help with choosing the right monitor

[jlo82585]

hey guys'n gals I recently found out how much displays have changed and Im looking for some advice on what monitor to buy. I have been playing on a old 2010 samsung 720p 32in TV for the last 6.75 years and figured its time for an upgrade, I am looking to downsize to a 27 or 28 in since im only sitting 1-3ft away from the screen. My PC is a home built intel 4790k with a gtx970 gpu so an upgrade to at least 1080 is warranted. However after doing a bit of research it seems my GPU can play a few games on 1440 with no problems and if I eventually upgrade my gpu I could potentially be playing games in 4k which makes buying a 1080 monitor seem silly. How bad is the scaling if I was to buy a 4k monitor and run it in 1080 and occasionally in 1440? Just wondering if it was worth it. Also is going from 720 to 1080 going to make a big difference seeing as how im sitting so close? FYI I would like to keep costs below $400. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Newbian]

If the monitor sits 1-3 feet away do not buy a 4k monitor.

This would be fine for a 24 inch 1080p monitor and I would not go for anything bigger unless you can test in a store and are fine for bigger monitors being closer.

 

[jlo82585]

If the monitor sits 1-3 feet away do not buy a 4k monitor.

This would be fine for a 24 inch 1080p monitor and I would not go for anything bigger unless you can test in a store and are fine for bigger monitors being closer.

this is kinda what i was thinking, 32 in 720 isnt terrible so a 27in 1080 can only be better right? do you think there will be a noticeable difference moving to 1080 from 720 at that distance?

 

[jlo82585]

so after thinking more about it these are my main questions.

1.) will going from a 32" 720p TV to a 28" 1080p monitor be a noticeable difference?

2.) I know my current display is 720p but when I run games in 1080 they look better than when I run them in 720. I know the display can only go up to 720 so why does it look better?

 

[mnewsham]

my current display is 720p but when I run games in 1080 they look better than when I run them in 720. I know the display can only go up to 720 so why does it look better?

Placebo most likely. Downscaled 1080p to 720p is potentially higher bitrate content so it can look better by a bit, but in most situations it wouldn't look noticeably different.

 

[jlo82585]

Placebo most likely.

yeah you are right, after checking a few games most of them are set at native resolution

UPDDATE: actually, after researching its a feature of my GPU. the 970 has whats called DSR (Dynamic Super Resolution) that is supposed to allow larger resolutions than native which is why its only available on my newest games.

also after further review a single 970 should be able to handle 1440p so at 1-3 feet is 1440P good?

 

[jlo82585]

okay after spending way too much time brushing up on displays and sifting through the endless posts of opinion on whats better than what rather than fact, here's what im leaning towards. I am thinking about just getting a 4k monitor since from what I have read UHD is better close up than FHD, also 1080p does not suffer any noticeable problems graphically down-scaling from 4k which makes the games that I cannot play on 1440p work with just as good of graphics. I can also play 1440p games with a bit of blemishes from the down-scaling but seeing as how my gpu will only play about a dozen games in my library at 60fps at 1440p im okay with that. I briefly pondered getting a g-sync monitor but good lord the prices, im too cheap for that and in my old age I hardly notice stuttering or tearing anymore anyways. The only argument I keep seeing against going with a 27 in 4k display is that the text is too small, I know you can increase the DPI in windows to correct that but couldn't I also just set the 4k monitor resolution to 1080 or 1440 in windows and not have that problem? I know this kind of defeats the point of getting a 4k display since I wont really use the 4k but seeing as how the price difference between 1440 and 4k is negligible I figured I may as well future-proof my monitor as I dont really ever get new ones. (see OP, ive been using my monitor now for almost 7 years). Is there any fault with my line of reasoning here? I mean will what I just layed out actually work they way it flawlessly does in my head?

 

[biostud]

24" 1080p
27" 1440p
32" or more 4K

Would be my recommedation.