[SOLVED] Specific gaming monitor recommendations ?

[Gameoflife]

Hello. I am not computer savvy, but after doing some research and with help from a great Digital Storm, representative, I bought my son for xmas a computer to hopefully grow with him over the next 4 years, with the following specs:

Intel Core i9-12900K (5.2GHz Turbo), 24-Thread, 16-Core, 3.2 GHz (Alder Lake)
Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-A Gaming D4
GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4, 3200MHz Digital Storm Performance Series,
1TB SSD M.2
850W Digital Storm Perfromance Series (80 Plus Gold)
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Dual Fan)
Chassis Fans: Cooler Master MasterFan Halo (RGB Fans)

He primarily plays Sea of Thieves, Fortnite, Rocket League, APEX, Call of Duty, and Roblox. He often competes in tournaments and plays for his school. He will not use the computer for school work nor use the monitor to watch TV or movies. He mentioned that he would like his new monitor to have a good frame rate, but I read somewhere that 2K with high FPS is better than 4K at 70.

After some more online research I think it should be 27" to 34" monitor.
It should be an IPS panel with 178/178 viewing, and not a TN panel. (I have no idea what this really means, but that is okay.)
Does it need to be a 4K monitor?
Should it have 240HZ or 360HZ?
Should it be curved or rotate?
Should it have HDMI 2.0 or 2.1?
Does it need Display Port 1.4a connections?
Should it have NVDIA Reflex and G-Sync?

My brain is fried with all the computer information and I would really just love a few model numbers of 1-3 gaming monitors (maybe ranging in price) that are optimal and maximize the specs for the above computer. Monitors that will serve this purpose for the next 3-4 years. Any comments or suggestions on features that I should absolutely look for or avoid would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much in advance and Happy Holidays!

 

[Karadjgne]

TN used to be the fastest panels, but sacrificed color and viewing angle to get that speed. IPS panels had the best colors and viewing angles but sacrificed speed to get that. VA panels were middle of both but had by far the best Black, which was great for movies and darker scenes.

Times changed, but so did monitors. Now IPS is matching TN speeds without sacrifice, but so is VA. What you'll find is that price range has a Lot to do with things. A cheap VA is often not much better than a good TN, a really good VA is no different to an IPS but still has better Blacks. The best panels are OLED with the best colors and best blacks, as they turn off pixels completely. But that comes at a cost.

Start at the beginning. How far away is the monitor going to be. That'll determine approximate size. Too close means needing smaller pixels or you see fuzz, too far away and you could go up in size. A 3080 is best with 1440p or 4k, but gaming style is the determining factor. Slower motion, strategy, dungeon crawl type games don't need fps so 4k is great there. Fast paced shooters, high motion race games etc work better with the 1440p.

I have a really strong preference for dual monitors, so my ideal monitor is a 49" super ultra wide, basically that's 2x 27" 1440p monitors side by side in a single monitor. The $1000+ pricetag isn't doable though.

Sorry for more info, but the monitor itself is one of 3 very personal items, along with the mouse and keyboard. If the monitor doesn't fit the usage, it can destroy any enjoyment or lead to frustration, so it kinda does have to line up with needs, not just wants, and that includes budget.

Hardware Unboxed is a great site for monitor reviews, they have many insights into specific models and overall what's good value and what's not. They also have recommendations and more technical explanations of what a monitor is and can do.

View: https://youtu.be/CEqQi6Ljq8g

 

[Gameoflife]

TN used to be the fastest panels, but sacrificed color and viewing angle to get that speed. IPS panels had the best colors and viewing angles but sacrificed speed to get that. VA panels were middle of both but had by far the best Black, which was great for movies and darker scenes.

Times changed, but so did monitors. Now IPS is matching TN speeds without sacrifice, but so is VA. What you'll find is that price range has a Lot to do with things. A cheap VA is often not much better than a good TN, a really good VA is no different to an IPS but still has better Blacks. The best panels are OLED with the best colors and best blacks, as they turn off pixels completely. But that comes at a cost.

Start at the beginning. How far away is the monitor going to be. That'll determine approximate size. Too close means needing smaller pixels or you see fuzz, too far away and you could go up in size. A 3080 is best with 1440p or 4k, but gaming style is the determining factor. Slower motion, strategy, dungeon crawl type games don't need fps so 4k is great there. Fast paced shooters, high motion race games etc work better with the 1440p.

I have a really strong preference for dual monitors, so my ideal monitor is a 49" super ultra wide, basically that's 2x 27" 1440p monitors side by side in a single monitor. The $1000+ pricetag isn't doable though.

Sorry for more info, but the monitor itself is one of 3 very personal items, along with the mouse and keyboard. If the monitor doesn't fit the usage, it can destroy any enjoyment or lead to frustration, so it kinda does have to line up with needs, not just wants, and that includes budget.

Hardware Unboxed is a great site for monitor reviews, they have many insights into specific models and overall what's good value and what's not. They also have recommendations and more technical explanations of what a monitor is and can do.

View: https://youtu.be/CEqQi6Ljq8g

Thank you Karadjgne. And I thought I was covering all my bases and forgot to start at the beginning. It's a large corner desk that is 44" from the wall to the edge of the desk where he would be sitting in a chair. So if I leave 18" for the monitor, the screen would be approximately 26" from him.

 

[Karadjgne]

Arms length roughly. For a 1080p monitor, that's a 24" maximum or the pixels get so big they look grainy. For 1440p, 27-28" is good, 32-35" is starting to be fuzzy. For 4k, the pixels are so minute in size that any distance and monitor size is the same, roughly, it'll be what's good to see without suffering whiplash trying to see the whole screen action.

That's a standard 16:9 wide-screen format. For a ultra-wide, that's 21:9, the diagonal measurement can be longer. So a 27" 1440p 16:9 is the same height as a 35" 21:9 ultra-wide etc.

I'd suggest visiting a Walmart, micro center or other place that sells Tv's and/or monitors and look at the screen from an arms length away. You'll get a feel for what's right, what's too big, what's too small etc.

Then worry about brands/models, knowing what you want vs what they offer.

 

[sizzling]

I’ve just upgraded from an LG 27GL83A to one of these. It’s expensive but a seriously good monitor and I’m pleased with the step up of 240Hz over 144Hz. This works well paired with my 3080 but I don’t expect a 3080 to last 4 years from now and be pushing high enough fps in the games I normally play.

View: https://youtu.be/Th3LLfm7nl0

 

[Gameoflife]

We looked at my son's monitor at his dad's house and realized that he has been playing on a 24" ASUS MG248QR with 144hz and 1ms response time. It is on a smaller desk so we have decided to move up to a 27" monitor with 1440p., 16:9, 165hz, and 1ms response time. Ideally, it would be nice to upgrade to 240hz, but after looking at the videos from Hardware Unboxed and similar recommended resources, we are definitely looking at the Dell 27" S2721DGF and 27" LG 27GP83B-B. We like the MSI 27" MAG27CQ but aren't sure which to choose.

 

[Karadjgne]

Ok. So you've decided on the essentials. Great. So now it's down to the gimmicks. Assuming the performances are roughly similar in all areas, it's going to be ports, which has the more 'you' friendly buttons or UI, which has what you'd think would be the better value, better bezels, better build, better looks, back light strobing capable vs edge lit etc.

Sorry for dragging you through this, but as personal as the monitor is, you need to be happy with your choice. It's easy to just say 'this one is great' and it might be, but if it doesn't fit your needs or aesthetics, you'll not be happy with it.