Looking to upgrade my 27" IPS triple monitors to larger for more immersion. Going to 32" monitors unfortunately does not increase my FOV because I'd have to move them back to clear the steering wheel base, thus the next stop is 43". At 43" in the same place as the 32" monitors, my vFOV increases by a substantial 10 degrees!
Okay, let's go shopping. Dang, there are only two 43" monitors with increased refresh rates and they just came out circa December/January: Acer (US $1500) and Asus (US $1000). Both monitors are BRG VA panels, so have poor text and viewing angles. The Asus already has a bad reputation, while the Acer's reputation is marginally better and it comes with 120 Hz GSYNC.
All other monitors are 60 Hz. There's an HP that's over US $1,000, so it's out of consideration (why pay that much for only 60 Hz?). LG has updated their IPS 43" monitor without offering any discount on the old model; both are available on Amazon for US ~$700. And good old Viewsonic hasn't changed their IPS model in 3 years.
Reading reviews, the LG is fragile, as in it is easy to break the panel when moved. I think the LG will accept a 1440p input, where that is not listed for the Viewsonic. The Viewsonic's panel otherwise seems to be marginally better. The Viewsonic is scarce and most prices seem to be above MSRP (US $676), however I've located a place that has them decently below MSRP.
My current 27" monitors are 1080p and can operate at 75 Hz if I use a Windows custom resolution. Currently I'm running them at 60 Hz because the occasional Windows or nVidia driver update kills the custom resolution and it's a pain to recreate it. So though I like a refresh of at least 75 Hz, apparently I can get by with 60 Hz these days. With the 4k monitors, I'd still be simracing at 1080p until the video card is upgraded at some future date. Regular desktop, though, would be running at 4k.
So the decision has three outcomes:
1) Do nothing because the perfect 43" monitors do not yet exist (high refresh rate IPS panel)
2) Buy the Viewsonic monitors because of price & quality and regret not having a high refresh rate
3) Buy the Acer monitors, break the budget, and be disappointed by the VA panel text & viewing angle
Overall, I'm leaning towards 2 due to FOV lust, but 1 is probably more practical in the COVID world. I read that Samsung is leaving LCD behind and exclusively going to QLED manufacture. Is that going to drive panel costs up? Have I missed anything else (other than VR)?
Okay, let's go shopping. Dang, there are only two 43" monitors with increased refresh rates and they just came out circa December/January: Acer (US $1500) and Asus (US $1000). Both monitors are BRG VA panels, so have poor text and viewing angles. The Asus already has a bad reputation, while the Acer's reputation is marginally better and it comes with 120 Hz GSYNC.
All other monitors are 60 Hz. There's an HP that's over US $1,000, so it's out of consideration (why pay that much for only 60 Hz?). LG has updated their IPS 43" monitor without offering any discount on the old model; both are available on Amazon for US ~$700. And good old Viewsonic hasn't changed their IPS model in 3 years.
Reading reviews, the LG is fragile, as in it is easy to break the panel when moved. I think the LG will accept a 1440p input, where that is not listed for the Viewsonic. The Viewsonic's panel otherwise seems to be marginally better. The Viewsonic is scarce and most prices seem to be above MSRP (US $676), however I've located a place that has them decently below MSRP.
My current 27" monitors are 1080p and can operate at 75 Hz if I use a Windows custom resolution. Currently I'm running them at 60 Hz because the occasional Windows or nVidia driver update kills the custom resolution and it's a pain to recreate it. So though I like a refresh of at least 75 Hz, apparently I can get by with 60 Hz these days. With the 4k monitors, I'd still be simracing at 1080p until the video card is upgraded at some future date. Regular desktop, though, would be running at 4k.
So the decision has three outcomes:
1) Do nothing because the perfect 43" monitors do not yet exist (high refresh rate IPS panel)
2) Buy the Viewsonic monitors because of price & quality and regret not having a high refresh rate
3) Buy the Acer monitors, break the budget, and be disappointed by the VA panel text & viewing angle
Overall, I'm leaning towards 2 due to FOV lust, but 1 is probably more practical in the COVID world. I read that Samsung is leaving LCD behind and exclusively going to QLED manufacture. Is that going to drive panel costs up? Have I missed anything else (other than VR)?
