Help me choose a new setup

ZeroUK · 13 Sep 2014 at 13:13

So I'm looking to purchase a new monitor and GPU when the NVIDIA 900 series launches later this month. I'm having a really hard time deciding what to get...

I currently have three Iiyama E2278HD screens (essentially super budget). I primarily play sim racers, DOTA 2 and a smattering of other titles / genres. I'm also a web developer so use my gaming system for work related stuff.

As it stands, I'm currently considering:

Buying a single Asus PG278Q ROG Swift and ditching two of my current screens. Seems to be the best single screen for gaming and I'll have my 2nd screen for productivity, maybe run it vertical. Problem with this is I loose the triple setup for sim racing which is obviously a bit of a loss for immersion and FOV. Other negative is being UK based we get ****ed on the price.

Buying a single LG Flatron 34UM95-P 34" and ditching my triples. Seems awesome for productivity, not so much for gaming. Should satisfy my wide screen needs for sim racing. Does anyone have any first hand experience with this screen for titles like DOTA, CS GO etc. I'm assuming you'd run at 16:9 in fullscreen and play with black bars surrounding the game..

Buy three decent panels and stick with triples. Something like this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-009-AS&groupid=17&catid=1779

Edit: Or maybe wait for the 4k with Gsync release.

Any advice/opinions appreciated!

Nexus18 · 13 Sep 2014 at 15:50

Both the ASUS and LG monitor use different panel tech.

IPS is better for colours, viewing angles and just general image quality where as TN 144HZ has a lower response time, less motion blur.

imo

FPS/quick paced competitive games - ASUS ROG swift
MMO/RPG, racing, simulator games, productivity/work, films - LG UW

FPS/quick paced games are still more than fine on 60HZ monitors but the asus screen with 144HZ + gsync will provide a much smoother experience with less blur + with gsync active, no tearing and little to no input lag

Ultrawide/21.9 aspect ratio is amazing for games too, much more immersive compared to 16.9/16.10 screens and better than eyefinity imo since you don't have any bezels. Very few games out there that don't support 21.9 aspect ratio and you can use this program to give proper 21.9 aspect ratio support for the ones that don't support it (don't use for any MP games though as it can be seen as a cheat):

http://www.flawlesswidescreen.org/

Here is mrk's review of the LG screen:

http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1213797-lg-34um95-p-ultra-wide-monitor-review/

As far as I am concerned 4k is pointless unless you are happy to get dual 980's/990's, the required PSU for them + the cooling and whatever else i.e. mobo to support them + a top end CPU. 4K screens are an absolute rip off imo, especially the IPS ones....

Personally, I would try to wait a bit longer though as we should be getting a dell version of the LG monitor + if you like curved displays, they will also be out soonish as well as IPS 144HZ monitors (possibly even with gsync), all will probably be more expensive though....

ZeroUK · 13 Sep 2014 at 17:50

Great reply, thank you very much. You had initially swayed me towards the LG until I read your edit regarding the backlight bleed. Will have to do some research into that! Hope you get yours sorted ok.

Cheers

Nexus18 · 13 Sep 2014 at 17:59

That isn't my review/monitor, it is mrk's!

I do wish I had that monitor though!

And yes, these LG ultrawide monitors do suffer backlight bleed, mainly the bottoms corners, thankfully it is easy to fix yourself though, just need to unclip the bottom bezel by a tiny amount using your finger nail, credit card or whatever else, supposedly removes bleed on the corners.

A number of people in the LG 34UM95 thread have done that.

From reddit:

Well, in case this might be useful to anyone, I was able to fix all the bleeding myself.

I used a thin piece of cardboard to "massage" space between the panel and the frame on the sides , applying very slight pressure bending inwards and outwards and that has gotten rid of the side bleeds.

The bottom bleeds were caused by the bottom plastic piece slotting into the main frame creating extra pressure points.

I've detached the piece from left and right slightly and put it back in making sure it does not fully "click" back into slots.

The whole procedure took around 15 minutes and was unintrusive.

It's been a week now, the bleed has not come back which makes me think that the fix is permanent.

silvagti · 13 Sep 2014 at 20:31

I'm in the same boat as yourself in that I'm after a new monitor go with my planned X99/Geforce 980 build next month. Currently using a 24" 120Mhz AW2310 and 20" Dell U2007WFP monitor as a dual screen setup. I had another 20" monitor in a triple setup previously but I didn't find it terribly useful for productivity and the different sizes made it unsuitable for surround gaming.

I'm fed up of using dual screens and would prefer to opt for a larger higher resolution single monitor. Somewhat like yourself I'm trying to decide whether to go for :-

1) 34" 21:9

2) 28-32" 4K monitor

3) 27" 1440p monitor

Right now I'm favouring the 34" as I think it would be better for productivity and gaming. 4K I've kind of gone cold on due to windows scaling issues and the GPU power required to run games at native res. A 27" 1440p could be a good stop gap for a few years if I don't feel comfortable with 4k or 21:9.

There are a few more 21:9 monitors being released, hopefully with less quality issues than the LG, over the next couple of months so I'll probably wait and see what they're like.

If nothing else looks promising I'll go with a 1440p monitor like the AOC Q2770PQU or the Asus PB278Q. Personally I don't think I'd go for the Asus PG278Q ROG as it seems very expensive for what it is. Difficult to make a call on whether G-Sync/144Mhz is worth the asking price without seeing on in person though so never say never. Maybe my eyesight and reactions are deteriorating in my old age but I personally never really felt that 120Hz offered a noticeable benefit before 60Hz. However I was disappointed by the colour reproduction of my 120Hz TN monitor compared to my 20" IPS one. These are older monitors so things are likely better these days but as a result I'm reluctant to buy another TN monitor regardless of the resolution/refresh rate.

In your position I'd try to give a 120/144Hz monitor a try in person as I personally don't feel like the increased refresh rate is worth sacrificing an IPS panel for.