HELP-A-NOOB 2020! 1440P monitor suggestions < $350

[gogo809]

Experts/Forum fans that know even slightly more than I:

 

Do you know where I should be looking for a top-notch 1440p monitor in my range? Do you guys and gals just know this stuff?

 

Usage/Preferences:

• Gaming only.
• Highly preferably 27inch class. For sure not smaller than 24inch.
• Anything at or under $350 will be considered.
• Prefer FreeSync with "g-sync compatible", if not, then just freesync as my cheap ass will probably go AMD for my GPU upgrade.

 

GPU:

• Currently a GTX 960, but I am well aware of the limitations, and I am willing to turn down the settings and such, so don't worry about that part.

 

Bonus: If the important mainboard could be on the back, rather than the bottom it would be best. Ignore this if it is to big an ask. Had an Acer VG271U purchased late last year ruined by fluid ingress because the mainboard is at the bottom of the monitor and fluid can get trapped/pool there. Made me gun-shy about a repeat. (FYI, animals can be real assholes)

 

I don't know what other details would be helpful to know...

[Sorenson]

If you're near a microcenter get the Acer Nitro VG271U 27". They have the monitor for $350 right now. Its 1440p, 144hz, "1ms" response time, IPS, and 400 nits. Pretty much what you want in a great gaming monitor. 

[Jumballi]

As someone who's dabbled with a lot of 1440p monitors at $300-450, my recommendation is don't get one at this price. maybe on black friday you could get a good deal for one at $350, but right now I don't see any sales and no quality ones under $500.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-27-led-qhd-g-sync-monitor-black/5293502.p?skuId=5293502
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-32-led-curved-qhd-freesync-monitor-with-hdr/6375331.p?skuId=6375331
These are the ones I use, I've seen them frequently on sale for $350, usually around the major holidays. gsync is very helpful at 1440p, since frame drops and stuttering can be more frequent, freesync only works on 1000 and higher, but if you planned to get a new gpu soon(which I really recommend, on a 1070, 1440p struggled to hit 60fps on low settings) then you're set when that happens.

[gogo809]

9 minutes ago, Sorenson said:

If you're near a microcenter get the Acer Nitro VG271U 27". They have the monitor for $350 right now. Its 1440p, 144hz, "1ms" response time, IPS, and 400 nits. Pretty much what you want in a great gaming monitor. 

Thank you very much for the feedback. I bought one of those on amazon for $299.99 late October last year. It was beautiful while it lasted!

[gogo809]

9 minutes ago, Jumballi said:

As someone who's dabbled with a lot of 1440p monitors at $300-450, my recommendation is don't get one at this price. maybe on black friday you could get a good deal for one at $350, but right now I don't see any sales and no quality ones under $500.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-27-led-qhd-g-sync-monitor-black/5293502.p?skuId=5293502
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-32-led-curved-qhd-freesync-monitor-with-hdr/6375331.p?skuId=6375331
These are the ones I use, I've seen them frequently on sale for $350, usually around the major holidays. gsync is very helpful at 1440p, since frame drops and stuttering can be more frequent, freesync only works on 1000 and higher, but if you planned to get a new gpu soon(which I really recommend, on a 1070, 1440p struggled to hit 60fps on low settings) then you're set when that happens.

Damn! Thank you so much for taking the time! Wife wants to buy me a replacement and she was pressuring  me to come up with one. Knew I could count on y'all to come up with something if it existed.

[Sorenson]

5 minutes ago, gogo809 said:

Thank you very much for the feedback. I bought one of those on amazon for $299.99 late October last year. It was beautiful while it lasted!

Ouch, I'm sorry to hear it didn't last too long. I had the predecessor and its still going strong in my friend's build. If you're not in a rush, I would wait for a sale on an LG UltraGear monitor. I have the ultrawide one and it is the best monitor I've ever owned by a mile.

 

 

[gogo809]

5 minutes ago, Sorenson said:

Ouch, I'm sorry to hear it didn't last too long. I had the predecessor and its still going strong in my friend's build. If you're not in a rush, I would wait for a sale on an LG UltraGear monitor. I have the ultrawide one and it is the best monitor I've ever owned by a mile.

 

 

It wasn't REALLY the monitors fault. Though, I thought it was when I paid to ship it to them for warranty repair. Repair denied, liquid damage. grrrr. Hell, I have had the thing apart myself. If I could buy a new mainboard I would consider going the "self repair" route. Can't find where to buy them though. (My google-fu is failing me hardcore).

[Jumballi]

14 minutes ago, gogo809 said:

Damn! Thank you so much for taking the time! Wife wants to buy me a replacement and she was pressuring  me to come up with one. Knew I could count on y'all to come up with something if it existed.

For $350, you can get an exceptional 1080p monitor vs an average 1440p monitor, it's just a bad time to buy at that price point, sucks that you need to get one now.
check the youtube channel hardware unboxed, they make lots of monitor reviews so you can make an informed decision

[Sorenson]

1 hour ago, Jumballi said:

For $350, you can get an exceptional 1080p monitor vs an average 1440p monitor, it's just a bad time to buy at that price point, sucks that you need to get one now.
check the youtube channel hardware unboxed, they make lots of monitor reviews so you can make an informed decision

Hardware unboxed does great monitor reviews. Another good resource is rtings.com if you want to get really in depth written reviews.