Monitor help; what ARE my needs?

Asrial · May 16, 2016

This is an x-post from /r/buildapc, but since i got no results there, and this seems like a good place to ask, here goes!

So allright; I need new monitor(s), and I'm confused beyond belief.

I'm a college-student majoring in food science and use statistical modelling A LOT. Secondary applications is music production and gaming. I do NOT play competitive CSGO or anything of the likes, but I do not want to be left with a monitor that's going to make the newly released DOOM look like crap. What I DO like to play is stuff like WoW, hearthstone, Enter the Gungeon, Super meat boy and Dota 2. I also like to watch movies with my girlfriend on my PC.

Critical components of my rig is a GTX 760 graphics card, i5-4670K processor and 8 gigs of RAM (soon to be 16, due to performance wall with my DAW).

Here comes the tricky part; I like the dual screen format, and right now I'm using a SyncMaster P2270 as my main monitor, and a Denver TFD 32" TV as my secondary. And it's fugly.

I currently recide in Denmark, so price is going to be a sore spot. My absolute pain threshold for monitor budget is going to be 500 USD (3300 dkk), although I would prefer to keep it at 350 USD. I like the dual monitor setup, since the screen estate is RIDICULOUSLY nice for running maple, adobe PDF reader, word, excel, R-studio ~~and your mothers livejasmin-stream~~ all at once while working. Hyperbole aside, this leads to my main confusion:

Will I be happier with 2 identical screens, a nicer screen and ditching the TV, or should I go ultra-wide? And TN vs IPS?! Because Every time I've looked up suggestions, it's always been "it depends on my needs".

I'm currently looking at the Samsung SyncMaster S24D390H as well as ASUS VN247H as possible candidates.

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

Moonzy · May 16, 2016

17 minutes ago, Asrial said:

Will I be happier with 2 identical screens, a nicer screen and ditching the TV, or should I go ultra-wide? And TN vs IPS?! Because Every time I've looked up suggestions, it's always been "it depends on my needs".

i would go with either 1 UW + 1 16:9 or 2 identical 16:9 screens with thin bezel (i have the VX239H in mind)

and i would go IPS if i were you, since you're watching movie and what not, especially if there are two of you so you'll be viewing at the screen from off-centre angles

i currently own one VX239H and i can vouch for it (it comes in a bigger screen size iirc, VX279H?)

it's a great 1080p IPS monitor with extremely thin bezel for your multi-display needs

though if i were to add a second monitor, i would consider 1440p IPS ultrawide (maybe curved if it's big) for some light games and even better for 21:9 movie consumption (though curved screen may cause issue with movie viewing for more than one person)

so yea, more fruit for thought

also, please follow your own topic so you wont be missing replies

Thony · May 16, 2016

Don't give people budget in a currency from other continent... USA doesn't pay tax on their products and EU has import tax... Their suggestions could be $50-100 different to the cost in where u live.

I own 2 two screens and been a huge fan of them !

Problem with ultrawide is that while u run a game it sucks to have anything else on the screen. With two screens u can dedicate one for game/movie w/e and other for something completely different and you will have a great experience.

I've played on IPS panel (60Hz) and higher response time (5 ms) of the monitor compared to TN (1-5ms) did not make a difference.

Until u don't experience 144Hz, the 60Hz is totally fine. But 144Hz is out of your budget since cheap ones have crappy colours.

So I would suggest 2 IPS panels, same model so u can have same image quality across them.

I own 760 and same as plenty of people I experience stutter so one screen is connected to iGpu and other to 760.

Many people go for Asus IPS panels ($150) but I got my LG on discount at time of buying and it's been great.

Tldr; Get 2 IPS panels

Asrial · May 16, 2016

34 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

i would go with either 1 UW + 1 16:9 or 2 identical 16:9 screens with thin bezel (i have the VX239H in mind)

and i would go IPS if i were you, since you're watching movie and what not, especially if there are two of you so you'll be viewing at the screen from off-centre angles

also, please follow your own topic so you wont be missing replies

6 minutes ago, Thony said:

Problem with ultrawide is that while u run a game it sucks to have anything else on the screen. With two screens u can dedicate one for game/movie w/e and other for something completely different and you will have a great experience.

I've played on IPS panel (60Hz) and higher response time (5 ms) of the monitor compared to TN (1-5ms) did not make a difference.

So I would suggest 2 IPS panels, same model so u can have same image quality across them.

I own 760 and same as plenty of people I experience stutter so one screen is connected to iGpu and other to 760.

@ Moonzy: I am following this thread. No idea if it's a specific follow feature, haven't used this forum before today. At least I'm keeping a close eye on the thread for now.

Anywho: an UW plus a normal monitor, wouldn't that look kinda dopey with two different screen heights? Assuming it's going to fit alongside my syncmaster (22"). Besides that, an IPS would be my safest bet for a monitor I assume, but how neglible is the impact on gaming going to be?

@ Thony: Yeah, that was my gaming concern too. Lord knows how many times I've had netflix on secondary while Dota'ing. And screen stutter? That's not exactly something I've experienced in the 2 years I've run dual monitor with the card.

Moonzy · May 16, 2016

you can click the follow button on top of the first post (top right side)

atm it's 0 people following so you're not following it either, but as long as you're monitoring it or someone is mentioning/quoting you it should be fine

1 hour ago, Asrial said:

an UW plus a normal monitor, wouldn't that look kinda dopey with two different screen heights? Assuming it's going to fit alongside my syncmaster (22"). Besides that, an IPS would be my safest bet for a monitor I assume, but how neglible is the impact on gaming going to be?

it should be fine. if you want monitor with same height then you have to do lots of looking (or calculation if you're into that sort of things) to see what screen size of UW and normal have the same vertical height

but if i were you i wouldnt bother much since the slight difference doesnt matter, as your attention is on one of the monitor most of the time, not spanning across both at the same time, unless you're working and that doesnt really matter since it doesnt require immersion

ips vs TN = response time, meaning how fast a pixel can change colours (not input latency, that's different)

so fast moving objects can leave a blurry trail behind it if your response time is too high

though i compared my IPS panel (VX239H) to my TV (some sharp 42" LCD 1080p TV)

i can notice obvious trails behind when im moving an object on my TV, but i cant notice anything when im using my monitor

so i guess i can't tell the different between IPS and TN panel's response time i have pretty normal eyes i guess

Asrial · May 16, 2016

Okay, so I think I've made up my mind on the form factor; most UW's are just out of my price range, so 16:9 it is for me. Maybe when I land an engineering job and my girlfriend won't murder me for the suggestion I'll get myself a granddaddy Acer Predator.

But my local hardware pusher doesn't sell the VX, and other vendors pricing on it equals that to my proposed screens in the OP. So is it just a matter of pressing that horrific "buy" button at this point?

Moonzy · May 16, 2016

2 hours ago, Asrial said:

Okay, so I think I've made up my mind on the form factor; most UW's are just out of my price range, so 16:9 it is for me. Maybe when I land an engineering job and my girlfriend won't murder me for the suggestion I'll get myself a granddaddy Acer Predator.

But my local hardware pusher doesn't sell the VX, and other vendors pricing on it equals that to my proposed screens in the OP. So is it just a matter of pressing that horrific "buy" button at this point?

if the VX and VN's price are equal, i would pick the VX though as i think it have a slimmer bezel and looks better

Asrial · May 16, 2016

5 hours ago, Moonzy said:

if the VX and VN's price are equal, i would pick the VX though as i think it have a slimmer bezel and looks better

8 hours ago, Asrial said:

But my local hardware pusher doesn't sell the VX, and other vendors pricing on it equals that to my proposed screens in the OP. So is it just a matter of pressing that horrific "buy" button at this point?

Vendor loyalty is a thing, and the vendor so far have been stellar. Bezels matter less for me, as again, I'll possibly be focusing on one screen at a time. If I was doing a tri-screen, huzzah I'd go hyper-slim.

But thanks for the help.