Spec me a monitor, 27-28” 1080p/1440p?

chapplejc

chapplejc

chapplejc

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Hello all.

About to drop some cash on a Ryzen 5 2600X / GTX 1070 build.

I’m coming over from a spell away from PC gaming. I’ve been running a PS4 / NUC setup for a while now for my gaming and PC needs (I use a Mac laptop for day-to-day general stuff and some work stuff).

I’m been running my PS4 and NUC through a 32” Samsung TV which has been fine for my usage but now I’m going back to a proper desktop system, it seems the right time to get a proper monitor too.

Obvs, being used to a 32”, I don’t want to drop down to a 24”. I think 27” or 28” monitor would therefore be about right.

With all that said, monitor tech has come a longway since I last looked for one. I think based on my system, I will primarily be running at 1080p, but I think I’d like to have 1440p capacity for a bit of longevity, and to be able to boost up the resolution for certain games or applications. I think I’d also like to get a 144hz monitor too for range.

I know very little about G-Sync and Freesync so any advice here would be great. I’ve read a bit about Nvidia backing down on Freesync which would appear to make more options available.

My budget is probs £250-£300, although I’d like to stick to the £250 end if poss, unless there is tremendous reason not too. I hear good things about AOC monitors in this price range. I also don’t really want a gaudy gaming looking thing either, something fairly plain and neutral.

TIA all.
 
Let me know if you come across a 1440p 27" 144Hz monitor for ~£250!
I've been looking at
AOC Q3279VWFD8 32" 2560X1440 IPS 75HZ FREESYNC WIDESCREEN LED MONITOR for £199 and
AOC AGON AG322QC4 32" 2560X1440 VA FREESYNC 144HZ 4MS GAMING WIDESCREEN LED MONITOR for £399

Both are 32", the former is a 75Hz IPS with a narrow freesync range, the latter a 144Hz VA with a more useful freesync range.

These are bigger than what you've asked, but it seems that specs like these are cheaper in 32" screens than 27"!
 
Also looking for something similar. I've seen some BENQ ones on Amazon that are decently priced, but I think a 27inch+ 144op 144hz monitor for under £250 is going to be hard to come by.
 
Yup, quickly learned my lesson with a bit of research.

The question now is - do I go for a pretty swish 24" panel and go deluxe on 1080p at up to 144hz or do I go 27" and shoot for 1440p at up to 144hz?

I should really point out that in terms of gaming, I don't tend to play a huge amount of fast-paced, action/FPS titles. I'm more of an RTS, city builder, etc, type of player. So I'm wondering how much benefit 1ms response is and high refresh rate, if FPS isn't going to be quite so critical.

That said, I don't want to rule myself out of any specific game type. I'd still like it to be able to play more action-based games smoothly.

Argh. The Dell 2719DGF looks like a decent shout, as does the AOC AG271QX. I'm ruling out G-Sync in favour of FreeSync on the basis of the Nvidia concession with drivers last week.

They're both essentially 27”, TN, 1ms, 2560x1440, 144hz, FreeSync enabled, which is probs the spec I'm most in the ball park for, although I reckon 4ms to 6ms would suit me just fine. I'm not really a competitive gamer.

Help please, monitor gurus!
 
Sounds like a great monitor @BISH422 from everything I've read. Out of interest, does it come with a yellow USB charging port? The AOC models do which is actually quite a nifty little bonus feature.
 
Yes it does appear to have , although not set up yet,


USB upstream port. Connect the USB cable from this port to your computer to enable the USB ports on your monitor.

USB downstream ports. Connect your USB peripherals such as storage devices and printers. NOTE: To use this port, you must connect the USB cable (shipped with your monitor) to the USB-upstream port on the monitor and to your computer.

USB BC1.2 charging port. Connect to charge your USB device.

Taken from manual.
 
Okay, I think I'm going to go down the AOC route. I'd appreciate anyone's input on the following monitors, and any guidance on which one might be best for me. I'm also definitely going to go 27".

The AG271QG on paper sounds absolutely fantastic - 1440p, 144hz, IPS, G-Sync - but comes in at around £550. The AG271QX has the exact same spec save for being a TN, FreeSync monitor and comes in at £420. Quite a big price difference. G-Sync and FreeSync on both monitors ranges from 30hz to 144hz which is excellent.

I'll be using a GTX 1070 so I could take advantage of G-Sync, but now Nvidia has opened up to FreeSync, the premium for G-Sync on the QG model seems a little pointless. So the main consideration for the two comes down to TN vs IPS.

I do like the idea of going IPS, even with the price premium. This might be a stupid question, but if you go with a G-Sync monitor, does it also support FreeSync if that makes sense? In short; if you go with a FreeSync monitor, you're golden with whatever GPU you're running. If you go with a G-Sync monitor, are you limited ONLY to G-Sync in terms of adaptive sync? In essence, limited adaptive sync to Nvidia cards? I'm buying with some longevity in mind so I may 18 months to 24 months down the line go for an AMD card. If I have the G-Sync monitor, does that mean I won't be able to use an AMD card to get adaptive sync?

The other consideration is that because I don't play a lot of fast-paced, FPS-type games, would I be better off with a screen with a lower refresh rate? i.e. 60hz to 75hz? There are some nice looking Dell IPS UltraSharp monitors for sub-£400 like the UD2719D (IPS, 1440p at 60hz, 5ms to 8ms response time rather than 1ms). I realise there is also the S2719DGF referenced earlier in the thread, but I prefer the look of the AOCs.

Also, it does feel like a bit of a waste not giving myself the 144hz headroom and adaptive sync benefits.

In short; I am currently deciding between the AOC A271QG (IPS, G-Sync, £550) vs the AOC A271QX (TN, FreeSync, £420) and want a monitor that's going to be pretty handy for the next 3-5 years. Thanks again all.
 
If it's just gaming then maybe the TN?

I bought the Dell 27" SG TN screen and for gaming it was really nice. For photos etc it was horrible. Couldn't put up with it and quickly sold it.

For gaming and photos, I'd (will do) go for IPS
 
This is my concern - I don’t really play FPS / fast-paced games and the monitor would def be heavily used for video, films, streaming, etc, alomgside gaming, hence an IPS is appealing. But IPS at 1440p / 144hz is £££++.
 
chapplejc said:
This is my concern - I don’t really play FPS / fast-paced games and the monitor would def be heavily used for video, films, streaming, etc, alomgside gaming, hence an IPS is appealing. But IPS at 1440p / 144hz is £££++.
Click to expand...

It's a bit under your budget and you might be able to get something better within your budget, but you might like to consider the AOC Q3279VWFD8 mentioned in post number 2. I bought one recently and I'm very impressed at how good it is for the price. £200 for a 32 inch 2560x1440 IPS...I think there's nothing like it at that price. Granted, it's limited to 75Hz but that's not terrible especially since you're saying "I don’t really play FPS / fast-paced games". The response time is quoted at 5ms and detailed testing bears that out (the very detailed review I read measured it as 4.3ms IIRC). I do play some fast-paced games and I'm finding it's fine for them. It also has Freesync, although the range is limited (~40-75).

It is basic - it has a simple stand with limited swivel in one plane (tilt backwards/forwards a bit), a full range of input connections and nothing else. No USB ports, nothing like that. You get what's needed and nothing more. The controls are inconvenient - little buttons on the underside of the monitor. But it's £200. It's not brilliant, but it is good. And it's £200.

I see it's now £220 here, but that's still very cheap for what it is.
 
Thanks @Angilion - since I wrote that last post, I’d turned my attentions to a stop-gap monitor instead of splashing £400-£500 at currency prices/tech. I stumbled across the very monitor you mentioned and it’s currently top of my list (it’s available sub-£200 from various places). Glad to hear you’ve had a good experience with it. It ticks all the boxes for me until there’s a bit more choice of 27”, 1440p, 144hz IPS panels. The AOC AG271QG is a damn fine looking monitor, it’s pretty much exactly what I’m lookimg for - but it’s £550. And it’s not particularly new now either.

I think I probably will end up going with the £200 AOC model for 12-18 months and see how things progress.

Can you give me any more real world / user insight into what it’s like to use day to day?
 
chapplejc said:
Thanks @Angilion - since I wrote that last post, I’d turned my attentions to a stop-gap monitor instead of splashing £400-£500 at currency prices/tech. I stumbled across the very monitor you mentioned and it’s currently top of my list (it’s available sub-£200 from various places). Glad to hear you’ve had a good experience with it. It ticks all the boxes for me until there’s a bit more choice of 27”, 1440p, 144hz IPS panels. The AOC AG271QG is a damn fine looking monitor, it’s pretty much exactly what I’m lookimg for - but it’s £550. And it’s not particularly new now either.

I think I probably will end up going with the £200 AOC model for 12-18 months and see how things progress.

Can you give me any more real world / user insight into what it’s like to use day to day?
Click to expand...

Nothing useful. I'm just using it straight out of the box. I will get around to messing with settings to optimise things (a couple of reviews said it was badly balanced on default settings), but I haven't done so yet and I'm not seeing any problems with the default settings. Also no dead pixels, no backlight bleed, no issues of any kind. I went from a fairly old 24 inch 1080p monitor, so what strikes me is the size and then the resolution, but that won't be the case for you. I'm not even using Freesync on it yet (I'll get around to updating my graphics drivers sometime - the one I'm using predates nvidia's support for freesync).
 
Cool. Let me know how you get on. While the physical size won’t be a change for me, I’m currently using a 32” Samsung TV at 1080p with I think a 50hz refresh rate so going from that to a 1440p, 75hz, IPS panel - and gaming on a proper PC rather than a PS4 or and Iris Plus NUC - is going to be quite a big jump.

I think tbh I’ll just look at monitor and GPU again in 12-18 months.
 
Acer Nitro XV272UPbmiiprzx
IPS 144Hz 1440p Freesync for £460

or
Acer Nitro VG270UPbmiipx
IPS 144Hz 1440p Freesync for £380

Not sure what the difference is between them, but maybe worth a look? Especially the second one!
 
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