, you'd need a Core i7 or R7 chip.

    AYYUeD2.png
  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    edited April 2017
    McStabby wrote: »
    Synthesis wrote: »
    SniperGuy wrote: »
    I've got 1 1080p and 1 1680x1050 both normal 60hz monitors right now. I was looking at maybe getting a nicer one and handing down one of my current ones to the gf who is currently using an old tv which is pretty bad.

    GPU is a 1060 so I'm not looking for crazy 4k or anything. Is 144hz worth going for? Are there any nice quality good sized 1080p screens anyone can recommend? Was thinking of spending somewhere under 200 bucks if that's feasible.

    Edit: And I assume something like 24" is a good place for 1080?

    I don't think you'll be getting close to 144 FPS at 1080p with a GTX 1060 unless you run any recent game on medium (or less). Which is absolutely an option.

    In my own limited experience in this particular area, Acer's GN246HL is pretty popular. It comes with 3D functionality, which I'd assume you wouldn't use, but is pretty robust on its own.

    Not trying to be too pedantic, but getting that high of a framerate can actually be as hard on your CPU as your GPU. CPUs set the max framerate. You can drop visual fidelity settings (things like AA, but changing resolution doesn't affect the CPU). In a competitive game like CS:GO, you don't need a very high end CPU to hit 144 fps, but in something like Battlefield 1, you need at least an 7th Gen i5 or R5 1600X to get framerates there (albeit at like Medium settings). For High or Very High, you'd need a Core i7 or R7 chip.

    That certainly sounds possible--which would be another obstacle to reaching 120 FPS, much less 144 on a modern title or something not intended for as wide an audience as possible, like CS: GO.

    Synthesis on
  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    GnomeTank wrote: »
    ...for other people reading this looking for recommendations, ultra wide/4K are a serious reach right now if you aren't doing SLI systems.

    You're absolutely right about 4K, but ultrawide isn't a serious issue in terms of performance. 3440x1440 is just over half of the pixel count of 4K, and 2560x1080 is around a third the pixel count.

    To agree with this 8 months later: I proved this true to myself by moving to a 34" ultrawide as my main monitor. The Asus Rog 100mhz refresh one. It was fine on my 980 Ti, and even more fine on my 1080 Ti.

    I still think what I said about 4K is true. Even my 1080 Ti can't really kill 4k yet. It's better, even playable, but I still think waiting for Volta is the play if you want to do 4K.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
Sign In or Register to comment.