Purely for gaming(High res or high refresh?)

[ibex333]

If we were talking only about games, not graphic design or desktop publishing, and you could only pick just one...

Would you choose higher resolution or higher refresh rate?

Basically I am trying to pick out a new monitor and I want to see what would be more important.

My thoughts:

I had a 4k monitor previously(just sold it due to lack of money) and it "looked" so much better than my 1080p monitor. So much crisper, and it felt like so many more things fit at once on this one monitor. As soon as I went back to the 1080p monitor my eyes immediately started feeling tired, and blurry. Despite the fact that I am trying to save some money right now for personal resons, I am planning to purchase a new 4k monitor sometime soon.

A major issue for me is frame rate in games. Even a 1070 GTX (best card I can afford) cannot drive all AAA games at 60fps/60Hz. As time passes at 4k, there will be more and more games that wont come anywhere near 60 fps. This is not the case with 1080p. As time passes "not as many" newer games will run much lower than 60 fps or at least more time will pass before this is going to happen. This is just my personal observation, doesn't mean it's necessarily true.

My conclusion, is that purely for gaming, especially on a budget, higher refresh, and a 1080p monitor is probably better, but 4k is more for people which are not feeling very constrained money wise or willing to spend more of their hard earned cash.

My major question is, "Is there such a thing as a golden middle here?" A compromise between both?

 

[unseenmorbidity]

Yah, 1440p 144hz. You can get max details or 144 fps.

If you are on a budget, 1080p 144hz panels are usually a much cheaper option though. They also don't require beefier cards.

 

[KyleGates]

Personally, I go higher res all day long (4K (Dual 1080's)), but I am not a "twitch" gamer and prefer the clarity to the extra advantage of a high refresh rate.

 

[tential]

The perfect middleground is both.
Hope your wallet is ready buddy.

 

[IllogicalGlory]

Having upgraded from 144Hz 1080p TN to 1440p 60Hz IPS, I think overall I preferred the high refresh rate. Right now, I'm using two monitors - one 1440p60 monitor with my main being 1440p144, and the difference in simple mouse movement is pretty jarring. Personally, I'd take the high refresh rate.

 

[richaron]

This is why I waited for 100Hz options until I joined the UWQHD club.

~5 million pixels @ 100Hz takes roughly the same horsepower to run UHD ("4k", ~8 million) @ 60Hz, so it's about on the limits of current GPU tech anyway. So I'm sure it will keep me interested in the foreseeable future. Plus I have no doubt the different between 100Hz and 60 is way more noticeable than between 144Hz and 100 (though of course faster is always better).

But my gaming roots are twitchy, so when looking for modern monitors ~60Hz options were simply out of the question no matter how brilliant they may be in all other metrics.

 

[Wall Street]

The middle ground, if you have $700+ to spent on a monitor, is an Acer Predator or ASUS ROG Swift panel with 1440p, IPS, G-Sync, 144 Hz screen. I would say that if I were to choose between a cheaper 4K monitor or a 1080p 144 Hz monitor, I would choose 144 Hz. This is because I prefer high frame rates and low motion blur to better colors and larger screens. For some of the games I play I actually would prefer not to have 30"+ screens because the HUD ends up so far out of my center of attention.

If you are on a very tight budget though, I wouldn't bother with 4K or 144 hz at this point. These 144 hz IPS panels are bound to be much cheaper in a year.

 

[unseenmorbidity]

The middle ground, if you have $700+ to spent on a monitor, is an Acer Predator or ASUS ROG Swift panel with 1440p, IPS, G-Sync, 144 Hz screen. I would say that if I were to choose between a cheaper 4K monitor or a 1080p 144 Hz monitor, I would choose 144 Hz. This is because I prefer high frame rates and low motion blur to better colors and larger screens. For some of the games I play I actually would prefer not to have 30"+ screens because the HUD ends up so far out of my center of attention..

gsync is an extra $200

If you are on a very tight budget though, I wouldn't bother with 4K or 144 hz at this point. These 144 hz IPS panels are bound to be much cheaper in a year.

Based on? Wasn't really cheaper this year.

 

[wanderica]

After having both, I prefer higher res. I don't typically play FPS games or twitch games, though. I'm mainly an RPG gamer. The twitchiest I get is Mass Effect or Skyrim, so for me, being able to take in as much of a beautifully crafted world as possible and being able to immerse myself in as much detail as possible is more important. In a perfect world I'd want both in one monitor, but since we have to choose for now, give me 4k and 40".

 

[n0x1ous]

After having both, I prefer higher res. I don't typically play FPS games or twitch games, though. I'm mainly an RPG gamer. The twitchiest I get is Mass Effect or Skyrim, so for me, being able to take in as much of a beautifully crafted world as possible and being able to immerse myself in as much detail as possible is more important. In a perfect world I'd want both in one monitor, but since we have to choose for now, give me 4k and 40".

PG27UQ will be the answer before the year ends

 

[Yakk]

1440@144hz is what I use + Freesync (or gsync if you want to pay the extra) Tried gaming at 4K60hz and it really, really wasn't good for me. I work at 4K and it's fantastic, but I can't stand it for gaming.

 

[crisium]

Echo for the 2560x1440 144Hz being the sweet spot.

 

[ZGR]

All depends on what you like to play. I play coop CPU heavy games, so high FPS is impossible, even with a 5.2 GHz 7700k. A 60hz UHD monitor was an easy buy for me.

If you play competitive FPS games, I would argue 3440x1440 @ 100hz will be better. 21:9 allows a much higher FoV.

You will need a 1080 ti to get a stable 100fps with all the eye candy turned on.

I have to turn down shadows to medium or high as well as Ambient Occlusion to off for UHD on my 1070 to maintain 60fps.

Edit:

If on a budget go for a 2560x1080 @ 120hz paired with a rx 470 8gb or 1060 6gb (freesync/gsync)