What monitor route should I go for? 1440p or 144hz?

[Dr Seuss]

My current build is i5-9600k 16gb ram rtx 2060

Right now I have a 1080p generic monitor, I'm trying to decide which way to upgrade on display. I don't plan on upgrading my build any time soon, and don't want to feel forced, so I initially thought to get a higher refresh rate instead of going for resolution, but I figured I'd ask some experts. Is refresh rate really that worth it? I play fps games and people around me claim refresh rate makes it so much smoother, but I've never noticed anything wrong with 60hz.

Is there really that much difference between 1080p and 1440p? Will I notice? Or will it only matter if I jump it up to 4k(which I won't be doing)?

I guess if I don't go with high refresh rate, my question is will my gpu be able to handle AAA games at 1440p 60fps? I'm don't care about the super demanding AAA titles like cyberpunk or red dead, I won't be playing that anyways, but for example Call of Duty Cold War? Modern Warfare? Or the single player games, like Horizon Zero dawn, and new ones coming out in the next year?

[Slottr]

Stick to 1080, try high refresh rate

2060 isn't the most powerful card and the games you wanna play will definitely struggle at 1440

[tishous]

If you mainly play FPS games, then go with the higher refresh rate. The difference is huge, coming from experience. It's at a point where playing on 60hz feels laggy for me. The thing is, with more and more powerful GPUs coming out constantly, I think 1440p 144hz will be the sweet spot in the next few years. Perhaps saving a bit more and investing in one of those monitors could save you some money in the future. 

[Wh0_Am_1]

Higher refresh rate. Once you get to a certain skill level in these games, refresh rate will be a very useful. If you can afford it though, both features would improve your experience in a lot of games.

[Dr Seuss]

3 minutes ago, Wh0_Am_1 said:

Higher refresh rate. Once you get to a certain skill level in these games, refresh rate will be a very useful. If you can afford it though, both features would improve your experience in a lot of games.

Yeah, no. I can't have both. I get one or the other, my 2060 would fry before I get both, and I can't upgrade my gpu for a while now. 

[Wh0_Am_1]

5 minutes ago, Dr Seuss said:

Yeah, no. I can't have both. I get one or the other, my 2060 would fry before I get both, and I can't upgrade my gpu for a while now. 

IF you can afford to purchase both in a monitor, that doesn't mean that you have to run both at the same time, you can run slower more aesthetic games at 1440p and your CSGOs, CODs, and etc. at higher refresh rates. I am recommending this for the long game, as you will probably be holding onto or finding a use for this monitor for quite a while. I would not be surprised if in 2030 you still had this monitor connected to your rig for in one fashion or another, and by that time will likely have a system quite capable of pushing such a monitor. Because as you are likely to use your FHD display as a second monitor now, this monitor will likely fill this same role for your system sometime in the future.

[martward]

I ran a 1440p 144hz monitor up till recently from a 2060. I liked it because I could get high refresh rates in less demanding competitieve games like csgo, and I could usually get 60fps on most single player games at 1440p. I picked a monitor with gsync and I liked it, so it's certainly not impossible. Something like the gigabyte m27q out g27q would be a nice monitor IMO. 

[Dr Seuss]

21 minutes ago, martward said:

I picked a monitor with gsync and I liked it, so it's certainly not impossible. Something like the gigabyte m27q out g27q would be a nice monitor IMO

What's the big deal with g sync? What does it do? And what's the difference between flat and curved monitors?

[Wh0_Am_1]

3 minutes ago, Dr Seuss said:

What's the big deal with g sync? What does it do?

G sync and Freesync match the monitor's refresh rate with the frames being out put from your GPU, allowing for a smoother experience that reduces or eliminates stutter and frame tearing G sync is available in three tiers. The lowest of which is basically validated Freesync.

[Dr Seuss]

13 minutes ago, Wh0_Am_1 said:

G sync and Freesync match the monitor's refresh rate with the frames being out put from your GPU, allowing for a smoother experience that reduces or eliminates stutter and frame tearing G sync is available in three tiers. The lowest of which is basically validated Freesync.

So you're saying that I need to get g sync or free sync if Im going to spend 200+ on higher frequency monitors? The gigabyte monitor you recomended has amd freesync, but I have nvidia 2060, will it still work? 

[Wh0_Am_1]

Just now, Dr Seuss said:

So you're saying that I need to get g sync or free sync if Im going to spend 200+ on higher frequency monitors?

You don't NEED it, but it is definitely worth considering. And do note, not all Freesync monitors are built the same, as there is no real governing standard, so read the fine print.

[Dr Seuss]

1 hour ago, Wh0_Am_1 said:

You don't NEED it, but it is definitely worth considering. And do note, not all Freesync monitors are built the same, as there is no real governing standard, so read the fine print.

so the monitor martward said, the m27QC or G27QC, would these be good ones to look into?

[martward]

2 hours ago, Dr Seuss said:

so the monitor martward said, the m27QC or G27QC, would these be good ones to look into?

The G27Q is a gsync monitor, the m27q technically is not. However the m27q got a very good review by Hardware Unboxed en the reviewer mentions that it's also compatible with gsync. Personally I'm a big fan of the variable refresh rate, everything just feels smoother and you don't notice as much when the framerate varies and dips. So whatever resolution you go with, I'd recommend getting a monitor that is either g-sync compatible or a verified source has said also works fine with Nvidia g-sync.

Whether to go 1440p of 1080p, well I know that Horizon zero dawn, for example, will run fine on a 2060 at 1440p, I've played most of the campaign just like that. Getting a 1440p is also more "future proof" since you won't need to upgrade as fast, and you could always drop to 1080p if you're playing a game you really can't play at 1440p. Though I would surprised if most future titles won't include some form of upscaling from a lower render resolution like fidelityfx or dlss.

I think in the end it really comes down to how much you want to spend.

[Wh0_Am_1]

6 hours ago, Dr Seuss said:

so the monitor martward said, the m27QC or G27QC, would these be good ones to look into?

As mentioned by Martward, the G27QC is G-sync certified and tested, meanwhile the other one is Freesync Premium, other than that it is rather difficult to find some details about the freesync on this monitor, but from the looks of them they are solid choices. Do consider other options as well, as while this one is solid, there may be other monitor that better fit your needs and/or budget.

[Doobeedoo]

Higher refresh rate first before res upgrade.