Monitor Investigation

[MasterShrive 2,015]

So as part of my "Future Upgrade Grand Plan" I am considering getting a new monitor. I was looking at going 120Hz, somewhere between 24" and 30". I've currently got a 24" 60Hz monitor as well which I would then use as a second screen (probably in portrait mode).

 

However, a couple of questions:

 

Firstly, does anyone else have any recommendations in regards to a monitor to go with?

 

Secondly, will having two refresh rates cause issues? I've read different things at this point and I'm not really sure. Does anyone run such a set up with either success or issue?

 

I would also prefer the 16:10 ratio as opposed to 16:9, but I'm not sure if there'll be much choice there. It might be worth noting that I wouldn't be looking at 3D at this point.

[PistolKnight 554]

I am interested in this thread to see what people have experienced. I have only really looked at the Samsung models

[MasterShrive 2,015]

The two quick searches I did returned Samsung, BENQ or ASUS. I don't know much about any of them though.

[Blueberry 444]

I have a 60 as a secondary and a 120 as my primary. I have not noticed any issues.

 

Also, i recommend Samsung, never have had a bad Samsung monitor. BenQ is hit or miss, but they have the best prices for quality.

 

It really depends on what you are looking for but, product by product is more reliable then brand with monitors.

[MasterShrive 2,015]

Yeah, I usually go product by product as well. My current Samsung hasn't let me down though. Good to know about the dual refresh rates not causing you any issue.

[Jebusohmighty 466]

Asus is my most trusted brand. Never had a problem myself, my sister did once but on the phone for 10 mins then 4 hours later had a delivery company knock on the door took it and had a new one the next morning. The product was a year old.

[Awesome 32]

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=21588

 

This is the product I settled on getting when I did my research on 120Hz monitors, it is actually a 144Hz model, which most certainly pushes it outside the bounds of human eye detection.

 

I've never owned one, but from research alone I've ascertained that if you can pump the full 144 FPS into this bad boy, the fluidity and decreased eye strain alone are worth the price.

 

Personally I'd stay away from anything bigger than 27 inch, its just a lot of wasted screen space, and even with my 27 I have now, I find I'm looking around the screen a bit.

 

edit: I never bought one as I was waiting on IPS tech to catch up first, still am.

[Phobos 1,209]

Buy a titan instead and use the monitor o/c feature to pump yours to 120Hz. (Your monitor may not be compatible)

[Blueberry 444]

Agree with awesome about size. I have a 27 and it is to big for gaming on a desk. I wouldn't go above a 24inch. Also, if you are not keen on 3D then you could probably cut a hundred or two of the price.

[Vulcan 98]

i agree 27" tops. I differ in that i think it was worth while going from 24" to 27" especially if you have the room on your desk to sit it back further (which you should do anyway for ergos). i know you like your RTS which is sweat on a big wide screen.

 

Also basically everything is 1080 now and so will have to put up with having less px on a bigger screen :/

 

As for 120hz, meh. I'm not convinced but if you have money to throw away, more power to you.

[MasterShrive 2,015]

Okay. I'm now thinking 27", but instead of 120Hz instead I'm thinking of going 2560x1440 instead. As far as I know, it isn't possible to get one of these at the higher refresh rate, but I don't really want to go down to 1080p as I'll be losing pixels.

 

So any suggestions in this regard? It seems I can't really avoid 16:9, but if I'm going that way I want more pixels than I have now.

[NevilleBartos 405]

I'd check out the yamakasi catleap monitors, you can apparently overclock some 27" models to 100hz or so.

 

At that resolution though it might be pointless as your frame rate would be struggling to keep up.

[MasterShrive 2,015]

I did see that. But I'm really not sure if I want to be overclocking a monitor. Doubt I can reformat that if it all goes wrong, lol.

[NevilleBartos 405]

its just a driver hack, pretty harmless really.

[MasterShrive 2,015]

Ah righto. Well I might look in to it a bit more, but not sure that's something I'd be willing to try.

 

Also, given the main purpose of gaming, should I be going IPS or TN or something else for the panel type?

[Awesome 32]

IPS all the way.

 

It literally lifts the white fog (that you didn't know was there) and provides a depth of colour and rich contrast that TN panels lack.

 

The difference becomes very stark when viewed side by side, especially colour reproduction.

[Phobos 1,209]

Once you go IPS, you dont go back ^

[MasterShrive 2,015]

It does seem to be the way to go then. There was something about the other TN panels having a quicker response rate, but obviously that isn't a major issue.

[MasterShrive 2,015]

Okay, so IPS is clearly the way to go. Has anyone got any suggestions as to what monitor to go with from here? I'm starting to think I might make a few purchases ahead of the main upgrade so I don't end up with all my new equipment at once, so this could be a good starting point.

[MasterShrive 2,015]

I have read around a lot and I'm strongly considering getting one of these: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=21516 Might even get it well ahead of the new build at this stage.

[Mr Spontaneous 143]

Get a titan or two to get solid 120 frames no matter what you're doing, and you might die of satisfaction every time you use that thing.

[NevilleBartos 405]

Check out Dell if you haven't allready, good build quality and you can snap one up for a decent price from the factory outlet or in sales.

[MasterShrive 2,015]

A Dell might have some merit to it as well.

 

I'm tossing up between these at this point:

 

http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/de ... 72876.html

 

http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/as ... 32625.html

 

The ASUS has a slightly quicker response time, but ultimately there's probably not much difference between them. I might look for some pricing information and see which one I can find for a good price.

[bprc 1,441]

Pretty sure I saw an email today from Dell - they have a 3 day sale on some stuff, including monitors.

 

Edit: The U2713HM for 30% off you say? Alllllrighty then!

 

Edit: Rest of the sale items.

[MasterShrive 2,015]

How, nice find. I'd best do some thinking (and money transfers) quickly. It does make $100 cheaper than the ASUS, though that was possibly still the one I was leaning towards. Still, money saved is money for other parts...