21 replies to this topic

[Skyfaller]

Basically my monitor just died on me. I'm looking for a replacement one. My budget is rather small.

Background info:
AMD Phenom II 955 3.4ghz quad core black edition
32gb RAM
HD7870 Radeon 2gb

The only 'affordable' 4k capable displays I find are these:

http://www.amazon.co...ords=4k+monitor

http://www.amazon.co...&keywords=Seiki

Giving up on the 4k resolution, my options is:

http://www.newegg.co...5-634-_-Product

I know nothing of 4k .. i know nothing about monitors. I keep reading comments like the 4k monitors above listed won't do more than 30hz in 4k res unless you use display port (which only the 28 inch monitor has and my vid card has two minidisplay ports) and its all martian to me.

Which of the above would you say would best to get? My PC will be upgraded in a couple of years so Id prefer to have my monitor be 4k-ready if possible. However, if its not under 500 bucks i'd rather just get a large screen that does 1080p only and much later on get a 4k monitor.

If none of the 4k res monitors 'work' in 4k at a playable fps/refresh rate then would you say the 50 inch tv would function well in 1080p? Or should I go then with the 34 inch monitor?

[n r g]

No, no , no.

BenQ 120/144Hz or ASUS man.

[AEgg]

Quad Titan blacks could not run MWO at max settings on a 4K screen. There's simply nothing out there powerful enough to do that yet.

The "affordable" 4K displays out there right now can only do 30Hz. That means they can only display 30 FPS. Which in effect means they are useless for gaming. There are some than can display the standard 60Hz, but they aren't cheap.

A 50 inch TV will look TERRIBLE if you are sitting at normal monitor difference from it. Think about it. It has the same number of pixels as a 22 inch monitor, but spread out over more than four times the area. That said, if you do your research and find a TV with very low input lag and sit at normal TV viewing distance from it they can work fine for games (you just have to figure out somewhere to put a mouse and keyboard).

Think of monitors like this. The bigger the monitor is, the higher a resolution it needs to look good. A 22 inch 1080p monitor will look better than a 24 inch 1080p monitor, a 27 inch 1440p monitor will look better than both, and a 30 inch 4k (2160p) monitor will look better still. But a 30 inch 1080p monitor would look the worst.

Given that the hardware to run 4K smoothly doesn't exist yet, your options are as follows:
1 A "typical" 24 inch 1080p screen at 60 Hz. ~$150
2 Three 24 inch 1080p 60Hz screens in surround ~$450
3 A faster 24 inch 1080p screen at 120Hz ~$250-300
4 A 27 inch 1440p screen at 60Hz ~$400
5 Or the ultrawide screen at 60Hz. $600

Excepting option 1, these combinations all are roughly equivalent overall. 2 gives you lots of screen area, 3 gives you much better motion, 4 gives you the best detail, and 5 gives you the screen area of 2 without the hassle of multiple monitors.

My suggestion would be to go with either option 3 or 4, a 1440p monitor or a 120Hz 1080p monitor. In both cases you're getting something that's actually better than the 1080p monitors that have been the standard for years now, so there's some longevity to that, and they aren't nearly as expensive as 4K and also don't require nearly as much computing power to support.

But it's really up to what your preference is. I've laid out the options, but I can't choose for you.

[Maxxximal]

I run the Samsung 4K with an ATI R9 290/i7-4770 system.

UI is small at 4k but very playable. Displayport gives my 60 hz. Great monitor for MWO and a bunch of other stuff.

[Bad Karma 308]

I recently replaced my 3 HP 30" (30zr-w) monitors with a trio of Dell 32" (UP3214Q).

My current rig:
Processor 2x Intel Xeon E5-2697W v2 Ivy Bridge-EP 3.1GHz 12-Core W/HT 48-cores @3.8GHZ
Co_Processor Intel Xeon Phi 5110P
Motherboard ASUS Z9PE-D8WS Dual LGA 2011
Memory 128GB DDR3 2133
Hard Drive OCZ Z-Drive R4 CM84 1.2TB PCI-E
NIC Intel PCI-E 10Gb Dual Port sfp
Video Card (depending on need) 3x GTX780 Ti / 24x Nvidia Tesla 1070X 1U GPGPU servers

What I've found is my best GPU setup is in using the 3 780ti(s and limiting it to 2560 x 1600 on a single monitor at the moment

With that setting I'm staying just north of 60FPS but with drops down in the 30s during intense effects. Any higher res and it becomes the proverbial slide show for me. That and I have bypassed much of the games video settings by using a forced SLI and quality settings posted on another thread.

When I've used the 3 780tis in panoramic across the three monitors then I've found that 1920 x 1600 keeps me in the 60fps ballpark.

I will say that the 34" monitor may not be to your liking. When I've run my last set of HP 30" monitors at 1080P the game looks far to pixelated for my tastes.

Again, you'll have o take what I've said with a grain of salt as I am by passing the in-game settings and have everything turned up to very high and beyond.

I do know that both of the GPU houses are rushing to market with GPUs sporting much larger banks of RAM so as to accommodate the buffers needed to handle the higher res demanded by 4K.

So in short, as a desktop the 4k monitors are nothing short of spectacular, but a couple more generations of cards may be needed before gaming on them at high res would become commonplace.

[Skyfaller]

thanks for the input. The info on the pixel per size of screen I had no idea.

My looking into the 4k monitor is because I also play star citizen and its coming out next year ...and its gorgeous in 4k resolution.

But... it seems the 28 inch 4k monitor listed would be the best bet? I cant figure out in the tech specs how to see what kind of refresh rate that monitor will run under 4k using HDMI or displayport.

[Yelland]

Best monitor I have ever bought (so far) BenQ 1ms GTG XL2720Z.

I never realized how tired my eyes actually were on my Samsung LCD after a gaming session, until I went to this monitor and felt a real difference. I know in general Samsung isn't much when compared to BenQ, but I looked around for awhile before deciding on this one.

http://www.amazon.co.../dp/B00KYCSRSG/

[Catamount]

Skyfaller, on 19 August 2014 - 05:20 PM, said:

thanks for the input. The info on the pixel per size of screen I had no idea.

My looking into the 4k monitor is because I also play star citizen and its coming out next year ...and its gorgeous in 4k resolution.

But... it seems the 28 inch 4k monitor listed would be the best bet? I cant figure out in the tech specs how to see what kind of refresh rate that monitor will run under 4k using HDMI or displayport.

Star Citizen at 4K? What the hell kind of black magic powers your GPU?

[Skyfaller]

Catamount, on 19 August 2014 - 07:03 PM, said:

Star Citizen at 4K? What the hell kind of black magic powers your GPU?

Im not sure what you're asking here... the game is being made and it currently supports it in the beta module.

[Oderint dum Metuant]

He means that a 7870 wouldn't play SC at 4k acceptably.

Or should i say shouldnt play.

[Lily from animove]

important is you need a screen with a low repsonse time, since in shooters latency is important and a mad visual delay is just the worst you can get.

and don't choose a too big screen, because if you sit quite close it does not make gamign better, its making it worse.

[Smokeyjedi]

I just have to chime in and say I absolutely love having 144hz refresh rate. When playing anything that locks to vsync Its breathtaking. crystal clear, Sharp, and talk about your game taking a step up(I mean flight of stairs up) Responsiveness in game is improved.........

[Lord Letto]

I just checked http://pcpartpicker.com/ and found 8 Monitors with Ratings/Stars, I searched for 21+", <5ms response time, 60+Hz, LED Backlight, IPS, 1920x1080(1080P)+ and built in speakers
Base Price from Cheapest to most expensive:
1) $140@Tiger Direct: AOC I2367FH 23" 1080P, 5ms, 60Hz, HDMI & VGA: http://pcpartpicker....monitor-i2367fh

2) $240@Tiger Direct: Acer H276HLbmid 27" 1080P, 5ms, 60Hz, DVI, HDMI and VGA: http://pcpartpicker....itor-umhh6aa001

3) $280-$30MIR=$250@Newegg: Asus VX279Q 27" 1080P, 5ms, 60Hz, Display port, HDMI and VGA: http://pcpartpicker....-monitor-vx279q

4) $252@Superbiiz: LG 24EB23PM-B 24" 1920x1200, 5ms, 60Hz, DVI & VGA: http://pcpartpicker....nitor-24eb23pmb

5) $350@Newegg: AOC q2963Pm 29" 2560x1080, 5ms, 60Hz, DVI, Display port, HDMI & VGA: http://pcpartpicker....monitor-q2963pm

6) $399@Amazon: LG D2743P-BN 27" 1080P, 5ms, 60Hz, HDMI & VGA: http://pcpartpicker....onitor-d2743pbn

7) $441.50@Adorama: Asus PB298Q 29" 2560x1080, 5ms, 60Hz, DVI, Display port & VGA: http://pcpartpicker....-monitor-pb298q

8) $460@Amazon: LG 29EB73-P 29" 2560x1080, 5ms, 75Hz, DVI-D Dual Link, Display Port & HDMI: http://pcpartpicker....monitor-29eb73p

Edited by Lord Letto, 20 August 2014 - 05:34 AM.

[Skyfaller]

DV McKenna, on 20 August 2014 - 01:06 AM, said:

He means that a 7870 wouldn't play SC at 4k acceptably.

Or should i say shouldnt play.

It does play it. I've had a friend's 4k screen brought over when the arena commander beta came out so we could see it in all its glory. Granted, it had stutters because my system is obviously not that powerful...but in medium detail settings it worked just fine in dogfights and it still looked insanely better than at full detail in a regular monitor.

The reason im looking at a 4k monitor now is because a monitor is something that easily lasts you 10 years... I know I will upgrade my PC completely in the next 2 years so I want to be 'ready' for a powerful rig.

Lord Letto, on 20 August 2014 - 05:28 AM, said:

I just checked http://pcpartpicker.com/ and found 8 Monitors with Ratings/Stars, I searched for 21+", <5ms response time, 60+Hz, LED Backlight, IPS, 1920x1080(1080P)+ and built in speakers

Thanks for the effort but I'm replacing a 29 inch monitor that had 1920x1200 native max res and 75hz LCD. I'd like to 'upgrade' not downgrade or buy something equivalent.

I'm using that website now though... very nifty for searching parts. Thanks!

[Maxxximal]

Check out the user reviews at overclockers:

http://www.overclock...O-204-SA&tool=3

This review talks about 60hz:

http://9to5mac.com/2...fordable-price/

[Skyfaller]

oh ****...

http://www.amazon.co..._pr_product_top

a little over but this seems perfect O.o

[Lord Letto]

just checked again, this time only things i set in filter was for 29+", 1-5ms Response time and 75+Hz, only result was the LG that was #8 in my list above.
if I set it to look for 76+Hz, 27+" and 2048x1536+, I get 3 results all over $1250, cheapest is $1300@Adorama and Newegg for a NEC PA272W, 27", 2560x1440, 16:9, 6ms, 85Hz, IPS, LED and Built in speakers, Display port and Mini-Display port, DVI-D Dual Link and HDMI: http://pcpartpicker....-monitor-pa272w
as for a 4K like you were looking for, if I filter to show only 4K Monitors, there's 6 results, 1 is under $500:
Base Price under $500@ Amazon, B&H Photo Video and Adorama: Dell P2815Q, 28", 3840x2160 (Consumer 4K), 16:9, 5ms, 30Hz, LED and Built in Speakers, Mini-Displayport and Display port & HDMI: http://pcpartpicker....-monitor-p2815q
Next Expensive is $600 w/ Free Shipping@ Best buy, macmall, NewEgg and Tiger Direct:
Samsung U28D590D, 28", 3840x2160 (Consumer 4K), 16:9, 1ms, 60hz, LED, Display port and HDMI: http://pcpartpicker....onitor-u28d590d
Edit: Never seen your post with the Asus, the Samsung I posted is close to it, just no built in speakers and 1000:1 Contrast Ratio vs 100,000,000:1 Contrast Ratio.

Edited by Lord Letto, 20 August 2014 - 08:10 AM.

[Goose of Prey]

Letto:

I've checked out the Samsung 28" monitor you listed at my local Best Buy and my only issue with it is the damn base. It shakes the monitor at the slightest bump. As people are now mounting or using third party stands that might not be an issue for you.



This is a great video on basics of 4k monitors. If the monitor is for gaming a TN type 4k is your best choice for speed and cost.

Best of luck.

Goose.

[ninjitsu]

I really don't think that phenom II 955 will like a 4k monitor.

[Alreech]

ninjitsu, on 20 August 2014 - 08:40 AM, said:

I really don't think that phenom II 955 will like a 4k monitor.

I can confirm that. My PCs specs:

Phenom II X4 965
8 GB RAM
AMD R9 280 (slightly better than the 7870, 3 instead of 2 GB and a faster Memory Interface)
28" TFT with 1920 x 1200 resolution

I have in MWO between 24 and 80 fps, depending on the map. HPG Network have the worst FPS, Tourmaline strangely the best.
Settings in MWO are all low, expect for Textures and Resolution.

As comparison: In Battlefield 4 (Mantel) Multiplayer the fps never fell below 30 and are mostly around 50, even during intense fire fights or in areas with a wide range of view.
Personally I think that Star Citizen will run better than MWO but even that would not allow to run a 4k resolution.

Getting a 24" 1080p TFT with at least 60hz would be the most sensible replacement. Even if you later change to a better and bigger TFT (or an Oculus Rift ) it's still possible to use the "little" TFT as second screen for Teamspeak or other applications.
I use at home a big 28" for gaming and a small 22" for Teamspeak, and tools like Clock, Organizer, CPU & GPU Meter. The 22" is also very handy when visiting LAN Partys