Help choosing a new monitor

Mythril1976 · 8 Dec 2011 at 21:18

Hi.

I've recently coming into some money and I thought I'd treat myself to a new 27" monitor.

I've been looking at 3D monitors. Love the new Samsung one but I'm not sure if I can use the 3D part with my nVidia GTX580. The other thing that's puzzling me is why are there hardly any monitors that support 1920x1200 ? I see loads at 1920x1080 but I'm hard pushed to find a 27"

Anyway what's the best 3D monitor ? I want a 27" and nothing below as I already own a 24" samsung.

Ta for any help you might throw my way

cmndr_andi · 8 Dec 2011 at 22:11

Hi there,

With your GPU you should be able to use the 3D mode on the Samsung models (at least the ones with 3D via HDMI 1.4) using Nvidia 3DTV play software. However, due to bandwidth restrcitions of HDMI 1.4 this would limit you to 3D gaming in 1080p@24Hz or 720p@60Hz (per eye), in comparison if you used a Nvidia 3D Vision compatible monitor then you would get the full 1080p@60Hz (per eye), since this technology uses the higher bandwidth dual-link DVI connection.

As a result, I would suggest a Nvidia 3D vision compatible monitor (such as this 27in one - review here) if you have your heart set on using 3D gaming a lot. However, if you only plan to use the samsung monitor for 120Hz "2D" gaming and 3D films then you won't have any issues with these monitors.

As for 1920x1200, this resolution is no longer popular in "mainstream" consumer monitors since 16:9 1920x1080 has pretty much eaten up this market. Even in the higher-end 27in space 2560x1440 (16:9) resolution IPS panel monitors have taken over from 16:10 1920x1200 ones (though this is less of a pain, since the resolution is a good deal higher than before and they look so darn good).

Mythril1976 · 8 Dec 2011 at 22:52

Thanks ever so much cmndr_andi. Very useful information. I'm not 100% sure on a 3D monitor at this moment in time, I just thought it might be nice to have one.

The Samsung S27A950D is so nice looking and I'm very tempted to buy one of these. If I can watch 3D movies on it without having to buy a pair of 3D glasses, then that's a bonus.

Are there any other monitors with a resolution of 2560x1440 / 120Hz that you would recommend ?

cmndr_andi · 8 Dec 2011 at 22:59

Yea, the 27A950 is a really nice monitor and if you are mainly planning on watching 3D films and doing 120Hz 2D gaming then it is a really nice choice. However, with your graphics card the 3D gaming ability of the monitor is not nearly as good as other monitors (like the acer I mentioned above).

As a side note, the ASUS 27in 120Hz monitor I linked to above also has the 3D vision system built into it and comes with a pair of 3D vision v2 glasses - so you don't need to buy any separate kit.

As for 2560x1440 and 120Hz, unfortunately there are no monitors I am aware of that can do both. This is because all the 2560x1440 panels in production use IPS technology and this technology isn't fast enough to run at 120Hz refresh rate. Though if you are looking for a 2560x1440 60Hz monitor recommendation, then this one does well for gaming I hear.