[SOLVED] Upgrade monitor or 4K TV for new gaming PC?

[EhronW]

I am in the process of building a new gaming PC with an i9 9900k and 2080 ti. I currently have a 27" Asus 1080p IPS monitor, and a pretty cheap 43" Vizio 4k TV mounted on the wall about 3 feet away that is hooked up to my PS4 Pro. Now that my PC will have some serious 4K gaming power I am looking for recommendations on the best display to use with it. I don't know if PC gaming would be better on a 4k TV, or if I should invest in some type of gaming monitor. I like the size of the Vizio at this viewing distance much better than the 27", but I don't know how the other monitor features such as 144hz, G-Sync, etc. stack up against 4K resolution, HDR, and larger screens. I would definitely still use an actual monitor as my main display, and only use the TV as a secondary display for gaming if I went that route. I am also planning to purchase a new/different 4k TV soon because I robbed this Vizio out of my travel trailer, but the size would probably need to be under 50" or so because the TV is so close to me. Is there a generally accepted consensus as to what looks/plays better? I play single player almost exclusively. Some of the games I have been playing are Borderlands 3, Jedi Fallen Order, Shadow of The Tomb Raider, AC: Odyssey, Red Dead Redemption 2, and the Batman Arkham games. Thanks.

 

[Dunlop0078]

I own a pretty nice 4K TV, TCL R6. I also own a ASUS PG279Q 1440P 144HZ gaming monitor and I almost never use my TV for gaming. Games look nice running at native 4k but compared to my monitor it just feels sluggish, response times and input lag aren't nearly as good as they are on the monitor and im limited to 60hz on the TV.

In my opinion a decent gaming monitor is far superior to almost any 4k TV for gaming. 1440p looks very nice, not quite as sharp as 4k but it isn't nearly as hard to drive and many 1440p monitors have high refresh rates and freesync or gsync.

 

[EhronW]

I own a pretty nice 4K TV, TCL R6. I also own a ASUS PG279Q 1440P 144HZ gaming monitor and I almost never use my TV for gaming. Games look nice running at native 4k but compared to my monitor it just feels sluggish, response times and input lag aren't nearly as good as they are on the monitor and im limited to 60hz on the TV.

In my opinion a decent gaming monitor is far superior to almost any 4k TV for gaming. 1440p looks very nice, not quite as sharp as 4k but it isn't nearly as hard to drive and many 1440p monitors have high refresh rates and freesync or gsync.

Would a 4K monitor be a good compromise or are there not any good options for that?

 

[Dunlop0078]

Sure, the ASUS PG27UQ it's typically well over 1000 dollars and is absolutely not worth than price when you could get a very good 1440p monitor for half that imo.

Also what are the specs of your system? Even say a 9900k 2080 ti rig will struggle to get well over 60fps in modern performance intensive games at 4k. Go look at some 4k benchmarks of Red Dead 2 if you need an example.

 

[EhronW]

i9 9900k, EVGA 2080 ti Black, AORUS z390 Pro Wifi, 32GB 3200hz, 1TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe, CPU AIO cooler. So I guess it comes down to 4k/60 on a monitor, 4K/60 on a TV, or 1440/144 on a monitor? How does HDR fit in the equation? I am coming from a PS4 Pro on a 4K HDR tv so that is what this will all be compared to.

 

[Dunlop0078]

I was a console gamer most of my life, there are many reasons I now prefer PC over console but the main one is I can run all my games at 60fps bare minimum, most of my games I run at well over 60fps. My spoiled eyes can no longer stand 30fps, I even feel 60fps is a bit sluggish.

In my opinion 1440p or hell even 1080p 144hz is a much better experience than 4k 60hz for gaming. If all you care about is visuals then maybe a 4k 60hz HDR TV is right for you. But the way I see it a very good looking game on a very nice TV is great for a few hours but then the novelty wears off and you just want the game to run as smooth as it possibly can, forget the minor drop in visual quality.

 

[EhronW]

In my opinion 1440p or hell even 1080p 144hz is a much better experience than 4k 60hz for gaming.

Thank you for the suggestions. Are there ant particular monitors or monitor features you recommend looking for? For example, I don't know if I need G-sync or Freesync?

 

[Dunlop0078]

Well RTINGS still has the PG279Q as the best all around 1440p gaming monitor, I own one. It's a very nice monitor but from what iv'e read they still have bad backlight bleed issues, your playing the lottery buying one, I RMAed two before I got one with what I thought was an acceptable amount of backlight bleed. The PG279Q uses and IPS panel which tend to have better color accuracy and a lot better viewing angles than TN monitors but they can suffer from backlight bleed. The PG278Q is TN it wont have backlight bleed issues but also wont look quite as nice.

What gysnc and freesync do is match your framerate to the refresh rate of the monitor so if your game is riunning at say 85fps the monitor is running at 85hz, this eliminates screen tearing. I also find it makes sudden FPS drops or just lower FPS say 40fps feel smoother than it would on a monitor without a variable refresh rate.

You might also want to look at 1440p ultrawides such as the Acer Z35P, never used one myself but people say they are awesome for gaming.

Here are some good sources for monitor reviews and specs.

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/1440p-gaming-monitors

https://www.displayninja.com/best-gaming-monitor/

 

[EhronW]

Any thoughts on curved vs. flat for a desktop monitor?

 

[GarrettL]

I also just purchased an Asus PG279Q.

I'll never go back to a TN 1080p panel. The G-Sync is fantastic on the PG279Q and has a fantastic stand. Great colors and viewing angle.

It's expensive is the downside.

 

[EhronW]

The only problem I have with a 27" is that I am concerned about the impact of not going up in size from what I have currently.

 

[GarrettL]

The only problem I have with a 27" is that I am concerned about the impact of not going up in size from what I have currently.

I get that. But the pixel density is quite different between 27" 1080p and a 27" 1440p. The clarity is far superior, thus the term "poor man's 4k". It's currently the best trade off for fps and resolution.

I look forward to total 4k gaming to come more affordable relative to the current gpu and display expense it takes to get there.

 

[Dunlop0078]

I used a curved monitor for a while, I could take it or leave it, certainly wouldn't go out of my way or pay more for a curved monitor.

Most 1440p gaming monitors will be 27", going larger would decrease pixel density. 27" seems to be the sweet spot for a 1440p monitor.