Res vs hz, 1080 or 1440??? Arrrghggh!

[AirborneEvo]

Hi TH's

I'm considering getting a new monitor and there are so many damn options to choose from.

Basically its a toss up between a 1080p monitor with higher Hz (120 or 144) or do i go with a 1440p monitor which from what I understand are capped at 60hz.

I'm a massive gamer (FPS, RTS & RPG) and would love to have a higher res screen but is a 1440 screen really worth the extra cash or would a good quality 1080 @ 120hz monitor be a better experience?

Then there is the TN or IPS or PLS debate. From what I understand TN panels have a better response time where as IPS have a better quality picture but lower response time.

I currently run a Gigabyte GTX 770 2Gb WF3 GPU and I understand a 1440p monitor would be a test for it and would necessarily get good FPS's. Here is the link to my current build,

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/AirborneEvo/saved/2Ehf

Here are two monitors that I've looked at.

ASUS VG248QE 24" (This is a 3D monitor which has good reviews however is there any point in buying a 3D monitor if i don't plan on gaming in 3D?)

ASUS PB278Q 27"

Thanks in advice for the help.

 

[bumnut53]

1440 is great, much better than 1080 but is a lot more demanding. I would recommend a GPU with at least 3GB VRAM for gaming at 1440, When I max out Thief it uses 2.95GB of VRAM which is worryingly close to the limit of my 780 🙁

120hz monitors are also nice, but you have to hit a constant 120 fps to see the benefit, you won't hit that with a 770.

 

[AirborneEvo]

1440 is great, much better than 1080 but is a lot more demanding. I would recommend a GPU with at least 3GB VRAM for gaming at 1440, When I max out Thief it uses 2.95GB of VRAM which is worryingly close to the limit of my 780 🙁

120hz monitors are also nice, but you have to hit a constant 120 fps to see the benefit, you won't hit that with a 770.

Thanks for the reply. So you would defo recommend a higher res over a high hz screen? Also what frame rates are you getting on a 1440 monitor with your 780?

 

[dkulprit]

Personal pref is what it comes down to. I personally prefer a 1080p with higher hz. But one of my friends perfers higher res. To me the cost for a 1440 monitor (or multiple) is not worth the trade off of running 1080P with higher hz at a lower cost.

If you can, try to game with both set ups (friends or even a computer store near you might have test rigs) and see what you like.

 

[AirborneEvo]

Personal pref is what it comes down to. I personally prefer a 1080p with higher hz. But one of my friends perfers higher res. To me the cost for a 1440 monitor (or multiple) is not worth the trade off of running 1080P with higher hz at a lower cost.

If you can, try to game with both set ups (friends or even a computer store near you might have test rigs) and see what you like.

I think trying the two out would be ideal. I'll have to keep an eye out. I'd like to know how much better a 1440p screen looks compared to a 1080p. Would the jump be a significant as say 1280 x 720 to 1080p?

 

[dkulprit]

I don't think so personally... Other's might disagree. 720 -> 1080 is night and day in my opinion. But 1080 -> 1440 is more dusk/early evening to night.

Sharper: yes
Clearer: yes
Worth the extra cost at cost of refresh rate and smoothness of 120 or 144? no. That is my personal opinion though.

Some people will swear by 1440, some will swear that the higher refresh on a screen is what makes or breaks a game.

 

[bumnut53]

1440 is great, much better than 1080 but is a lot more demanding. I would recommend a GPU with at least 3GB VRAM for gaming at 1440, When I max out Thief it uses 2.95GB of VRAM which is worryingly close to the limit of my 780 🙁

120hz monitors are also nice, but you have to hit a constant 120 fps to see the benefit, you won't hit that with a 770.

Thanks for the reply. So you would defo recommend a higher res over a high hz screen? Also what frame rates are you getting on a 1440 monitor with your 780?

Higher res is better if you play a variety of game types, I get 60 fps in BF4 but it does dip sometimes. I find that I do have to turn settings down on some games if I want 60 fps. But only slightly

 

[AnUnusedUsername]

It's easier to push 60FPS@2560x1440 than it is to push 120FPS@1920x1080. Of course, it's also harder to hit 60FPS at 1440p than 1080p. A 1440p monitor is probably better if you plan on upgrading fairly often, a 120Hz monitor is probably better if you go a long time between upgrades. (It's easier to live with "only" 60Hz at your native resolution than it is to live with 60Hz at lower than native resolution.)

The higher pixel density of 2560x1440 is definitely better for desktop use than 120Hz is, and the same is true for games like RTS or RPGs where the whole screen isn't moved around as much as in an FPS game. That said, 120Hz is better for a lot of things too, particularly shooters.

If you're eventually planning on a multi monitor setup, I'd go for 120Hz, three 24'' monitors is more than enough space, 27'' is kind of overkill. Three 120Hz 1080p monitors would be a great setup even once 4K becomes standard, a single 1440p monitor, probably not so much. On the other hand, for a single monitor setup I'd go with 1440p, it's a larger screen and you don't lose any detail because the resolution is higher.

 

[cookybiscuit]

Cheat, have both. Qnix QX2710 will do 100Hz at 1440p, Samsung PLS display only $300, also no scaler no little lag, good for FPS games. Downsides are that you have to import it (though if you live in the US trade agreements mean this doesn't cost anything) and that it wont work unless you give it a DVI cable, meaning to support for a laptop or a console, for example.