1920x1200 vs 2560x1440/1600

BodgeITandRun · 22 May 2012 at 10:42

I have a Hanns.G HG281D 28 inch monitor now that is 1920x1200, as you probably know it's a kind of budget bigger monitor. Functional, not bad value for money etc, just not mega high performance.

What is the main differences I would notice if I changed to another 27/28 inch monitor that had something like 2560x1440? Would you recommend this over a GPU upgrade for instance? I have one 7970 already.

Cheers

FlyingPig · 22 May 2012 at 10:51

I have done that upgrade and currently have the Hanns G running next to a Hazro 27" with higher resolution. I would certainly recommend it as images and text are so much sharper. Then again, it depends on your usage. If you're like me doing quite a bit of office work and general browsing, then it is a must upgrade as you get so much more screen real estate. If you're a hardcore gamer who gets off on more FPS, then you need to start thinking about graphics cards. You say you've got a 7970 already so even then I think you'd still be fine (I have a GTX570 and even on 1440p it still runs most games I play just fine).
Just one warning: after you've upgraded you will think your Hanns G is rubbish. Once you've seen what is possible it is very hard to "unsee" flaws in a screen you were fairly happy with only last week. (I tend to just switch off the Hanns G to save power and only switch it on again if I have a lot of documents open and need to get work done)

kh85 · 22 May 2012 at 10:52

Are you a gamer? I'd get a gpu upgrade and/or get a nice 24" gaming monitor.
But what GPU would you think of getting instead?

BodgeITandRun · 22 May 2012 at 11:23

Thanks for the quick replies to both of you.

I would say it's a fair split between gaming and a lot of watching videos, reading text and making youtube videos too.

As for talking about what I would upgrade to GPU wise, I just meant get another 7970 instead of change monitor.

Clav · 22 May 2012 at 11:29

BodgeITandRun said:
Thanks for the quick replies to both of you.

I would say it's a fair split between gaming and a lot of watching videos, reading text and making youtube videos too.

As for talking about what I would upgrade to GPU wise, I just meant get another 7970 instead of change monitor.

Crossfire 7970's at 1920x1200 is a bit overkill imo, I don't think it's worth the extra cash and you probably wouldn't notice that much difference. A good monitor upgrade would be a lot more beneficial and you would really notice a vast improvement. However you may run into the problem of your single 7970 not quite having enough grunt to max games out at the higher res. All depends on what you play really.

BodgeITandRun · 22 May 2012 at 11:34

Clav said:
Crossfire 7970's at 1920x1200 is a bit overkill imo, I don't think it's worth the extra cash and you probably wouldn't notice that much difference. A good monitor upgrade would be a lot more beneficial and you would really notice a vast improvement. However you may run into the problem of your single 7970 not quite having enough grunt to max games out at the higher res. All depends on what you play really.

Well I don't play the ever popular BF3, but do play Shogun 2, Batman Arkham City and a little bit of FSX, oh and Dirt 3 on occasion.

It really is a tough choice in a way, because the less sensible part of me says be overkill and get another card, but the sensible bit says get the monitor, sell my old one and in another month get a second GPU to even things out.

Sin_Chase · 22 May 2012 at 11:36

27" is overkill in my opinion, especially at sit-down and work/game distances.

24" is a nice size for desktop and gaming usage and 1920x1200 is plenty of resolution for desktop real-estate and is more than enough for gaming.

Any bigger is just diminished returns and places a much larger demand on your GPU. The resolution gain over 1920x1200 for the added hardware dependency and in all likeliness reduced quality settings is just not a good trade off.

I run expensive 24" IPS panels, far far far from budget monitors but that is what I wanted. Is it worth you swapping to better panel/monitor component quality? Only you can answer that. Is it worth it JUST for more physical dimension and screen resolution - no.

BodgeITandRun · 22 May 2012 at 12:00

Sin_Chase said:
27" is overkill in my opinion, especially at sit-down and work/game distances.

24" is a nice size for desktop and gaming usage and 1920x1200 is plenty of resolution for desktop real-estate and is more than enough for gaming.

Any bigger is just diminished returns and places a much larger demand on your GPU. The resolution gain over 1920x1200 for the added hardware dependency and in all likeliness reduced quality settings is just not a good trade off.

I run expensive 24" IPS panels, far far far from budget monitors but that is what I wanted. Is it worth you swapping to better panel/monitor component quality? Only you can answer that. Is it worth it JUST for more physical dimension and screen resolution - no.

Good points too. I think my best bet is to go see some of these in the flesh and that will make my mind up once and for all. I just have an itch to upgrade and want to make the right choice.

kh85 · 22 May 2012 at 12:08

What are you hoping to get from having two 7970's? You could say get a nice gaming monitor instead with the extra dosh, but it doesn't seem like your too fussed about that?

Guest2 · 22 May 2012 at 14:21

I couldnt go back to a 24" from my 27" Hazro. When I look at my housemates 24" Samsung, it looks tiny

Sin_Chase · 22 May 2012 at 14:41

Guest2 said:
I couldnt go back to a 24" from my 27" Hazro. When I look at my housemates 24" Samsung, it looks tiny

Dual 24"s here.

Plenty big enough for gaming on a single fullscreen, plenty of overall desktop real estate and the HUGE added advantage of a second monitor visible with whatever on it (IM, hardware monitoring etc) when using the other for video/games/whatever else.

Could never ever use a single large screen, would need 2 of them, dual 27" is just ridiculous though!

ChrisD. · 22 May 2012 at 14:48

^ I'm fast thinking that a second 24" screen is the best choice for me.

I've got one 2407 WFP and cannot fault it. The only downside is that I need a bit more desktop real estate. Second hand 2407's are going for attractive prices in the MM.

Guest2 · 22 May 2012 at 15:27

I wouldnt want a thick black line down the middle of the screen when watching a film or playing a game.

ChrisD. · 22 May 2012 at 16:12

I don't watch films on my PC and games would be played on one monitor.

craarc · 22 May 2012 at 17:36

if you dont mind a bezel in your way gor for 2x 24 that would annoy the hell out of me tho so a 27 high res all the way for me.

flexible screens are on the way tho just read a review on them ( well a couple years)

id go good quality 27 sell old screen and up the gcards later if you need to

BodgeITandRun · 22 May 2012 at 18:59

kh85 said:
What are you hoping to get from having two 7970's? You could say get a nice gaming monitor instead with the extra dosh, but it doesn't seem like your too fussed about that?

I don't know what I am hoping to gain really, I mean it's not as if I am playing games right now and thinking I need more grunt on my resolution. It's more a case of I want another card, rather than need. I am leaning more towards getting a better monitor though, as I feel I might actually see a difference in quality.

With my seating situation/limited desktop area, I only have an option of one monitor. That is the main reason for wanting a big single one and I watch a lot of movies on it too, so a bigger screen is nice.

Again, some really good advice here guys. I literally have little to no idea about monitors so it's handy to have the input.

Sin_Chase · 22 May 2012 at 19:14

Guest2 said:
I wouldnt want a thick black line down the middle of the screen when watching a film or playing a game.

What!?

Why would you? Nobody spans across dual monitors in that way.

Sin_Chase · 22 May 2012 at 19:19

MilanoChris said:
^ I'm fast thinking that a second 24" screen is the best choice for me.

I've got one 2407 WFP and cannot fault it. The only downside is that I need a bit more desktop real estate. Second hand 2407's are going for attractive prices in the MM.

I run double 2475ws on a dual arm, they just 'hover' over the desk. It's an awesome setup and dual monitors have plenty of advantages over a single large screen.

My personal opinion is that if you want a huge screen for watching films/tv - Buy a TV.

Guest2 · 23 May 2012 at 10:58

Sin_Chase said:
What!?

Why would you? Nobody spans across dual monitors in that way.

So each screen is used seperately for gaming / monitoring then? I did try two screens but I just ended up not using one of them

Single large screen all the way. I used my monitor to watch films and gaming on 27" at 2560 x 1440 is nice

ChrisD. · 23 May 2012 at 11:09

Then I think we can agree that it's a personal preference.

I watch all films/TV on a 40" TV, so the only thing that the PC screens are used for is gaming and browsing/work.