Should I be focused on 1440p 144hz gsync at this point, or 4k?

RileyLewis

Weaksauce
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
114
I am building a new PC this month, with the following basic specs:

7700k
GTX 1080
16GB DDR4-3000
M.2 SSD + Regular SSD storage

Right now I have a 30" 2560x1600 Dell 10-bit IPS panel (3011 - for photo editing) that is locked at 60fps. While 1440p would be a very slight downgrade in resolution, it would also allow me to up my refresh rate game and get something that is gsync-capable. My build will be more than enough for that, I know, but is it worth jumping to 4k at the same time? I honestly think I would need to upgrade my gpu in another year or two to really handle 4k at decent frame rates for newer games, so would it even be worth it?

I have been out of the monitor game for a long time, so forgive my ignorance! I don't even know a good place to start looking for 27"-30" panels with these features, these days! Eventually I'd like to make the jump to HDR, but it's too expensive at this point, I think.

It seems to me that there are now a bunch of different checkboxes to fill out, and I don't know which are most important:

- resolution
- refresh rate
- gsync/freesync
- IPS/TN
- OLED
- Curved
- Ultrawide
- HDR

I feel lost!
 
Thats really up to you and what you are willing to pay out for cards and monitors

1440p and 144hz is kind of a sweet spot and the monitors go for 600$ now regularly with gsync. I paid 800 for mine and it looks pretty ugly compared to the new ones that are out now.

4k monitors with 144hz are coming but they will likely be very expensive rumors put them at around 2000$.


I am unwilling to go 60hz monitor now that I have 144hz. So 4k is a no go for me for awhile. It will also require GPU upgrades frequently. 1440p you can stretch out GPUs pretty good these days. My 1080 is crushing games at 1440p.
 
Thats really up to you and what you are willing to pay out for cards and monitors

1440p and 144hz is kind of a sweet spot and the monitors go for 600$ now regularly with gsync. I paid 800 for mine and it looks pretty ugly compared to the new ones that are out now.

4k monitors with 144hz are coming but they will likely be very expensive rumors put them at around 2000$.


I am unwilling to go 60hz monitor now that I have 144hz. So 4k is a no go for me for awhile. It will also require GPU upgrades frequently. 1440p you can stretch out GPUs pretty good these days. My 1080 is crushing games at 1440p.

Thanks for the response.

Yeah my budget is probably around $600-$800. I would like to go 144hz, but I also really love my IPS panel. I don't need 10-bit in the new one, but even a regular IPS that is 144hz is going to be out of my price range, it appears. So I guess the question really becomes: Is a 144hz TN panel worth it over my existing 1600p IPS panel? Hmm, I will need to do some research on this. Gsync wouldn't even really be an issue if I am locked at 60fps since the 1080 should be able to handle 1600p on ultra for at least a few years. Heck, my existing 780ti can handle almost all games 60fps on ultra with the exception of BF1.
 
You know, after doing some research here and elsewhere, it seems that sticking with my existing monitor might be the best thing for now. If I want to push my frame rates beyond 100fps, then I'm going to need a 1080ti plus a new monitor. My main concern was getting something with gsync, but honestly a 1080 will be able to easily handle 1600p 60fps for a few years, meaning I don't even need to worry about it. So in a few years when the cost of 1440p IPS HDR panels come down, I can scoop one up and upgrade to a 1180ti or whatever.

Thanks for the help!
 
Thanks for the response.

Yeah my budget is probably around $600-$800. I would like to go 144hz, but I also really love my IPS panel. I don't need 10-bit in the new one, but even a regular IPS that is 144hz is going to be out of my price range, it appears. So I guess the question really becomes: Is a 144hz TN panel worth it over my existing 1600p IPS panel? Hmm, I will need to do some research on this. Gsync wouldn't even really be an issue if I am locked at 60fps since the 1080 should be able to handle 1600p on ultra for at least a few years. Heck, my existing 780ti can handle almost all games 60fps on ultra with the exception of BF1.
I have an asus pg279q I'm thinking about selling.
 
it's a shitty time to be in the display market. playing the waiting game. if it was last year i would have said get an X34, or omen X35, but I wouldn't recommend getting one now. wait for the new 4k 100hz+ gsync at this point, if you've got a top end PC. 21:9 support still isn't there fully, maybe it will get better, but PROBABLY NOT. seems like 1/2 of the games i look to buy don't natively support 21:9, but now that i'm using such a big monitor in the x34 i have no desire to go back to a smaller display. hoping for a 32+ inch 4k with 100hz or better. the sad part is the next Gsync monitor Acer revealed is 4k @ 27". toooooo small.
 
I was about to post a topic similar to this. My ITX build is finally happening. Was torn between widescreen, 144Hz and 4k.
 
it's a shitty time to be in the display market. playing the waiting game. if it was last year i would have said get an X34, or omen X35, but I wouldn't recommend getting one now. wait for the new 4k 100hz+ gsync at this point, if you've got a top end PC. 21:9 support still isn't there fully, maybe it will get better, but PROBABLY NOT. seems like 1/2 of the games i look to buy don't natively support 21:9, but now that i'm using such a big monitor in the x34 i have no desire to go back to a smaller display. hoping for a 32+ inch 4k with 100hz or better. the sad part is the next Gsync monitor Acer revealed is 4k @ 27". toooooo small.

You can usually hack most games to allow more aspect ratios. I have a 4:3 monitor and have not run into a game I can't make work. 21:9 should be similar as they are both uncommon ratios.

I use a software called "Flawless Widescreen".
 
I would stay away from current 144 Hz IPS offerings due to prevalent build quality issues.
 
You can usually hack most games to allow more aspect ratios. I have a 4:3 monitor and have not run into a game I can't make work. 21:9 should be similar as they are both uncommon ratios.

I use a software called "Flawless Widescreen".

They don't always work properly. Sometimes they do, and it's fine. MGS5 for example, worked fine. RE7, however, did not - with games they weren't made with 21:9 in mind and it screws up the UI, or in a shooter the crosshairs etc., can make things look weird.

It'd just be nice if the developers realized that this whole widescreen thing is ACTUALLY relatively popular and just spend the teeny tiny bit of extra time to make it work natively. In which case I would stay with 21:9 for a lot longer. But as far as things are now, I'd say like 50% of games don't work straight out of the box the way they are supposed to on 21:9 - would rather just move to 4K and forget about it.
 
You know, after doing some research here and elsewhere, it seems that sticking with my existing monitor might be the best thing for now. If I want to push my frame rates beyond 100fps, then I'm going to need a 1080ti plus a new monitor. My main concern was getting something with gsync, but honestly a 1080 will be able to easily handle 1600p 60fps for a few years, meaning I don't even need to worry about it. So in a few years when the cost of 1440p IPS HDR panels come down, I can scoop one up and upgrade to a 1180ti or whatever.

Thanks for the help!
you don't need a 1080 Ti to get 100+ fps at 1440p, you just need to be content with running games 1 step below max, and tbh you should be doing that anyway because of how most games have extreme diminishing returns with disproportionate performance hits on max. a 1080 is plenty.

if you can stand waiting though that's almost always the best option, probably the best one right now but who knows how long it's going to be before there's something really worth buying (that doesn't cost $1k+, that is).
 
I have got both a ROG Swift 1440p TN panel with gSync and a 40" early generation 4k monitor, the Philips BDM4065UC. If I had to pick one or the other, I'd stick with the 4k display. The Swift only sees use when I'm playing a fast paced, competitive online game, which I've been playing less and less of as I get older. Eventually I'll be upgrading to a 4k OLED.
 
I have got both a ROG Swift 1440p TN panel with gSync and a 40" early generation 4k monitor, the Philips BDM4065UC. If I had to pick one or the other, I'd stick with the 4k display. The Swift only sees use when I'm playing a fast paced, competitive online game, which I've been playing less and less of as I get older. Eventually I'll be upgrading to a 4k OLED.

I also consider myself a "mature" gamer and never played in a competitive way BUT having higher refresh rates (e.g. 144-165 and now up to 240hz) not only helps for "competitions" but also for a better and enhanced gaming experience overall because of the smoothness gaming at said refresh rates the monitors can provide. More smoothness = more sense of reality. Gaming at 200hz+, for instance, can help to achieve the effect that something "real" it's happening on the screen.
 
They don't always work properly. Sometimes they do, and it's fine. MGS5 for example, worked fine. RE7, however, did not - with games they weren't made with 21:9 in mind and it screws up the UI, or in a shooter the crosshairs etc., can make things look weird.

It'd just be nice if the developers realized that this whole widescreen thing is ACTUALLY relatively popular and just spend the teeny tiny bit of extra time to make it work natively. In which case I would stay with 21:9 for a lot longer. But as far as things are now, I'd say like 50% of games don't work straight out of the box the way they are supposed to on 21:9 - would rather just move to 4K and forget about it.

Will never happen. I don't think you appreciate how cheap, incompetent, and lazy most developers are--especially Japanese developers. They're the worst. They really don't give a shit and have a culture that doesn't seem to understand the concept of making games work in variable environments.
 
Thanks for the response.

Yeah my budget is probably around $600-$800. I would like to go 144hz, but I also really love my IPS panel. I don't need 10-bit in the new one, but even a regular IPS that is 144hz is going to be out of my price range, it appears. So I guess the question really becomes: Is a 144hz TN panel worth it over my existing 1600p IPS panel? Hmm, I will need to do some research on this. Gsync wouldn't even really be an issue if I am locked at 60fps since the 1080 should be able to handle 1600p on ultra for at least a few years. Heck, my existing 780ti can handle almost all games 60fps on ultra with the exception of BF1.

IPS 144hz is not out of the 600-800 range at 1440p. only 4k 144hz IPS would be.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-XB271HU-2560x1440-Display/dp/B0173PEX20

600$ at costco almost permanently
 
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I think it depends on the function. Gaming in 4k is really not worth it yet because of the low frame and refresh rates available. For Movies and Streaming, I would say 4k w/ HDR is definitely worth it and looks amazing. For Photo Editing, having your display set to 4k w/ HDR would allow you to work on some very vibrant and detailed pictures, but the GUIs for some software may be a bit behind the 4k curve.

For me, I chose to work on a 4k w/ HDR display for movies and streaming, but game in 1440 at ultra settings.
 
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