120hz or 2560x1440 monitor?

[desecravity]

Hi,

I currently use a Samsung SyncMaster s24b370 24" 60hz LED moniter, and i have been thinking of an upgrade to either a bigger screen with a better resolution i.e 2560x1440, or a screen with a faster refresh rate i.e 120hz. I cant seem to find a monitor that satisfies both those requirements and as such I am forced to choose between the two.

I will be using the panel primarily for gaming, and the occasional document in Word or Powerpoint.

I play mostly modern games with the eye candy turned up, which is why the 2560x1440 resolution appeals to me, but at the same time I also enjoy playing online fps like Crysis 3, BF3 etc. which is why the 120hz panel might come in handy for a quicker refresh rate.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the panel I have at the moment, so I have to ask, would the upgrade to either of the above mentioned panels be a big improvement, or would I be wasting hard earned $?

One more thing that worries me about the 120hz panel, is the fact that I would have to spend approximately 400$+ and still have a 24" screen, as I've heard that 1920x1080 res on a 27" is not that great and the pixels become visible at that size.

I have an hd 7970 GPU, so it will be sufficient to run a high res panel, but to get full usage of the 120hz panel I would need another 7970 in order to get a consistent 100+ frames on most of the latest titles, in order to realize the difference between my current setup? (Sorry if this sounds a little confusing, just ask me if you dont understand and I will attempt to explain a little better )

I have been looking at the following screens;

http://accessories.ap.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=au&l=en&s=dhs&cs=audhs1&sku=210-31399&baynote_bnrank=6&baynote_irrank=0&ST=dell%20u2711&dgc=ST&cid=33101&lid=783203&acd=10589619862341422

http://accessories.ap.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=au&cs=audhs1&l=en&s=dhs&sku=210-40773&redirect=1

I'm a little unsure as to the technical difference between those..

http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/pc-peripherals/monitor/lcd-monitor/LS27A850TSK/XY

This one seems to be the best price of all the 2560x1440 monitors, although I have not seen many user reviews.

http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/?filter=500149_12359321_

All the rest of the 2560x1440 monitors which I will also consider, except of course the ultra expensive $2000 options

http://www.samsung.com/sg/consumer/pc-peripherals-printer/monitor/led-monitor/LS27A950DS/XS

One of the 120hz options

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks.

 

[bystander]

I personally like 120hz, but it is a personal preference deal. I have a 27" 120hz monitor now, and I do not see pixels. ClearType and AA remove the jaggies enough that I do not notice it at all.

Pros for 120hz:
Games are more fluid looking.
V-sync has less of an impact on performance, while still removing tearing.
The lower resolution keeps the frame rate up to take advantage of 120hz.
For myself, and some others, the reduced latency from higher displayed FPS, removes simulator sickness.
Reduced ghosting
3D gaming option.

Pros for the IPS high res monitors:
Higher pixel clarity
Higher color clairty
No color shift. (looking at different angles slightly changes the color on a TN panel)

What is more important to you?

 

[twrankin]

Make sure to take the performance hit into account. I recently built and was in the same situation as you. I decided on a 1440p monitor with a GTX 670 FTW. Basically all I noticed with the jump from 1080p is that there's more to your FOV, I didn't exactly notice an increase in eye candy like I thought I would.

And unfortunately, 1440p is very demanding; I can't come close to maxing Crysis 2 with a good frame rate and I'm terrified of attempting Crysis 3 as I would probably get 30 fps looking at the ceiling on normal settings.

tl; dr
If you want a better/smoother/stable frame rate go with the 120Hz 24".
If you want a bigger screen that lets you see 'more' of your game at the cost of a fair performance hit go with 1440p.

 

[jojomexi]

you can get one of the catleap monitors from 120hz.net. they are overclockable to 120hz, AND come with 1440p. Be prepared for a hefty fee though, as well as being placed onto a waiting list. I could have purchased one, but since the first batch, the price has skyrocketed. I didn't get one, as last I was offered, they were selling them for $725/each. Up to you, but reviews are very good!

 

[desecravity]

Best answer selected by desecravity.

 

[desecravity]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I wish I could give more than one 'best answer'.

@twrankin Thanks for the heads up, i have heard that 1440p is quite demanding, and will take that into account for sure.

@jojomexi I have seen those generic Korean monitors on ebay. I have considered them but they are all advertised to have either dead pixels or screen bleeding problems. The other thing that bothers me about those, is the difference in price between them. I saw a Catleap for $350, and further down the page another Catleap for $750. I can only assume the difference in price would mean the cheaper one suffers from more problems, as these panels were all rejected by Apple, samsung, Dell etc. due to not passing the quality tests. At the end of the day, I consider these a bit of a risk, because if I had a problem I would have to pay return postage to Korea, and deal with a foreign company, who could quite easily just give me the finger and tell me to deal with it.