Budget gaming monitor advice please

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GlacialPace

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#236398 31-May-2018 12:54

I'm looking for a gaming monitor and don't really know what to prioritise. Screen size? Refresh rate? Resolution? Aspect ratio? Curved vs flat?
At present I will mostly be using it for sim racing but I will be using it for general gaming as well, though I think my days of fast paced FPS's are behind me now. Budget is up to $400 though less would be great, I'm not against second hand.
It seems from my research that refresh rate is key, going by this I have seen this guy, I think I'd rather 27" but if refresh rate is more important then 24" will do. https://m.pricespy.co.nz/product/4676607
What are your thoughts on that monitor? Any other suggestions?

Thanks

Batman

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#2026194 31-May-2018 13:06

You want either g-sync or free-sync depending on what GPU you have.

Refresh rate apparently 120Hz-144Hz is optimum.

Here's my scenario.

4k 32" 60Hz 1060 GTX

My GPU can barely hit 75FPS with everything on LOW at 4K.

So it depends.

I'd say 27-32", and the rest (resolution, refresh rate) depends on your GPU.

But I wish I had G-sync with my nvidia. Not sure if I'd notice any difference ... I don't seem to have any screen tearing problems. But I don't go looking for it.

GlacialPace

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#2026197 31-May-2018 13:08

I'm gaming off a laptop with a gtx970m, but it seems like g sync isn't available on cheaper monitors so I wasn't too fussed about it.

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#2026210 31-May-2018 13:16

in that case 24-27" 1080p 60Hz. (25 would be cheaper I would think) 27 it starts to get huge - i can't see anything on the outer third of my 32" monitor. really. so there's no point going much bigger than 24".

cannot comment on wide aspect ratio or curved.

i guess in FPS wide aspect allows you to see more? for driving games i'd go for 16:9

GlacialPace

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#2026214 31-May-2018 13:23

No need for more than 60hz? Will I not be able to take advantage of a higher refresh rate?

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#2026217 31-May-2018 13:31

GTX 970M

they keyword is M. any 2018 the answer is probably no if you want high detail

for lower detail probably yes. probably.

you could get higher refresh rate monitor, no harm having the capability.

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#2026220 31-May-2018 13:33

according to this https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp%5B%5D=2981&cmp%5B%5D=3596

the 970M is 10% slower than the 1050

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#2026222 31-May-2018 13:34

Xbox One latest update supports monitors upto 120hz. As someone with a 120Hz Monitor, I wouldn't willingly go back.

I'd take a 120hz 24 over a 60hz 27.

That's saying something as I am a high res monitor FREAK.

I have 3 x 1440P 27" Monitors at home and 2 at the office.

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GlacialPace

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#2026307 31-May-2018 15:08

I know my 970m is pretty average these days but it's not going to be updated any time soon unfortunately so I just have to make do with what I have. I think most things will be an upgrade from the 17" laptop screen.
How about this one? https://m.pricespy.co.nz/product/4258238
29" ultrawide (good for sim racing I think) and a 75hz refresh rate so a little higher than 60.

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#2026519 31-May-2018 20:37

I have found that those wide aspect screens are pretty expensive comparatively.

I think maybe you should buy future proof if you are going to spend money anyway.

Try 27", 1080p+, 120Hz, ideally 1-2ms response time. 4ms is acceptable i think (the more responsive the less lag, but I don't know if 5ms is too much lag for you.)

How much would something like that cost?

The picture is the sharpest at native resolution. Eg if you get a 4K monitor and play 1080p games, it is not very sharp. Having said that, many games nowadays have the ability to resolve images at lower than the image output. They still look stunning. Eg I have a 4K screen, game is output at 4K but only renders at 70%, can't tell the difference. I can tell the difference at 50% but not 70%.

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#2026572 31-May-2018 22:42

GlacialPace: I know my 970m is pretty average these days but it's not going to be updated any time soon unfortunately so I just have to make do with what I have. I think most things will be an upgrade from the 17" laptop screen.
How about this one? https://m.pricespy.co.nz/product/4258238
29" ultrawide (good for sim racing I think) and a 75hz refresh rate so a little higher than 60.

did you buy this one? i looked at the prices of the ultra wide monitors and so they are like in the 4 figure mark! making this a pretty good deal.

apparently has a 1ms response time too.

go for it!

GlacialPace

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#2026706 1-Jun-2018 09:24

It popped back up at PBTech for $345, ex demo but still with a 3 year warranty so I snapped it up. See how it goes in a web week or so.

GlacialPace

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#2031899 8-Jun-2018 09:21

Monitor arrived and the joystick control was broken, so it's going back. Very annoying as I now have to wait for it to go back, get my money back and then buy something else and wait for it to arrive.

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#2031904 8-Jun-2018 09:27

Bummer!