What monitor should I get that fits my current setup and possible future upgrades?

[chris050999]

Hi!
I'm looking for a new monitor, and have gotten myself stuck on the 1080p vs 4k debate.

I personally believe that 1080p is going to be a thing of the past in a few years, and therefore would like a monitor that will be able to fully use the high standards that current and upcoming games are able to provide.

My graphics card should be able to handle 4K, but I am not sure as to how well it would perform. What would it be like to use a 4k monitor on 1080p settings?

Could someone recommend me a monitor?
Prefferably 24'', but it seems 4k monitors start at 27''.

Current setup: Intel Core i5-3570k CPU @ 3.40GHz (4.20GHz) 16gb RAM
Sapphire r9 290x (Tri-x, 4G D5)

Edit: Forgot to mention an important detail, I plan on building a new PC in a year or two, making my demand for 4k even higher.

 

[Aeacus]

Here's a topic to read about gaming on 4K monitor with 1080p resolution,
link: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/290013-my-experience-gaming-1080p-on-4k-monitor/

As far as monitor itself goes, for gaming, i'd go with 1440p (2K) monitor. Since no 4K monitor at current date has higher refresh rate than 60 Hz. For gaming, it's best to use 144 Hz monitor (especially in fast-paced games). And since highest resolution 144 Hz monitor is 1440p, i'd go with it.

For 1440p, the best gaming monitors are Acer XF270HU (144Hz, with built-in Freesync for Radeon GPU) and Acer XB271HU (165 Hz, with built-in G-Sync for Nvidia GPU),
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/ttnG3C,sqp323/

Best budget 4K monitor is Samsung U28E590D (60 Hz),
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/L4nG3C/samsung-monitor-u28e590d
With this budget monitor, you don't get the nice features which include IPS panel and support for Freesync/G-Sync.

Proper 4K monitor is Acer XB271HK (60 Hz) which has IPS panel and built-in G-Sync for Nvidia GPU,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/QZwqqs/acer-monitor-umhx1aa002

For Radeon GPU with built-in Freesync, good 4K monitor is LG 27UD68 (60 Hz),
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/LLqbt6,JhkwrH/

 

[chris050999]

Here's a topic to read about gaming on 4K monitor with 1080p resolution,
link: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/290013-my-experience-gaming-1080p-on-4k-monitor/

As far as monitor itself goes, for gaming, i'd go with 1440p (2K) monitor. Since no 4K monitor at current date has higher refresh rate than 60 Hz. For gaming, it's best to use 144 Hz monitor (especially in fast-paced games). And since highest resolution 144 Hz monitor is 1440p, i'd go with it.

For 1440p, the best gaming monitors are Acer XF270HU (144Hz, with built-in Freesync for Radeon GPU) and Acer XB271HU (165 Hz, with built-in G-Sync for Nvidia GPU),
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/ttnG3C,sqp323/

Best budget 4K monitor is Samsung U28E590D (60 Hz),
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/L4nG3C/samsung-monitor-u28e590d
With this budget monitor, you don't get the nice features which include IPS panel and support for Freesync/G-Sync.

Proper 4K monitor is Acer XB271HK (60 Hz) which has IPS panel and built-in G-Sync for Nvidia GPU,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/QZwqqs/acer-monitor-umhx1aa002

For Radeon GPU with built-in Freesync, good 4K monitor is LG 27UD68 (60 Hz),
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/LLqbt6,JhkwrH/

Hi, thanks for your response!

Do you think a better option would be to spend the money on a gtx 1080ti, and rather wait until a 4k 144hz monitor is released?

 

[Aeacus]

Since AMD Vega and Nvidia Volta line of GPUs are just around the corner, i'd wait a bit to see how the newest GPUs match against GTX 1080 Ti. You might get better performance GPU among the new line of GPUs.

Your current build is good at 1080p and i'd save the money for the future use. When the time has arrived to build a new PC, then i'd also get a new monitor. It's possible that at that time, the 4K 144 Hz monitor is also available.

 

[chris050999]

Since AMD Vega and Nvidia Volta line of GPUs are just around the corner, i'd wait a bit to see how the newest GPUs match against GTX 1080 Ti. You might get better performance GPU among the new line of GPUs.

Your current build is good at 1080p and i'd save the money for the future use. When the time has arrived to build a new PC, then i'd also get a new monitor. It's possible that at that time, the 4K 144 Hz monitor is also available.

One final question while we're at it, this is pretty much my current setup: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/NTRjVY
Would I be able to keep the same setup and upgrade to a new high-end GPU (And a power supply that can support it of course), or would it benefit me to start from scratch, and sell my old setup?

 

[Aeacus]

You'd benefit more from the new CPU-MoBo-RAM combo than just adding more powerful GPU to your build.

Gaming PC isn't made up just by having powerful GPU in it. For good build that will run all games well, you'll need a balanced build since not all games are GPU based. Some games (e.g Cities: Skylines) are CPU based and with slow CPU, gameplay will suffer.

Here are few example builds with the latest tech,
1080p gaming build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/s6Jvyf
1440p gaming build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kdZg7h
4K gaming build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2X63pb

Just for comparison, here's your build (as a base) vs my 1440p example build (as an alternative):

Userbenchmark PC Build Comparison

Baseline Bench: Game 66%, Desk 63%, Work 44%
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K
GPU: AMD R9 290X
SSD: Corsair Force 3 60GB
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1TB
RAM: HyperX Fury DDR3 1600 C10 2x8GB
MBD: MSI Z77A-GD55 (MS-7751)

Alternative Bench: Game 96%, Desk 90%, Work 60%
CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1070
SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 250GB
HDD: Hitachi HUA723020ALA641 2TB
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB
MBD: MSI Z270 GAMING M5 (MS-7A78)