Best All-Round Monitor?

SecretMachine · 25 Dec 2014 at 21:36

Hello

I'm in the market for a new monitor as I get the feeling that I'm not totally getting the best out of my GTX970 with my current monitor which is an older DELL model.

Budget wise I'm looking for under £250 ideally, however I'd be willing to strech it up to £350 if it makes a big difference in quality.

I primarily use my PC for gaming, watching movies, word processing and some hobbyist graphic design. I've been researching about different refresh rates etc and in all honesty it's confused me even more.
From what I gather there seems to be a trade off between quality of the colours and the refresh rate? Is there a monitor that offers a compromise between the two?

Thanks

Randomface74 · 25 Dec 2014 at 21:37

What model do you currently have and what's the problem with it?

wunkley · 26 Dec 2014 at 11:43

It doesn't exist, yet. You think you've found the holy grail of screens, then you try a 120hz one and it all changes again. Then gsync comes out and it all changes again. For each bonus there is always a compromise though currently, like TN panels for what I've just described.

Moral of the story is you don't know what you're missing until you've tried it. And the tech is moving fast again at the mo which is ultimately a good thing after years of monitor stagnation.

enapace · 26 Dec 2014 at 11:54

I would suggest a dell U2414 should work well with your GTX 970.

silvagti · 26 Dec 2014 at 12:11

IMO, given at £350 budget a 27" IPS 1440p monitor is the best "all round" monitor at the moment IMO. 27" 16:9 is about the perfect size, a 2560x1440 display gives you plenty resolution for productivity and split screen working and the IPS panel gives decent colour reproduction. Price-wise you can get them for around £300 which is a good deal for what's on offer.

A 120/144Hz/Gsync monitor would probably be better for fast moving games but it means having to go with an inferior TN panel and a mediocre 1080p resolution which isn't great for productivity unless you have 2 of them. I'd pay more attention to monitor size and resolution before worrying too much about refresh rates. The higher resolution of 1440p can put a strain on video cards but if you've got a GeForce 970 is wont be an issue.

This is on sale tomorrow for £320 and I think would fit your spec nicely
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-206-SA&groupid=17&catid=1120

enapace · 26 Dec 2014 at 12:16

Honestly I might be going tomorrow to the store myself and buying the Samsung myself it's a very good price for it. High quality PLS screen from what ive heard and is well built.

silvagti · 26 Dec 2014 at 12:20

enapace said:
Honestly I might be going tomorrow to the store myself and buying the Samsung myself it's a very good price for it. High quality PLS screen from what ive heard and is well built.

Are there any reviews for the Samsung online? I've seen a few on Amazon, and the reviews for previous gen monitors are usually decent. but nothing specific. I found one on a German site which rated it highly ('sehr gut') but couldn't read the specifics!

I was looking at 34" 21:9 monitors but the prices are very high. For £320 that Samsung would be a bargain.

NvidiaDan · 26 Dec 2014 at 18:16

Or there is the 32" version on sale tomorrow too for 360

SecretMachine · 28 Dec 2014 at 15:35

Hello everyone. Thanks for your input so far.
My current monitor for those who are asking is the Dell SP2309W 23".
I thought my monitor was bigger than it actually was!