Best <$2k gaming monitor?

Killa|3yte

2[H]4U
Joined
Dec 22, 2002
Messages
2,266
I recently ordered a ROG Swift, but then a day later kind of went off the reservation and ordered a Titan X and am now contemplating adding a 2nd one.

I am very happy with the Swift, especially G-Sync. In fact, I think G-Sync may have ruined me. I almost don't think I'll enjoy gaming without it from here on out.

That said, it wasn't until the Titan X arrived that I really started doing my research. I realize I may have the horsepower to drive more, and just wanted to see if there's something better out there (ROG Swift can still be returned) if I'm willing to up the budget.

The upcoming 21:9 G-Sync Acer XR341CK looks very interesting. Should I stick with my VG278HE until that one comes out? I was personally fine with the 27"@1080p DPI, so I find myself wishing that I had more like 30"@1440p. I'm not a huge fan of 4k, but would be willing to consider it.

Any thoughts?

Edit: Should I consider the Acer XB270HU?
 
Last edited:
I wanted to get a swift monitor, first is expensive but than I heard it has so much quality control issues. I was going to buy one here recently but was afraid of it dieing months later which some people said theirs did.
 
I wanted to get a swift monitor, first is expensive but than I heard it has so much quality control issues. I was going to buy one here recently but was afraid of it dieing months later which some people said theirs did.
For what it's worth, mine has no defects that I can detect. Another thing to think about is that people with defective hardware (understandably) tend to be more vocal than those who are pleased with what they have. You see more "Dead pixels on my monitor!" threads than "I'm really happy with my monitor!" threads.
 
I had someone offer me a 550 for a swift monitor recently but I don't think he couldn't find the receipt for it and was afraid of ASUS customer service and me being screwed out of 550 dollars and plus gf complaining about the price LOL.
 
Last edited:
I wanted to get a swift monitor, first is expensive but than I heard it has so much quality control issues. I was going to buy one here recently but was afraid of it dieing months later which some people said theirs did.

It has a 3yr warranty and now that they are in stock it's typically a 1 week turnaround RMA. Knock on weod, mine has been rock solid.

Keep this in mind when shopping for a monitor in regard to gpu power, especially in regard to 1440 vs 1080...
(when I say average here I really mean the mode/most common frame rate running around in a game, not the real average).

This is true. However if you have
- very low response time
- high hz
- high frame rate to fill around 2/3 or more of that hz average (100fps-hz +, with it going higher at times , and unfortunately lower at times)
... then you will get more of a soften blur within the "shadow masks" of onscreen creatures, players, objects, landscapes, architecture, environmental fx, etc. (rather than a smear blur "outside of the lines" and with even more detail lost). Texture detail, and actual text, is still lost at speed (going "fuzzy"). I've sometimes described it as a vibration blur like a power tool can cause.

The soften blur at very high frame rate+hz on a low response time monitor is fairly tight. If you run lower fps, especially 60hz-fps and less you are basically running a low hz monitor though, with a ton more blur at lower hz no matter what monitor (perhaps even more as this acer's response time increases the lower the hz-fps too). That is in regard to blur reduction (motion clarity). You also get way less motion definition, path articulation,"flow", and animation definition running 60fps and lower - instead seeing "freeze-frames" of the same world action state through more ms of time. Since you are actually moving the entire game world around in your viewport relative to your perspective in 1st/3rd person games, this affects the entire game world's motion clarity and motion definition as well as individual virtual object's own movement within it.

Also this post which has some links to game benchmarks incl titan.
Of course they are mostly benches on ultra which is an arbitrary graphics ceiling which usually includes massive downsampling, superdupersampling, etc.
Personally I run a 2560x1440 swift with dual 780ti sc's on very high settings on some demanding games and get a common frame rate of 105+.
Note that there is a difference between common/mode fps and average fps. average can be higher just because the game spikes to 170fps at some point, but that doesn't mean you will be seeing the resultant average as your common playing frame rate.
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1041511906&postcount=25
 
Last edited:
It has a 3yr warranty and now that they are in stock it's typically a 1 week turnaround RMA.

You sure, I thought they only had 1 year warranty? and how is ASUS rma? Do I need a receipt of purchase even if I buy it from someone?
 
In regard to the original post scenario..
Basically, if you read the benchmarks links I referenced, a single titanx isn't enough (on ultra) even for the swift or the acer 2560x1440 144hz variable imo.
On ultra on most of the demanding games you would be in the 70's fps or less average, and that's not even the mode/most common playing fps running around.
On a variable hz monitor, at lower fps you are essentially running a low hz monitor.
To get the most out of these you'd have to have a common frame rate over 120fps really. 100 is a good point to shoot for though, with g-sync allowing you to swing into the 120's and 130's at times (and lower into sub-100 unfortunately).

He said he's thinking of getting dual titans , which for a game like shadow of mordor at 2560x1440 would get about 115 - 120fps average (on ultra).
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/81892-nvidia-geforce-gtx-titan-x-sli/?page=6

more titan x sli 1440 benchmarks
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/7049/nvidia-geforce-gtx-titan-12gb-sli-two-much-better-one/index4.html

Again showing that you aren't getting over 100 fps average let alone common playing frame rate without dual on ultra on the most demanding titles. More like 70 on some of them, and "only" up to 100 - 115 average (not common playing frame rate) even with dual titan x on the most demanding.
Of course if you are willing to play at high, high+, or very high, even very high+ settings you would get a lot more frames/sec.
 
Last edited:
Best <$2k gaming monitor?

I am very happy with the Swift

very easy question because nothing is better than the swift. the acer IPS is slightly different, but not better overall. the new 21:9 monitors are wider, but not better overall.

so if you like the swift, you're done. if you want better viewing angles, switch to the acer IPS. if you want wider, switch to the upcoming wide 75hz acer.

another happy customer!
 
very easy question because nothing is better than the swift. the acer IPS is slightly different, but not better overall. the new 21:9 monitors are wider, but not better overall.

so if you like the swift, you're done. if you want better viewing angles, switch to the acer IPS. if you want wider, switch to the upcoming wide 75hz acer.

another happy customer!

The FW900 is better than any of those.
 
After agonizing over all the information in this thread (thanks guys!), I decided to swap out the Swift for the Acer. That is not to say I wasn't happy with the Swift, I just think I would appreciate what IPS has to offer. As for when NewEgg actually ships it out, that's another story.
 
depends. CRT size is less, also geometry is imperfect. Other thing is you have to know how to tweak the hell out of it to maintain it's calibration, including going inside the housing. They are old and will sooner or later exhibit bloom/glow, fade, or other screen aberrations too. I had two, loved them but like any display there are major tradeoffs.
 
depends. CRT size is less, also geometry is imperfect. Other thing is you have to know how to tweak the hell out of it to maintain it's calibration, including going inside the housing. They are old and will sooner or later exhibit bloom/glow, fade, or other screen aberrations too. I had two, loved them but like any display there are major tradeoffs.
He's been trolling the whole sub-forum for some time now. I don't think his CRT recommendations are very serious :p
 
depends. CRT size is less, also geometry is imperfect. Other thing is you have to know how to tweak the hell out of it to maintain it's calibration, including going inside the housing. They are old and will sooner or later exhibit bloom/glow, fade, or other screen aberrations too. I had two, loved them but like any display there are major tradeoffs.

If you have time please respond to my pm, thanks man.
 
GDM-FW900, GDM-F520, or Iiyama 514.

Can we just not?

Acer XB270HU is the best gaming monitor ever made.
Do you have one? What makes you say that?

Yep, I have one. What makes me say it is that the XB270HU has a combination of features
that doesn't exist in any other monitor: 1440P, IPS, 144hz, gsync, and ULMB. It's basically an IPS ROG Swift.

The XB270HU is certainly not perfect, but it's as good as it gets right now, and much
better than any other option.
 
what about the monoprice IPS monitors, or the Korean made ones youll find online?


they'r blurry in motion, even those that overclock to 120 hz. their image quality is however much better than a TN. at least that was my experience with those.

practically, acer xb270hu and asus pg278q are the best choices at the moment.
 
Back
Top