120hz or 1440p @ 27" gaming monitor? For someone who can't see them in real life

[TheMighty]

Hey guys, I'm in the market for a new GPU/monitor setup and I'm really have a hard time deciding on a monitor to purchase.

I've been sitting on this decision for the past few weeks. I've done insane amounts of research reading forums and reviews. I know the differences and the pros and cons of both. My issue is that I have no place in real life where I can go see the difference with my own eyes.

So I was hoping that people who have had experience with both monitor types could give me their feed back on why they prefer one over the other. Most of the reviews and comments I've read are very polarized and frankly not helpful at all.

I will definitely be upgrading my GPU along with the monitor. I'd prefer a 27" Monitor and a GPU that would go with it nicely if anyone has any recommendations.



My Main uses for my PC are:

1. Gaming. I mostly play LoL, but I just bought a bunch of games from steam, majority FPS, that I'd like to play through with the best experience over the winter. I'd also like the setup to play WoW nicely since my friends want to play it again.

2. Blu-Ray/Watching Movies. I also use my monitor to watch movies. I never watch tv. So I'd like a monitor that can server both purposes if possible.



To give an idea of which monitors I was looking at these are the two I've been checking out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236294

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824014344



So yea any people with experience with both kinds of monitors please tell me your stories and why you chose one over the other and hopefully I can match myself to one of your stories. Also any recommendations of Monitor and GPUs are greatly appreciated. My budget for the monitor is 300-500 or so and my GPU budget is similar. I'm willing to splurge a bit though.

 

[TheMighty]

Bump

 

[hans030390]

Depends...some put a higher value on color accuracy and resolution, some put a higher value on smooth, clear motion.

For me, I can't not use a 120Hz monitor for gaming anymore. The higher refresh rate gives fluidity and smoothness than a 60Hz monitor just can't match. It's extremely noticeable to my eyes, and it greatly helps with fatigue and, when gaming, reducing motion sickness and other feelings of uneasiness (which I develop quickly without smooth, clear, stutter-free motion). That, and I just think 120Hz is more beneficial to competitive, fast-paced gaming. It certainly made LoL feel better when I was still playing it. It's most helpful with FPS titles.

On the other hand, I have a 1440p PLS monitor, and it is gorgeous. I can see why many would prefer that over a higher refresh rate.

You know what I did? I got a pixel perfect Qnix 1440p monitor and OCed it to 120Hz (most do 96Hz easily). I literally get the best of both worlds, though the motion blur is noticeably worse than a fast TN panel (still very acceptable, though, and worth the compromise to get 120Hz 1440p PLS).

Only way you can figure out which option to pick is to literally try both, which I know is difficult. I'd start with the 120Hz monitor, though 24" might be better (1080P can start to look grainy/screen door effect on a 27" monitor if you sit close enough). But, honestly, I can't say what will work out best for you.

You can find IPS/PLS monitors in stores, sometimes even 1440p. Unless, of course, you don't live near any major electronics stores. Then maybe you could purchase and try the 120Hz display. If you don't like how it looks compared to an IPS/PLS display, return it and get something else.

 

[amddude]

120hz

 

[KingFatty]

Another approach is to consider your current catalog of games on Steam. You mentioned some FPS games, so maybe you can figure out what kind of frames per second they would achieve on various resolutions and video cards.

So take a game like BF4. Then you can say, well, I want to spend around $X on a video card, and BF4 would give me around 75 frames per second at my supported display resolution and desired visual settings.

Now if your computer can only manage to output 75 fps, maybe it's less desirable to get a 120 Hz display, and instead go for the very fancy visual colors and higher resolution of a 60 Hz high res/color display.

But, if your collection of games would just run really fast on your desired video card and resolution, say getting like 200 fps, then maybe you should consider more about getting a 120 Hz display to really show off the high frame rates.

So, I'm suggesting overall the approach of looking at your current games, consider how your computer will be outputting those games, and then use that to go either way. I think either way would be fine, so it's more of tailoring your choice based on current known information. But supporting 120 Hz may come with a higher cost in terms of fancier/powerful video card and CPU on your computer, but if you have really old games then any cheap video card can take advantage of 120 Hz so get that display.

 

[Aithos]

I can't see the links (redirects get blocked here) so I can't comment on the monitors themselves, but I'll give you my personal opinions since I just made this same decision:

For multiplayer online gaming, go with 120hz > 1440p. The issue you'll run into with most IPS/PLS monitors is the input lag. There isn't a single name brand (non-korean) 1440p monitor that doesn't have at least 20ms of input lag. All the IPS panels you see on TFTcentral with low input lag are 1080p which completely defeats the purpose of an IPS panel IMO. The colors are better, but most people honestly can't tell a difference unless it's side by side. The same cannot be said about input lag or refresh rate. Once you get used to a faster panel (lower motion blur, smoother picture and better "feel") you won't ever be able to go back. It's not an overnight thing, honestly you won't see much difference at first (except less motion blur, it's pretty noticable), but after a month or two you'd see a HUGE difference if you swapped back.

I ended up going with a Korean panel 1440p that uses a bypass board (single input) that I overclock to 110hz. Because it's a single input, has no scaler and the PCB does no processing it has virtually no input lag. That's the only exception to the rule when it comes to 1440p for gaming, but you take a risk of getting a bad panel. I was pretty lucky, almost no light bleed and only a couple dead pixels (in the upper corner where they aren't very visible).

The other thing to keep in mind is that 1080p is much less demanding on your video card and CPU. You can run 120fps with decent hardware in most games. If you get a 1440p monitor you will get lower framerates and in games like WoW you'll get a lot of lag in cities/raids if your hardware isn't super beefy.

I play LoL, CS:GO, WoW, Skyrim, etc and I'm running an SLI setup with two very expensive cards to get over 100fps at 1440p...

 

[Face2Face]

Time to Hijack this thread!

This OR This

I know the Qnix is cheaper on Ebay, but I will be using Amazon Gift cards. I play Skyrim, Metro LL and other FPS, but not competitively.

 

[bystander36]

Another approach is to consider your current catalog of games on Steam. You mentioned some FPS games, so maybe you can figure out what kind of frames per second they would achieve on various resolutions and video cards.

So take a game like BF4. Then you can say, well, I want to spend around $X on a video card, and BF4 would give me around 75 frames per second at my supported display resolution and desired visual settings.

Now if your computer can only manage to output 75 fps, maybe it's less desirable to get a 120 Hz display, and instead go for the very fancy visual colors and higher resolution of a 60 Hz high res/color display.

But, if your collection of games would just run really fast on your desired video card and resolution, say getting like 200 fps, then maybe you should consider more about getting a 120 Hz display to really show off the high frame rates.

So, I'm suggesting overall the approach of looking at your current games, consider how your computer will be outputting those games, and then use that to go either way. I think either way would be fine, so it's more of tailoring your choice based on current known information. But supporting 120 Hz may come with a higher cost in terms of fancier/powerful video card and CPU on your computer, but if you have really old games then any cheap video card can take advantage of 120 Hz so get that display.

This is something I've thought about before, when seeing these types of decisions and it makes sense, but there is one thing that is always left out, you do have the option to lower your visual settings to get to 80+ FPS and still have good visual quality. After I got my 120hz monitor, I discovered I was like hans030390, where I get nauseated at FPS lower than 80 (I thought there was no solution to my nausea before, but higher FPS always helped. Now I find I can eliminate it with high enough FPS/refresh rate). I did not know FPS was the reason, or at least a big part of the cause for my sickness.

I have found now that I much more enjoy games at 80+ FPS with visual settings turned to high, or even with a mix of high/medium, than I do at ultra settings. Todays games still look great on lower than max settings.

Of course you have to be willing to do so. Some people don't accept anything less than max settings.

 

[Aithos]

This is something I've thought about before, when seeing these types of decisions and it makes sense, but there is one thing that is always left out, you do have the option to lower your visual settings to get to 80+ FPS and still have good visual quality. After I got my 120hz monitor, I discovered I was like hans030390, where I get nauseated at FPS lower than 80 (I thought there was no solution to my nausea before, but higher FPS always helped. Now I find I can eliminate it with high enough FPS/refresh rate). I did not know FPS was the reason, or at least a big part of the cause for my sickness.

I have found now that I much more enjoy games at 80+ FPS with visual settings turned to high, or even with a mix of high/medium, than I do at ultra settings. Todays games still look great on lower than max settings.

Of course you have to be willing to do so. Some people don't accept anything less than max settings.

With a reasonable graphics card @ 1080p you should be able to get over 100fps in all but the most demanding games at max settings (aka, Crysis). Everything else will run at max settings easily, and honestly on AAA titles like Crysis that are meant to be eye candy in single player...having 120hz isn't as important.

The real benefit to 120hz (aside from removing motion blur and giving a smoother picture) is that the delay between frames is smaller. A 60hz refresh rate means 16ms between frames, 120hz is 8 and 144hz is less (I believe 6.3ms but don't quote me). That means that you get more accurate information about where people are in multiplayer games, you see things in game faster than anyone else. 8ms isn't a lot, but it is a noticable difference, especially when you add stuff like input lag (20-30ms) and ping (20-200+ ms).

A 120hz monitor will make your shots in an FPS game "feel" like they hit better (registration) because you see the smoother motion and get more up to date positioning. In MMORPGs you'll see spells and effects faster, which on fights like Heroic Ragnaros (from Firelands) can make the difference in a wipe during p2 or p3 or a kill. In games like LoL it will help you get more CS and you *might* have a slightly easier time dodging skillshots or timing tower hits for dives. In my opinion the resolution bump to 1440p is ok but the gameplay experience is more important. I also believe most game developers render in 1080p, so at 1440p you're upscaling, not getting native resolution content. That makes a huge difference. It would be like comparing a bluray to an upscaled DVD, they aren't even close to the same.

I would advise getting 120hz now and worry about 1440p when they comeout with 120hz, low input lag models. Unless you're willing to take the chance on a Korean panel. I'm enjoying mine but make sure you know what you're getting and the pros/cons before you buy. I had to go through three different sellers over a month and a half to finally get what I wanted. If you're not running SLI 780s or better the Korean panels are a bad idea....the only reason to get them is to overclock 1440p to 120hz. If you can't run games at that speed in the high resolution it's a waste of time. They don't have a scaler either, so you cannot run 1080p without black bars...

 

[bystander36]

With a reasonable graphics card @ 1080p you should be able to get over 100fps in all but the most demanding games at max settings (aka, Crysis). Everything else will run at max settings easily, and honestly on AAA titles like Crysis that are meant to be eye candy in single player...having 120hz isn't as important.

The real benefit to 120hz (aside from removing motion blur and giving a smoother picture) is that the delay between frames is smaller. A 60hz refresh rate means 16ms between frames, 120hz is 8 and 144hz is less (I believe 6.3ms but don't quote me). That means that you get more accurate information about where people are in multiplayer games, you see things in game faster than anyone else. 8ms isn't a lot, but it is a noticable difference, especially when you add stuff like input lag (20-30ms) and ping (20-200+ ms).

A 120hz monitor will make your shots in an FPS game "feel" like they hit better (registration) because you see the smoother motion and get more up to date positioning. In MMORPGs you'll see spells and effects faster, which on fights like Heroic Ragnaros (from Firelands) can make the difference in a wipe during p2 or p3 or a kill. In games like LoL it will help you get more CS and you *might* have a slightly easier time dodging skillshots or timing tower hits for dives. In my opinion the resolution bump to 1440p is ok but the gameplay experience is more important. I also believe most game developers render in 1080p, so at 1440p you're upscaling, not getting native resolution content. That makes a huge difference. It would be like comparing a bluray to an upscaled DVD, they aren't even close to the same.

I would advise getting 120hz now and worry about 1440p when they comeout with 120hz, low input lag models. Unless you're willing to take the chance on a Korean panel. I'm enjoying mine but make sure you know what you're getting and the pros/cons before you buy. I had to go through three different sellers over a month and a half to finally get what I wanted. If you're not running SLI 780s or better the Korean panels are a bad idea....the only reason to get them is to overclock 1440p to 120hz. If you can't run games at that speed in the high resolution it's a waste of time. They don't have a scaler either, so you cannot run 1080p without black bars...

Like I said, you don't have to play at max settings, and I'd rather play at 80+ FPS at lowered settings than 60 FPS at max in most cases.

I also don't agree that that 8ms difference makes you see more up to date information. Allowing for a speed advantage, at least not a meaningful one. Internet connections cause much higher latency issues in determining if you see something before someone else. What it does allow for is smoother tracking, more responsiveness, and gets your mouse where you want to go more accurately in fast responsive situations.

The way I experience it, is high FPS with a low latency monitor, results in the game feeling more connected to your body.

 

[TheMighty]

Alright well you guys have me leaning more towards a 120hz monitor. Any recommended models? My budget is about 500 for the monitor. I'd prefer best colors and clarity and the like.

My new GPU budget is also about 500-600. I was thinking about running either two 7970's GHZ editions or 2 R9 280Xs in Crossfire. I'm also open to a Single card like a GTX 780 or something similar. I'm not biased towards any camp I just want a setup that is the best bang for my buck and can max out games and keep them at frame rates to take advantage of a 120hz monitor if I buy one.

Also, I hear 1080p at 27" is a little grainy. I'd like to upgrade in size since I'm used to a 24" but if its really that bad I suppose I'll be okay with a 24". I prefer to only have 1 monitor. Does AA help also to maybe make 1080p "appear" similar to a higher resolution?

 

[UaVaj]

as you can see. display is a very personal decision depending on how sensitive you are? so impossible to recommended. you have to see it with your own eyes and make your own decisions.

question is - how sensitive are you?

btw - for the average gamer, 45fps and 0.28ppi. for some gamer, 60fps and 0.25ppi. for few gamer, 90fps+ and 0.23ppi-. for the mass, 30fps and 0.31ppi.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Hope I'm not high jacking this thread but looking at Overlord Computer - http://overlordcomputer.com/collections/27-monitors

They have 27" IPS Panels that can do 2560x1440 at 120hz. Anybody have any experience with them? Glossy or Antiglare?

 

[Skott]

Have you looked at the 120hz and Lightboost models? Supposedly they are the better units for gaming. ASUS makes some in 27". You may want to check them out.

 

[bystander36]

Alright well you guys have me leaning more towards a 120hz monitor. Any recommended models? My budget is about 500 for the monitor. I'd prefer best colors and clarity and the like.

My new GPU budget is also about 500-600. I was thinking about running either two 7970's GHZ editions or 2 R9 280Xs in Crossfire. I'm also open to a Single card like a GTX 780 or something similar. I'm not biased towards any camp I just want a setup that is the best bang for my buck and can max out games and keep them at frame rates to take advantage of a 120hz monitor if I buy one.

Also, I hear 1080p at 27" is a little grainy. I'd like to upgrade in size since I'm used to a 24" but if its really that bad I suppose I'll be okay with a 24". I prefer to only have 1 monitor. Does AA help also to maybe make 1080p "appear" similar to a higher resolution?

I'd recommend the Asus VG248QE. It is a 144hz monitor, though I'd recommend using it at 100/120hz with lightboost instead. I'd also recommend going with Nvidia, only because it will offer G-sync with a upgrade kit Q1 2014. Everyone who has seen G-sync in action considers it a major game changer.

One more note, make sure to have a fast CPU, as the CPU often bottlenecks you at those FPS.

 

[Headfoot]

What is your CPU? The whole conversation is irrelevant if you have an old/slow CPU

 

[Sohaltang]

At 27 inches 1080p is grainy, at least to me. If your go with a smaller screen 120hz is better. At this size the resolution is more important. I hate my qnix but maybe overlord offers a setup with less light bleed. Best of both worlds

 

[TheMighty]

I have a i5 2500k that I still need to overclock, will that be fast enough after i over clock it?

 

[bystander36]

I have a i5 2500k that I still need to overclock, will that be fast enough after i over clock it?

Yes. Get a decent aftermarket HSF before you OC it.

 

[TheMighty]

Alright sweet.

I think I might get the Asus VG248QE the guy above linked.

What nvidia card do you guys recommend?

 

[UaVaj]

Hope I'm not high jacking this thread but looking at Overlord Computer - http://overlordcomputer.com/collections/27-monitors

They have 27" IPS Panels that can do 2560x1440 at 120hz. Anybody have any experience with them? Glossy or Antiglare?

nice. might have to get one.
unless there is a pixel guarantee. no deal.

 

[SirPauly]

I'd recommend the Asus VG248QE. It is a 144hz monitor, though I'd recommend using it at 100/120hz with lightboost instead.

I just desire to note with using LightBoost in 2d, there is a trade-off with colors and contrast being dull!

 

[MysteriousRJC]

any know if any new 120hz monitors are coming out? I'm still seeking a good 27 with low gtg @ 2ms

 

[swchoi89]

Using S23A700D Samsung, 120Hz. I am extremely happy with my purchase. No issues.

You will not be able to go back to 60Hz after this.

 

[Unoid]

overlord monitors is good product I enjoy mine.

I usually only run 90Hz though. don't expect more than 90 when buying an OC model. you can get side effects. scanlines....