144Hz Monitors - 1080 VS 1440

[Skandinaavlane]

I've been using 60Hz monitors all my life and I have really grown tired of them. I would like to know what's communities opinion on the following...

Should I get a 144Hz with 1080 resolution if I'm running 2x760 in SLI configuration or is it too late for 1080's? Should I be thinking about future-proofing and getting a 144Hz 1440 instead? I'm just worried that I might be having performance issues with a higher resolution and I have never really seen games in action on a 1440 monitor - would there really be a notable difference?

I have this screen in mind for 1080.
http://www.arvutitark.ee/est/TOOTEKATALOOG/MONITORID-kuni-24-diagonaal/93264

I heard that getting a monitor that is using 1080 resolution and is larger than 24" is just plain silly and that if I plan on getting a 1440 resolution monitor then it should be at least 27".

Another issue is the budget. 1440 monitors with high refresh rate/frequency seem to be quite expensive. I really don't know what to go for here...

Thanks!

 

[epicninja]

With those 760s you will probably have to turn down quite a few settings to get playable frame rates on 1440p. In my personal opinion, while 1080p is getting on the older side, it is still very good for gaming, especially at 120hz.

On the monitor question, the only monitor that currently is native 144hz refresh rate and 1440p is the ASUS ROG Swift. It is a great monitor, but costs $800. There is also the overlord tempest, but that needs to be over clocked (and doesn't always make 120hz), is perpetually out of stock, and lacks some bells and whistles. It's only $450 though. There are plenty of high refresh rate 1080p monitors, I recommend one with gsync.

The bottom line is that if you are planning on keeping those 760s, just get a 1080p because by the time you upgrade again there may be 4k monitors at 120hz. If you plan on getting let's say a gtx 970 ($330), you could run most games at high or ultra in 1440p at good (40+) frame rates. If you want to take advantage of a higher refresh rate, you need to get dual 970s or 980s. So it really depends on what cards you are keeping.

Hope this helps

 

[swifty_morgan]

maybe something like this?..........http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/viewsonic-vg2438sm-24-inc-ips-display.html

the 760's might be a little lite on the 1440....... these 2gig cards or 4gig cards ( native ) and nothing beats 120/144 monitors for gaming. 60's really blow after getting used to faster rates and going back.

 

[Tom Tancredi]

My experience has been as follows: I got older and kept being Bambi to all the younger punks. I watched my oldest playing games and stood there asking him (he is quite good) how the hell he saw some of the ones he head shot... I knew he wasn't running any Bot or hacks.. was all skill. I watched and couldn't "see" what he saw. He was able to pick out targets literally as small as 4 pixels being different and I was standing right near him watching.

I then got my first view of a true 120Hz monitor, and seeing the 'details' that one can notice especially on MOVEMENT made target acquisition a hell lot easier. Now my wife wanted to save for a nice 30+ Inch TV, and hook her laptop to it, so we got the TV, a Vizio 32inch and I hooked up my PC to it to test it out first (heh) playing DOOM 3. Now this was cool, but at 60Hz didn't make it easier (as I hoped) to see the targets, and for normal 'use' it sucked to me having everything so HUGE. My wife on the other hand was like "FINALLY I CAN SEE!". So she got her laptop hooked to it full time and she uses it as a large monitor at 1080P 60Hz, with a simple off the shelf i5 Based laptop (no SLI needed or gaming level dedicated card).

I got my Acer GD235Hz 120Hz 23in screen, which I play with my old Alienware m17x R2 on (modded with a GTX 670M HEH!). On the old titles, to say my game play 'improved' was a understatement, as I started to get damn good as I could spot people now reasonably and play 'well' enough to enjoy the games when HAX weren't killing the MultiPlayer experiance. As my system got long in the tooth, and my display degraded (I keep down at 100Hz because I have issues at higher) I was looking at 'What is out there' and I think your information is quite... OLD.

1440's came and left, they are DEAD because we had 4K (and now 6K!!!OMG) suddenly take center stage and push the 1440s to the grave real fast. Now 1080P is the STANDARD for any display normally, but now with 4K displays things changed drastically with now 3840x2160 resolution aka 2160P displays (2x the standard as you can see) and no LESS then a 40" display like this 'cheap' example http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/TCL-50-inch-4K-Ultra-HD120Hz-Smart-LED-TV/9291407/product.html?refccid=HHJMDXRITQIYPE2EICGRX5YS6A&searchidx=7 for only $872 !

Wait, what? How the hell do I put a 50inch on my desk - YOU DON"T , no one has a desktop PC anymore didn't you hear? Yes with sales constant of 3+ Laptop / portable devices sold against 1 desktop, desktops are 'not the focus' of being tied to the desktop, but now the 'TV' is the Entertainment center. So even if you did hook a PC to this, you would be using a wireless mouse / keyboard to 'play' or as 90% of the market does get a 'Controller' for the PC (EWWWW my knuckles too much PAIN!!) and no need to be 'tied to the desk'.

As you can see there is a gap in the market place.. and while 'curved' screens tried to make inroads the problem was price... price.. and price.
So here is the 'middleground': UW (Ultra Wide) LCDs http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/LG-25UM55-P-25-LED-LCD-Monitor-21-9-5-ms/9379702/product.html sporting 2560 x 1080 or a 21:9 ratio. The advantage is the large visual area one gets, still a nice size to fit on the desk (25" LCD) AND the screen splits into three nice displays, so one can look at a original document, work on a WiP document, and still have the last 1/3 of the screen open for IMs, Emails, Websurfing, etc. with NO OVERLAP, hiding screens etc. Basically it fulfills alot of people (like myself) demands for a dual screen type layout, without the 'split' in the middle, nor the DOUBLE cost to getting 2 screens, never mind the proper video card to support this. Personally the price point just nails is, as compared to the rest.


So it comes down to what YOU need / expect. If like my wife you don't mind HUGE letters, then a large screen would be better, and that is the 'norm' for 4K (the standard now). If your liking your personal spaced desk, then a UW will be the best bet to 'fit'... unless you really want to put a 50" screen on your desk that is.

 

[VincentP]

The viewing distance for a TV and a monitor are different.
You can get away with 1080p in a 55 inch TV because you sit 2 to 3 meters away.
Viewing distance for a monitor is about 80cm, give or take.

A 24 inch monitor with 1920x1080 resolution has pixel density of 92 PPI (Pixel Per Inch).
Many people consider this a minimum.
A 27 inch monitor at the same resolution has a pixel density of 82 PPI. This looks grainy, but the font is big which some people like.
A 27 inch monitor at 2560x1440 has a pixel density of 109 PPI. This looks very crisp, but some people do complain about small fonts.
A 32 inch monitor at 2560x1440 has a pixel density of 92, so you get the same crispness as a 24 inch at 1920x1080 but a lot more desktop real estate.
4K is very crisp, but computers really aren't up to gaming at this resolution yet. There are also a variety of complications with monitors at this resolution including tiled displays requiring eyefinity or Nvidia surround for games, limited connectivity options and some poor quality panels in some cases. The font is also very small on a 28 to 32 inch display at 4K.

At 1920x1080 your current setup can manage over 60 FPS.
If going to 2560x1440, your VRAM may be a little limited and you won't be going much over 60 Hz.
If you wanted 4K, you will definitely need a lot more GPU grunt and VRAM.

Aside from resolution, you have another important decision to make, panel type.
IPS, PLS or AHVA panels offer the best viewing angles and accurate colour, but have an annoying glow from the corners of the screen in dark images and the response time limits them to 60 Hz (ignore the dodgy overclocked Korean IPS monitors).
TN panels offer very fast response times allowing 144 Hz monitors, but viewing angles and colours are not as good.
VA panels including AMVA and S-PVA offer much deeper blacks and better contrast. The better panels offer very good colour and response time is similar to IPS.

So what are your options?

I would suggest either choose a 24 inch 1920x1080 monitor, or a larger 2560x1440 monitor.
Choose the panel type that suits you best.

If you can make these choices, I can suggest some models.

 

[tmacg55]

I think you should save your money and go with this. There is no confirmed price yet, but it is 1440p/144hz and doesn't use a cheap TN display. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/news_archive/31.htm#144hz_ips

 

[VincentP]

I think you should save your money and go with this. There is no confirmed price yet, but it is 1440p/144hz and doesn't use a cheap TN display. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/news_archive/31.htm#144hz_ips

There is nothing cheap about the TN panel used in the Asus ROG PG278Q.
The TFTCentral review showed it being pretty competitive with IPS panels for colour accuracy.
The downside is viewing angles, but then it doesn't exhibit IPS glow either.
Personally I'd rather see an AMVA panel rather than AHVA, but these don't seem to have the pixel density.
The BenQ BL3200PT uses a 32 inch 2560x1440 AMVA panel.

 

[wh3resmycar]

2 760s won't net you 144hz/144fps @1440p in contemporary games though. the cost of fps goes higher when you up the resolution and the fact that you want to hit more than 60fps warrants a stronger pair of cards. at least that's the point why you want to move away from 60fps. you're looking at gtx970 sli territory.

what you can do instead is to downsample (easily doable with nvidia cards) from 1440p down to a 1080p monitor so you can gauge what you will be dealing with.

what's your current setup?

 

[tmacg55]

I think you should save your money and go with this. There is no confirmed price yet, but it is 1440p/144hz and doesn't use a cheap TN display. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/news_archive/31.htm#144hz_ips

There is nothing cheap about the TN panel used in the Asus ROG PG278Q.
The TFTCentral review showed it being pretty competitive with IPS panels for colour accuracy.
The downside is viewing angles, but then it doesn't exhibit IPS glow either.
Personally I'd rather see an AMVA panel rather than AHVA, but these don't seem to have the pixel density.
The BenQ BL3200PT uses a 32 inch 2560x1440 AMVA panel.

My S-IPS korean monitor does not have any noticable glow, but it might be because I got a lucky pick. Thing I don't like about VA panels is the lack of accuracy when I need to color correct my work in adobe AE. VA panels are always washed out and have the same characteristics of TN but with better viewing angles.

 

[VincentP]

I think you should save your money and go with this. There is no confirmed price yet, but it is 1440p/144hz and doesn't use a cheap TN display. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/news_archive/31.htm#144hz_ips

There is nothing cheap about the TN panel used in the Asus ROG PG278Q.
The TFTCentral review showed it being pretty competitive with IPS panels for colour accuracy.
The downside is viewing angles, but then it doesn't exhibit IPS glow either.
Personally I'd rather see an AMVA panel rather than AHVA, but these don't seem to have the pixel density.
The BenQ BL3200PT uses a 32 inch 2560x1440 AMVA panel.

My S-IPS korean monitor does not have any noticable glow, but it might be because I got a lucky pick. Thing I don't like about VA panels is the lack of accuracy when I need to color correct my work in adobe AE. VA panels are always washed out and have the same characteristics of TN but with better viewing angles.

Judging by the reviews, the panel in Asus ROG is one of the best TN panels made.
It is still only 8 bit colour of course, but > 99% sRGB with very little deviation.
10 bit panels are fine if you use the right software and hardware, but games don't support 10 bit colour.

The latest VA panels including the BenQ BL3200PT support 100% sRGB. Why would these not be accurate for 8-bit colour?

There isn't an IPS or IPS variant display ever made that doesn't have IPS glow. Display a full screen black image and have a look at the screen from an angle. Notice the glow across the screen. Now come back to your normal sitting position and you will notice this in the corners.
Some professional IPS monitors have an A-TW polariser to minimise this, but that certainly won't be on your S-IPS.

 

[tmacg55]

I think you should save your money and go with this. There is no confirmed price yet, but it is 1440p/144hz and doesn't use a cheap TN display. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/news_archive/31.htm#144hz_ips

There is nothing cheap about the TN panel used in the Asus ROG PG278Q.
The TFTCentral review showed it being pretty competitive with IPS panels for colour accuracy.
The downside is viewing angles, but then it doesn't exhibit IPS glow either.
Personally I'd rather see an AMVA panel rather than AHVA, but these don't seem to have the pixel density.
The BenQ BL3200PT uses a 32 inch 2560x1440 AMVA panel.

My S-IPS korean monitor does not have any noticable glow, but it might be because I got a lucky pick. Thing I don't like about VA panels is the lack of accuracy when I need to color correct my work in adobe AE. VA panels are always washed out and have the same characteristics of TN but with better viewing angles.

Judging by the reviews, the panel in Asus ROG is one of the best TN panels made.
It is still only 8 bit colour of course, but > 99% sRGB with very little deviation.
10 bit panels are fine if you use the right software and hardware, but games don't support 10 bit colour.

The latest VA panels including the BenQ BL3200PT support 100% sRGB. Why would these not be accurate for 8-bit colour?

There isn't an IPS or IPS variant display ever made that doesn't have IPS glow. Display a full screen black image and have a look at the screen from an angle. Notice the glow across the screen. Now come back to your normal sitting position and you will notice this in the corners.
Some professional IPS monitors have an A-TW polariser to minimise this, but that certainly won't be on your S-IPS.

Again, don't notice any glow. Don't know why or can't explain. I'm not complaining. Just saying I prefer IPS. There is a reason professional $1k-3k monitors use IPS and not VA for professional video editing and photowork.. and if they truly cared about seeing accurate deep blacks, they would either use a high end projector or plasma. LCD tech is horrible for black levels.

 

[VincentP]

I think you should save your money and go with this. There is no confirmed price yet, but it is 1440p/144hz and doesn't use a cheap TN display. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/news_archive/31.htm#144hz_ips

There is nothing cheap about the TN panel used in the Asus ROG PG278Q.
The TFTCentral review showed it being pretty competitive with IPS panels for colour accuracy.
The downside is viewing angles, but then it doesn't exhibit IPS glow either.
Personally I'd rather see an AMVA panel rather than AHVA, but these don't seem to have the pixel density.
The BenQ BL3200PT uses a 32 inch 2560x1440 AMVA panel.

My S-IPS korean monitor does not have any noticable glow, but it might be because I got a lucky pick. Thing I don't like about VA panels is the lack of accuracy when I need to color correct my work in adobe AE. VA panels are always washed out and have the same characteristics of TN but with better viewing angles.

Judging by the reviews, the panel in Asus ROG is one of the best TN panels made.
It is still only 8 bit colour of course, but > 99% sRGB with very little deviation.
10 bit panels are fine if you use the right software and hardware, but games don't support 10 bit colour.

The latest VA panels including the BenQ BL3200PT support 100% sRGB. Why would these not be accurate for 8-bit colour?

There isn't an IPS or IPS variant display ever made that doesn't have IPS glow. Display a full screen black image and have a look at the screen from an angle. Notice the glow across the screen. Now come back to your normal sitting position and you will notice this in the corners.
Some professional IPS monitors have an A-TW polariser to minimise this, but that certainly won't be on your S-IPS.

Again, don't notice any glow. Don't know why or can't explain. I'm not complaining. Just saying I prefer IPS. There is a reason professional $1k-3k monitors use IPS and not VA for professional video editing and photowork.. and if they truly cared about seeing accurate deep blacks, they would either use a high end projector or plasma. LCD tech is horrible for black levels.

I'm interested in this because I am looking at replacing my IPS monitor with an AMVA monitor specifically because of the glow. The colours and pixel density are fantastic but the glow makes it difficult to see in dark areas.
Do you know of any plasma monitors with a reasonable response time (< 10ms GtoG)?

 

[tmacg55]

I think you should save your money and go with this. There is no confirmed price yet, but it is 1440p/144hz and doesn't use a cheap TN display. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/news_archive/31.htm#144hz_ips

There is nothing cheap about the TN panel used in the Asus ROG PG278Q.
The TFTCentral review showed it being pretty competitive with IPS panels for colour accuracy.
The downside is viewing angles, but then it doesn't exhibit IPS glow either.
Personally I'd rather see an AMVA panel rather than AHVA, but these don't seem to have the pixel density.
The BenQ BL3200PT uses a 32 inch 2560x1440 AMVA panel.

My S-IPS korean monitor does not have any noticable glow, but it might be because I got a lucky pick. Thing I don't like about VA panels is the lack of accuracy when I need to color correct my work in adobe AE. VA panels are always washed out and have the same characteristics of TN but with better viewing angles.

Judging by the reviews, the panel in Asus ROG is one of the best TN panels made.
It is still only 8 bit colour of course, but > 99% sRGB with very little deviation.
10 bit panels are fine if you use the right software and hardware, but games don't support 10 bit colour.

The latest VA panels including the BenQ BL3200PT support 100% sRGB. Why would these not be accurate for 8-bit colour?

There isn't an IPS or IPS variant display ever made that doesn't have IPS glow. Display a full screen black image and have a look at the screen from an angle. Notice the glow across the screen. Now come back to your normal sitting position and you will notice this in the corners.
Some professional IPS monitors have an A-TW polariser to minimise this, but that certainly won't be on your S-IPS.

Again, don't notice any glow. Don't know why or can't explain. I'm not complaining. Just saying I prefer IPS. There is a reason professional $1k-3k monitors use IPS and not VA for professional video editing and photowork.. and if they truly cared about seeing accurate deep blacks, they would either use a high end projector or plasma. LCD tech is horrible for black levels.

I'm interested in this because I am looking at replacing my IPS monitor with an AMVA monitor specifically because of the glow. The colours and pixel density are fantastic but the glow makes it difficult to see in dark areas.
Do you know of any plasma monitors with a reasonable response time (< 10ms GtoG)?

Plasma monitor? These are exclusive to high end studios. As a consumer like yourself, plasmas are only available as HDTVs. Video-philes swear by the picture quality on the panasonic plasmas as being the best. Seems like an overkill just to have good black levels though. Plasmas have much less motion blur than LCD and work much like CRTs in that respect. I wouldn't recommend in your situation to get a plasma unless you got cash to burn.