Dual screen questions.

Nailoh · March 20, 2017

Hey guys! So i recently upgraded my whole computer... wait i mean i recently just built a completely over the top completely new computer.

Major tech specs:

Geforce GTX 1080ti

Intel I7-7700K (OC'd to 5GHz)

16 Gig DDR4 RAM

Major uses:

I'm a photographer so the more detail i can get in my photo editing in Photoshop would be tremendous but not exactly necessary. A friend of mine does video was, as i have a much nicer computer, wondering if i could edit his 4k videos he shoots from his drone for weddings until he can get his rig setup or just go through me should things work right. lastly I game... like all the time. I'm not a graphic nazi and while i would like to see over 60hz to know what it's like it's not exactly a priority to me assuming that the reviews say the 1080ti can play 4k games comfortably. I understand 4k gaming at 144hz is an obscene thing to ask and not what i'm looking for but would like the best experience I can get for gaming that's also practical for photo/video editing.

I've been reading through most of these threads trying to find answers but find that not many people have this high end of a build and i get that. I only recently decided to just futureproof and just spend the money and get a nice new comp to last me a long time. Let me start here by saying I've been using a Dual screen, 27" 1080p TV setup since I built my old PC with a 960. The futureproofing best-or-nothing side of me is thinking of waiting for the new HDR monitors to come out namely the ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ but the I-want-instant-gratification-for-buying-a-1080ti side of me thinks I should just buy one, maybe two, currently 4k monitor(s) instead of just one really nice HDR one assuming them to come out to 1.5k plus. While i do really enjoy dual monitoring i'm not completely opposed to going back to a single monitor in the case of a over the top one such as the PG27UQ should a 1080 one next to it just look terrible.

Lastly: I'm looking for 27" monitors but might be ok with bigger but figure my better TV is 27" and would like to keep sizing the same assuming i don't buy dual monitors.

Ok ok sorry if i'm dragging on now, Questions:

1) Would getting a nice 4k monitor and using a similar sized 1080p tv as a side monitor ruin the side monitor and make it just look terrible? (minus the fact of looking at 4k then looking at 1080 lol) or would it still be able to output 1080 cleanly while maintaining 4k on the other.

2) Would buying 2 4K monitors stress the 1080ti too much to a point of reduced performance? namely for say watching twitch on the side while playing a game(I like to do this a lot)?

3) Would getting a 4k monitor and playing 1440 games on it be terrible? I mostly want the 4k for photo/video editing but would love to play 4k games if also an option. IF it were possible to play 1440 on a 4k and get upwards of 100hz that would also be awesome.

4) Would having a 1440 monitor and editing 4k video be terrible? (not a video guy really but starting to look into it haha sorry) I assume it would be real bad.

5) Whats' the best futureproofing I can do per price?

Edit: 6) Would Gsync on a 4k monitor be worthwhile? I know that the 1080ti can't exactly run 4k past 50frames really so I assume no but say if i WERE to play 1440 games on the 4k monitor and they were to possible go over 60fps would gsync be worth it then?

Thank you for any advice in advance =)

The_Denks · March 20, 2017

3 minutes ago, Nailoh said:

-SNIP-

1: Get a 4k main and a 1080p side monitor. Don't use TV's as side monitors. Color accuracy and response time issues

2: As long as you arn't gaming, a 970 could drive 2x4K displays for just general desktop usage

3: A 1080ti can get about 80-ish FPS in AAA games at 4K

4: Using a 1440P monitor for 4k videos means you just can see the extra detail, but it is still there. If you're working with 4k, get a 4k monitor

5: Future-proofing is a real thing. Don't buy stuff just because it says future-proof

EunSoo · March 20, 2017

BTW i didn't read anything but the questions so if there was something that you said that would've changed my answer, let me know

1. I think it would be fine to have a 4k monitor beside a 1080p. If you are going to be watching or viewing 1080p content on your 2nd monitor then I think it is fine. It'll make your 4k monitor look better anyway.

2. No, if you are only watching twitch on it, you'll be fine. But I think Twitch caps out at 1080p so it might not be of use to you to get a 4k monitor. But hopefully they'll start supporting 4k, so it might be worth it.

3. It won't look as good, so yes but it wouldn't be terrible. But since you have a 1080ti I don't think you'll need to run games at 1440p. Turn down settings if you have to.

4. No, but you might as well go 4k, if possible

5. Go 4k if you can.

Good luck! If you need monitor suggestions, I'm glad to help.

straight_stewie · March 20, 2017

20 minutes ago, Nailoh said:

1) Would getting a nice 4k monitor and using a similar sized 1080p tv as a side monitor ruin the side monitor and make it just look terrible? (minus the fact of looking at 4k then looking at 1080 lol) or would it still be able to output 1080 cleanly while maintaining 4k on the other.

2) Would buying 2 4K monitors stress the 1080ti too much to a point of reduced performance? namely for say watching twitch on the side while playing a game(I like to do this a lot)?

3) Would getting a 4k monitor and playing 1440 games on it be terrible? I mostly want the 4k for photo/video editing but would love to play 4k games if also an option. IF it were possible to play 1440 on a 4k and get upwards of 100hz that would also be awesome.

4) Would having a 1440 monitor and editing 4k video be terrible? (not a video guy really but starting to look into it haha sorry) I assume it would be real bad.

5) Whats' the best futureproofing I can do per price?

Edit: 6) Would Gsync on a 4k monitor be worthwhile? I know that the 1080ti can't exactly run 4k past 50frames really so I assume no but say if i WERE to play 1440 games on the 4k monitor and they were to possible go over 60fps would gsync be worth it then?

The answers will depend primarily on your personal preferences. I'm totally fine using a large 50" TV as a side monitor. However, my TV has a "PC" mode which bypasses all of the processing the TV does and gives me a reasonable response time for watching movies and such of around 5ms. I do not game on my TV, nor do I do any design work on the TV. It exists solely to play movies basically, so for me, a TV makes an excellent side monitor.

However, I think I can safely assume that your machine will not spend a whole lot of time playing movies. I only have answers for the first two questions:

I would not use a TV. However, a 1080p monitor and a 4k monitor might be acceptable, especially if you don't care to game in 4k. The other consideration is that you can run a 4k monitor in 1080p mode, so maybe a 4k monitor is the right choice, and if you decide that you need to use it in a 1080p resolution from time to time, then that's doable.
See above. It also depends on the game. I'm leaning towards getting two 4k monitors, and running the side monitor in 1080p when not using it for production. This will give you two monitors for production, and an easy to run monitor for stream watching while gaming.

My advice would be that if you have the money, get two 4k monitors.

Nailoh · March 20, 2017

Wow this was way quicker responses than i expected haha! Thanks guys!

Any reference to Future-proofing is purely my in my mind "Buy this and it'll last you a long time" and not advertised Future-proofing.

I felt like 4K was always the way to go. I understand how much better and efficient an actual monitor for the 2nd screen would be but with seeing that i already have a 27 tv as the side monitor is purely my reason for asking (aka saving money on a side monitor) as the side monitor doesn't exactly need to look the best in comparison to the main monitor which I would like to do gaming and most of my editing on.

Follow ups I guess would be assuming i'll game in 4K Would Gsync really be worthwhile at the cost of like 2-300 dollars? I'm not afraid to drop over 1.5k for a new setup but would like the best possible one I can do with such a budget while also keeping in mind I'm a big fan of dual monitor setup.

Lastly what monitor(s) would you guys suggest? 4K IPS a must as I like IPS monitors better while I also sometimes lounge in weird positions to the screen so would be better. I'd prefer swivel, tilt, and the side monitor to be able to go portrait mode as well. preferably on a budget between 1 and 1.5k.