Question Can't decide - 21,5" vs 24" vs 27" // what's the deal with Hz? :(

[Deleted member 1886623]

Hello!

My PC is having 14th birthday soon and its time for changes. The only major upgrade over years was an upgrade of GPU, so I'm rather completely out of the loop. I've been reading for a while and it seems like Ryzen 5 5600 together with RX 6700 XT would be somewhat affordable choice that will let me play AAA games for years, like the last PC. I haven't decided yet though.

But here comes the dilemma with monitors and I'm seriously confused on what to choose.

_____________________________

My current one is 21,5" 1080p 60 Hz LG Flatron E2260T-PN, here's the link to its specs just in case: https://www.theitdepot.com/details-LG+22inch+LED+Monitor+(E2260)_C7P12064.html

One of the options could be a 27" 1440p one, but I fear it'll be too big for me, stuff displayed will be too small (browsing the web would be more straining for the eyes, and gaming as well since UI would be smaller if I understood the topic correctly). Besides even if my new planned PC could run games in 1440p now, it could pose a problem in ~3 years.

Another option is 24" 1080p, but here I fear that the screen won't be as crispy as on my current one (less PPI) and being used to my 21,5" for over 10 years it could bother me.

Third option is staying with my current monitor if it's not bad even though it's old (I have no idea to be honest).

_____________________________

I didn't mention Hz above because here I'm even more lost than when it comes to inches. I've read very contradicting stuff about that, some say 60 fps in games will look better on a 144 Hz monitor than on a 60 Hz one, others say completely opposite. And I want to run games smoothly on high settings. Ah, forgot to mention I'm gonna play single player titles like Witcher, Cyberpunk, Grim Dawn etc.

Any help would be appreciated

 

[Lutfij]

My suggestion, since you're doing an overhaul after a long while, get the most you can out of the budget you have. Meaning spend on the larger panel with a higher resolution and refresh rate, the graphics card you've listed above will work with 1440p.

Like everything in life, you actually can't go back to a smaller res/panel after seeing the bigger picture.

 

[Nighthawk117]

One of the options could be a 27" 1440p one, but I fear it'll be too big for me, stuff displayed will be too small (browsing the web would be more straining for the eyes, and gaming as well since UI would be smaller if I understood the topic correctly). Besides even if my new planned PC could run games in 1440p now, it could pose a problem in ~3 years.

I've been using 27" monitors for over 10 years. They are absolutely not too big, in fact I think 27" is a perfect size for a monitor, I don't think 32" is too big either. Once you've used 27" I guarantee you will not want smaller. The sizing of the UI and text is irrelevant with Windows 10 and 11 as the UI doesn't use a fixed number of pixels so can be scaled as you like. I prefer big screens precisely to avoid eye strain, I have a 27" 1440p monitor and the UI and text is scaled to 125%.

There's only one thing that is negative, and that is the increased GPU power required to run games at 1440p. That is the only thing I would consider, the rest of it is not a problem.

Another option is 24" 1080p, but here I fear that the screen won't be as crispy as on my current one (less PPI) and being used to my 21,5" for over 10 years it could bother me.

I find it unlikely this would bother you, it might at 27" 1080p. I used a 1080p 27" monitor for many years and it didn't bother me but some consider it a bit big for 1080p. Is your current 21.5" IPS or TN?

I didn't mention Hz above because here I'm even more lost than when it comes to inches. I've read very contradicting stuff about that, some say 60 fps in games will look better on a 144 Hz monitor than on a 60 Hz one, others say completely opposite. And I want to run games smoothly on high settings. Ah, forgot to mention I'm gonna play single player titles like Witcher, Cyberpunk, Grim Dawn etc.

I don't know why people say 60 FPS will look better at 144hz, I wouldn't agree. In terms of the games you play though, 144hz is incredibly difficult to drive in Cyberpunk if you want all the fancy effects. For me personally I play different games at different refresh rates. For example Cyberpunk at 60hz and Battlefield and Halo Infinite at 144hz.

 

[Deleted member 1886623]

Thanks for the replies.

I can see that 27" 1440p is a better choice when it comes to quality of gaming, however what about futureproofness of the setup mentioned in post above? From what I've seen even RTX 4070 is kinda lacking with 1440p when it comes to the most demanding AAA titles, I fear that if I go with a monitor like that I'll have to change RX 6700 XT in ~2 years or so and I doubt I could afford it after dishing out my savings now.

I'm aiming for a PC that will let me play new games comfortably (so not in e.g. 30 fps) for 5-6 years, like the last one. If I go for 1440p won't I need at least RTX 4070Ti (which is outside of my financial reach since I need to buy not only PC and monitor, but everyting else as well)?