Too much choice!! Pairing for RTX 2080

[Chris [BEANS]]

So, putting together a PC with a 3700x and an RTX 2080.

Currently have a 60 Hz 1080p monitor, and obviously need a major upgrade.

Budget isn’t a massive problem, but I’m really trying to get bang for buck with this build. That’s why, for example I’ve gone for the straight RTX 2080 and not a Super or even Ti. I just don’t think the extra expense is worth the performance boost.

I don’t want to spend more than I need to, but of course it’d be stupid to scrimp and not take advantage of what should be (currently) a fairly high spec PC.

I expect (hope) the monitor will outlast the graphics card, so something a bit future proof would be great, but I’m certainly not willing to fork out the £2k + for one of the top of the range all singing, 200mhz, ultra wide, bad boys.

I also don’t think I want 4k. It’d be a shame to put this PC together and still be playing at 60 FPS.

I did think that the https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lg-2...le-widescreen-led-gaming-monit-mo-155-lg.html was the move, and still possibly do.

Research is steering me towards Ultra Wide though. In which case the Alienware AW3418DW might be the move.
It’s likely to be on sale at some point and I’m in no massive rush to get this done, so fits nicely into the ‘bang for buck’ motif.

I also like the idea of the Predator Z35P, but it seems suspiciously cheap with most places selling it sub £600 right now.
Am I missing a major flaw or draw back?

My only concern with these ultra wides is the refresh rate. I think I’d like 144hz, but having never played over 60hz before I’m simply going by what I’ve read...

I really wanted the Razer Raptor (google it) for the aesthetic, but there’s been no need since January.

I am however willing to wait if there are good contenders on the horizon...


So, TL;DR, new PC with 3700x and RTX 2080, pretty much just for gaming. Can’t decide on a screen, don’t want 4K... Go!

 

[Chris [BEANS]]

Looks like ultra wide it is. The Samsung is just too big I think.

Nice to see more positive comments for the Predator. I think at £545 right now, it’s probably a steal...

I’m certainly leaning that way right now but I’ll keep an eye out for any deals/sales on the AW.

Cheers for pointing out the MM post too, but as I’m investing in a whole new system I’m going to go with a brand new monitor.

 

[Chris [BEANS]]

Missed out

I’m currently on holiday, and I intended to order the Z35P when I got back.

Sadly (and unsurprisingly) its no longer available for £540 odd, so the search continues...

 

[Chris [BEANS]]

Cheers for the tip... already got the 2080 though.

I think as the rig’s not built yet and I’m in no massive rush, I’ll keep my eyes on sales etc and just grab one that’s a bargain.
There don’t seem to be any stand out must haves, or even any that should definitely be avoided.

Bit miffed at myself for not scooping up the Predator at that price to be honest.

 

[Chris [BEANS]]

Heavily leaning towards the Alienware, however an update is due soon...

https://www.tftcentral.co.uk/blog/d...ltrawide-gaming-screen-with-g-sync-and-120hz/

Big differences are that it’s native 120Hz, not OC’d, and it’s got ‘more accurate’ colours...

Looks great. I’ll only be using it for gaming realistically, so I’m thinking it’s not worth the extra £500 it’s likely to cost.
Are there any other benefits I’m missing?

 

[Chris [BEANS]]

Really didn't think so, but was worth an ask... Cheers

 

[Chris [BEANS]]

Just to follow up, in case anyone was interested...

I’ve spent a LOT of time looking at monitors over the last few weeks.

There just aren’t any clear choices out there, and there really aren’t any really great value options.

There’s not a single monitor out there that doesn’t have masses of complaints on forums either.

Seems the panel lottery is very real, and it seems that as great as Nvidia using ‘adaptive sync’ sounds, it again is a lottery.

For everyone who says ‘I have X monitor with Freesync (or Freesync 2) and it works flawlessly’, there’s someone else saying ‘I have that monitor but it doesn’t work, flickers, has a really narrow range, etc...’.

I don’t want to spend over a grand for a chance of a good screen.


So, I’ve hedged my bets... I’ve gone with a refurbished (graded A1) Predator x34, priced at £400.



That’s worth an explanation. I would have actually gone with the 49 inch Samsung with HDR, but it was literally too big for my desk. I mean, actually physically, it would take the full width and there’d be nowhere to put the speakers...

I then decided the AW3418DW was the move. However, it’s a grand, and it’s getting on. Faster refresh with gsync and HDR appears to be on the horizon and so there’s no future proofing here. If I’m spending a grand, I want it for years to come.

Lastly, I thought I’d go for the new 144hz MSI MPG341CQR. Sadly, another Freesync monitor that people are reporting gsync incompatibilities with. At nearly £900, I don’t want the gamble.


So, with the X34, it’s gsync, it’s graded A1 refurbished meaning if it was faulty then any faulty parts will have been replaced and will be effectively brand new, to achieve the A1 rating it ‘should’ have been well scrutinised (which is more than it seems a lot of brand new monitors get), ad of course at £400 it’s less than half the price of the Alienware and the ‘gamble’ is minimal.

My hope with this monitor is that is sees me through a year (or more) of new releases and developments until there’s a real clear choice of monitor to upgrade to. At that point if I can sell it for £200 it’s been a pretty sweet deal.


I’ll post back and let you know if it’s actually A1, or if I’ve wasted all of my reasoning and my £400.

 

[Chris [BEANS]]

IMO there are 3 clear choices for value

1. AW3418DW for <700 second hand; i sold one recently for 550 with 3y warranty
2. CRG9 Samsung £999 incredible experience
3. LG OLED C9 55'' £1,699

I see every other monitor on the market as charging too much without bringing anything subsential to the table.
Only FALD AND OLED will bring you the HDR goodness you want. The CRG9 nor any of these edge lits do. The FALD montiors on the market have terrible halo and backlight banding effect so I don't think they're all that.
OLEDs have burn in and image retention risk so its really just about picking your poison.

I'm testing the 55'' OLED vs the C9 this Sunday but I can tell you tht the CRG is definitley difficult to beat!

I’m sure you’re right about the CRG9 mate, but as above it’s literally too large for my desk.

Fingers crossed Samsung release a 34 inch 3440 x 1440 with the otherwise same specs as the CRG9.

In the mean time, hopefully an ‘A1’ refurb will be less of a gamble and be less used than something straight second hand.
Also, at £400 even if it’s got major issues I can sell it on with an honest description of the problems (let’s say bad backlight bleed as well as stuck pixels worst case) and someone will still take it at £200 and I’ll be barely out of pocket...


I’ll keep an eye on your thread comparing those two though. I wouldn’t ever use the 55 inch as my main monitor, but I am looking for a new TV right now anyway, and it’s be cool to have the option to use it that way if I ever have reason...

 

[Chris [BEANS]]

So, by way of an update on the refurb X34...

With the huge caveat that it only cost £400, I have to say I’m very happy.

Despite going for free, but slow delivery, it came next day!

Packaging was a big plain box, but was really well packaged indeed with a thick robust plastic type box, with very thick sturdy foam inside.

It’s the original x34, not an x35a, and it’s clearly been sat around for some time as both monitor and stand were quite dusty.

Also came with the piece of paper for the engineer who repaired it with the documented problem and his hand written notes regarding the repair too. Not that it meant much to me, but it’s nice to know what lead to this monitor requiring refurb in the first place.

Zero cosmetic marks, zero dead pixels. There is some screen glow, but it really doesn’t notice unless you’re looking for it with a straight black screen.

Overclocks to 95hz, can’t handle 100hz though.
On the monitor itself, I have it overclocked to 100hz. In Windows I used the drop down box to choose the refresh rate.
At 95hz it works a treat, and oddly is recognised as 94hz.
At 100hz it’s a black screen with occasional flickers of the desktop.

Tried out G Sync for the first time ever, and have to say I’m very impressed. (Pendulum thing, and just a super brief check in PUBG).

The computer it’s for isn’t built yet and this testing was done on a very old and clapped out bad boy, so testing out gaming on it right now would be pointless. My GTX 970 isn’t going to do it any justice.

Oddly, I can’t get Nvidia control panel to install. It says it can’t run with current driver, and the same error persisted even after I updated to the latest drivers. This means I couldn’t see confirmation of G Sync, but the difference was clear with it on/off in the pendulum test, and it removed tearing in PUBG, so it’s there.

All in all, no complaints and I’m sure it’ll tide me over until something emerges that’s High refresh, G Sync, and has reliable QA.