What monitor for mixed use - gaming & photo work

Phal · 14 Jan 2018 at 23:19

I've tried looking around to see if there's anything suitable but there are so many models out there and so much dated information that it's difficult to be sure about anything!

I've currently got a fairly old BenQ XL2410T which I bought before I started playing with photos so colour wasn't a huge worry back then. I'd definitely like to get something with better colours but I think pretty much any monitor now will be an improvement lol.

I love 120hz so that's pretty much a must but I've only got a 780ti so I don't need mega resolutions for games but something a little higher than 1920x1080 would be good for photos.

Is there something reasonably priced that fits this bill? Are there any decent fast IPS screens yet?

Aphex8T3 · 15 Jan 2018 at 07:06

I'm in the game boat. I had a look on you Flickr page. Some good images there. Nice work.

Pocah · 15 Jan 2018 at 07:28

Firstly, yes, IPS. When you view at odd angles you don't get colour shifts, you get contrast shifts, which is great if you are using Photoshop. You do get IPS GLow, and while that bothers some people. Basically if affects blacks. No monitor is perfect and it's just the price you have to pay for better colour stability ( if that's the word ). Regards whether the 780Ti will handle anything more than 1080P gaming at high refresh rates, well, it's not ideal, but it depends on what games you play and what settings you use. You are more likely to be restricted by availability and or cost. An obvious upgrade is to get a 29" 2560x1080. I think there is only one IPS that has a higher than 60Hz refresh rate. The LG 29UM69 which is £280. That one I have no experience of, but LG make good monitors. If you go to 2560x1440 at anything other than 60Hz then the cost suddenly increases a lot. You are talking two to three times higher than the LG.

Phal · 15 Jan 2018 at 10:11

Aphex8T3 said:
I'm in the game boat. I had a look on you Flickr page. Some good images there. Nice work.

Thanks

Pocah said:
Firstly, yes, IPS. When you view at odd angles you don't get colour shifts, you get contrast shifts, which is great if you are using Photoshop. You do get IPS GLow, and while that bothers some people. Basically if affects blacks. No monitor is perfect and it's just the price you have to pay for better colour stability ( if that's the word ). Regards whether the 780Ti will handle anything more than 1080P gaming at high refresh rates, well, it's not ideal, but it depends on what games you play and what settings you use. You are more likely to be restricted by availability and or cost. An obvious upgrade is to get a 29" 2560x1080. I think there is only one IPS that has a higher than 60Hz refresh rate. The LG 29UM69 which is £280. That one I have no experience of, but LG make good monitors. If you go to 2560x1440 at anything other than 60Hz then the cost suddenly increases a lot. You are talking two to three times higher than the LG.

Yeah, I'm not really under any illusion that gaming at anything higher than 1080p will go well hehe. Games can stay there for now but a higher desktop res would be nice. That LG is cheaper than I thought it would be but I'm wondering whether the 75hz max will be annoying for me.

Are there any good IPS monitors that will do 120hz or higher? What's the price range for those?

Pocah · 15 Jan 2018 at 15:59

Phal said:
Thanks

Yeah, I'm not really under any illusion that gaming at anything higher than 1080p will go well hehe. Games can stay there for now but a higher desktop res would be nice. That LG is cheaper than I thought it would be but I'm wondering whether the 75hz max will be annoying for me.

Are there any good IPS monitors that will do 120hz or higher? What's the price range for those?

To me there seems to be a big hole in the market because the answer is pretty much no. As far as I know there simply isn't a faster 29" on than the one I mentioned.
You could go to 27" which is a really popular gaming format right now, but if you are in the realms of 144Hz and it's going to be around £700+. For an ultra wide, well, you are talking 34" an 100Hz one will set you back £1200.
Checkout the Asua PG279Q, or the Acer Predator XB271HU. Both really good monitors.

Phal · 15 Jan 2018 at 18:36

Pocah said:
To me there seems to be a big hole in the market because the answer is pretty much no. As far as I know there simply isn't a faster 29" on than the one I mentioned.
You could go to 27" which is a really popular gaming format right now, but if you are in the realms of 144Hz and it's going to be around £700+. For an ultra wide, well, you are talking 34" an 100Hz one will set you back £1200.
Checkout the Asua PG279Q, or the Acer Predator XB271HU. Both really good monitors.

Yeah, I've seem some cheaper freesync ones but gsync seems to bump the price somewhat!

Phal · 22 Jan 2018 at 20:06

Ended up ordering an Acer Predator XB271HU 27" after I saw a good Rainforest warehouse deal I couldn't refuse. It was due to arrive today but I knew the packaging was damaged so when a Flymo box arrived, I wasn't too concerned.

When I opened the Flymo box and saw bright orange plastic I was a little more concerned lol... I returned my first ever lawn mower today (You get some weird looks walking about with a lawn mower).