Help Me Choose a New Monitor!

[CrichtonKicks]

OK, I'm in need of a new monitor for PC but I'm paralyzed by all of the options. Do I go ultrawide? Curved? 4K or 1440p? HDR? I can't do it all because costs are insanely high to get something that does all of that.

Gsync is a must.

My budget is about $1,000. I've got a 2080 Ti so plenty of horsepower. I'm currently using an ASUS ROG 27" 165 Hz 1440p display. I've had it for several years and I'm having some issues with it- hence the need for a replacement. Would probably like to go a bit bigger but it isn't essential.

The other piece of the puzzle is that I often use my 4K TV for gaming on the PC as well, particularly when playing anything with a gamepad. My monitor is mainly used for FPS's or games that are more suited to mouse/keyboard (Isometric RPGs, strategy, etc). I'd estimate that I spend 65% of my gaming time with the TV and 35% with the monitor.

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Nida]

CrazyMoogle did a great write up in the PC Builders thread regarding monitors. I'm still paralyzed with choices, as everything seems to have drawbacks and horror stories.

The PC Builders Thread ("I Need a New PC") v3 PC - Tech - OT

Ah so only the ability to choose these resolutions is unlocked by the DSR setting, not the actual application of it. That clears things up. I guess the hunt continues for my performance issue. Thanks a lot!

www.resetera.com

 

[Crazymoogle]

OK, I'm in need of a new monitor for PC but I'm paralyzed by all of the options. Do I go ultrawide? Curved? 4K or 1440p? HDR? I can't do it all because costs are insanely high to get something that does all of that.

Gsync is a must.

The other piece of the puzzle is that I often use my 4K TV for gaming on the PC as well, particularly when playing anything with a gamepad. My monitor is mainly used for FPS's or games that are more suited to mouse/keyboard (Isometric RPGs, strategy, etc). I'd estimate that I spend 65% of my gaming time with the TV and 35% with the monitor.

Click to shrink...

You summoned me? 😆

Honestly, at your budget I would aim for IPS 144hz and either QHD (32") or UWQHD (34"). Ultrawide experience is a bit ymmv but it's impressive for Windows if nothing else. Anyway, LG has a variety of flat panels in that spec, but if you need official G-Sync Support (like, as in it has the chip) you are unfortunately still in the range of a 27" panel or something older like the Alienware 34" ultrawide. So unless your old panel is TN it's pretty much right in the wheelhouse of what you should be looking for...

27" is the sweet spot for QHD though. 32" makes more sense for 4K, but 4K is just not the greatest place to be right now for that budget. Panels that go over 60hz have to cheat in one way or another until HDMI 2.1 is a thing. If I really wanted to go to 4K I would consider the LG CX 48" TV since that's G-Sync, OLED...etc...but of course it's also $1500 USD (msrp).

 

[CrichtonKicks]

You summoned me? 😆

Honestly, at your budget I would aim for IPS 144hz and either QHD (32") or UWQHD (34"). Ultrawide experience is a bit ymmv but it's impressive for Windows if nothing else. Anyway, LG has a variety of flat panels in that spec, but if you need official G-Sync Support (like, as in it has the chip) you are unfortunately still in the range of a 27" panel or something older like the Alienware 34" ultrawide. So unless your old panel is TN it's pretty much right in the wheelhouse of what you should be looking for...

27" is the sweet spot for QHD though. 32" makes more sense for 4K, but 4K is just not the greatest place to be right now for that budget. Panels that go over 60hz have to cheat in one way or another until HDMI 2.1 is a thing. If I really wanted to go to 4K I would consider the LG CX 48" TV since that's G-Sync, OLED...etc...but of course it's also $1500 USD (msrp).

Click to shrink...

Great stuff. Thanks. Looks like my current panel is a TN.

Is there a signficant difference if I get Freesync instead of GSync?

 

[CrichtonKicks]

Any opinions on the ASUS ROG Strix XG35VQ 35"? Seems to hit a pretty nice balance of features- high framerate, ultrawide, good response time, excellent contrast ratio, etc. Has Freesync as well.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of ultrawide because I work from home a fair bit and ultrawide seems useful for having multiple spreadsheets, etc up at the same time.

 

[Sanctuary]

The other piece of the puzzle is that I often use my 4K TV for gaming on the PC as well, particularly when playing anything with a gamepad. My monitor is mainly used for FPS's or games that are more suited to mouse/keyboard (Isometric RPGs, strategy, etc). I'd estimate that I spend 65% of my gaming time with the TV and 35% with the monitor.

Click to shrink...

This is about how I divide my gaming too between monitor and TV, although I have a separate PC for each.

Also kind of in the same boat right now, but my budget is way less than $1000 for a PC monitor. I don't take my desktop gaming that seriously. Still on a sub $200 Asus monitor from 2013. Actually very surprised it's lasted as long as it has, but it's time to upgrade. Not sure if I want to go up from 1080p though since I also use my current monitor for retro gaming. Can't stomach TN panels, and was really considering maybe going for a 1440p VA panel if any decent ones exist. Don't like the contrast of my current IPS, but don't want the backlight bleed or ghosting a VA could have...urgh.