Upgrading monitor, which rez & Will I need an extra GPU?

[Demorthus]

Hello, I'll start this off by saying that I'm currently using a Dell IPS 24" monitor & I'm thinking about upgrading to a 1440p one such as this Asus one (http://www.amazon.com/PB278Q-27-Inch-LED-lit-Professional-Graphics/dp/B009C3M7H0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395716437&sr=8-2&keywords=4k+monitor) I would love to go with a 1600p one but I can't seem to find on near the price of that Asus on and yet be from a reliable company, I was thinking of 4k but a good 4k monitor @ 60hz is way, way too much.
1) With a 1440p/ or 1600p will I need to add another GPU? (I have a 780 Ghz Edition by Gigabite)
< I play games like Crysis 3, Titanfall, soon enough Elder Scrolls Online, MMo's, stream movies, and do alot of video chatting. >
2) Do you think I should get a 1440p monitor or hold the money and hope for 4k/1600p monitors to go down in price?
3) Is a 1440p monitor a noticeably awesome change in sharpness from a 1080p one? Or am I better getting something like a 4k one in the far future?
(I've looked into 4k Tvs to use as a monitor but they are either way too big or don't have a displayport to natively support 60Hz)
System Specs:
i7 4770k @4.7Ghz
GTX 780 (Ghz Windforce)
16gb RipJaws X Ram
2TB HDD + 240GB SSD
Maximus Vi Extreme Mobo

 

[envy14tpe]

I'd go for the 1440p monitor. 4k res is gonna cost way more. Also the 780 should run 1440p well.

 

[Demorthus]

Is 1440p noticeably better looking? Like will I notice the improvement with more pixels?

 

[photonboy]

Hey,
I own a 2560x1440 monitor and have some advice for you.

First, stick with your SINGLE GTX780, here's why:

1) Most games look almost identical at 1920x1080 so if you can't maintain MAX quality at 60FPS (if using VSYNC) at 2560x1440, then use 1920x1080 instead.

SKYRIM, for example looks identical except that at 2560x1440 the HUD text is sharper slightly but when gaming you don't really notice.

CRYSIS 3 would need some settings turned down to maintain 60FPS (with a single GTX780) at 2560x1440 however again it's only the HUD that looks sharper. I'd much rather have the OTHER features have better quality.

You MAY have to still tweak slightly to maintain your desired framerate but a second GTX780 for a very, very small visual difference is not recommended.

2) There ARE games that look much better at 2560x1440. They are mostly top-down, "god" games like:
- Torchlight
- Diablo 3
- Starcraft 2
- CIV5
etc.

Luckily, ALL of these games should run nicely at 2560x1440 @60FPS with your single GTX780 at MAX quality.

4) 4K?
I agree, too expensive, and frankly likely lots of ISSUES as well as it's so new.

5) SLI:
- adds noise/heat
- SLI isn't perfect though much improved; still some stutter issues especially on some older games.

6) Which monitor?
I think that ASUS is the one I was recommending. You can double-check at pcpartspicker. I was mainly looking at reviews. The Dell U2711 I own is awesome but it's expensive still. It also has a sparkly anti-gloss coating which doesn't affect movies/games much but is still annoying at times.

Other:
1) Scaling:
You'll want to run at native 2560x1440 for your desktop via DVI or Displayport, however if you don't know how to SCALE properly then here's some tips:
a) adjust DPI scaling to between 120% and 140% (I use 125%)

b) CTRL-Scroll to adjust web page scaling

c) NoSquint in Firefox to PRESET the average zooming ratio (I chose 200%)

2) NVidia G-Sync:
This is really, really awesome tech but a 2560x1440 monitor isn't out yet. Nor do I know the price, but you might want to look into it.

I personally would much rather have an IPS panel at 60Hz, than a 120Hz/144Hz panel that's not IPS.

If Asus offers one for $900 or less that's identical to the one you linked except it has G-Sync that's worth considering, especially since you considered buying a second card anyway.

G-Sync link: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/64586-week-nvidias-g-sync-monitor.html

 

[Demorthus]

Awesome thanks!

 

[Mouldread]

Hey,

You would see a bigger change if you don't increase in physical size. For example 1920x1080 looks much better on a 17" display than on a 27". In your case you are increasing natural resolution from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 but you are also increasing in size - from 24" to 27".

To be honest when I am buying monitors I would normally want to seem before I buy them. If you can go to a showroom/store that have the monitor you want to buy and try to compare it with another one next to it which is similar to the one you currently have.

 

[photonboy]

Hey,

You would see a bigger change if you don't increase in physical size. For example 1920x1080 looks much better on a 17" display than on a 27". In your case you are increasing natural resolution from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 but you are also increasing in size - from 24" to 27".

To be honest when I am buying monitors I would normally want to seem before I buy them. If you can go to a showroom/store that have the monitor you want to buy and try to compare it with another one next to it which is similar to the one you currently have.

I view my 27" monitor from fairly close (about 30") and 1920x1080 games look great. The extra pixels as opposed to a native 1920x1080 screen make any gaps pretty much unnoticeable.

I wouldn't recommend a 27", 1920x1080 monitor (unless it had to be viewed from quite a distance) but there's really no issues with a 27", 2560x1440 monitor in terms of pixel density. Even very SMALL TEXT in web browsers looks great.