GTX660 - best monitor for it

BubbleandSqueak · 20 Oct 2017 at 14:35

My son's birthday is coming up, and he's got a EVGA GTX660 2gb card in his pc. Wants to get a new monitor first, rather than upgrade the card.

He's predominantly a CS:Go player, budget in the region of £150 - £250.

Wants a screen from 24".

He's been banging on about 144hz or even g-sync one.

Any recommendations?

w1ze1 · 20 Oct 2017 at 14:38

Not sure how a 2GB card will do on a 24" at 1080p in some games but CS-GO is not a very stressful game.

BubbleandSqueak · 20 Oct 2017 at 15:52

performance wise it's coping well. To upgrade the card, well also have to upgrade his PSU too. So that's why he's decided to go down the monitor route to begin with.

Finners · 20 Oct 2017 at 16:44

BubbleandSqueak said:
performance wise it's coping well. To upgrade the card, well also have to upgrade his PSU too. So that's why he's decided to go down the monitor route to begin with.

Not necessarily, a 1060 actually has a tdp that's 20w less than a 660.

TallPaul1878 · 20 Oct 2017 at 17:16

You won't get a G-Sync monitor with that budget. Entry level is about £350 iirc.

So you are looking at none G-Sync 144hz 1080p monitors.

£250 should get you a 6GB GTX 1060 though and, unless the old monitor is a bit of a potato, is probably the best upgrade option.

w1ze1 · 20 Oct 2017 at 17:36

£200ish Lenova 24" 1080p VA G-Sync, I bought one due to these very forums as I was sick of the £600+ TN/IPS 1440p panel lottery

BubbleandSqueak · 20 Oct 2017 at 18:56

Thanks for the reply guys, sorry I wasn't clear, but not looking at upgrading graphic card yet. Maybe xmas, or new year. Just looking for recommendations for a monitor.

W1ze1 I'll have a look around for the best price on that Lenova one.

w1ze1 · 20 Oct 2017 at 19:25

It sold out where I got it but may be back in stock.

Lenovo Y27g RE (Razor) model.

EDIT: Back instock but £299.

southernorth · 20 Oct 2017 at 19:49

I would recommend a 24in 1080p 144hz monitor with a strobing back light (this makes a big difference in fast-paced games like CS:GO). In my opinion, a strobing back light has more benefits than G-Sync in a purely fast-paced FPS environment (by that I mean you always get 144fps+ in games).

Monitors that satisfy these criteria and are in budget include:

LG 24GM79G
BenQ ZOWIE XL2411

Samsung LC24FG73

Of those 3, the Samsung has much better colour accuracy and black levels due to it having a VA panel. But it is very near the top-end of your budget. It also has a curve, whereas the other 2 do not.

The LG and the Samsung both have FreeSync, which is good if you intend to get an AMD card in the future. The LG has better colour accuracy and black levels.

The Benq is a good basic gaming monitor, but will have the worst colour accuracy and does not have FreeSync.

Overall, I would recommend the Samsung.

BubbleandSqueak · 20 Oct 2017 at 20:18

That's southernorth, some good selections. He's got an Nvidia card at moment, and was looking at a Nvidia gtx1060 rather than AMD at the moment. Might have to change that selection as the Samsung looks like a good choice

southernorth · 20 Oct 2017 at 20:20

BubbleandSqueak said:
That's southernorth, some good selections. He's got an Nvidia card at moment, and was looking at a Nvidia gtx1060 rather than AMD at the moment. Might have to change that selection as the Samsung looks like a good choice

As mentioned by other users, the cheapest G-Sync 144hz monitors are £150+ more than the ones linked above. In my view it isn't worth the price premium, especially for a game like CS:GO. The RX 480 would be the alternative to a 1060, and possibly a 580, but these AMD cards draw more power so may take the PSU to its limits.

The benefit of FreeSync is that it doesn't carry a price premium. Most of the cheaper 144hz monitors have FreeSync by default. So in that sense, you can't really avoid FreeSync at this budget.

jigger · 20 Oct 2017 at 21:04

Maybe a LG 2560x1080 ultrawide. I think those are around £250.

Quartz · 20 Oct 2017 at 21:23

BubbleandSqueak said:
Wants a screen from 24".

What does he have right now? He's not going to get 144 Hz on a GTX 660.

southernorth · 20 Oct 2017 at 21:32

Quartz said:
What does he have right now? He's not going to get 144 Hz on a GTX 660.

He would in CS:GO