Gaming Monitor - 1440p, G-Sync, 27"+

[Grinnam]

Hi

 

Long time fan of the channel, first time poster. Would like some help with monitor choosing. I recently got a GTX1060 for fairly cheap (new but someone wanted to get rid of it) and I wanted to upgrade my monitor setup. Current is a 24" and 27", both 1080p, no special gimmicks.

 

I am a developer and gamer so the extra real-estate would be nice: I am looking for a monitor that is 1440p because 4k would be overkill on my gfx card I think(let me know if this is possible). G-Sync since I am, and probably will for the forseeable future, stick with Nvidia. To be discussed if G-sync adds real value, never seen it in action. Minimum size of 27". Budget can go a little higher since the investment should last me 5+ years. Say max € 600(same in dollars because F conversions).

 

Would love your opinions on why I should go for a specific monitor. I am not afraid of ultra wides, curved and the likes. The games I play range from The Witcher to Heroes of the Storm to Doom to turnbased slowass games. So it needs to be able to keep up with the speed of certain titles.

 

Thanks for the help in advance!

[Darkseth]

Dell S2716dg, Acer Predator XB271HUAbmiprz or ASUS ROG Swift PG278QR.

 

First 2 are around 600€ here in germany, the Asus 650. Depending on country, shop etc, they should be available for around 600.

 

As for G-Sync: http://testufo.com/#test=stutter&demo=smooth&foreground=FFFFFF&background=000000&max=12&pps=720

Check the "Demo" options.

Smooth means, you have 60 fps on 60 Hz, and synced. Super smooth, perfect 16,67 ms frametimes.

Microstuttering / Stuttering means: V-Sync is on, Frames are synced, but you have less than 60 fps. How do you fir 50 frames into 60 Hz? exactly. 10 of those images would need to be doubled --> those frames stay double the time --> Stuttering, beause it "freezes" for a cycle.

Tearing: This is what you get, when V-Sync is off. Not synced, no stuttering, but tearing.

Up to here, you should have experience with both of those szenarios, and also with Smooth (60 fps cap with V-Sync)

 

G-Sync Simulation is what's interesting here. When having inconsistent and changing fps, This is what G-Sync does. It doesn't sync your GPU to the Monitor, but exactly the opposite. The Refresh Rate will be changed. If your GPU can only do 47 fps, your Monitor will run at 47 Hz. If it's 85 fps, the Monitor will run at 85 Hz.

But also Synced. that means:

- No Tearing, because frames and Refresh rate are Synced

- no Stuttering, because fps = Hz

- very low Input Lag (slightly (!!!!!) more than no V-Sync, but MUCH less than V-Sync)

 

In Addition to that:

- More Hz will also mean, tearing and stuttering will become much smaller/shorter --> maybe you won't notice them anymore that much, or even at all. 144 or even 165 Hz can be so fast, that you won't see any Tearing, even without any Sync. But still, G-Sync on/off IS visible, even at 165 Hz. The difference is just smaller, than with a 60 Hz Monitor.

 

TL;DR: G-Sync = any motions will look super smooth and even. no tearing, no stuttering, no matter how much fps you have. As long you're in the G_Sync range (30 fps or higher).

[Majestic]

Yes G-sync will add value because that GPU isn't going to maintain 60fps at reasonable settings at 1440p. I've been looking for the same monitor as you, I've tried a few (MG279Q, XB271HU) but all of them proved flawed, poorly made and generally not worth the money.

 

The QA on the AU Optronics 27" 1440p panels is just...utter rubbish.

 

Going to wait myself for the 1440p 27" models of Samsung's newest gaming panels. I'm now trying out the 24" 1080p model, it's good.

[Grinnam]

12 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

Dell S2716dg, Acer Predator XB271HUAbmiprz or ASUS ROG Swift PG278QR.

 

First 2 are around 600€ here in germany, the Asus 650. Depending on country, shop etc, they should be available for around 600.

 

Thanks for the detailed explanation! I will take a look at the test later (at work). I am favoring the Dell for now because of its simplicity in design, price and reviews. Do you think that the GTX1060 would be a hinderance in the longer run? I assume it would be huffing and puffing on the Witcher 3 at 1440p (favorite game...). In scenario's where the game stresses your card, for a smooth framerate, do they generally lower the resolution or the detail settings and stay on 1440p? Thanks again!

 

17 minutes ago, Majestic said:

Yes G-sync will add value because that GPU isn't going to maintain 60fps at reasonable settings at 1440p. I've been looking for the same monitor as you, I've tried a few (MG279Q, XB271HU) but all of them proved flawed, poorly made and generally not worth the money.

 

The QA on the AU Optronics 27" 1440p panels is just...utter rubbish.

 

Going to wait myself for the 1440p 27" models of Samsung's newest gaming panels. I'm now trying out the 24" 1080p model, it's good.

Interested in your opinion on why the XB271HU is flawed. It is getting good reviews. Define flawed. Not alot of options? 

I need to decide by end of week for certain reasons (I know its weird :D) so not going to wait for the samsung ones. Although my current Syncmaster 27" 1080p is doing great and will stay my daily second screen. 

 

[Darkseth]

Nope, the 1060 is fine, although you will have to make some sacrafices

 

I use a 1060 too, but then i decided to get a 2nd monitor, which is a 1440p / 165 Hz one with G-Sync. The Acer, but the 23,8" model.

 

Witcher 3 runs at around 45-53 fps or so~, in Ultra (Hairworks off, Object Distance 2nd highest, as this consumes alot power), rest maxed out / on.

Thanks to G-Sync, the game feels smooth, even at 45-53 fps~

 

Just keep in Mind, you might upgrade your 1060 sometime, and the Monitor will be there for the next Nvidia GPU. And the one after maybe too

 

If you don't have enough fps, i would personally lower the settings, instead of Resolution. Using 1080p on a 1440p monitor MIGHT look worse, than on a native 1080p Monitor, because the Pixels have to scale with an uneven factor. It should still look decent, but well.. yea, i personally would prefer 1440p @ medium/high, instead 1080p @ high/Ultra.

Higher resolution is also additional details, less flickering for stuff like fences, vegetation etc, and more sharpness.

[stealth80]

I'm using an Asus RoG Swift PG278Q (TN) with a 1080 gtx. The first panel arrived had issues (not uncommon) and my retailer replaced it with next day shipping. Now I have G-sync I wont go back - it is one of those things you get used to and take for granted, until you play without it or like me, switch to your TV and play some racing game and you can't actually play cause stutter + input lag that you just don't get with gsync

 

As for Witcher 3 you should be fine as long as you have the 6gb 1060? I ran it on release on a single 970 GTX and it ran great (at least I think I had single - I eventually went SLI 970's) so a 6gb 1060 which is faster than a 980 with more vram should be fine - just don't enable hairworks, that even hurts my 1080

[Darkseth]

Oh just forgot to ask..

 

Samsung is bringing out a 1440p 144 Hz G-Sync monitor? Which model is it? Didn't heard any news about something like that.

[Techicolors]

10 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

Oh just forgot to ask..

 

Samsung is bringing out a 1440p 144 Hz G-Sync monitor? Which model is it? Didn't heard any news about something like that.

CHG70 - freesync 2

CHG75 - gsync HDR

 

16 minutes ago, stealth80 said:

just don't enable hairworks, that even hurts my 1080

hairworks runs much better if you disable hairworks on geralt only. think there's a mod for it in Nexusmods

 

 

[Grinnam]

18 minutes ago, stealth80 said:

As for Witcher 3 you should be fine as long as you have the 6gb 1060? I ran it on release on a single 970 GTX and it ran great (at least I think I had single - I eventually went SLI 970's) so a 6gb 1060 which is faster than a 980 with more vram should be fine - just don't enable hairworks, that even hurts my 1080

I have the EVGA Superclocked edition, so 6gb indeed. Good to hear!

[Majestic]

1 hour ago, Grinnam said:

Interested in your opinion on why the XB271HU is flawed. It is getting good reviews. Define flawed. Not alot of options? 

I need to decide by end of week for certain reasons (I know its weird :D) so not going to wait for the samsung ones. Although my current Syncmaster 27" 1080p is doing great and will stay my daily second screen. 

Panel kept turning itself off, g-sync bugged out in some games causing the screen to go blank, poor color representation (6bit panel), poor contrast especially in darker games (dark souls, alien isolation). It also had a bug where it would go blank and then a part of the middle of the screen was missing and shifted to the right. It's weird to explain, but google it and you shall find forums. When it worked (with g-sync), and not in dark games it was good. But the price was too steep to come with caveats.

 

I did come from a 2515H prior, so the TN panel could've just been that much more off-putting.

[stealth80]

7 hours ago, Majestic said:

Panel kept turning itself off, g-sync bugged out in some games causing the screen to go blank, poor color representation (6bit panel), poor contrast especially in darker games (dark souls, alien isolation). It also had a bug where it would go blank and then a part of the middle of the screen was missing and shifted to the right. It's weird to explain, but google it and you shall find forums. When it worked (with g-sync), and not in dark games it was good. But the price was too steep to come with caveats.

 

I did come from a 2515H prior, so the TN panel could've just been that much more off-putting.

sounds like a faulty panel to me

[Majestic]

2 hours ago, stealth80 said:

sounds like a faulty panel to me

no, sounds like shitty QA to me. Multiple flaws within the same unit.

[stealth80]

1 hour ago, Majestic said:

no, sounds like shitty QA to me. Multiple flaws within the same unit.

faulty then lol 

 

As I said my first monitor had issues, it would flicker and the colours were dark, the replacement has worked flawlessly 

[BigCountryGeek]

I just sent my Dell S2716DG back due to issues.  It also has a lot of issues. Huge topic on overclock forums. Lots of banding issues.