A gaming monitor for WoW, to help this MBP user out :)

[murbert]

Hello LTT community,

 

What should I be looking for in a monitor for World of Warcraft (Resolution, Refresh Rate, Response Time, Size, and Panel Type)? And to follow up my first question; based off the specifications of the monitors I should be looking at, which of AMD's GPU offerings would I need to run the monitor at it' best performance? I'll include some details below about my current setup and unrelated personal details. ;)

 

Earlier this year I moved. In this move; I sold my Desktop PC and any accessories switching to a 2017 MacBook Pro 15" with discrete GPU. As I was moving into a smaller space and temporary one; I needed to downsize as well as be mobile for my new job and the MacBook Pro just happens to be my preference when it comes to laptops. I have now been working and playing World of Warcraft off the MacBook Pro for 8 months and while it has been fine experience with some tweaking of WoW's resolution settings since they choose to force native resolution onto the game. I will shortly be moving into a permanent home and looking to add some more power and convenience to my home setup.

 

I am looking to add a Monitor and eGPU to my setup. I admittedly do not know much about monitor technology and what I do know doesn't help me relate that information to into any helpful in narrowing my choices. For a second question.

[Zando_]

I'd go for a Vega 56 and a 1440p 60Hz screen (unless you'd like a smoother 144Hz refresh rate), should drive LoL at that res easily. Or you could grab an RX580 or RX590, those should actually be fine as well. 

[TrueMegaManiac]

WoW isn't the kind of game to benefit a ton from high refresh-rate. I play the game on a 2560x1440 screen at 165Hz and the game, even with my 1080 Ti on Preset 7 won't ever hit that max refresh, and sure as hell won't do half of that number in raids. Screen real-estate and visibility is better for WoW so get an ultra-wide(ideally 3440x1440 34").

 

In my honest opinion though, go and build a small form factor Desktop to keep in your room as your sit-down at home setup and the macbook for work and on the go. Node 202 is a fantastic little case for ITX builds as the footprint is quite tiny, not much bigger than an EGPU box. If the monitor supports Thunderbolt 3, you can dock the macbook for when you need both the screen space and Mac. When you're talking the cost of a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure, you're better off building a desktop at that point since you'd get PCIE 16 which will allow your GPU to work at 100% whereas Thunderbolt 3(while fast in it's own right) is a big bottleneck.

[murbert]

On 11/20/2018 at 10:47 AM, TrueMegaManiac said:

WoW isn't the kind of game to benefit a ton from high refresh-rate. I play the game on a 2560x1440 screen at 165Hz and the game, even with my 1080 Ti on Preset 7 won't ever hit that max refresh, and sure as hell won't do half of that number in raids. Screen real-estate and visibility is better for WoW so get an ultra-wide(ideally 3440x1440 34").

 

In my honest opinion though, go and build a small form factor Desktop to keep in your room as your sit-down at home setup and the macbook for work and on the go. Node 202 is a fantastic little case for ITX builds as the footprint is quite tiny, not much bigger than an EGPU box. If the monitor supports Thunderbolt 3, you can dock the macbook for when you need both the screen space and Mac. When you're talking the cost of a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure, you're better off building a desktop at that point since you'd get PCIE 16 which will allow your GPU to work at 100% whereas Thunderbolt 3(while fast in it's own right) is a big bottleneck.

 

Thanks for your reply,

 

I am going to stick with my plan of having an eGPU solution with a monitor; even with the limitations of Thunderbolt 3 and the Mac OS at times. I'd prefer not to have 2 independent systems and like to stick with OSX, as I prefer it over Windows.

 

I really like your suggestion for screen resolution and size as I was hoping to get something around that size. I had been getting discouraged with all the negative points I've been reading in regards to gaming; but as you said WoW is not a game with the fast pace action of FPS or RTS where those negatives really shine through.

 

Do you have any recommendations in terms of the actually monitor?

[TrueMegaManiac]

1 hour ago, murbert said:

 

Thanks for your reply,

 

I am going to stick with my plan of having an eGPU solution with a monitor; even with the limitations of Thunderbolt 3 and the Mac OS at times. I'd prefer not to have 2 independent systems and like to stick with OSX, as I prefer it over Windows.

 

I really like your suggestion for screen resolution and size as I was hoping to get something around that size. I had been getting discouraged with all the negative points I've been reading in regards to gaming; but as you said WoW is not a game with the fast pace action of FPS or RTS where those negatives really shine through.

 

Do you have any recommendations in terms of the actually monitor?

Fair enough. You can find a few decent 1440 ultrawides for 500-800. In 22 hours, Massdrops 35 Inch 3440x1440 ultrawide, the Vast can be had for $550. https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-vast-curved-gaming-monitor  It even boasts a 100Hz refresh which makes it pretty good for faster paced games.

 

This one is quite similar but is 34 inches instead and has only a 60Hz refresh which is just fine but looks to include quite a few creature comforts like included USB fast charging and a thunderbolt 3 connectivity option on the $500 model. https://www.amazon.com/LG-34UM88C-P-34-Inch-21-UltraWide/dp/B01CDYB5CW?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_8

 

Here is a list just using "3440x1440 monitor" as a search term on amazon. Lots to choose from. https://www.amazon.com/slp/3440x1440-monitor/2tw4uvqewbfb8yu Just be careful when pulling the trigger. Even though 3440x1440 is the search term, a few 2560x1080 panels show up. Also if you are looking at going with a Radeon GPU(mac plays nicer with them), it might be a good idea to look monitors that offer FreeSync since that will match FPS and Refresh rate making things feel a good bit smoother. With Nvidia, their version is Gsync but that is a good $200 more for some silly reason.

[murbert]

Thank you TrueMegaManiac,

 

I got some searching to do, as well as deal hunting. In Canada $500 USD means closer to $800 CAD so hopefully I find a good Black Friday/Cyber Monday or Boxing Day deal.