Dual Monitor vs Ultrawide for gaming?

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CrashAndBurn

607 posts

Ultimate Geek

#254283 5-Aug-2019 14:46

I currently have 2x23 inches 240hz monitors and was wondering if it would be a good idea to sell both and get one large ultra wide instead? Pros and cons? Main games played currently is Fortnite by my son and Forza Horizon 4 for me. I have read that some games intentionally disable resolution for ultra wide as apparently it gives an advantage.

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SpartanVXL

843 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2290215 5-Aug-2019 15:09

You have two 240Hz monitors? What do you use the second one for? Just watching videos or browsing? Seems like overkill just for that purpose.

If your son likes playing fortnite competitively (or other games csgo/overwatch etc) then keep at least one of the 240Hz monitors for him. If he doesnt have his own rig, build him one to use instead of sharing.

As far as I know there are no 240Hz ultrawide screens. If you sell both (or just one and keep other for son) then go for a decent IPS 1440p 144+Hz monitor. Can be ultrawide 1440 but as always be aware that quite a few games won’t support ultrawide.

Or buy another identical 23” 240Hz monitor and do eyefinity or whatever they call it now, where you have three screens in a row for ultrawide. Again I dont know how the support is on this either. I’ve done it for a bit on Nvidia way back in the fermi days but not recently.

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#2290217 5-Aug-2019 15:09

Unless youve got money to burn, a decent ultra wide isn't cheap. Also need a decent video card to drive the decent resolutions required.

For cool factor, go get one :D FH4 would look amazing on it.

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CrashAndBurn

607 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2290265 5-Aug-2019 15:54

SpartanVXL: You have two 240Hz monitors? What do you use the second one for? Just watching videos or browsing? Seems like overkill just for that purpose.

If your son likes playing fortnite competitively (or other games csgo/overwatch etc) then keep at least one of the 240Hz monitors for him. If he doesnt have his own rig, build him one to use instead of sharing.

As far as I know there are no 240Hz ultrawide screens. If you sell both (or just one and keep other for son) then go for a decent IPS 1440p 144+Hz monitor. Can be ultrawide 1440 but as always be aware that quite a few games won’t support ultrawide.

Or buy another identical 23” 240Hz monitor and do eyefinity or whatever they call it now, where you have three screens in a row for ultrawide. Again I dont know how the support is on this either. I’ve done it for a bit on Nvidia way back in the fermi days but not recently.

Used for browsing and videos 🤣 I know its a waste but I got both monitors as a package for a good price 😎 And yes I don't think there is a 240 ultra yet, if there was then chances are I need to sell a kidney to get one. Unfortunately no more space for a 3rd monitor.

SpartanVXL

843 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2290355 5-Aug-2019 16:28

Considered a desk mounted arm? Might be worthwhile if you want three of the same screen in surround.

Again, if you want just one screen sell them both and get what you’d like. Or sell one and keep the other for your son or as a second screen. I dont know if the only use case is just one rig or not. Maybe dad gets generous and buys a fortnite machine for Jnr.

I know pbtech was selling the Titan 34” ultrawide 1440p 100Hz for something like $600 last sale. It’s VA panel though so you might not like the image quality on those.

Or again keep a 240Hz monitor for fast paced gaming and buy a 4k 27-32” monitor for browsing, videos etc.

CrashAndBurn

607 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2290359 5-Aug-2019 16:37

SpartanVXL: Considered a desk mounted arm? Might be worthwhile if you want three of the same screen in surround.

Again, if you want just one screen sell them both and get what you’d like. Or sell one and keep the other for your son or as a second screen. I dont know if the only use case is just one rig or not. Maybe dad gets generous and buys a fortnite machine for Jnr.

I know pbtech was selling the Titan 34” ultrawide 1440p 100Hz for something like $600 last sale. It’s VA panel though so you might not like the image quality on those.

Or again keep a 240Hz monitor for fast paced gaming and buy a 4k 27-32” monitor for browsing, videos etc.

Issue is with the desk location. I did saw that Titan one. Will check if there is a display unit to see in person. I guess the question is if I go with 1 big monitor, is the shift from 240 to 144 or 100hz noticeable.

ShinyChrome

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#2292849 9-Aug-2019 11:51

CrashAndBurn:

SpartanVXL: Considered a desk mounted arm? Might be worthwhile if you want three of the same screen in surround.

Again, if you want just one screen sell them both and get what you’d like. Or sell one and keep the other for your son or as a second screen. I dont know if the only use case is just one rig or not. Maybe dad gets generous and buys a fortnite machine for Jnr.

I know pbtech was selling the Titan 34” ultrawide 1440p 100Hz for something like $600 last sale. It’s VA panel though so you might not like the image quality on those.

Or again keep a 240Hz monitor for fast paced gaming and buy a 4k 27-32” monitor for browsing, videos etc.

Issue is with the desk location. I did saw that Titan one. Will check if there is a display unit to see in person. I guess the question is if I go with 1 big monitor, is the shift from 240 to 144 or 100hz noticeable.

If you are actually driving it to all 240hz, then yeah it will be quite noticeable, especially fast moving games like Fortnite and Forza. I would definitely go and demo before you lay down money. Slower moving RPGs, web browsing etc not so much.

However, I have found with mine that going from dual 24in 1980x1200 monitors to a main 34in 3440x1440 w/ keeping one 24in as a secondary off to the side, the difference I felt in immersion with a bigger, ultra-wide aspect ratio is worth it. Its a nice middle ground to say a bigger (40">), but slower 4k monitor, but I would be hard pressed to go back to multiple smaller monitors now. 24in just won't cut it for me anymore.

Heck even for productivity, I would much rather have a big single than dual monitors. Unfortunately my work doesn't agree...

Looks like PBTech have the Titan one refurbed for $575, although I confess I had never heard of it before SpartanVXL mentioned it. They have Samsung panels, so for whatever that is worth?

Or you could just go the whole hog and buy this.

D.W

671 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2292867 9-Aug-2019 12:32

I previously had two monitors and switched to a single 34" UW @ 3440 x 1440 (75Hz).

I wouldn't go back personally, for gaming its great (when supported, some games I have to run at 2560 x 1440, with black bars on sides), and I find it easier to work side by side on a single screen (Windows snapping to edge makes this much easier than it used to be).

throbb

658 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2292904 9-Aug-2019 13:44

D.W:

I previously had two monitors and switched to a single 34" UW @ 3440 x 1440 (75Hz).

I wouldn't go back personally, for gaming its great (when supported, some games I have to run at 2560 x 1440, with black bars on sides), and I find it easier to work side by side on a single screen (Windows snapping to edge makes this much easier than it used to be).

I assume its curved? What are curved monitors like for watching TV etc from a distance? Figured with thier "Small" size if you are watching from bed etc you'll be outside the ideal viewing distance and it might look a bit funny.

D.W

671 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2292909 9-Aug-2019 13:57

throbb:

I assume its curved? What are curved monitors like for watching TV etc from a distance? Figured with thier "Small" size if you are watching from bed etc you'll be outside the ideal viewing distance and it might look a bit funny.

Yep curved. I wouldn't recommend curved for watching from a distance, but when sitting directly in front they're great.

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#2292910 9-Aug-2019 14:00

I have a 35" ultra wide curved monitor. Can't compare to dual monitor setup for gaming. The single monitor setup is so much better.

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Slixious

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#2301405 19-Aug-2019 00:03

If you want to be able to play games (in borderless fullscreen) while being able to switch into doing something else, then you'll need two screens. It is just a waste having a second screen that probably won't do anything above 60Hz since only one of the screens will be running the game. This is my experience with my 144Hz monitor and 60Hz TV. You also get to a point where if you have too many pixels to push, you'd need the most expensive GPU out there to be able to push those pixels at a high enough FPS, or no GPU would be powerful enough.

Why not get the best of both worlds? A widescreen of your choice front and center, with a secondary for extra things? You would probably need a hefty mount to do this, and may need the second screen to be up on top of the main monitor.