Monitor decision - Displays out of stock

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KickAssCop

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I am looking to buy a new display for myself but the 3 models I am trying to obtain have been consistently out of stock for me.

I tried the following

Acer Predator X34
Acer Predator XB271HU
Asus PG279Q

Any experiences with these puppies? Any idea when to expect stock? Any leads on problems etc.?

More info will help me a lot. I am contemplating whether to go SLi again or spend the money on a new monitor and can't decide. Figured with GSync I don't need SLi for 1440P? Thoughts?

Shall I go 4K instead and just get a 28 or 32 4K at 60 HZ. Since going 144 Hz I have problem with 60 Hz for gaming purposes. Is the problem less pronounced at 4K?

I know a lot of questions but guidance will help.
 
If I was in the market for one of those displays, I would choose XB271HU, without a doubt. Ultra-wide isn't universally compatible, and PG279Q's IPS glow is more pronounced than XB271HU's.

I usually assume 980ti's performance to be roughly on par with 970 SLI, so I would imagine that, barring a few games, 980ti should hold up pretty well at 1440p.

I bought BL3201PT to complement my Swift, and I had anticipated that the lack of G-Sync and 60hz would be noticeable, but turns out it wasn't that pronounced, at least for non-fps games, though this was primarily what I bought the monitor for.

If I were you, I would probably still choose XB271HU over BL3201PT. 4k is nice, but there are still games that don't play nice at 4k, 1440p so far I have found very little problems in terms of game compatibility, such as UI scaling.
 
Just when I made this thread I saw the 271 in stock on Amazon and got it with a second 980 ti and steam link lol.

My final upgrades for the year. :)
 
Damn the curved is also in stock. I ordered both. Tell me which to cancel.

So I can either do 271 + second classified

OR X34

Not X34 with a second classified card. Do you think a single card will be enough to run the resolution of X34? I am thinking not; because I am playing Syndicate at 1440P max details and it chokes sometimes. Not the best example but I want my games to run smooth and with GSync, DSR doesn't work so I will be locked at 1440P w/ 271 whereas, with X34 I will have GSync at a higher resolution that may smooth things out.

What up?
 
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I never owned an ultra-wide, so my entire post of anti-Ultra wide perspective is entirely done by on-paper conclusions and biased personal opinion about 'immersion' people use to argue for large screens and ultra-wides.

Here it goes:

1. Game Support: if you have been following the release of major titles, you may notice that Ultra-Wide resolution support is not always guarenteed, pretty much like SLI is. However there is certain amount of leeway one can do to tweak settings so that your SLI setup can usually mean some form of performance increase, where as Ultra-Wide resolutions usually end up either works or don't, no inbetweens, so you are either hoping that developers will support this resolution, or you can tolerate having vertical black bars.

2. Field of View: Ultra-Wide does indeed generally allow you to see 'more', as in having a wider angle of view. The FoV of 16:9 is usually the same across any resolution of that kind, so ultra-wide has an advantage there. But this is limited to horizontal view only, your vertical is still similarly limited. I personally do not find the extra horizontal view to be that appealing, especially considering the most limiting side (the vertical) is unaffected, it makes the monitor even narrower. This will ultimately depend on the types of games you play. Games that you only use horizontal FOV (racing games for example) will benefit, whereas games that you also use vertical FOV (FPS) will not benefit as much.

3. Immersion: This is entirely personal, but a lot of arguments for ultra-wide and large monitors is the 'immersion' factor, since more of your FoV is taken up by the game, you are more likely to feel you are in the game. If that is true to you, then Ultra-wide may be worth considering. Personally, I can find 100 different reasons why 'immersion' factor is a non-issue, the first and foremost being that it is very rare I ever find myself to be in the game, because I never play as myself. I nearly always see myself as the controlling force behind the main character's actions, not being the main character. So no matter screen size, I don't feel 'immersed' in any game. Other factors that break immersion are: KB/M/Controller (no one ever jumps IRL by tapping their thumbs), the fact your head remains stationary when changing view (the world doesn't magically move around you), third person and top down mode (you don't usually see your back), etc etc. So I only consider Ultra-Wides from a practical stand point, immersion has nothing to do with it.

However, if you are open minded about Ultra-Wides, then I'd reckon it would not be a bad idea to at least try X34. If you happen to like it, you can always wait for Pascal for next GPU upgrade, you just might have to turn some settings down a few notches here and there, but it should not be that much more demanding than a normal 16:9 1440p. If you don't like it, return it and re-order 271 and second 980ti and call it a day until 2017 and beyond.
 
The curved Predator doesn't really have higher perceivable res than the standard ratio one, it just has a couple of extra strips tacked on the sides. Still, I'd get the curved ultra-wide and spend more money on SLi later, because opening up your FOV will give you a better experience without having to go all out with a Surround setup. 4K G-sync is OK, but if you have a problem with the low motion fluidity that comes with low framerates in the first place, it'll be a step back for you overall. Either of the Acer's will be a big step up from 1080p at 27" with a TN monitor, so you can't really go wrong.
 
Hell, you already ordered it, just try both and tell us which one you decided to keep and why. I have a feeling your going to keep the X34.
 
No I cancelled my order for X34. Sending a huge monitor back from Dubai to USA will cost me about USD 500+. Not worth my time.

I am OK with the XB271HU since the issues are much less in all the threads I have read about it over 3 forums. I am also getting a resolution and TN to IPS upgrade without compromising 144 Hz so can't complain. Also, I believe at 1440P with 2 980 TI in SLI I will have the sufficient frames (120 fps+).
 
Unless Pascal completely and utterly blows Maxwell out of the water, I'd say that setup should hold up for at least a year
 
Jumbo monitor "immersion" (I have 40" 4K) is more primal then when roleplayers talk about immersion or whatever. Your visual cortex starts treating it more like a real world, or a window onto a real world. I get more sensitive to motion sickness, and can feel my stomach dropping (fear of hights) when my toon goes off cliffs in Guild Wars 2. This is all the while being zoomed out fully in 3rd person, having the screen plastered with the usual player banter and UI junk, and the room brightly lit, so its nothing like a Skyrim pretending to "put you there" experience, or trying to scare yourself with Resident Evil in the dark, but it doesn't really matter.
 
chenw said:
Unless Pascal completely and utterly blows Maxwell out of the water, I'd say that setup should hold up for at least a year
Click to expand...

It just might, I mean we've been on 28nm for a long time now and finally moving away from it. Also it's going to have HBM gen2 so I'd say the leap to Pascal from Maxwell will be an even greater one than Kepler to Maxwell. Can't wait to get two of the top end Pascal gpus :D
 
Rahkeesh said:
Jumbo monitor "immersion" (I have 40" 4K) is more primal then when roleplayers talk about immersion or whatever. Your visual cortex starts treating it more like a real world, or a window onto a real world. I get more sensitive to motion sickness, and can feel my stomach dropping (fear of hights) when my toon goes off cliffs in Guild Wars 2. This is all the while being zoomed out fully in 3rd person, having the screen plastered with the usual player banter and UI junk, and the room brightly lit, so its nothing like a Skyrim pretending to "put you there" experience, or trying to scare yourself with Resident Evil in the dark, but it doesn't really matter.
Click to expand...

I am not sure, but I don't think my brain is hard wired like that. For example, I don't consider UI junk, in fact, I get very distracted if the UI is diminutively small, and that intrudes my gaming experience more than having UI cluttering my gameplay area. For example Mass Effect 3 has no UI scaling whatsoever, and even though a 970 can handle that game on 4k, I very seldomly play it on 4k precisely because of the UI scaling, I can't see my health bar or my abilities without pausing the game. Also a lot of games that depend on functional UI breaks at high resolution without proper text and UI scaling (EG strategy games), and that I find extremely annoying, putting it lightly.

I guess I am more of a 'practical' player than 'immersion' player.

Being able to see more things is good, however not at the expense of others.
 
MistaSparkul said:
It just might, I mean we've been on 28nm for a long time now and finally moving away from it. Also it's going to have HBM gen2 so I'd say the leap to Pascal from Maxwell will be an even greater one than Kepler to Maxwell. Can't wait to get two of the top end Pascal gpus :D
Click to expand...

I am not wording the post like it won't, but just being pessimistic :)

In fact, like you, I also have high hopes for the non-Titan Flagship Pascal, it may finally be able to handle 4k on its own without turning down details too much, that should be able to handle all, if not most games I own for 4k, and most games on 1440p for a good 1~2 years.
 
I get eye strain sitting too close to a 40 inch so I can never have that. As for your immersion I will wait for a better QC panel before indulging. 271 has gotten a much better hit rate than x34.
 
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