27 inch monitor. 1920x1080 or 2560x1440... ? Help please

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Okay, at the moment I have a 23 inch e-ips monitor from LG. Not a bad monitor at all, but I want something more 'impressive'.

I have a i5 2500k and a HD 6870. The only game I play at the moment is Battlefield 3. Daily 1-2 hours.

My main activities on computer are -> Browsing, forums, etc - BF3 - Watching movies / series.

I am doubting between the Hazro 27 inch C version (s-ips) and the BenQ EW2730v which is a PVA screen.
The hazro has 2560x1440 and the BenQ 1920x1080.

The thing is, I dont want to upgrade my videocard just yet... Just havent got the budget for it.

BF3 at 1440p with a 6870 will probably not run smoothly like I want it. Not even on medium settings.

So it all comes down to the following 2 scenarios ->

1. 1440p 27" ips monitor -> Everything will be beautifully sharp and crisp, except BF3 (and future games) because I will have to play at 1080p which is not native resolution.
2. 1080p 27" PVA monitor -> Movies will be beautifully sharp and immersive. Gaming and browsing more fuzzy.

And then there is the 150€ price difference and the fact that it is a gamble to get a well produced Hazro monitor.

I just cant make the decision so I ask you for your opinion... Thanks!

 

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Well if you were to get the Hazro consider 2 things:

1. Your gfx doesn't have the grunt to run games at that res with high settings, so you would also need to get a new gfx card.

2. You could get a duff monitor (Hazro aren't known for their high standard of quality control), which means dealing with Hazro CS which leaves a lot to be desired.

On the other hand, 27" is too gib for 1920x1080 res IMO.

Have you considered the Dell? I know it's a bit more expensive, but I (and quite a few others) would say it's worth it

Thanks for your reply.

The Dell would leave me with the same resolution 'problem' and I have heard that the AG coating makes the screen a bit dull looking ... On top of that there is the price difference.

The thing is, if I would know how BF3 would look on the Hazro with resolution at 1920x1080, it could make the decision easier.

I play BF3 on that resolution just fine with the 6870 at medium settings. Because for everything except gaming, the 1440p resolution is great.

So will games look uglier on a 23 inch e-ips 1080p screen on native resolution, or on a 27 inch s-ips 1440p screen at 1080p resolution... ?

 

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Thanks for your big reply OCP!

At the moment I have the LG E2370v which is a 23 inch e-ips with LED. Probably similair to yours. I sit usually only 50 cm away from the screen and I dont think it is blurry at all... It looks very sharp to me actually

Anyway, I can imagine that adding 4 more inches while having the same resolution may make it a bit foggy. And of course I have no material to compare

The problem is that nowadays even the 7970 is not even actually enough to play BF3 at ultra and have 60+ fps at the 1440p resolution. That means I wil have to spend a lot of extra money on 2 videocards and a different main board... This is not an option.

I play BF3 for like 2 hours a day, but I dont consider myself a real gamer. 75% of the time i spend on my PC is doing other stuff. I think that to game at 1440p resolution, we are one more generation of video cards away from doing it properly for a decent price.

But I do enjoy how BF3 looks now on my screen and I wouldnt want to make it 'worse'. On a 27 inch 1080p screen it would not look much worse right? Or are the bigger pixels also visible in action gaming?

Does someone maybe have a screenshot for me to compare? That would be great.
2 screenshots of BF3, both on 1920x1080 resolution - 1 on 1080p native screen and 1 on 1440p native screen.

About the BenQ ew2730v, it gets really good reviews but I am curious of it has ghosting or not because apparently, the older PVA screens suffered from it.

 

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The OP does other things besides gaming where the pixels do come in handy
Most people hate gaming on sub-native ress because they have experiences with monitor-scaling which with a lot of monitors is quite horrible.

It can look quite good though as the videocard will do a much better job at upscaling than most monitors, but it will still look worse than native res.

But will it look worse than 1080p at my own monitor? (1080p native)

I can imagine the difference being pretty big when gaming on a 2560x1440 monitor at native res, or going 'back' to 1920x1080 which isnt even native res. But when I come from a 1080p monitor at native res, how big will the difference be?

 

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Anyone?

 

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Thanks for your opinion PCM2!

I never saw it in person, but I guess I'm like you in the sense that I like the fact that BF3 looks really sharp on my monitor now. I cant imagine that it will become similair to when I try BF3 on a lower resolution on my monitor now... That looks really bad.

If that's comparible to 1080p at the Hazro, I might just reconsider to postpone buying it until there are GPU's available for a moderate price that can run games at 1440p with 60+ fps.

Tough choices... I wish there were panels in between 1920x1080 and 2540 x 1440

 

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I searched for a long time but couldnt find any 27 inch, non TN monitors with 1920x1080 / 1920x1200 resolution... Except the BenQ VA panel which apparently has a pretty big input lag, making it a bad choice to play BF3 on.

Does anyone knows a 27 inch IPS monitor with 1920x1080 or similair?

 

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Why don't you take a smaller step up to a 24" 1920x1200 monitor like a Dell Ultrasharp? It's bigger than what you have, an IPS screen and should still be manageable by your 6870.

IMO there really is zero point in getting a 27" unless you go for the higher resolution and the graphics card to make it workable.

Good point you're making, but 24 inch is too small for me to justify spending money on the upgrade, since I already have 23 inch.

With this graphics card I can do anything I want on the 2540x1440 screen, except play the latest games on native resolution. That is why I am still doubting. Everything else I do on the PC will look much nicer and more immersive.

Does anyone know where I can see movies / screenshots of BF3 (or other modern games) at a 1440p screen at native resolution and at 1080p resolution?

If only I could see it with my own eyes, I could make the decission much easier...

 

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A 16:10 ratio 1920x1200 24" monitor is actually a fair bit bigger than a 23" 16:9 1920x1080. But I understand where you're coming from

Thats true, but in 16:9 content like movies / series, the difference is only 3%!
Also for gaming 16:9 is better I think. For desktop work, surely the opposite.