Let's talk monitors

jimortality · Oct 30, 2015

I'm saving up for a new monitor but I don't know what I'm saving for. Free sync G sync kitchen sync 60 hz 120 hz 144 hz 1ms response 4ms response 27 " 34" oh and bathroom sync. £300 £400 £500 £600 I don't feckin know!

PaulH · Oct 31, 2015

Jim, I'm looking at 34" monitors at the moment(would like triples but not enough room), done alot of research but still can't pull the trigger on any particular one.
Read so many different views/reviews etc, input lag, tearing, ghosting, it gets very confusing

One has caught my eye Benq 35" 144Hz curved, but the resolution I think lets it down 2560x1080
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/benq...g-widescreen-led-monitor-black-mo-116-bq.html

Also looking at https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-...escreen-super-wide-led-monitor-mo-026-ao.html
But don't know if my graphics card(GTX 970) will be sufficient

So any 34" user's out there with any advice, would be appreciated

jimortality · Oct 31, 2015

I'm not so bothered about widescreen but looking more to gsync.

PicoBp · Oct 31, 2015

PaulH said:
Jim, I'm looking at 34" monitors at the moment(would like triples but not enough room), done alot of research but still can't pull the trigger on any particular one.
Read so many different views/reviews etc, input lag, tearing, ghosting, it gets very confusing
One has caught my eye Benq 35" 144Hz curved, but the resolution I think lets it down 2560x1080
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/benq...g-widescreen-led-monitor-black-mo-116-bq.html

Also looking at https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-...escreen-super-wide-led-monitor-mo-026-ao.html
But don't know if my graphics card(GTX 970) will be sufficient

So any 34" user's out there with any advice, would be appreciated

I'm using this one on an Obutto Ozone, and can't complain a bit.

http://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-34UM67-P-ultrawide-led-monitor

Display and input lag are perfect for gaming, nice image quality, and the 2560x1080 doesn't look bad at all from the seating position I have. And it has the upside of putting less strain on your config, I'm running it on a GTX770 without any real compromises compared to FullHD.

Emery · Oct 31, 2015

Monitors have so many tradeoffs and options! I currently have triple 27" IPS monitors at 60Hz.

Things I currently demand of monitors:

IPS with LED backlighting for best color & dynamic range
Displayport because it's small and has locking connectors (HDMI is small, but doesn't lock)
Higher refresh rate is better, 90+ Hz, provided video card can match it without dropping frames
VESA mount (beats unstable bases)
Low input lag, < 6 mS (beware: gaming monitors typically lie about their lag)
Bigger is better, but not at the expense of pixel size & input lag
Slimmest bezels you can find if you go triple screens
50-60" horizontal screen space at ~30" from eyes is a proper field of view

Things I'm ambivalent about:

gSync (because it about doubles monitor input lag)
Curved screens (adds cost)
Ultrawide screens (usually not wide enough compared to triples or big screens)
Using big screen TV (usually lacking a desired feature, though getting closer)

Things I've decided against:

Projection monitors because they lack sharpness and dynamic range
Monitors smaller than 27" because they lack desired features

The single-screen monitor I'd like that probably doesn't exist or is too expensive:

60" curved screen
4k resolution
144 Hz
gSync capable

jimortality · Oct 31, 2015

Emery said:
Monitors have so many tradeoffs and options! I currently have triple 27" IPS monitors at 60Hz.

Things I currently demand of monitors:

IPS with LED backlighting for best color & dynamic range

Displayport because it's small and has locking connectors (HDMI is small, but doesn't lock)

Higher refresh rate is better, 90+ Hz, provided video card can match it without dropping frames

VESA mount (beats unstable bases)

Low input lag, < 6 mS (beware: gaming monitors typically lie about their lag)

Bigger is better, but not at the expense of pixel size & input lag

Slimmest bezels you can find if you go triple screens

50-60" horizontal screen space at ~30" from eyes is a proper field of view

Things I'm ambivalent about:

gSync (because it about doubles monitor input lag)

Curved screens (adds cost)

Ultrawide screens (usually not wide enough compared to triples or big screens)

Using big screen TV (usually lacking a desired feature, though getting closer)

Things I've decided against:

Projection monitors because they lack sharpness and dynamic range

Monitors smaller than 27" because they lack desired features

The single-screen monitor I'd like that probably doesn't exist or is too expensive:

60" curved screen

4k resolution

144 Hz

gSync capable

Gsync doubles input lag but you've included it at the end. I thought Gsync was the future. What do you know about freesync.

Emery · Oct 31, 2015

Know nothing about freesync... I'm going to have to Google it now, LOL

gSync may well be the future, I just haven't experienced it yet. For someone like yourself, who is fed up with tearing, I think it's a good answer.

Emery · Oct 31, 2015

Okay, I've had a read. Freesync appears to have a solid edge over gSync. I suspect choosing one or the other technology will depend on how good the monitors are and which video card you are using at the time.

PaulH · Oct 31, 2015

Freesync is for AMD cards, Gsync for nVidia, Gsync monitors are more expensive than their equivalent freesync because the monitor manufacturer have to put in a separate more expensive nvidia chip

Devil_Dog · Nov 2, 2015

I have 3 g-sync monitors and have had no input lag. Love the damn things. Everything is as smooth as silk.

Jeff Huber · Nov 2, 2015

Hey guys , I was gaming on an Asus 27" monitor since day 1 when I started this sim racing stuff. I really , really wanted a larger screen and something better than 1080p! I'm more of an AMD fan than I am an Nvidia fan , mainly because of " best bang for the buck " AND in Hi-res gaming , I like what I see out of the AMD and Freesync combo's ( personal choice).

With that being said , a couple weeks ago I picked up the Acer XR34CK FreeSync monitor. I was running two Sapphire 7970's Dual-X graphic cards in crossfire all the way up until yesterday afternoon. I ordered a new Sapphire R9 Fury Tri-X card because gaming at 3440 X 1440 was kicking the crap out of one of my 7970's. ( since most race sims seems don't seem to like Crossfire or Sli ) I needed a powerful " single GPU " setup.

Installed the R9 yesterday afternoon , and after doing some setup on my race sims , I then proceeded to be in racing heaven for the next 4hrs strait! And then another 4hrs today haha!

Mind you , I have always dodged uninstalling old drivers and installing new ones because the " correct process " was a little intimidating. I learned how to do this yesterday , and on top of my new card , new driver and this new monitor.....a whole new racing experience came along with it!

I'm no computer wiz , so any hard core explanations or answering certain questions I probably couldn't do , but overall I couldn't be more happy with what I have now.

Small example here : Playing rFactor2 with a single 7970 , I found myself getting about 16-25 FPS coming out of the pits on most tracks. That was with some of the settings turned down. The older 7970's don't / can't take advantage of Freesync. And I would get usually between 22 - 50 fps on track but take a pretty big hit in traffic and highly detailed parts of the track. It made it almost unplayable for me unless I turned everything way down so it looked like crap.

This new setup? I'm probably ranging from 55 - 90 FPS pulling out of the pits and any where from about 65 - 110 FPS on the track , even in traffic! With everything set to full max! Silky smooth game play. And check this out , playing RF2 on my old 7970 , would get that sucker up around 65 - 70c all day long while playing RF2. This new card? I have not had it go past 42C and that with a custom fan profile where the fan hasn't kicked on for more than about 30%. It's a super quite card too. Even the fan set at about 70% , I can only hear with no other sound in the room. But running the fan at 70% , I couldn't get the card to get past 37c......That's not much warmer than room Temp haha.

I picked up my Acer FreeSync version from NCIXUS a couple weeks ago for $890.00. It was $200.00 cheaper than Newegg , but they don't seem to have any in stock at the moment.

Anyways , if you are an AMD user and looking for a really good 34" monitor , I highly recommend this one. It was worth every penny for me.

Ho3n3r · Nov 2, 2015

144Hz 1ms response time. This is all you need.

PaulH · Nov 2, 2015

Well I pulled the trigger & ordered the Benq 35" 144Hz monitor, it comes tomorrow

My only concern is the 2560 x 1080 resolution, but DSR might come in handy there

Will let you know...........

jimortality · Nov 2, 2015

PaulH said:
Well I pulled the trigger & ordered the Benq 35" 144Hz monitor, it comes tomorrow
My only concern is the 2560 x 1080 resolution, but DSR might come in handy there
Will let you know...........

A lot of money?

PaulH · Nov 2, 2015

jimortality said:
A lot of money?

Not the cheapest, but what's that saying, YOLO

Flying Kefran · Nov 3, 2015

PaulH said:
Well I pulled the trigger & ordered the Benq 35" 144Hz monitor, it comes tomorrow
My only concern is the 2560 x 1080 resolution, but DSR might come in handy there
Will let you know...........

Very good choice !

I do not think that 2560x1080 for a 21/9 - 35" monitor is an issue.
A 35" - 21/9 2560x1080 screen correspond to a 28" - 16/9 - 1080p screen that would be enlarged and 27" or 28" in 1080p is quite OK for gaming.