120hz or 2560x1440

[eric4277]

I am trying to decide between a Dell U2711 or an Acer HN274H. I will be playing mostly FPSs and MMOs. Both will require the same GPU horsepower to maximize FPS.

Would it be better to have a higher res and better colors or 120hz refresh and virtually no input lag?

 

[MauveCloud]

120hz is mainly for 3d, and it will have lower response time but not necessarily lower input lag (if you've specifically researched that monitor and found reviews proving it has low input lag, please say so). Personally, I think the 120hz 3d, where half the frames are for the left eye and half are for the right eye is the wrong way to do it. I'd rather have passive 3d, where half the pixels are for the left eye and half are for the right eye (polarized glasses are okay, it doesn't have to be auto-stereoscopic like the Nintendo 3DS)

Anyway, if you've used shutter glasses before and haven't gotten too much of a headache from them, you might go for the 3d. If that makes you hesitate or you weren't planning on actually using the 3d functionality, I'd say you're better off with the Dell U2711.

 

[eric4277]

I planned to dabble into some 3D movies and gaming just to try it out. But more so interested in the 120hz for ghost free gameplay and super responsiveness.

No, I haven't done any research into that particular monitor besides buyer reviews. But from looking up 120hz monitors in general, the consensus seems to be that they offer unmatched (not including CRTs although some consider them to be equal in terms of responsiveness) input lag and no ghosting making games a lot smoother.

 

[MauveCloud]

The Acer HN274H isn't particularly ghost-free, as found here:
http://www.digitalversus.com/acer-hn274h-monitor-review-27-120-hz-screen-built-in-3d-news-18902.html

As far as input lag, the Samsung 2233RZ (120 Hz) that TFT Central uses as a reference when looking at response times has average input lag of 15ms, and the graph in their review of it shows 6 monitors with lower input lag. Thus I would advise against assuming just because it's 120Hz that it will have low input lag.

I did a bit of research, and apparently there isn't much complaint about eyestrain from the shutter glasses like I expected - I tried shutter glasses with a CRT several years ago, but gave up on them, though now I'm thinking that might have been more because of having to run at lower resolutions (iirc, a CRT would only run at 120Hz for 1024x768 or lower resolution) and possibly the weight (I imagine the glasses are lighter now than they used to me)

One thing I noticed when looking for information on 3d displays is that nVidia provides good support for stereoscopic 3d, but not so much with ATI/AMD. What kind of video card do you have?

 

[eric4277]

2x580s

I have done some more researching and I won't go with the HN274H. I am now trying to decide which is the better of the three.

The Dell U2711, Dell U3011, & HP ZR30w.

I noticed the U3011 was $150 off yesterday and it is $250 off now. Really close to the U2711's price and the same price as the HP. If you have an opinion on the better of those three or one I don't know of, I'd appreciate the info.

I like 16:10 & 16:9 equally. I'm looking for the monitor with best performance, be it 1440 or 1600.

Edit: I saw you posted some reviews in another post. Which of the three would you pick though.?

 

[MauveCloud]

Personally, I'd go for the U2711 because it has the video inputs for hooking up my game consoles (SNES, N64, GC, Wii, X360, PS2, PS3). If you don't need the extra inputs, I'd suggest the ZR30w, as it looks like it has lower input lag than the others (I notice that it only has DVI-D and DisplayPort, not even HDMI, which may mean it has a faster scaler that only supports 1280x800 and 2560x1600; the lack of an OSD may also be helping with the low input lag)

 

[eric4277]

Well, I'd like to play my 360 on it via hdmi for better image quality. But I could use my side monitor instead for that.

Tough choice, I do like the extra horizontal view area from 16:9 more than the extra vert in 16:10. I also like the low input lag from the HP. IDK, I'm weighing the zr30w and u2711 right now. I'll sleep on it.

 

[MauveCloud]

If you care about image quality, you should be aware of a potential issue with that when connecting an X360 to a 2560x1440 or 2560x1600 monitor, which is that many games for the system are actually rendering at 720p, then the X360 is upscaling to 1080p if enabled, and the picture may get upscaled again to 2560x1440 by the monitor. I haven't really been able to notice the difference myself, but I would think that having it scaled once from 1280x720 to 2560x1440 would look better than having it scaled twice.

 

[eric4277]

I've decided on the u2711. I like the 16:9 ratio better than 16:10. And it has the input options. Thanks for the help.

 

[eric4277]

Best answer selected by eric4277.