Help in choosing a Monitor - February 2015

[Razoir]

Hey everyone,
After a whole lot of research, i have finally settled on a Gaming build suited to my needs. However, i have had a very hard time to find a monitor. I have been drowned in the quantity and diversity of those displays. I have no budget, but i'd prefer not to spend unnecessary money. My activities will mainly be gaming, while i'll also draw, the quality does not matter that much as i have a Cintiq Companion. I am not the least a FPS or nervous game player as i'm a slow thinker, so the most demanding games i could play would be The Witcher 3 and Dark Souls 2. ( Occasionally i could play FPSs, like Metro, but never competitively nor at high level play.

What do you think is the monitor the most adapted to my needs ?
Thanks a lot for your answers ^^


My build

Intel Core i7 4790
Mother board- ASUS H97-PLUS
SSD - Crucial MX100 256GB
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 2TB
Video Card - MSI GeForce 970 Gaming
Case - NZXT H440
Memory - G skill X series 8GB Kit DDR3-1600
Power supply - 550W Seasonic G-series ( 80+ Gold )
CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

Mouse - Logitech G502 + Logitech G440
Display - Asus Swift ROG
Keyboard - Corsair Vengeance K70 MX Brown

 

[DasHotShot]

If you aren't into FPS, you don't need much FPS lolz

It is a nice setup you made there. I assume the exclusion of a "k" chip and "z97" board puts you in no overclock territory then.

In this case...considering your use for the PC, I suggest a nice 27" to 30" display. 1440p res. Tom's did a a guide on them. The ASUS Rog monitor, no matter what, is AWESOME!!! So is money is no object you really should get it, as it will be money well spent regardless.

Here is the guide though for other ideas. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/top-best-computer-monitors,review-33059.html

I use an Ultra wide btw, which is GREAT fun to game on and really awesome for movies too. Just an idea.

 

[Vici0us]

If you'd like to save some money and want a 1440P monitor than QNIX is the way to go.
27" QNIX QX2710 @ 1440P & can be overclocked to 120hz - can be had for $320

 

[DasHotShot]

If you'd like to save some money and want a 1440P monitor than QNIX is the way to go.
27" QNIX QX2710 @ 1440P & can be overclocked to 120hz - can be had for $320

True....however...

He isn't OCing his cpu or gpu clearly, judging by the components...do you think he will tinker with the monitor lol? I don't

 

[Vici0us]

If you'd like to save some money and want a 1440P monitor than QNIX is the way to go.
27" QNIX QX2710 @ 1440P & can be overclocked to 120hz - can be had for $320

True....however...

He isn't OCing his cpu or gpu clearly, judging by the components...do you think he will tinker with the monitor lol? I don't

Either way if he's on budget and wants a 1440P monitor, he won't find better than this. I'll leave the overclocking up to him, it's not hard.

 

[DasHotShot]

If you'd like to save some money and want a 1440P monitor than QNIX is the way to go.
27" QNIX QX2710 @ 1440P & can be overclocked to 120hz - can be had for $320

True....however...

He isn't OCing his cpu or gpu clearly, judging by the components...do you think he will tinker with the monitor lol? I don't

Either way if he's on budget and wants a 1440P monitor, he won't find better than this. I'll leave the overclocking up to him, it's not hard.

Again I agree. However he isn't on a budget.

Normally I try to give money saving advice too, since my life changing epiphany of a moment with my Titan...

HOWEVER...having seen what the Asus Rog looks like with a good rig driving the pixels...my god. It's like the crew in the film sunshine getting addicted to looking at the sun with lower and lower filtration hahaha

 

[Vici0us]

If you'd like to save some money and want a 1440P monitor than QNIX is the way to go.
27" QNIX QX2710 @ 1440P & can be overclocked to 120hz - can be had for $320

True....however...

He isn't OCing his cpu or gpu clearly, judging by the components...do you think he will tinker with the monitor lol? I don't

Either way if he's on budget and wants a 1440P monitor, he won't find better than this. I'll leave the overclocking up to him, it's not hard.

Again I agree. However he isn't on a budget.

Normally I try to give money saving advice too, since my life changing epiphany of a moment with my Titan...

HOWEVER...having seen what the Asus Rog looks like with a good rig driving the pixels...my god. It's like the crew in the film sunshine getting addicted to looking at the sun with lower and lower filtration hahaha

Are you talking about Asus ROG Swift? It sure is an extremely nice monitor that comes with 1440P + G-Sync + 144hz, 1ms, etc. BUT a single 970 is not enough power for ROG Swift. He'd need at least another 970 to drive such a monitor.
He can get an Asus PB Series PB278Q 1440P monitor. With his GPU power, he'll be cool but it's $450 and technically same thing as Qnix. It even comes with same "PLS" panel.

 

[DasHotShot]

If you'd like to save some money and want a 1440P monitor than QNIX is the way to go.
27" QNIX QX2710 @ 1440P & can be overclocked to 120hz - can be had for $320

True....however...

He isn't OCing his cpu or gpu clearly, judging by the components...do you think he will tinker with the monitor lol? I don't

Either way if he's on budget and wants a 1440P monitor, he won't find better than this. I'll leave the overclocking up to him, it's not hard.

Again I agree. However he isn't on a budget.

Normally I try to give money saving advice too, since my life changing epiphany of a moment with my Titan...

HOWEVER...having seen what the Asus Rog looks like with a good rig driving the pixels...my god. It's like the crew in the film sunshine getting addicted to looking at the sun with lower and lower filtration hahaha

Are you talking about Asus ROG Swift? It sure is an extremely nice monitor that comes with 1440P + G-Sync + 144hz, etc. BUT a single 970 is not enough power for ROG Swift. He'd need at least another 970 to drive such a monitor.
He can get an ASUS PB Series PB278Q 1440P monitor. With his GPU power, he'll be cool but it's $550 and technically same thing as Qnix. It even comes with same "PLS" panel.

Not sure about not being able to drive that monitor. I know a friend who drives it with a single 980 and the difference isn't THAT massive. Or is it in this case?

 

[Vici0us]

If you'd like to save some money and want a 1440P monitor than QNIX is the way to go.
27" QNIX QX2710 @ 1440P & can be overclocked to 120hz - can be had for $320

True....however...

He isn't OCing his cpu or gpu clearly, judging by the components...do you think he will tinker with the monitor lol? I don't

Either way if he's on budget and wants a 1440P monitor, he won't find better than this. I'll leave the overclocking up to him, it's not hard.

Again I agree. However he isn't on a budget.

Normally I try to give money saving advice too, since my life changing epiphany of a moment with my Titan...

HOWEVER...having seen what the Asus Rog looks like with a good rig driving the pixels...my god. It's like the crew in the film sunshine getting addicted to looking at the sun with lower and lower filtration hahaha

Are you talking about Asus ROG Swift? It sure is an extremely nice monitor that comes with 1440P + G-Sync + 144hz, etc. BUT a single 970 is not enough power for ROG Swift. He'd need at least another 970 to drive such a monitor.
He can get an ASUS PB Series PB278Q 1440P monitor. With his GPU power, he'll be cool but it's $550 and technically same thing as Qnix. It even comes with same "PLS" panel.

Not sure about not being able to drive that monitor. I know a friend who drives it with a single 980 and the difference isn't THAT massive. Or is it in this case?

I believe a 980 can drive it but I don't know about 970 specially since, it's technically a 3.5GB card while 980 is a 4GB card. He should really get another 980 to see the true power of that monitor.

 

[Razoir]

Thanks a lot for your answers ^^ yes, i was thinking of the Asus Swift ROG, i must say it really looks amazing ( it was actually the first i stumbled upon )
You are right though, i don't plan to Overclock as i already have far too many hobbies ( and well, with those specs, i don't think i'd need to overclock before a bunch of years. ) But well, true that 700$ might be too much for a screen, i'll think about it ^^ and just wondering, for lower specs monitors, what's the current best you can find ? Because as much as i'd love to get that nice Swift monitor, i have an hard time justifying such a high spend. Especially if, as you say, i'd need to add another 300 to that for a second 970...

 

[DasHotShot]

Thanks a lot for your answers ^^ yes, i was thinking of the Asus Swift ROG, i must say it really looks amazing ( it was actually the first i stumbled upon )
You are right though, i don't plan to Overclock as i already have far too many hobbies ( and well, with those specs, i don't think i'd need to overclock before a bunch of years. ) But well, true that 700$ might be too much for a screen, i'll think about it ^^ and just wondering, for lower specs monitors, what's the current best you can find ? Because as much as i'd love to get that nice Swift monitor, i have an hard time justifying such a high spend. Especially if, as you say, i'd need to add another 300 to that for a second 970...

You don't NEED to add a second, it would just be optimal.

The monitor vicious suggested is fine. Also I posted the TOm's guide for ideas further up the thread. There is plenty of ammo for you here.

 

[Neur0nauT]

My advice would be to wait until next month. There are a whole line of new monitors being released within the next few months featuring Adaptive Sync/Freesync/G-Sync. This will drive the price of some current good quality, high spec monitors down, and open up some more options to you.

If you are looking for Quality over Refresh or speed, then you should certainly consider at least a 1440P, but there are also these super-wide QHD IPS monitors and curves ones around now, which would look amazing on your desktop. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-127-LG&groupid=17&catid=948

 

[DasHotShot]

My advice would be to wait until next month. There are a whole line of new monitors being released within the next few months featuring Adaptive Sync/Freesync/G-Sync. This will drive the price of some current good quality, high spec monitors down, and open up some more options to you.

If you are looking for Quality over Refresh or speed, then you should certainly consider at least a 1440P, but there are also these super-wide QHD IPS monitors and curves ones around now, which would look amazing on your desktop. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-127-LG&groupid=17&catid=948

I use one and agree lol

 

[Neur0nauT]

My advice would be to wait until next month. There are a whole line of new monitors being released within the next few months featuring Adaptive Sync/Freesync/G-Sync. This will drive the price of some current good quality, high spec monitors down, and open up some more options to you.

If you are looking for Quality over Refresh or speed, then you should certainly consider at least a 1440P, but there are also these super-wide QHD IPS monitors and curves ones around now, which would look amazing on your desktop. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-127-LG&groupid=17&catid=948

I use one and agree lol

Which leads me to ask you then...should I get a 144Hz 27" 1440p, or a 60Hz 34" super wide IPS? I play a lot of FPS, but love the idea of super wide.

 

[DasHotShot]

My advice would be to wait until next month. There are a whole line of new monitors being released within the next few months featuring Adaptive Sync/Freesync/G-Sync. This will drive the price of some current good quality, high spec monitors down, and open up some more options to you.

If you are looking for Quality over Refresh or speed, then you should certainly consider at least a 1440P, but there are also these super-wide QHD IPS monitors and curves ones around now, which would look amazing on your desktop. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-127-LG&groupid=17&catid=948

I use one and agree lol

Which leads me to ask you then...should I get a 144Hz 27" 1440p, or a 60Hz 34" super wide IPS? I play a lot of FPS, but love the idea of super wide.

Sorry OP for hijacking the thread, however I think this is still relevant.

I LOVE ultra-wide and will have a hard time reverting back I think. It really depends also how war you have it from your face. You ned a little distance, not much but more than the average monitor, to have that "suspension of disbelief" or immersion.

It can be annoying in twitch shooters as the guy popped past on the far left of the screen and you were busy tracking the guy on the right...however when you are used to it it is great.

Movies...I mean I now am used to watching most new releases in their native format, meaning no black bars anywhere. So epic.

HOWEVER...many older games and some new, can use the res ingame, however cutscenes and menus have black bars either side or even can't handle the res properly....CSGO cuts off half an inch at the bottom for me...super annoying as I miss certain stats, and I can't block idiots further down the score screen etc hahaha.

I would be tempted to try 1440p 27" for a bit to compare, for FPS I have feeling it is the better choice.

 

[Neur0nauT]

My advice would be to wait until next month. There are a whole line of new monitors being released within the next few months featuring Adaptive Sync/Freesync/G-Sync. This will drive the price of some current good quality, high spec monitors down, and open up some more options to you.

If you are looking for Quality over Refresh or speed, then you should certainly consider at least a 1440P, but there are also these super-wide QHD IPS monitors and curves ones around now, which would look amazing on your desktop. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-127-LG&groupid=17&catid=948

I use one and agree lol

Which leads me to ask you then...should I get a 144Hz 27" 1440p, or a 60Hz 34" super wide IPS? I play a lot of FPS, but love the idea of super wide.

Sorry OP for hijacking the thread, however I think this is still relevant.

I LOVE ultra-wide and will have a hard time reverting back I think. It really depends also how war you have it from your face. You ned a little distance, not much but more than the average monitor, to have that "suspension of disbelief" or immersion.

It can be annoying in twitch shooters as the guy popped past on the far left of the screen and you were busy tracking the guy on the right...however when you are used to it it is great.

Movies...I mean I now am used to watching most new releases in their native format, meaning no black bars anywhere. So epic.

HOWEVER...many older games and some new, can use the res ingame, however cutscenes and menus have black bars either side or even can't handle the res properly....CSGO cuts off half an inch at the bottom for me...super annoying as I miss certain stats, and I can't block idiots further down the score screen etc hahaha.

I would be tempted to try 1440p 27" for a bit to compare, for FPS I have feeling it is the better choice.

See, the wider FOV and stretched/squashed res issue is the only thing that might dissuade me from getting one, but I'm gonna wait and see what the reviews are like. It beats having to link up on two or three thin bezel monitors side by side! Maybe newer games will be more accommodating for 21:9 from now on.

 

[Vici0us]

Thanks a lot for your answers ^^ yes, i was thinking of the Asus Swift ROG, i must say it really looks amazing ( it was actually the first i stumbled upon )
You are right though, i don't plan to Overclock as i already have far too many hobbies ( and well, with those specs, i don't think i'd need to overclock before a bunch of years. ) But well, true that 700$ might be too much for a screen, i'll think about it ^^ and just wondering, for lower specs monitors, what's the current best you can find ? Because as much as i'd love to get that nice Swift monitor, i have an hard time justifying such a high spend. Especially if, as you say, i'd need to add another 300 to that for a second 970...

I'll give you my two cents.
If you do want Asus ROG Swift than you should for sure add another 970 to properly drive it and at least get 60+ FPS.

From my personal experice.. (I have X2 R9 290's in Crossfire) and pretty much all the time I can get 60+ FPS @ 1440P. BUT a single R9 290 is enough (in most cases) for 1440P. So if you want a nice 1440P monitor than go for Asus PB Series PB278Q. It's reasonable priced and you'll be able to drive it with a single 970.

There's another option: You can get a 144hz monitor like, AOC G2460PQU or LG 24GM77 if you're into high refresh rate. They're quiet a bit cheaper but it's not 1440P (some people prefer it over 1440P).

Another unique option is: Acer XB270H it's basically the same thing as ROG Swift except it's 1080P but it comes with all those same features: 144hz, G-Sync, 1ms, etc. Now this monitor would be great for your setup, you wouldn't have to worry about VRAM, GPU power, etc. If I were you, I'd go for this with a single 970.

Last option: You can get an Ultra Wide monitor 21:9 and their resolution ranges from 2560 X 1080 to 3440 X 1440. Here are some examples: AOC q2963Pm & LG 34UM95-P. Obviously 2560 X 1080 would be better for your build. Also, not all of the games support Ultra Wide monitors.

In the end it's up to you what suits your needs more. I hope, this answered at least most of your questions.

 

[Razoir]

DasHotShot - Haha no worries ^^ it doesn't change anything to me and it is indeed relevant.
Vici0us - Well thanks for the very detailed answer. That's a real help ! I'll think about it and study what you gave me. I'll also check if it's not better to buy a 200$ one and wait a few months for a few new screens, cause that's always to keep in mind i guess. And well, having two monitors is always nice too.

- Well, alltogether, thanks a lot for all your answers, you were all a great help. It really shows off the quality of this community ^^ -