Question Which direction should I go with a new monitor?

[erasmus22]

I'm not sure which direction to go with the new monitor I'm looking at purchasing.

First off, I'm going for an IPS panel with FreeSync, that decision I'm happy with.

However, do I go for a 24" 1080p 144hz, or a 27" 1440p at 60-75hz? (basically do I choose 1440p, 144hz or neither? (because I definitely can't do both)

I don't play a lot of competitive games on my PC. I'm mostly into rpgs, strategies, and some action adventures games, but I do sometime play FPSs, but usually single player, and if not single player, I'm not very competitive (sorry PubG teammates...) . Because of this, I feel like the higher picture quality of the 1440p is the way to go, but I'm not sure my rig (which I just built and don't plan on upgrading for a couple years) is going to be able to handle 1440p games at high setting for very much longer, and what's the point of 1440p if you're going to drop your graphics to medium? Should I go even "lower", forgo both 1440p AND 144hz and settle for a 1080p 75hz?

Computer specs are in the signature. Thanks!

 

[King_V]

1440p is going to be a bit too much for the RX 580, if you want to keep maxed out settings.

Frankly, I think a lot of the high-refresh hype is just that. Hype. The human eye can't perceive much over about 100 fps from my best estimate.

That said, most 144Hz monitors don't really cost much more than their 100 or 75Hz counterparts.

Even for non FPS games, there's something to be said for ultra-wide, 21:9 aspect ratio. The expanded field of view is definitely worthwhile - and I used to be a critic of the idea. Ultrawides are more expensive, though. Also a curve, while not necessary, is very nice to have on an ultrawide of at least 32", but really a waste of time on a smaller screen, or on a standard 16:9 screen.

On another tack, I used to use a 27" monitor that was 1920x1080, and while some would say that the pixels are too big at that resolution, I found it to be very comfortable. Same with my son's 34" 2560x1080 ultrawide; some say the pixels are too big, but both my son and I think it looks nice. The good thing if you do go with ultrawide is that 2560x1080 is less demanding on your GPU than 2560x1440. My son's GPU is also an RX580, and he sets Radeon's Chill to minimum 30fps, maximum 60. It's very smooth, and the GPU then doesn't try to max itself out pumping out as many frames as it possibly can (his monitor's refresh maxes out at 144Hz).

That's me, though. I like ultrawide, and I like larger screens, relative to the resolution being displayed.

But - everyone's eyes are different, you have to see what looks comfortable to you. What I would strongly recommend is to make sure that whatever monitor you choose has FreeSync and LFC (Low Framerate Compensation). That way, if your frame rate goes below the minimum FreeSync level, LFC can still handle it smoothly.

AMD also has this convenient page listing FreeSync monitors. You'll want to filter on LFC set to "Yes"


Finally, because everyone's eyes are different, if there's any kind of shop within even a semi-reasonable distance to you, that also has a lot of varying size/resolution monitors on display. You probably won't be able to game on them, but look at the models with FreeSync and LFC, and see what feels comfortable for you to view. Eye comfort is important. If you can't, then definitely read whatever hardware review sites you can.

 

[erasmus22]

Oh Man! You've actually made my situation worse, lol. Now I have to consider an ultrawide in addition to the other two options I'm looking at!

 

[King_V]

Ultrawide . . DO IT!!

One of us!! One of us!! One of us!!

Not that I'm at all biased (wait, ok, I am), but: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lg-34uc79g-34-inch-ultra-wide-freesync-monitor,4891.html

Ignore that $699 price, though. That was back in early 2017.