1440p Conundrum

[Nil Napier]

Hello everyone, thinking about building my new PC with Intel i5 10400 paired with 3060ti. However, the problem is with choosing the monitor. One suggestion that I get a lot is to get a decent 1440p monitor as they define 3060ti as a card made for entry level 1440p gaming. However, getting a decent 144hz 1440p costs almost 70-80% more of a decent 144hz 1080p one in my country. Now, question, is it really unwise to go for 1080p as I will not be taking the full advantage of the gpu in a sense? Also, if I do get a 144hz 1440p display, will my CPU be able to push it up to a decent fps around 80-100+ in AAA different games with say Ray Tracing on in 1440p res? If not than I will not be getting the full advantage in this scenario too. So, you see the conundrum I have. 

P.S. - Purpose is to have frequent AAA gaming and casual competitive gaming.    

[Skiiwee29]

1080p with a 3060ti will be just fine. 

[maizenblue]

I was amazed at the dramatic difference in image quality going from 1080p to 1440p, but whether its worth it depends on your financial situation. 

[mr cheese]

3060ti owner with a 1440p display and Ryzen 9 5900X here!

Ray Tracing + Ultra will definitely not push pas 80-100 on 1440p unless you have DLSS on, and even then it's iffy. I had trouble getting control above 100 with RTX and DLSS on my 3060ti with just 1080p.

You'll probably see yourself needing to balance out your settings to really push that 1440p 144Hz envelope and I wouldn't really bet on RTX working out for you, regardless of the CPU you use.

You should be okay with the i5-10400 in your system for now, but try not to get your hopes up too much for that perfect 144Hz. I'd honestly say, because of how nice 144Hz really is to look at, I'd get a 144Hz monitor, especially since a lot of AAA competitive games offer very high frame rates and optimization specifically because of their competitive nature. For the games you want to look pretty? Just drop your frames down to 60FPS and roll with it there, or do G-SYNC if you can.

That said, if you're doing 1080p, do that! Honestly still looks great to game on and you might get to that magic 144Hz mark by dropping down, and saving yourself the money

or better yet, spare the money on the monitor and buy a 3080 XD

[Nil Napier]

19 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

1080p with a 3060ti will be just fine. 

Thanks a ton mate. Have a good day. 

[Nil Napier]

11 minutes ago, DaJakerBoss said:

3060ti owner with a 1440p display and Ryzen 9 5900X here!

Ray Tracing + Ultra will definitely not push pas 80-100 on 1440p unless you have DLSS on, and even then it's iffy. I had trouble getting control above 100 with RTX and DLSS on my 3060ti with just 1080p.

You'll probably see yourself needing to balance out your settings to really push that 1440p 144Hz envelope and I wouldn't really bet on RTX working out for you, regardless of the CPU you use.

You should be okay with the i5-10400 in your system for now, but try not to get your hopes up too much for that perfect 144Hz. I'd honestly say, because of how nice 144Hz really is to look at, I'd get a 144Hz monitor, especially since a lot of AAA competitive games offer very high frame rates and optimization specifically because of their competitive nature. For the games you want to look pretty? Just drop your frames down to 60FPS and roll with it there, or do G-SYNC if you can.

That said, if you're doing 1080p, do that! Honestly still looks great to game on and you might get to that magic 144Hz mark by dropping down, and saving yourself the money

or better yet, spare the money on the monitor and buy a 3080 XD

@DaJakerBoss Thanks a ton. So basically, to push the 144hz envelope, my options are Mid/Mid-High+RTX+DLSS on 1440p OR High/VeryHigh+RTX+DLSS on 1080p? 

[Nil Napier]

13 minutes ago, maizenblue said:

I was amazed at the dramatic difference in image quality going from 1080p to 1440p, but whether its worth it depends on your financial situation. 

Thanks a ton. Hope u have a good day. 

 

[Quackers101]

if you want the HZ and FPS, stay in 1080p. If you want more resolution then 1440p with 60 fps.

If you think about upgrading in the future, then more resolution could be worth it to 4K.

But if playing fast games, I would want all the FPS and refresh you can for 144-170hz.

 

as in image clarity, you both need good resolution and frames per second that is not having much ghosting or any other imperfections. so a good overdrive for higher refresh screens with a good image. Some like strobe modes on screens, and some might hate it.

[xg32]

3060ti cant drive 1440p 144hz in AAA games, go with 1080p and save some money.

[mr cheese]

7 hours ago, Nil Napier said:

@DaJakerBoss Thanks a ton. So basically, to push the 144hz envelope, my options are Mid/Mid-High+RTX+DLSS on 1440p OR High/VeryHigh+RTX+DLSS on 1080p? 

You're looking at Mid-High RTX+DLSS on 1080p and Mid/Low-Mid RTX+DLSS on 1080p for 144Hz

[Nil Napier]

4 hours ago, DaJakerBoss said:

You're looking at Mid-High RTX+DLSS on 1080p and Mid/Low-Mid RTX+DLSS on 1080p for 144Hz

Thank you mate. Have a great day. 

[Nil Napier]

11 hours ago, Quackers101 said:

if you want the HZ and FPS, stay in 1080p. If you want more resolution then 1440p with 60 fps.

If you think about upgrading in the future, then more resolution could be worth it to 4K.

But if playing fast games, I would want all the FPS and refresh you can for 144-170hz.

 

as in image clarity, you both need good resolution and frames per second that is not having much ghosting or any other imperfections. so a good overdrive for higher refresh screens with a good image. Some like strobe modes on screens, and some might hate it.

Thanks a ton. 

[Nil Napier]

11 hours ago, xg32 said:

3060ti cant drive 1440p 144hz in AAA games, go with 1080p and save some money.

Thank you, mate. 

[whm1974]

Don't need 144Hhzm as 60Hzm displays are cheaper and easier to get reasonable performance.

[Jrasero]

On 1/16/2021 at 1:12 PM, Nil Napier said:

Hello everyone, thinking about building my new PC with Intel i5 10400 paired with 3060ti. However, the problem is with choosing the monitor. One suggestion that I get a lot is to get a decent 1440p monitor as they define 3060ti as a card made for entry level 1440p gaming. However, getting a decent 144hz 1440p costs almost 70-80% more of a decent 144hz 1080p one in my country. Now, question, is it really unwise to go for 1080p as I will not be taking the full advantage of the gpu in a sense? Also, if I do get a 144hz 1440p display, will my CPU be able to push it up to a decent fps around 80-100+ in AAA different games with say Ray Tracing on in 1440p res? If not than I will not be getting the full advantage in this scenario too. So, you see the conundrum I have. 

P.S. - Purpose is to have frequent AAA gaming and casual competitive gaming.    

So a RTX 3060 Ti is like a better RTX 2080 S or near RTX 3070, or RXT 2080 Ti, thus this can drive 2560x1440 or 3440x1440.  Now there will be some games like CP 2077 or AC VH that really tax that card but those games also tax a RTX 3080 or RTX 3090 as well.  Personally I keep my monitors longer than I do my GPUs since I upgrade my GPU every refresh cycle but I upgrade my monitors either when they break or every 5+ years or when a next gen card can run a next gen monitor to the point where it's "worth" upgrading.  The RTX 3080 is a prime example of this since in "most" games at 4K it can do 120+ FPS, so buying a fancy 4K high refresh rate monitor or OLED 4K 120Hz TV starts to make sense.

 

So IMO I would buy the 1440P monitor since your current card can currently run it well and future GPUs should only make the experience even better.  The one thing you didn't address is the size of the monitor since I wouldn't recommend a 1080P screen for anything larger than 25" since at 27" things get too grainy for me and also if any of these monitors are G-SYNC capable or have a G-SYNC module.  Point being, if one monitor had G-SYNC and the other one didn't, that probably would be the deciding factor for me

 

 

[Nil Napier]

4 hours ago, Jrasero said:

So a RTX 3080 Ti is like a better RTX 2080 S or near RTX 3070, or RXT 2080 Ti, thus this can drive 2560x1440 or 3440x1440.  Now there will be some games like CP 2077 or AC VH that really tax that card but those games also tax a RTX 3080 or RTX 3090 as well.  Personally I keep my monitors longer than I do my GPUs since I upgrade my GPU every refresh cycle but I upgrade my monitors either when they break or every 5+ years or when a next gen card can run a next gen monitor to the point where it's "worth" upgrading.  The RTX 3080 is a prime example of this since in "most" games at 4K it can do 120+ FPS, so buying a fancy 4K high refresh rate monitor or OLED 4K 120Hz TV starts to make sense.

 

So IMO I would buy the 1440P monitor since your current card can currently run it well and future GPUs should only make the experience even better.  The one thing you didn't address is the size of the monitor since I wouldn't recommend a 1080P screen for anything larger than 25" since at 27" things get too grainy for me and also if any of these monitors are G-SYNC capable or have a G-SYNC module.  Point being, if one monitor had G-SYNC and the other one didn't, that probably would be the deciding factor for me

 

 

Thanks mate. Great insight. I guess it all really boils down to money but 1440p rwally seems the better option as futureproofing

[Quackers101]

2 hours ago, Nil Napier said:

Thanks mate. Great insight. I guess it all really boils down to money but 1440p rwally seems the better option as futureproofing

would say 4K with high refresh is more future proof. 1440p is too much in the middle, and it really depends on what you want currently and can afford.

or if you wait for new tech to come out. if you want fps over res, stick with 1080, if you dont care much about fps and want more resolution for titles you play then I guess you could go with 1440p. all resulotions being higher, can help eye strain with clearer details if care about that.

[Bobbysixjp]

I have both a 24.8 inch 1080p and 27 inch 1440p monitor (both 165 Hz). The 1440p monitor is noticeably sharper and look much better in games. 
if I were you I would get a 1440p 144 Hz monitor because right now it is the sweet spot for gaming and you will grow into it rather than buying a 1080p monitor now and upgrading in a few years. 

[Bobbysixjp]

1 hour ago, Quackers101 said:

would say 4K with high refresh is more future proof. 1440p is too much in the middle, and it really depends on what you want currently and can afford.

or if you wait for new tech to come out. if you want fps over res, stick with 1080, if you dont care much about fps and want more resolution for titles you play then I guess you could go with 1440p. all resulotions being higher, can help eye strain with clearer details if care about that.

4K high refresh is still a few years away as the 'sweet spot' for gaming. Yeas, there are GPUs that will give you high frame rates at 4K, but these are still high end cards and tend to be quite expensive. 

You also have to consider monitor size - for 27 inches 1440p is sufficient in terms of pixel density (in my opinion). If you are going with a 32 inch monitor or bigger, then 4K is the better option.