Buying a new monitor. Wise dicision ?

Discussion in 'Videocards - NVIDIA GeForce' started by mahanddeem, Jul 28, 2014.

  1. mahanddeem

    mahanddeem Master Guru

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    Hello
    I know this is Nvidia Cards section, but I think my topic is in great relationship with GPUs. And I only use NVidia cards.

    Currently I use a Samsung 27inch monitor, 1080p@60hz and 2 ms response time.
    Due to several considerations, I am thinking to upgrade to a "better" monitor, refresh rate-wise and/or response time. TBH I see 1080p is reasonable for playing games and general PC usage. But also might consider 1440p. I usually play BF series, PES series, Stalker games and some various FPS shooters. Mostly action and sport games.
    I came down to narrow my options to either an Asus 27inch 1080p 120 or 144Hz. This is an example:
    http://www.amazon.com/Series-VG278H...UTF8&qid=1406527230&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+VG27

    Now my question: Will I be disappointed to go with high refresh rate monitor ? like a 120Hz or 144Hz one ? by "disappointed" or "regret it" I mean I will not be able to have good fluid game play FPS-wise OR have a bad time with FPS stuttering and going up and down when Vsync on and can't easily reach that limit. I guess everybody who uses such a high refresh rate would always use Vsync on since it will not rob you any
    performance.
    How it looks like when you have say 120Hz monitor and you're probably have a GPU that can output say 80fps ? Is it a comfortable experience ?
    BTW I hate going SLI.
    My current system is below my avatar. I will also upgrade my GPU to a Maxwell card, 880 probably or any high-end GPU from the 8xx series when they will be released at around the end of the year. Hopefully they will come with 4GB+ vRAM.

    Thanks
     
  2. thatguy91

    thatguy91 Guest

    It's a hard thing to quantify, it's personal preference. Keep in mind the Samsung monitor you have, and the 144 Hz monitors are TN panels.

    You could try using the CRU:
    http://www.monitortests.com/forum/Thread-Custom-Resolution-Utility-CRU

    What this does is allows you to set the refresh higher for your monitor. Most monitors are capable of at least 75 Hz, check with your monitor specs.

    Load the utility, and in the right top hand side, select the resolution and select 'edit'. Then, select 'LCD -Reduced' from the drop down box and type in your desired refresh in the 'Refresh Rate' box. Don't go overboard, if your monitor specs says it supports 75 Hz, you can try 75 Hz, or use 72 Hz. Click OK, then OK again, reboot, and it should be available in your monitor refresh list in the monitor advanced settings.

    It might not sound like much of an increase, but 75 Hz is a 25 percent increase, and 72 Hz is a 20 percent increase. Who knows, if you feel game you could try a bit more but your monitor may not like it. You could probably tell that if the display becomes distorted or anomalous. Keeping it within your monitor specs is 100 percent safe :).

    Just remember that to make use of a higher refresh you need to get the frames per second from you game. Realistically people tend to up the visual quality to the extent where you won't get 100+ fps, over going for lesser settings to make use of the 144 fps monitor.

    If you didn't already have a 27 inch, I would have suggested an AMVA+ panel.

    I know people will probably recommend the cheap online 1440P Korean monitors, and I'm sure there are excellent examples out there, but there are also plenty of them that have various issues, but it seems some people are in denial about that. After a friend got burnt (both literally and figuratively) it's put me right off. Okay, it was a very mild burn where it just made his hand sensitive for a few hours, but damn that monitor ran friggin' hot during summer. I guess it serves us right for trying to use it in a 40 C room, but I've had mine in rooms that were close to 40 C and t he monitor ran cool. Not to mention the other things that were wrong with that monitor, and its eventual demise (and issues getting warranty with it). Even online some people praise them, and then you find out they're on the second or third one as they were trying to get a 'good one', lols.

    Anyways, try CRU first, and then evaluate your options from there.
     
  3. Pete J

    Pete J Master Guru

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    Some of those as well
    Personally, I'd look into G-Sync. IIRC Asus will be releasing a 1440p 27" one soon.
     
  4. ElementalDragon

    ElementalDragon Ancient Guru

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    I've been considering getting a 120/144hz monitor... but after using one a while back for less than a week and then returning it... i've kinda been putting that thought off. People apparently seem to think i'm bullsh*tting them or something when i say this, but when i was using an Asus 120hz monitor (Was one of the first ones they came out with, that had NVidia 3DVision bundled), it was perfectly fine when gaming in 3D. But if i was gaming in 2D, or even just routine use, after an hour or so, i'd have a splitting headache.
     

  5. mahanddeem

    mahanddeem Master Guru

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    Thanks

    TheGuy91,
    Isn't a same function in NVidia drivers to make custom resolution ? I tried it and was able to do 1080p@ 77Hz max in my monitor. but 120 or 144 vs 77(unofficial) is too big for a difference.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2014
  6. ElementalDragon

    ElementalDragon Ancient Guru

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    Is there any easy way to tell whether or not setting a custom refresh rate actually worked, or is effectively being done? Have my Asus VE278H set to 72hz using the utility... but it almost seems like my cursor is a tad choppy.
     
  7. thatguy91

    thatguy91 Guest

    No, I can believe that. LED backlit/edge lit monitors use PWM as a means of controlling the backlight brightness, which you obviously want less in dark scenes. It achieves this by turning on and off the LED's rapidly. It is also in time with your monitor refresh rate, or should be. You can see this in action by viewing the monitor through the screen on a camera. Your phone may not be precise enough to see it. You may not see the flicker, but it can cause eyestrain. Other effects are just tiredness after using the monitor for a while.

    A better method is just to vary the brightness of the actual LED's, which is what flicker-free is from the newer models of BenQ (for example). They are much nicer to use, I believe its becoming more common but a large number of monitors, and probably TV's as well, still use PWM.
     
  8. ElementalDragon

    ElementalDragon Ancient Guru

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    ... any input on my question from my last post?
     
  9. IcE

    IcE Don Snow

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    Sounds like the panel couldn't actually handle it and was skipping frames. Some monitors just can't be overclocked.
     
  10. ElementalDragon

    ElementalDragon Ancient Guru

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    Kinda tempted to maybe try 70hz instead of 72.... but at that point, it's not much of an improvement.
     

  11. Tree Dude

    Tree Dude Guest

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    Any risk of damage from this?
     
  12. IcE

    IcE Don Snow

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    It can, but it rarely does. At worst you're looking at slightly reduced panel life.
     
  13. thatguy91

    thatguy91 Guest

    If it's within the panel specs :). The NVIDIA refresh rate settings would set up some of the other settings differently to CRU. If you use the reduced LCD base settings you should be able to use 72 Hz perfectly fine. Most monitors seem to be able to do 75 Hz by the spec sheet.
     
  14. LinkDrive

    LinkDrive Guest

    I would take caution creating a custom resolution with an increased refresh rate. One of my screens started freaking out over a period of time, producing what appeared to be dead pixels. At first I thought the screen was faulty, and almost called in a RMA, but then I recalled I had created a custom refresh rate. It took a few hours for the apparent dead pixels to go away when reverting back to 60Hz.
     
  15. southamptonfc

    southamptonfc Ancient Guru

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    IF gaming is your main use and you want the best experience possible, it has to be a G-Sync monitor.
     

  16. thatguy91

    thatguy91 Guest

    Did you use LCD - Reduced, or LCD - Standard? Was the refresh rate you chose within monitor specs? You have to make sure that all the settings are within monitor specs, not just the refresh rate. If you monitor can do 75 Hz, I would recommend a lower setting of say, 72 Hz. The LCD - reduced option is much kinder on your monitor :).

    Realistically, you aren't really overclocking the monitor per se if you choose 72 Hz and your monitor specs support 75 Hz, as long as the other settings are within spec. Overclocking means going above specifications, if you stay within the settings guidelines you should be fine. That's why I suggest LCD - reduced.
     
  17. Tree Dude

    Tree Dude Guest

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    High refresh rate monitors mitigate the tearing issues quite a bit and you have a better selection (plus don't need an Nvidia card). Once displayport 1.2a starts rolling into monitors, g-sync will become less relevant as AMD cards will be able to do the same thing with a wider range of displays. Nvidia will most likely adopt the open standard sometime after.
     
  18. Comrade_Jerkov

    Comrade_Jerkov Guest

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    I was on the same fence last December, but one of the reasons why I have a gaming PC is for the graphics. I'll always fork out the money to have a system that can give me nice eye candy.

    I had been at 1080p for years and took the leap to an Asus PB278Q 27" for the 1440p res. I could've went cheaper with the Catleaps and Crossovers but the Asus hada nice warranty and is a more reputable company.

    My recommendation is go with the higher resolution, especially if you plan on getting Maxwell. Your 680 will be able to play games quite well at 1440p in the meanwhile.
     
  19. eclap

    eclap Banned

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    Qnix

    /thread
     
  20. Loobyluggs

    Loobyluggs Ancient Guru

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    Considering a new monitor and trialing one is always wise - by doing this you can test whether the decision to buy it is justified.

    In my country etailers and retailers have a 14-day "no questions asked" policy for any goods, expect obviously consumable items.

    I've tested lots of monitors over time using this rule of law - it's the only way you can make the decision to purchase something.
     

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