Getting a new monitor: 21:9 vs 16:9 and up-scaling

[675409]

Hello. I am getting a new monitor and I can;t decide on what to get. I want to either get a 21:9 but at 1080p (all I can afford) or a 16:9 (again 1080p) but at 240hz

I was wondering if I could upscale it to 1440p or 4k and if 21:9 is worth it for gaming.

 

 

[mariushm]

My advice would be to stick to 144-165 Hz because if you can't afford the monitor you probably can't afford a video card capable of 240 Hz and whatever cheap monitor you get capable of 240 Hz will probably achieve it by overshooting and overdriving the pixels horribly resulting in blurred images and crap quality.

 

By design you can't have 1080p at 21:9 ... 1080p is 16:9 ... 21:9 would be  (1080 /9 ) x 21 = 2520 x 1080  .. eh , make it 2560x1080   ... 2560x1440 is more common and you can play games at 2560x1200 or 2560x1080 (and just have black bars on the top and bottom) if the resolution is too much for the video card.

You could also configure the game to run at 720p (1280x720) and from video card's control center you could tell it to upscale the image 2x at practically no performance loss.

 

[RONOTHAN##]

6 minutes ago, 675409 said:

I was wondering if I could upscale it to 1440p or 4k

Yes but actually no. Yes you can run upscaling stuff, but that's more a brute force anti aliasing technique, it doesn't really make stuff look better. You'd be better off just getting a higher resolution panel.

 

7 minutes ago, 675409 said:

21:9 is worth it for gaming

Depends on the game. Personally, I prefer gaming at 16:9, but I know a number of people who can't use anything but an ultrawide. 

 

Personally, unless you're an eSports gamer, go for a 1440p 144Hz panel, it'll be about the same price as the 1080p 240Hz but it will look a lot nicer. If you're even considering an ultrawide, you aren't really an eSports gamer, so it's probably the best solution.

[GuiltySpark_]

16 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

...but I know a number of people who can't use anything but an ultrawide. 

 

*raises hand* 

 

I can't see ever going back to 16:9 for my primary display

[NinJake]

The only problem is if you ever plan on streaming. Not too many people have ultrawides compared to those who have 16:9 aspect ratio displays. So if you do plan on streaming on an ultrawide, you are either streaming 21:9 and "everyone" else will see black bars when viewing your stream, or you have to change your game resolution to 16:9 anyways.

 

Ultrawides are amazing though, and like @GuiltySpark_said, I can't imagine ever returning to 16:9 for home use.

[dizmo]

Another 21:9 convert here. I'm actually thinking of going back to 16:9 though just to see how I feel about it. Perhaps a 32" panel though, we'll see.

If I were to find a killer deal on a 21:9 monitor I'd take it in a second, but they're such a pain to ship.

Worth is a relative term. What's worth it to someone else might not hold true for you, so it's better to not ask such things.

 

You should look at what games you play, to see if 240hz is actually worth it for you. Also, I wouldn't get a TN panel just for a higher refresh rate.

IPS, then VA, and only TN if you're absolutely broke.

 

3 hours ago, mariushm said:

My advice would be to stick to 144-165 Hz because if you can't afford the monitor you probably can't afford a video card capable of 240 Hz and whatever cheap monitor you get capable of 240 Hz will probably achieve it by overshooting and overdriving the pixels horribly resulting in blurred images and crap quality.

 

By design you can't have 1080p at 21:9 ... 1080p is 16:9 ... 21:9 would be  (1080 /9 ) x 21 = 2520 x 1080  .. eh , make it 2560x1080   ... 2560x1440 is more common and you can play games at 2560x1200 or 2560x1080 (and just have black bars on the top and bottom) if the resolution is too much for the video card.

You could also configure the game to run at 720p (1280x720) and from video card's control center you could tell it to upscale the image 2x at practically no performance loss.

 

Not necessarily true. Perhaps he just plays a ton of eSports titles, or similarly easy to run games. Can't just make statements like that without trying to dive a little deeper.

 

You can most definitely have 1080P at 21:9, it's the most common resolution for 29" panels and relatively popular in 34" as well.

[IPD]

If you are considering a 1080p panel "because budget"--then I would just go shop for secondhand from your local PC store, Goodwill, etc.

 

Use the cash you don't spend, to save up for a good monitor in the future.

 

p.s.

I was in a Goodwill last week.  4x 1080p monitors sitting on the shelf.  Possibly more.  Several LCD TV's too.  And this is fairly typical, people upgrade and their 1080p or 720p stuff ends up here.  Nothing wrong with it.  And sometimes you get a really nice monitor for $25. 

[675409]

17 hours ago, dizmo said:

Another 21:9 convert here. I'm actually thinking of going back to 16:9 though just to see how I feel about it. Perhaps a 32" panel though, we'll see.

If I were to find a killer deal on a 21:9 monitor I'd take it in a second, but they're such a pain to ship.

Worth is a relative term. What's worth it to someone else might not hold true for you, so it's better to not ask such things.

 

You should look at what games you play, to see if 240hz is actually worth it for you. Also, I wouldn't get a TN panel just for a higher refresh rate.

IPS, then VA, and only TN if you're absolutely broke.

 

Not necessarily true. Perhaps he just plays a ton of eSports titles, or similarly easy to run games. Can't just make statements like that without trying to dive a little deeper.

 

You can most definitely have 1080P at 21:9, it's the most common resolution for 29" panels and relatively popular in 34" as well.

I usually play stuff like fortnite and valorant. Esports, so I usually pump out 240+ Fps on those. I sometimes will play warzone but get like 100 FPS

I was wondering if 1080p is enough because I see professionals use 1080p 240hz+ monitors. And also getting an ultrawide would give an extra viewing area bonus

[dizmo]

29 minutes ago, 675409 said:

I usually play stuff like fortnite and valorant. Esports, so I usually pump out 240+ Fps on those. I sometimes will play warzone but get like 100 FPS

I was wondering if 1080p is enough because I see professionals use 1080p 240hz+ monitors. And also getting an ultrawide would give an extra viewing area bonus

If you play games like that I'd avoid a 21:9 panel because you likely aren't looking at a high refresh one; they're few and far between.

Stick to a 16:9 panel with a high refresh rate.

Yes, pros use high refresh panels. They also sometimes play at resolutions like 720p to gain an advantage. You're not a pro. Don't pay attention to what they do, it's not really relevant to what you're doing. You should be able to get a nice high refresh IPS panel in the 24" 1080p range.