Monitor Holding Me back ?

hellhasnofury · 13 Nov 2012 at 23:15

I've recently settled on a gaming build and it may sound like a REALLY stupid question, but I had avoided choosing a monitor as I have a 22" Acer (about 5 years old), it's only just crossed my mind that I've spent nearly 1k on a gaming PC but it will all look **** as the monitor display is a little furry. Is this the case?

It's an x223w Acer with 1680x1260 resolution (I think)

Bacon? · 13 Nov 2012 at 23:17

Remove competitor link.

Rooster212 · 13 Nov 2012 at 23:27

Its kind of your choice, I think you will notice a difference, especially if you get a 1080p screen.

Bacon? · 13 Nov 2012 at 23:31

Just noticed the resolution and I think you might have the wrong ones? a 1080P us 1920 x 1080 so unless the ASUS is really wierd. That said if your buying a nice 1K spec then a decent monitor goes along way. Heck I have a cheap £100 22" for my gaming rig and it still looks good

hellhasnofury · 13 Nov 2012 at 23:38

Sorry my mistake, the resolution is 1680x1050 and it's Acer not Asus

Thanks for the responses, but to run maximum resolutions in games I'll assume I need a monitor that displays in equally high resolutions?

Speed · 13 Nov 2012 at 23:44

For the best possible image you want to be running at the monitors native resolution and ideally over a digital setup like DVI, HDMI etc. So yes, if you want to run games at higher resolutions than you monitor supports then you really want a monitor with a higher native resolution, otherwise the image quality will suffer.

What is the spec of your system out of interest?

hellhasnofury · 13 Nov 2012 at 23:57

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £259.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £159.95
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £69.95
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White £59.99
1 x Antec 302 Three Hundred Two Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £52.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED316GM1600HC11DC01) £47.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 REV A CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/AM2/AM3/FM1) £24.98
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £786.31 (includes shipping : £11.25).

Alright I'll get monitor scouting, I don't suppose there is a very popular/common choice to save me some more research?

Speed · 14 Nov 2012 at 00:09

Well with that system you'll max out any game at the current native resolution with all the eye candy turned on. So yes would be wise to invest in a higher resolution screen to improve your overall experience.

There are plenty of monitors that are popular, depends really what you want out of it really and how much you have to spend.

At around £300 the Dell 27" 1080p IPS monitor seems to be an up and coming favourite, couple of minor niggles as detailed in the thread linked below but nothing major and Dells warranty service is second to none.

Thread here: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=23162531
Review here: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_s2740l.htm

TFT central also have some excellent detailed reviews on other screens as well if that one isn't to your liking or out of your budget.

martinoheat · 14 Nov 2012 at 01:35

I recently built a PC and had no monitor, planned to buy a big TV to use as one but was disuaded by members on here, and i am glad they did!

A good monitor makes all the difference.

I ended up buying this:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-071-IY
after it was recommended to me on here. the reviews were good, it has multiple inputs (can connect xbox and PC to it and switch between the two - which i needed), it even has built in speakers!
Highly recommended.

Check out my 'spec me' thread for info on how to choose a good monitor and why a monitor is needed not a TV:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=22489659#post22489659

I don't know your budget.....
If you want to spend big money you can buy a 27inch 2560x1440 monitor, or 2 24inch 1920x1080 monitors.

But for just over £150 you can get the iiyama monitor i linked above and that will do the job VERY well.