Best 2560x1440p 27 inch Gaming Monitor

[EricJohn2004]

I've been looking on the net for the best 2560x1440p 27 inch gaming monitor. All most people seem to talk about are overseas monitors that overclock. But I'm not worried about that too much. I DO game on a 120Hz monitor right now, I have the BenQ XL2420TX. But I don't think I'll notice too much of a difference at 60Hz.

I recently got an EVGA GTX 780 SC, and I also have a 3570k@4.7Ghz. So I have enough CPU/GPU power to play at 1440p. And my 780 is overclocked to 1200Mhz, and we all know how beast those GK110 GPU's are overclocked.

QUESTION......

So what I want to know is what is the best NORMAL 2560x1440p gaming monitor. As in, Dell, Acer, Asus, HP, Samsung, and the like. I don't want some offbrand overseas model with dead pixels.

Some other things to think about are......

-I'm willing to spend at the MOST, 800$. That's at the very most, I'd be more comfortable spending 5-600$, but I'll be using this monitor for a very long time, so if I have to spend 800$, then fine.

-I'm looking for the monitor with the best colors, best accuracy, and all that, but also the lowest lag. And if the monitor overclocks, then that's just a cherry on top.

-If you know of a 1600p or 30 inch monitor that's really good, I'll take that advice as well.

-I hear TN panels are better for gaming and lag, but IPS panels look so much better. I think I'd rather IPS, but either way I just want the best. So what do YOU think is best? TN or IPS? For gaming.


I think what I really want is a 27' 2560x1440p IPS Gaming Monitor w/Low Lag.

Help me out please, I know a lot about graphics and CPU's, but not a lot about monitors.

 

[ubercake]

The best 2560x1440 is yet to be released. Wait for the Asus or BenQ G-sync 2560x1440 monitors coming out Q2 or Q3 this year. It will work well with your G-sync capable 780.

 

[EricJohn2004]

Very good answer, I haven't thought of that. Although being that I won't have trouble keeping my FPS at 60, I don't find G-Sync to be that important. For me at least. But I rather have it than NOT have it.

But I love the brand BenQ, and I love Nvidia, so if BenQ does come out with an Nvidia monitor, that would be awesome.

Nevertheless, who knows if these monitors will be better than what's already out on the market. The monitors that are fixing to come out are impressive because of G-Sync, I want a monitor that's impressive because of image quality and low lag. But I'm very interested in the new BenQ monitor coming out.

Any other thoughts? What's a good monitor that's out right now that get's high marks.

 

[ubercake]

The things are going to be running at 144Hz refresh. No tearing and super-smooth video with no need for V-sync. You're going to get tearing on any 60Hz monitor. I'm currently using a 120Hz 1080p. I liked the idea of the 2560x1440 monitor, but returned one after a couple of days of use simply because of the far more noticeable tearing on a 60Hz monitor. Once you get used to less noticeable tearing on higher refresh monitors, it's just hard to go back to 60Hz. It's like I never needed an HDTV until I watched one; that kind of difference.

I have 2 780s and personally can't wait until those 2560x1440 144Hz G-sync monitors are unleashed on the market.

 

[EricJohn2004]

Ok it looks like that's EXACTLY what I'll be doing. I didn't know they would be 144Hz. That's freaking awesome. I just hope they don't cost more than 800$.

Currently I have a pretty awesome monitor already, in the BenQ XL2420TX. It's 1080p at 120Hz with low 2ms lag and it's also 3D. I don't use the 3D that much but when I do it's pretty awesome.

Will these new monitors have 3D or not? It doesn't matter much though.

And I didn't know G-Sync was coming out this fast. I hope it really comes out in just a few months.

 

[Travision]

I'm thinking about getting the monitor linked below when it's not sold out online! I have a Dell U2713HM 27 inch but only 59 HZ @ 1440p (so it says in my video options for games). The dell has amazing video but I really am hearing good stuff about Gsync if you have GTX card. Does anyone else recommend the Asus monitor below or could I get a better monitor. Only reason I'm giving up my dell is because panel is coming apart and I'm returning it to best buy to exchange for Asus below. Of course I'll have to pay difference because dell was 589 without tax and this one is 799.99.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-republic-of-gamers-swift-27-3d-lcd-hd-monitor/8678008.p?id=1219357507532&skuId=8678008&st=pcmcat143700050048_categoryid$abcat0509000&cp=1&lp=11

 

[Travision]

Also the Asus is 3D. How do I use the Nvidia 3D technology ? Do I need 3D glasses? Thanks guys. How are you enjoying your Gsync monitor ?

 

[ubercake]

You need a separate 3D Vision or 3D Vision 2 kit. It has 3D glasses and a 3D emitter to sync the glasses with the video.

My take on the new monitor:
I think it's a good monitor.

I like the added resolution as I'm going from a 1080p 120Hz 3D Acer HN274H monitor (great gaming monitor itself!) to this 2560x1440 monitor. The color is great for a TN if you are sitting dead center (which most people do when they game), otherwise the shift is noticeable if your eyes are even a few inches off center which is worse than my old Acer monitor.

Other than that, the performance is not so visually noticeable going from a 120Hz monitor to this 144Hz monitor with G-sync. I have noticed slight personal performance gains in BF4 while using the monitor which may be attributed to the extremely low input lag. I do end up winning most of those situations by which an enemy appears around the corner and you start circling each other as there is no tearing with G-sync. Is the performance smooth? Yes, but it's also really smooth on a 120Hz monitor as tearing is less perceivable when the screen refreshes that quickly and the framerates are high (I'm using two 780s).

I have been using high refresh rate monitors for so long, I'm not quite certain G-sync is making that big of a difference on my overall gaming experience. I'm still waiting for a defining moment to stand out with the G-sync monitor. Like I said, the added resolution is great, the colors are great (close to the PB278Q PLS that I use for work), no tearing, minimal blur and almost no input lag are all great, but I really don't think they should charge this much for a monitor.

I'm going to try running a lot with a single card as the real benefits of G-sync tend to be within the 45 to 60fps range as I've seen on many review sites. If games are playable using G-sync at lower framerates, I may even be able to run with a single card moving forward. At that point, this monitor would become somewhat of an investment.

I think people going from a 60Hz to this monitor would notice a big difference in performance as they'd no longer need the G-sync.

Also, I should add the color on this monitor is really impressive when assuming the gaming position (since viewing angles aren't great in the especially in the vertical direction). Very close to the PB278Q I use all day at work which uses Samsung's PLS tech.

 

[Travision]

Thanks! Great reply and very informative.

I don't think I've ever gamed with anything above 60 Hz, so I think I'll be impressed. I'm with you on the price being way of to high (G-sync probably adds a couple hundred to this monitor alone). I was confused on your post on which G sync monitor you own. Did you mean you own the PG278Q? Or BenQ? In my situation I have to get my monitor on bestbuy.com so I narrowed results down to 2560x1440 because even though I can exchange my Dell monitor for a 4k, I don't think I have the hardware to enjoy even 30 fps gaming. I have I7 2600k 3.4 (non overclocked), 16 gb g skill 1600mhz ram (non over clocked), 2 x 256 Samsung SSDs, MSI MOBO only capable of pci express 2.0 x16, and a EVGA GTX 780ti. I can run 2560x1440 smoothly without issue on ultra and high settings. Do you know any on best buy. com that are either 1440p or 4k that are really good gaming monitors?

You need a separate 3D Vision or 3D Vision 2 kit. It has 3D glasses and a 3D emitter to sync the glasses with the video.

My take on the new monitor:
I think it's a good monitor.

I like the added resolution as I'm going from a 1080p 120Hz 3D Acer HN274H monitor (great gaming monitor itself!) to this 2560x1440 monitor. The color is great for a TN if you are sitting dead center (which most people do when they game), otherwise the shift is noticeable if your eyes are even a few inches off center which is worse than my old Acer monitor.

Other than that, the performance is not so visually noticeable going from a 120Hz monitor to this 144Hz monitor with G-sync. I have noticed slight personal performance gains in BF4 while using the monitor which may be attributed to the extremely low input lag. I do end up winning most of those situations by which an enemy appears around the corner and you start circling each other as there is no tearing with G-sync. Is the performance smooth? Yes, but it's also really smooth on a 120Hz monitor as tearing is less perceivable when the screen refreshes that quickly and the framerates are high (I'm using two 780s).

I have been using high refresh rate monitors for so long, I'm not quite certain G-sync is making that big of a difference on my overall gaming experience. I'm still waiting for a defining moment to stand out with the G-sync monitor. Like I said, the added resolution is great, the colors are great (close to the PB278Q PLS that I use for work), no tearing, minimal blur and almost no input lag are all great, but I really don't think they should charge this much for a monitor.

I'm going to try running a lot with a single card as the real benefits of G-sync tend to be within the 45 to 60fps range as I've seen on many review sites. If games are playable using G-sync at lower framerates, I may even be able to run with a single card moving forward. At that point, this monitor would become somewhat of an investment.

I think people going from a 60Hz to this monitor would notice a big difference in performance as they'd no longer need the G-sync.

Also, I should add the color on this monitor is really impressive when assuming the gaming position (since viewing angles aren't great in the especially in the vertical direction). Very close to the PB278Q I use all day at work which uses Samsung's PLS tech.

 

[ubercake]

I have the PG278Q.

UPDATE!!!!
Ok. So I ran BF4 with one 780 (it's really a hard thing for me to resist turning SLI on!). Super smooth performance, but the frame rates generally stayed well above 60 so I'd expect as much.

Now what impressed the heck out of me was when I tried Tomb Raider with TressFX on and every video setting peaked. My frame rates were all over the place with this game anywhere from the low 30s to up over 100 and there was no flicker, no stutter, and everything was smooth. Amazing performance. Now I am really impressed with this monitor.

It's good to know I won't need an SLI setup to get great video performance with this monitor (but I'll still need a single high-end GPU to get the details and video quality I want). This monitor was a good investment after all.

All you need is probably a GTX 770 or better to max all the settings and still get performance to stay above the 30fps mark or higher with just about any title.

You have a 780ti so you're all set. You're system is just fine. I'm running with PCIe 2.0 on my X79 motherboard. It's all you need. You have plenty of RAM. You won't need an upgrade for a Pentium gen or two. You already have the 2560x1440 monitor.

I'd wait until bestbuy gets this monitor in stock. It's really impressive. I wouldn't recommend any 4K monitor to anyone unless you have 3 or 4 780s or better at your disposal. The Acer 4K G-sync monitor is supposed to be out some time next year, but I don't think there's a single video card or dual-gpu video card in existence capable of pushing 4K effectively with details cranked.

 

[Travision]

Damn you must of been one of the first 1000 to get it because the ASUS PG278Q is sold out and I'm readung it is going to stay that way for a while!,

(

I have the PG278Q.

UPDATE!!!!
Ok. So I ran BF4 with one 780 (it's really a hard thing for me to resist turning SLI on!). Super smooth performance, but the frame rates generally stayed well above 60 so I'd expect as much.

Now what impressed the heck out of me was when I tried Tomb Raider with TressFX on and every video setting peaked. My frame rates were all over the place with this game anywhere from the low 30s to up over 100 and there was no flicker, no stutter, and everything was smooth. Amazing performance. Now I am really impressed with this monitor.

It's good to know I won't need an SLI setup to get great video performance with this monitor (but I'll still need a single high-end GPU to get the details and video quality I want). This monitor was a good investment after all.

All you need is probably a GTX 770 or better to max all the settings and still get performance to stay above the 30fps mark or higher with just about any title.

You have a 780ti so you're all set. You're system is just fine. I'm running with PCIe 2.0 on my X79 motherboard. It's all you need. You have plenty of RAM. You won't need an upgrade for a Pentium gen or two. You already have the 2560x1440 monitor.

I'd wait until bestbuy gets this monitor in stock. It's really impressive. I wouldn't recommend any 4K monitor to anyone unless you have 3 or 4 780s or better at your disposal. The Acer 4K G-sync monitor is supposed to be out some time next year, but I don't think there's a single video card or dual-gpu video card in existence capable of pushing 4K effectively with details cranked.

 

[ubercake]

I kept checking the local Microcenter store's web site. They got two in and they were out as soon as I was finished reserving mine for in-store pickup last week. They'll probably have an abundance of them available as soon as every other company releases their G-sync monitors.

 

[Pharstar]

Tom's did a review on this monitor:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overlord-tempest-x270oc-monitor,3879.html
It's a 27inch, G sync modded, IPS, overclockable from 96-120 Hz for $450+shipping and it got a Smartbuy recommendation form Tom's. I just ordered one and actually spoke to Skribby the owner. He seems real cool. From watching his vids he seems on the up and up. He's actually got a cult following from when/how overclocked IPS panels became popular in Asia. His next shipment (9/14) is said to be perfect pixel. Watch his vids and consumer reviews and you can see this is an honorable company. Here is the site:
http://overlordcomputer.com/collections/27-monitors/products/tempest-x270oc-glossy

 

[Travision]

I was able to take my Dell U2713HM AND swap out for the PG278Q. I ALSO kept hitting refresh button and it finally showed up. Should be at here o. 28. Can't wait to try it out. Does the monitor look good without any calibrating? I heard you will probably want to turn down brightness on it. I also read something about to make GYNC work you have to have VSYNC enabled but then some say to disable vysnc. How will I know G SYNC is working ? I'll Definitely take at 144Hz. I have always in my 15+ years gamed at 60Hz so I think I'm in for a treat. I didn't do best buys warranty this time because I read ASUS does 3 year even though I read there customer service is not that good.I hope mine doesn't come with any defects out of box like dead pixels which I still dont know how to identify.

I kept checking the local Microcenter store's web site. They got two in and they were out as soon as I was finished reserving mine for in-store pickup last week. They'll probably have an abundance of them available as soon as every other company releases their G-sync monitors.

 

[ubercake]

A good starting point for the monitor's calibration is to set it like they do in the Tomshardware review:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/rog-swift-pg278q-g-sync-monitor,3897-4.html

I did this and then adjusted slightly for the lighting conditions in the room.

You do not have to have v-sync enabled. You never have to enable V-sync again once you get this monitor.
You enable G-sync in the Nvidia Control Panel's global settings.

You will know G-sync is working because the video performance will be smooth with no tearing and lag free. Before, we needed to push ultra-high frame rates to minimize perceivable tearing. With G-sync, you get great performance with no lag or tearing at 30 fps and above. Even when the frame rates drop into the 30s in Tomb Raider, with G-sync, the performance remains smooth. You don't even notice the difference while you're playing. When the fps hits the low 20s or less, you do see changes between frames because you perceive the frame changes at that low of a frame rate (this actually happened - getting to the low 20s - during one of the cut scenes when I was running Tomb Raider with a single 780, but the gameplay itself was always completely smooth and at much higher frame rates), even though there is no tearing. It's like a cartoon flip book moving too slowly to appear fluid. You'd get this with any monitor, but with G-sync, it won't be a torn image like it would with another monitor. Fortunately, with a high-performance video card like the 770, 780, 780ti 970 or 980, you hardly ever even get as low as 30fps with most games and ultra details. If I were consistently dropping below the 30 mark as one might with a intro- or mid-level gaming video card, I'd just back off on the AA and details to maintain the fluid motion above the 30 fps mark. This is something you'll never really have to worry about with the 780ti.

I haven't seen a dead pixel on any monitor I've purchase as they're less prevalent on the higher-end monitors in general. If you did have one, they seem to be most recognizable as a gray-ish pinpoint on the screen. Usually easiest to see against a full black screen. It almost looks like a speck of something on your screen that you can't scrape off. There are good image and video examples on the web.

 

[Travision]

Sweet thanks man. I'll come back here once I've played around with some games on it. Can't wait!

A good starting point for the monitor's calibration is to set it like they do in the Tomshardware review:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/rog-swift-pg278q-g-sync-monitor,3897-4.html

I did this and then adjusted slightly for the lighting conditions in the room.

You do not have to have v-sync enabled. You never have to enable V-sync again once you get this monitor.
You enable G-sync in the Nvidia Control Panel's global settings.

You will know G-sync is working because the video performance will be smooth with no tearing and lag free. Before, we needed to push ultra-high frame rates to minimize perceivable tearing. With G-sync, you get great performance with no lag or tearing at 30 fps and above. Even when the frame rates drop into the 30s in Tomb Raider, with G-sync, the performance remains smooth. You don't even notice the difference while you're playing. When the fps hits the low 20s or less, you do see changes between frames because you perceive the frame changes at that low of a frame rate (this actually happened - getting to the low 20s - during one of the cut scenes when I was running Tomb Raider with a single 780, but the gameplay itself was always completely smooth and at much higher frame rates), even though there is no tearing. It's like a cartoon flip book moving too slowly to appear fluid. You'd get this with any monitor, but with G-sync, it won't be a torn image like it would with another monitor. Fortunately, with a high-performance video card like the 770, 780, 780ti 970 or 980, you hardly ever even get as low as 30fps with most games and ultra details. If I were consistently dropping below the 30 mark as one might with a intro- or mid-level gaming video card, I'd just back off on the AA and details to maintain the fluid motion above the 30 fps mark. This is something you'll never really have to worry about with the 780ti.

I haven't seen a dead pixel on any monitor I've purchase as they're less prevalent on the higher-end monitors in general. If you did have one, they seem to be most recognizable as a gray-ish pinpoint on the screen. Usually easiest to see against a full black screen. It almost looks like a speck of something on your screen that you can't scrape off. There are good image and video examples on the web.

 

[Tweakster]

A good starting point for the monitor's calibration is to set it like they do in the Tomshardware review:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/rog-swift-pg278q-g-sync-monitor,3897-4.html

I did this and then adjusted slightly for the lighting conditions in the room.

You do not have to have v-sync enabled. You never have to enable V-sync again once you get this monitor.
You enable G-sync in the Nvidia Control Panel's global settings.

You will know G-sync is working because the video performance will be smooth with no tearing and lag free. Before, we needed to push ultra-high frame rates to minimize perceivable tearing. With G-sync, you get great performance with no lag or tearing at 30 fps and above. Even when the frame rates drop into the 30s in Tomb Raider, with G-sync, the performance remains smooth. You don't even notice the difference while you're playing. When the fps hits the low 20s or less, you do see changes between frames because you perceive the frame changes at that low of a frame rate (this actually happened - getting to the low 20s - during one of the cut scenes when I was running Tomb Raider with a single 780, but the gameplay itself was always completely smooth and at much higher frame rates), even though there is no tearing. It's like a cartoon flip book moving too slowly to appear fluid. You'd get this with any monitor, but with G-sync, it won't be a torn image like it would with another monitor. Fortunately, with a high-performance video card like the 770, 780, 780ti 970 or 980, you hardly ever even get as low as 30fps with most games and ultra details. If I were consistently dropping below the 30 mark as one might with a intro- or mid-level gaming video card, I'd just back off on the AA and details to maintain the fluid motion above the 30 fps mark. This is something you'll never really have to worry about with the 780ti.

I haven't seen a dead pixel on any monitor I've purchase as they're less prevalent on the higher-end monitors in general. If you did have one, they seem to be most recognizable as a gray-ish pinpoint on the screen. Usually easiest to see against a full black screen. It almost looks like a speck of something on your screen that you can't scrape off. There are good image and video examples on the web.

Can you link the monitors you are recommending.
Also do you recommend the Overlord Tempest X270OC, 27" 120 Hz IPS

trying to keep budget around 500
thnks!