Cheapest (and best) 1440p monitor option?

[christianelliott]

Hi guys,

I'm looking to buy a 1440p monitor primarily for gaming as well as general use.

I've done research on the cheap Korean monitors (eg. QNIX, X-STAR, etc) and I definitely like the idea of being able to overclock the monitor to 120hz for gaming. However, I'm a little worried about dead pixels, backlight bleed, etc.

There's a deal going on right now on this Acer monitor
Acer

I could get it for about $225 after rebates.

Of course, this monitor won't be overclockable and has some ghosting issues reportedly. It is cheaper than the Korean options

What would you recommend for a mainly gaming 1440p monitor?

thanks

 

[fkr]

i recommend the qnix. after putting the color calibration and overclock on it is perfect for the price. go to overclock.net for more info as they have a robust owners club

 

[CTurbo]

You can't really get CHEAPEST and BEST at the same time lol


That Acer is good for the price.

 

[fkr]

well the qnix is a very nice samsung pls monitor that will always overclock to at least 96Hz. most hit 110Hz.

 

[Archaic59]

Isn't Qnix the company that allows up to 5 dead pixels without answering warranty claim?

 

[christianelliott]

You can't really get CHEAPEST and BEST at the same time lol


That Acer is good for the price.

Yeah I realize that. I guess I'm just trying to get the best monitor I can for the money. I'd like to spend under $300

 

[christianelliott]

Isn't Qnix the company that allows up to 5 dead pixels without answering warranty claim?

I was under the impression that most of the Korean monitors have pretty sketchy warranties

 

[fkr]

if you look up the qnix qx2710 on newegg it is the highest rated 25660x1440p monitor they have with over 40 votes. If dead pixels were an issue they would show up there. they guarantee no more than five dead pixels but I have never scene anybody have that many. you can spend a little more for a pixel perfect same monitor but you are just paying somebody to open it and check it first.

like I said go to the owners forums if you do not believe me. light bleed is an issue but not one you can ever see while using the monitor. there are also fixes you can do as the light bleed is from a poorly fitting frame. it is cheap plastic and you need a dual dvi GPU

 

[christianelliott]

if you look up the qnix qx2710 on newegg it is the highest rated 25660x1440p monitor they have with over 40 votes. If dead pixels were an issue they would show up there. they guarantee no more than five dead pixels but I have never scene anybody have that many. you can spend a little more for a pixel perfect same monitor but you are just paying somebody to open it and check it first.

like I said go to the owners forums if you do not believe me. light bleed is an issue but not one you can ever see while using the monitor. there are also fixes you can do as the light bleed is from a poorly fitting frame. it is cheap plastic and you need a dual dvi GPU

Do you have one of the monitors?

Also I have an XFX R9 290 GPU which I think has dual dvi

 

[fkr]

I do have the qnix and I have been running it since I had CF 7950's and I am now running it on a gtx 970.

I did a color calibration and I get a max overclock of 115Hz that is stable. I could push it way up into the 150Hz but it is unusable at that point and starts to occasionally breakdown at 120Hz. I now run it at 96Hz because I am a firm believer that there are really diminishing returns beyond 90Hz. I cannot really tell a difference and I am not a super competitive fps gamer, at least not enough that another 20Hz is going to make me any better. not to mention latency is always worse on an IPS/PLS monitor. get a 144Hz tn panel if you want to competitive game. The color is fantastic on these ips/pls monitors.

this is the one that I have
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4JH1GM6846

the evo II version that is cheaper is rumored to not overclock very well

I would really read through at lest the first thread
http://www.overclock.net/t/1384767/official-the-qnix-x-star-1440p-monitor-club

make sure you get the right one

 

[christianelliott]

I do have the qnix and I have been running it since I had CF 7950's and I am now running it on a gtx 970.

I did a color calibration and I get a max overclock of 115Hz that is stable. I could push it way up into the 150Hz but it is unusable at that point and starts to occasionally breakdown at 120Hz. I now run it at 96Hz because I am a firm believer that there are really diminishing returns beyond 90Hz. I cannot really tell a difference and I am not a super competitive fps gamer, at least not enough that another 20Hz is going to make me any better. not to mention latency is always worse on an IPS/PLS monitor. get a 144Hz tn panel if you want to competitive game. The color is fantastic on these ips/pls monitors.

this is the one that I have
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4JH1GM6846

the evo II version that is cheaper is rumored to not overclock very well

I would really read through at lest the first thread
http://www.overclock.net/t/1384767/official-the-qnix-x-star-1440p-monitor-club

make sure you get the right one

Thank you. I knew some models didn't overclock well so I'd like to get one that does. Did you have any noticeable backlight bleed that you had to fix upon getting the monitor?

 

[fkr]

there is a bad backlight bleed(its not that bad) on the bottom but I can only see it on transitional views when everything is completely black and otherwise I do not ever see it while actually using it.

I did just pull the frame away from it a bit and it helped allot. honestly I have not cared that much as I have been waiting to just remove the bezel and vesa mount it.

 

[christianelliott]

there is a bad backlight bleed(its not that bad) on the bottom but I can only see it on transitional views when everything is completely black and otherwise I do not ever see it while actually using it.

I did just pull the frame away from it a bit and it helped allot. honestly I have not cared that much as I have been waiting to just remove the bezel and vesa mount it.

Yeah the backlight bleed is the main thing that worries me. My current monitor (ASUS) has no backlight bleed issues so I've never experienced the problem. I guess I should just bite the bullet and give one of these monitors a shot. Hopefully I'll be able to lessen any backlight bleed that occurs in the way you suggested.

 

[fkr]

there is a complete tutorial on how to do it safely on the overclock.net page i linked