Build Advice Gaming PC build -- 1440p vs 1080p build. Which would be worth it ?

May 10, 2019
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I'm currently confused about which rig to go with, given I'm a casual gamer/programmer and would like something future proof.
Both builds have these components :

For 1080p, I'd get:
AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Asrock B450 Steel Legend AMD Motherboard
Geil EVO Spear 2666Mhz DDR4 8GB RAM x2
GALAX GeForce GTX 1660 Ti EX (1-Click OC) 6GB GDDR6
MSI MAG241C -- 23.6" 144Hz 1080p Freesync

For 1440p I'd get:
AMD Ryzen 5 2600x
Gigabyte X470 Aorus Ultra Gaming AM4 AMD Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 3200Mhz DDR4 8GB RAM x 2
Zotac Gtx 1080Ti 11GB Amp Core extreme edition -- Used for $500
AORUS AD27QD -- 27" 144HZ 1440p Freesync

Problem is, I've never actually gamed in 1440p or in a 144hz monitor, so I don't know whether the difference I'd experience would be worth the additional $650 I'd have to spend on the 1440p build.
I'm not rich and this is a big investment for me so I'd really like to get my money's worth given I'll be using this for the next 2-3 years without upgrading.
The prices of these components in my country are different from the US so you might see differences.
 
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Don't spend 500 dollars on a used graphics card unless you're buying it from somebody willing to extend the warranty to you and handle it if necessary. And by that I mean somebody you would have no problem inviting to your mothers house for dinner at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

A 1080 TI for 500 bucks isn't much of a deal if it dies in two weeks, or six months. Especially not when you can get an RTX 2080 for another 150 bucks, new, that will do 4k gaming, with 1440p gaming being no sweat, or an RTX 2070 for LESS money, that will still do 1440p gaming no problem AND have a full warranty.

What is your ACTUAL maximum budget for the new system and what, if anything, do you have now that might realistically be used on the new system? I'm assuming storage devices since I don't see those included.

What is the EXACT model number of your power supply, if you intend to use what you have now with the new system? That might make a lot of the decision here.
 

nicholas70

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I can tell you going from 60hz to 144hz is nice if you are into action/fps type games. I second what DB said though about buying a used video card. Of all the things you can buy used for a pc build that's the last thing you want to buy used. As for going over 1080p I can't help ya there as I still play 1080p and will likely continue to do so for another 4 or 5 years. When I do finally upgrade I'll likely just jump all the way to 4k. I personally wouldn't think the jump from 1080p to 1440p would be that big a deal.Also I think your RAM speed is lower then what it should be for AMD on the 1080p build, so you might want to adjust it up to what AMD suggests for that cpu. Edit: oh yea didn't see you were going to pay 500 for that card either. I'd just go with a 2060 myself as I would think that could probably handly 1440p gaming ok.
 
May 10, 2019
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Don't spend 500 dollars on a used graphics card unless you're buying it from somebody willing to extend the warranty to you and handle it if necessary. And by that I mean somebody you would have no problem inviting to your mothers house for dinner at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

A 1080 TI for 500 bucks isn't much of a deal if it dies in two weeks, or six months. Especially not when you can get an RTX 2080 for another 150 bucks, new, that will do 4k gaming, with 1440p gaming being no sweat, or an RTX 2070 for LESS money, that will still do 1440p gaming no problem AND have a full warranty.

What is your ACTUAL maximum budget for the new system and what, if anything, do you have now that might realistically be used on the new system? I'm assuming storage devices since I don't see those included.

What is the EXACT model number of your power supply, if you intend to use what you have now with the new system? That might make a lot of the decision here.
Well, the model I'm looking into, the 1080ti has 10 months warranty.
Yes, the cheapest RTX2070 available here would cost $100 more, but the 2080 would be $900
But since I've learned the 1080ti performs as well as the 2080, I thought it would be a better deal.
No parts from my old pc will be used, I didn't include the SSD/PSU or other components because they cost relatively the same, given what is available here.
It's just the GPU and monitor that have created such a big difference in prices.
 
1440p looks a lot nicer on a 27-32" screen, so if your monitor placement is such that you use a display of that size, 1440p is ok, UNLESS you have old tired eyes like mine, in which case 1080p on a 27" monitor from about two feet away is just about right. I may jump to 1440p on my primary display the next time I upgrade monitors though.

As far as the performance penalty, that's a different story. You definitely need significantly better hardware for 1440p than you do for 1080p. The refresh rate really has no penalty so long as you can either hit your target FPS fairly close, or better these days, just get a monitor that has Freesync so that the adaptive sync handles any inadequacies in performance or performance that is too good, based on settings and game resource requirements.
 
I'd just go with a 2060 myself as I would think that could probably handly 1440p gaming ok.

A 2060 will handle 1440p 60hz gaming. It will not handle or deliver the desired 144hz 1440p gaming experience and if you're going to move to 1440p at 144hz it's senseless to not have hardware that can actually create the smoothness that 144hz delivers, and it won't, on anything that is more demanding. For average games, eSPorts or light FPS titles it will be fine but there are an awful lot of games that are demanding enough that if you are looking for high or ultra settings you're never going to hit that mark with the 2060.

I'm not sure that IS what the OP is looking to do, since he says "casual" but often casual means different things to different people. I'm a casual, not professional, gamer, but I still like things to look nice, be smooth and offer all of the eye candy.
 
Ah. We have a mod in Bangladesh. Hope you had no troubles from the recent typhoon.

If you like, I can put that mod in touch with this thread as he's probably a lot more familiar with what is going to be available to you than I am, and he is very knowledgeable overall.
 
May 10, 2019
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A 2060 will handle 1440p 60hz gaming. It will not handle or deliver the desired 144hz 1440p gaming experience and if you're going to move to 1440p at 144hz it's senseless to not have hardware that can actually create the smoothness that 144hz delivers, and it won't, on anything that is more demanding. For average games, eSPorts or light FPS titles it will be fine but there are an awful lot of games that are demanding enough that if you are looking for high or ultra settings you're never going to hit that mark with the 2060.

I'm not sure that IS what the OP is looking to do, since he says "casual" but often casual means different things to different people. I'm a casual, not professional, gamer, but I still like things to look nice, be smooth and offer all of the eye candy.
Yeah, that's really what I meant, I'd like for things to look nice, I'd love to use a bigger monitor since I've been using a 21.5 inch for the past 7 years. And also, I'm mainly concerned about the amount money I'd have to spend more, for a 1440p build.
 
May 10, 2019
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Ah. We have a mod in Bangladesh. Hope you had no troubles from the recent typhoon.

If you like, I can put that mod in touch with this thread as he's probably a lot more familiar with what is going to be available to you than I am, and he is very knowledgeable overall.
That would be great. Thank you so much for the quick response. :)
 
I will do it. Not sure WHEN he'll respond, but I'll let him know as getting advice from somebody in your own region is always better. They just, are more familiar with choices available to YOU.

Honestly, if money is a big concern, I'd stick to 1080p. 1080p gaming on a 27" monitor is still full high definition and still looks great as long as you're not right on top of the monitor. And for that a 1660 TI would give you great performance for 144hz gaming. I think that makes a lot of sense. But I'll still put Lutfij in touch with you.
 
For 1080p, I'd get:
AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Asrock B450 Steel Legend AMD Motherboard
Geil EVO Spear 2666Mhz DDR4 8GB RAM x2
GALAX GeForce GTX 1660 Ti EX (1-Click OC) 6GB GDDR6
MSI MAG241C -- 23.6" 144Hz 1080p Freesync

For 1440p I'd get:
AMD Ryzen 5 2600x
Gigabyte X470 Aorus Ultra Gaming AM4 AMD Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 3200Mhz DDR4 8GB RAM x 2
Zotac Gtx 1080Ti 11GB Amp Core extreme edition -- Used for $500
AORUS AD27QD -- 27" 144HZ 1440p Freesync

There's no real point in going with a higher-end CPU, Motherboard and RAM for 1440p than for 1080p. Higher resolutions increase demand on the graphics card, but generally not on the CPU or other components.

A better option would probably be a combination of the two builds for whichever resolution you choose. You should ideally get DDR4-3000 or 3200 RAM for Ryzen. B450 motherboards support overclocking as well though, so the benefits of X470 will be minimal for most people, and perhaps not worth paying much more for. And as for the 2600 vs the 2600X, the X comes set with faster stock boost clocks, but it's possible to overclock the standard 2600 to get similar performance out of it. The 2600X does come with a more capable stock cooler though, so if you plan on overclocking the 2600 to a similar performance level, you might want to get something like a tower cooler with a 120mm fan, particularly if you are in a warm climate without air conditioning.

As for monitors, that MSI MAG241C is probably a good value option for 1080p 144Hz, with a VA panel for nice contrast.

That AORUS AD27QD is supposed to be good screen, but you are paying a lot more for things like 10-bit color and a mediocre "HDR 400" implementation that you probably don't need, in addition to the higher resolution. As such, it would likely cost you more than double what that MSI 1080p screen costs. If you decide to go with a 1440p screen, it might be worth looking at other options that provide better value. I don't know how pricing is where you are, but there should likely be a number of 27-32" 1440p 144Hz screens priced considerably lower than that one.
 
There's no real point in going with a higher-end CPU, Motherboard and RAM for 1440p than for 1080p. Higher resolutions increase demand on the graphics card, but generally not on the CPU or other components.

Except that we're talking 144hz refresh rate here and have already clearly defined WHY you would want to be able to support those target FPS if you're going to spend the money to enable them in the first place. So, yeah, there kind of is a point, IF you're going to go after 1440p 144hz, which I think we've already somewhat determined is probably unlikely all things considered.

A better option would probably be a combination of the two builds for whichever resolution you choose.

No offense to you Cryo, but that's possibly some of the worst advice I've heard anybody give here in a long time. Do not EVER "halfway" target anything. If you're going to target 1080p 144hz, then that is what you target. If you are going to target 1440p 144hz, or 1080p 60hz, or 1440p 60hz, or WHATEVER it IS that you want to do, be SURE of what it is you want to do and GET the hardware that is capable of doing it. Don't get hardware that is marginally acceptable for a higher purpose, because it's going to be unsatisfying and leave you with a distinctly unfulfilled sense of what could have been if you'd only bought the hardware you really need for what you really wanted to do.

To use another car analogy, like I often do, it's like having a choice between a buying a grocery getter because it gets great gas mileage or a high end sports car because it goes very fast and looks cool. Instead you by a Camaro and are completely unhappy in the end because it is not a Porsche or Corvette and yet the gas mileage is too crappy to be happy about using it as a grocery getter and daily driver. Going halfway never makes anybody happy. Either settle, knowing you are settling, or splurge, knowing you are splurging but satisfied in the knowledge that you are getting what you REALLY want so you can live with the setback.
 
No offense to you Cryo, but that's possibly some of the worst advice I've heard anybody give here in a long time. Do not EVER "halfway" target anything. If you're going to target 1080p 144hz, then that is what you target. If you are going to target 1440p 144hz, or 1080p 60hz, or 1440p 60hz, or WHATEVER it IS that you want to do, be SURE of what it is you want to do and GET the hardware that is capable of doing it. Don't get hardware that is marginally acceptable for a higher purpose, because it's going to be unsatisfying and leave you with a distinctly unfulfilled sense of what could have been if you'd only bought the hardware you really need for what you really wanted to do.
Perhaps you didn't understand what I was saying? The point is that the higher resolution is not going to increase load on those other components, just the graphics card. Both builds in the first post were intended for 144Hz screens, but one was for 1080p and the other for 1440p. A 1660 Ti running at 1080p will push roughly similar frame rates as a 1080 Ti running at 1440p, within about 10% or so of eachother, anyway. So, no matter which option they go with, the other components they choose should not be dependent on resolution. They talked about the 1440p build costing an extra $650, but they should not be including those other components in that figure if they will be looking at similar frame rates either way.

As for "going halfway", I said nothing of the sort. I was pointing out that a combination of those two sets of components could provide optimal value. Going with DDR4-3000/3200 memory is a good idea no matter which resolution they target. And as for the Ryzen 2600 on a B450 board vs a 2600X on X470, they should provide a very similar level of performance with an overclock, only the 2600/B450 combo will likely cost less, even if they replace the cooler. The 2600 and 2600X are pretty much the same CPU, just with different stock clocks and a different bundled cooler, and both X470 and B450 offer largely the same feature set. So, rather than choosing between those two sets of components, a combination of the faster RAM with the less expensive CPU and motherboard could provide optimal value. They did specify that it was "a big investment" after all, so it sounds like they want to get the most out of their money.

Likewise, there's no reason why one has to restrict themselves to choosing between a more mid-range 1080p 144Hz screen vs a high-end 1440p 144Hz screen. There are plenty of options in the middle that make perfect sense, including a number of more mid-range 1440p 144Hz models. All of this can bring the price difference between the 1080p build and the 1440p build closer together, which might make the higher resolution more worth considering. For a $650 difference, I would say that the bump in resolution might not be worth it for someone questioning its value, but for around half that it might be more worthwhile.

Also, that car analogy is terrible, as car analogies usually are. : P
 
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As for "going halfway", I said nothing of the sort. I was pointing out that a combination of those two sets of components could provide optimal value.

Also, that car analogy is terrible, as car analogies usually are. : P

So, I can't figure how buying hardware that is exceedingly capable for 1080p but not capable enough for realistic 1440p 144hz offers "great value" It still makes no sense to me. A combination puts you beyond what you need for success at your targeted performance level for 1080p but isn't good enough for 1440p 144hz. Regardless of the intention, it's going halfway. You either end up with extra performance that doesn't benefit you or not enough performance to do what you wanted to do. To me, that's halfway.

As for the car analogy, you know what opinions are like so we'll just stop there.
 
So, I can't figure how buying hardware that is exceedingly capable for 1080p but not capable enough for realistic 1440p 144hz offers "great value" It still makes no sense to me. A combination puts you beyond what you need for success at your targeted performance level for 1080p but isn't good enough for 1440p 144hz. Regardless of the intention, it's going halfway. You either end up with extra performance that doesn't benefit you or not enough performance to do what you wanted to do. To me, that's halfway.
Again, targeting the higher resolution shouldn't significantly increase demand on the CPU, RAM or motherboard. It's not really relevant to whether they want to run a 1660 Ti at 1080p or a 1080 Ti at 1440p, as both of those card/resolution combinations should push relatively similar frame rates when paired with the same supporting hardware.

And an overclocked 2600 performs pretty much the same as a 2600X, and the same goes for the motherboards, so neither option performs significantly better than the other once properly configured to get the most out of it. Any of this hardware is just as capable for their 1080p build as it is for their 1440p build, with the exception of the graphics card. If they want the CPU with the higher stock clocks and don't want to mess with overclocking, that's fine, but that decision should be independent of the resolution they are targeting.
 
Your premise is so thoroughly flawed, I don't even really know where to begin.

And I'm not going to bother because it's pretty clear you don't even understand what you're trying to say either. Plus, I have better things to do than try to explain things to you. Hopefully, the OP got enough information to make their own decision and if not, PM me, I'll be happy to help you out if I can. Or, I'm sure Cryoburner will be glad to answer any other questions if you prefer.
 
Your premise is so thoroughly flawed, I don't even really know where to begin.

And I'm not going to bother because it's pretty clear you don't even understand what you're trying to say either. Plus, I have better things to do than try to explain things to you.

I think I very clearly explained exactly what I am talking about more than once, in detail, and unless you can provide any solid evidence otherwise, I see absolutely nothing indicating any flaw in my suggestions whatsoever. I can only assume you don't know where to begin because you probably realized nothing I said is actually flawed, and would rather not admit to being incorrect. : D

If you haven't come to that conclusion, maybe you should re-read this thread starting from the first post and their two proposed builds. You definitely seem to be missing something here. Maybe you're mixing this thread up with another one? My post was simply outlining how aside from the graphics card and monitor, the relatively minor differences between those two builds are unnecessary, and also that there are plenty of good 1440p 144Hz screens at more moderate price points, so the jump from 1080p to 1440p wouldn't necessarily need to cost that much. Aside from one other post from someone similarly suggesting to go with faster RAM even for the 1080p build, there was no discussion of any hardware aside from the graphics card up to that point.

It's probably best not to claim that someone "clearly doesn't understand what they are trying to say" and is giving the "worst advice you heard anybody give in a long time" but not actually explaining how they are supposedly wrong, and instead just providing some vague analogies that have little to do with the topic at hand, followed by the suggestion that you don't have the time to back those statements up. The thread honestly took a turn for the bizarre with your response to my post, and I assumed my reply would clear any misunderstanding, but that apparently wasn't the case.