Building a PC for Photo/Video Editing and Gaming. Need help finding the right monitors.

[Metanoia Prime]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($298.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard ($199.99 @ Best Buy)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($171.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P1 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($69.95 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB BLACK GAMING Video Card ($723.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H510i ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Cooler Master MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Best Buy)
Monitor: LG 27UK650-W 27.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor ($399.99 @ B&H)
Monitor: LG 27UK650-W 27.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor ($399.99 @ B&H)
Total: $2519.84

I originally chose that monitor as I do graphic design work and wanted to go with an IPS monitor for better color accuracy, good brightness, etc. I'm coming from a late 2014 27" iMac, so I know very few monitors in that price range will compare, but the internal upgrades are more than enough for me.

That being said, I realized that I also wanted to be able to play games at a high refresh rate. The monitors I originally chose are 60Hz monitors, so now I have to find some to replace them.

I'm looking for:
2k+ resolution
144 Hz
IPS preferred, VA acceptable
27"+
Considering curved or flat
100x100 VESA compatible

What would you all recommend? Also, I hope my PC as outlined above doesn't have any obvious deficiencies. It's my first time building, so please let me know. I've got all of it on the way except for the monitors. Everything is still boxed or in transit, so I can swap most things out if need be, but I tried to do my homework and think I've got a solid build going.

Anyway, any help is appreciated, primarily with the monitors. Let me know, please!

 

[Chromie]

Man, go ultra wide.

 

[Deleted member 18944]

100% my belief that you should forgo a disk drive and get a beefier SSD.

 

[Kuro]

IPS 144hz gaming monitors are a panel lottery nightmare

I would buy a solid 4K IPS for photo/video editing and then buy a separate 144hz freesync/gsync 1440p monitor.

 

[Metanoia Prime]

Man, go ultra wide.

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I'm thinking about it, but don't programs/games perform better on a standard display? I figured two 27" would be better performance-wise than one ultrawide.

100% my belief that you should forgo a disk drive and get a beefier SSD.

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Understood. I'll look for a compatible one and let you know.

Any thoughts on the monitor situation?

IPS 144hz gaming monitors are a panel lottery nightmare

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Dang, that bad?

 

[acheron_xl]

I've had an ultrawide for 5 years and have loved nearly every second. Not every game supports it, but it's such a joy to do work on, that it's more than worth the occasional pillarboxed 16:9 game.

 

[TaySan]

go for an Ultrawide or a large 4K OLED :D

 

[Kuro]

Dang, that bad?

Click to shrink...

If you can find an ASUS TUF VG27AQ for a decent price (not the greatest contrast/color gamut unfortunately but rtings has it as the best 1440p gaming monitor) that one might work out for you but I think the best way to go is a 2 monitor set up. A good 4K IPS for photo/video editing and some very high graphics gaming where you know you won't be hitting over 60 and then a separate 1440p TN/VA 144hz+ freesync/gysnc monitor.

Also, don't get a curved monitor as that is just a gimmick.

 

[Lil Peanut Brotha]

I agree about focusing on getting a quality color range monitor over 120 Hz if your doing more editing than gaming. Also, If your doing lots of video work, I would suggest knocking down the gpu a tier and get a faster processor like the 3900x; that should net you better performance. as far as I know, fast GPUs only help to a point unless your doing crazy stuff with premiere. Definitely doesn't help a lot with after effects.

 

[Deleted member 39374]

Are you doing graphic design professionally? If so, you'll want something that's true 10bit (not 8bit + FRC), and has comprehensive color gamut coverage (100% SRGB, Adobe RGB, 95%+ P3, etc). Something with those features + high refresh rate for gaming isn't gonna be cheap. Actually, I don't even know if it exists. And curved screens are a no-go for media work, it doesn't show straight lines properly. For monitors I stick to Dell Ultrasharp or anything high end from BenQ. Eizo or FSI if I'm spending someone else's money.

If you're editing video and color correcting video you should seriously consider a BlackMagic IO card. It sends a clean signal to your 2nd monitor for proper reference.

Delete that hard drive, it's 2020. Everything internal should be an SSD. Use external drives or a network for mass storage. Your media projects should always be stored externally because a) you can hand it off to clients and collaborators easier and b) it's in a separate location from your desktop in case shit happens.

Any reason why you didn't go for a newer iMac? They're the de facto graphic design workhorse in any office you go to. Is it because you want to play games too? That makes sense. I hope you weren't spoiled by that 5K panel if you had a retina 2014 model.

EDIT: one more thought- this is a pretty weird time to be building a PC since Ryzen 4000 and Nvidia Ampere are releasing this fall.

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

You can either try your luck with an $1700 monitor that has everything, 144hz, IPS, 4k, and good color gamut, or you can do dual displays with a professional $1000 4K 10-bit monitor and a $700 1440p 144hz gaming monitor.

For instance a professional monitor like the ASUS PA329Q or the BenQ PD2720U + a separate gaming monitor like the ViewSonic Elite XG270QG or LG 27GL850.

If I'm way off base on what your budget is and you are actually looking for something around $500, then yeah a single monitor. You may be interested in the whole LG UL series.
LG 27UL500-W, LG 27UL650-W, or LG 27UL850-W. They are a decent middle ground for mixed use.

 

[Metanoia Prime]

Ended up going with an Ultrawide (Alienware).

I'm loving this thing. Building it was infuriating at times, but oh so worth it!

 

[Bradford]

I liked my Dell Ultrasharp 1440p monitor for doing workstation stuff. It's pretty nice. Ultrawides are great for productivity too, so you will probably enjoy what you got.

 

[m_shortpants]

Very nice...congrats! I built almost the exact same PC as you about a month ago!

 

[MegaRockEXE]

Was going to suggest multi-monitor. At work, I have one 1920x1080 23-inch monitor and a 2560x1440 27-inch monitor. That way the big monitor is just dedicated for the media stuff, and the other one is supplemental resources or panels or things like that.
But, what you have there certainly looks very, very nice. I wish I had space like that.

 

[Metanoia Prime]

Very nice...congrats! I built almost the exact same PC as you about a month ago!

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Nice! Did you deal with mouse stutter at all?

It seems some of the USB ports don't play well with wireless mice. Not sure of it's something that can be fixed through driver updates, but a quick internet search revealed that I wasn't alone. I was almost going to return it all, thinking there's no way I paid this much for my mouse to be inaccurate / stuttering along.

Switching USB ports remedied the issue, and now it's smooth as butter.

 

[m_shortpants]

Nice! Did you deal with mouse stutter at all?

It seems some of the USB ports don't play well with wireless mice. Not sure of it's something that can be fixed through driver updates, but a quick internet search revealed that I wasn't alone. I was almost going to return it all, thinking there's no way I paid this much for my mouse to be inaccurate / stuttering along.

Switching USB ports remedied the issue, and now it's smooth as butter.

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Didn't run into that, but both my KB+M are wired.

 

[Yogi]

IPS for editing, TN for fast-paced gaming.

IPS is mushy for gaming imho. Even the ultra low latency high refresh ones. As sexy as they are.

But if you're not competitive, go for it. I'd get IPS if I wasn't.

--Guess I'm LTTP, congrats on the new ultrawide, looks great.

 

[Metanoia Prime]

IPS for editing, TN for fast-paced gaming.

IPS is mushy for gaming imho. Even the ultra low latency high refresh ones. As sexy as they are.

But if you're not competitive, go for it. I'd get IPS if I wasn't.

--Guess I'm LTTP, congrats on the new ultrawide, looks great.

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Thank you. I was in between a VA and IPS for a good minute (didn't consider TN because I'm doing graphic design work). Ultimately, gaming is secondary for me, so IPS made sense.

 

[nitewulf]

That's very similar to the parts I just ordered. I did go for the H210i though, smaller case. And bigger SSD. Didn't decide on the GPU yet.

Which monitor did you end up getting, model wise? I don't have the space for widescreen but my concern is mostly photo editing, and some gaming.

 

[Metanoia Prime]

That's very similar to the parts I just ordered. I did go for the H210i though, smaller case. And bigger SSD. Didn't decide on the GPU yet.

Which monitor did you end up getting, model wise? I don't have the space for widescreen but my concern is mostly photo editing, and some gaming.

Click to shrink...

Ended up getting the Alienware Ultrawide AW3418DW. 3440x1440 120hz IPS panel. After some tweaking, I'm very happy with it.

 

[nitewulf]

Ended up getting the Alienware Ultrawide AW3418DW. 3440x1440 120hz IPS panel. After some tweaking, I'm very happy with it.

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ok cool, that may be perfect for me, if there's a non-ultra wide version.

 

[Shadow]

Good choice on the case(and everything)! Love that NZXT case design. I have the older regular S340 with the smaller window in blue & black. Makes me want to upgrade just for the bigger window, because man does that make it look a lot sleeker.

 

[Metanoia Prime]

Good choice on the case(and everything)! Love that NZXT case design. I have the older regular S340 with the smaller window in blue & black. Makes me want to upgrade just for the bigger window, because man does that make it look a lot sleeker.

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It's gorgeous. Wife thought it would be all "nerdy," and now she's asking for specific colors on the RGB. 😂

 

[xxracerxx]

So that looks like a pretty solid build. I wouldn't need monitors, so I would be looking at $1,700. Maybe would bump the NVME memory to 1TB.

Hmmm.