New monitor, 144hz and 1440p doable?

Swifty55 · 22 May 2015 at 22:47

Currently running a Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Vapor-X OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Card and a Dell U2412M.

Wanting to upgrade to a nice new monitor, primary use is for gaming, movies, etc.

Currently playing a lot of ARMA 3 right now but may jump back into faster paced FPS's.

Budget around £500.

Will my card handle 1440p? I don't play at ultra settings.

Cheers.

Poneros · 23 May 2015 at 00:29

Yeah, it will handle 1440p, but not for >60 fps reliably.

Swifty55 · 23 May 2015 at 09:16

So, I'm better off just holding off and focus on upgrading my GPU?

Goose · 23 May 2015 at 10:28

You could get a second 280x for about £100 in MM to go Xfire but you'll have to accept the fact that AMD's driver support has been abysmal of late.

Poneros · 23 May 2015 at 13:25

AMD's driver support is far from abysmal, it's just not going to be instant. Crossfiring a 280x is a good value proposition but you have to keep in mind that 280x can't do FreeSync and the 280x is still older tech where Crossfire still suffers quite a bit from micro-stutters (which has been solved for 285s and 290(x)s).

So, should you hold back on the monitor purchase and go for a new gpu instead? It depends. If you only play one game and that game will suffer a lot from the higher demand for power that your PC can't handle then a new monitor isn't a good idea. On the other hand, if you play a lot of games then likely the performance loss won't be as significant and the bigger size of both monitor and resolution makes going for it worth it.

Swifty55 · 23 May 2015 at 13:51

What monitor would you recommend if I was to buy one?

Poneros · 23 May 2015 at 17:58

Depends, what games do you play the most? How big do you want the monitor to be? Do you want FreeSync/Gsync? Do you care about the monitor's stand, etc. Basically I could recommend you a dozen monitors but those are based on my preferences. If you want a general overview of the best monitors to purchase check this link out.

Swifty55 · 23 May 2015 at 18:37

rCurrently playing Arma 3. Play a bit of BF4/HL occasionally. Mainly waiting for the likes of R6:Seige, Squad and The Division etc.

Preference is mainly 27" as will be using for films/series in bed etc also 144hz.

G-sync/Freesync doesn't really matter as I play on low graphics to keep frames up and competitive. So doesn't really seem useful to me?
r
So, something like the BenQ XL2730Z 27" may suffice?

Seems daft not to go 1440p for the money and then a month or so later upgrade GPU when new ones arrive?

Budget of £500.

Poneros · 23 May 2015 at 22:35

Yup, that's a good pick. It's either that or the Asus MG279Q for FreeSync. The Asus has better image quality but its FreeSync range is limited for only up to 90hz. Also the Acer Predator XG270HUomidpx, which seems to be similar to the BenQ but a bit cheaper. I think in your case I'd probably go for either the BenQ or the Acer, depending on whose customer service you like best.