PC build thread

[Ack]

also I've never really paid attention to latency before. Is 1ms what you really need? Or is stuff like 4ms, 6ms not even noticeable?

Depends on what you play. If you're heavily into twitch action games then you'll want the lowest latency you get. If you're just going to run into oncoming trains anyway then you're fine with worse latency.

Hell, or if you're going to use a virtual reality headset, you want the lowest latency you can get. John Carmack's been harping on this for years.

But I'm always for another noise/train joke.

[noiseredux]

I don't *plan* to use VR. But I don't plan to not use VR.

(Translation: If the Rift had been $300 I'd have already pre-ordered one. Idiots.)

At any rate, right now I'm thinking that a 1440 monitor will feel like a good upgrade, whether it's a 24" or a 27". And I *think* I care about G-Sync...? But that's going to mean that instead of $300, I'll have to spend $500+. Right?

I'm not so sure how important G-Sync is to me... I know that I'm a lot more likely to spend $300-$400 rather than $500+. Hmmm.

Or... do I have this backwards? I guess I'm not entirely certain I know that a 1440 monitor is going to be a huge upgrade visually to a 1080. I guess I'm still not sure I fully understand how I should prioritize features:

1080 vs 1440?
G-Sync or not?
24" vs 27"?

[noiseredux]

so lets see


If I just wanted to upgrade to 27" (1080p), then the options are endless and fairly cheap. Here's a BenQ w/ 1ms latency for $258.



BTW, my current monitor has 5ms and I have no complaints. I'd go w/ something like this maybe if all I cared about was a bigger screen.


Here's a 27" (1080p) Samsung curved monitor.



This one seems less game-y, though. 4ms latency.


Now for $377 I could get a 24" (1080p) Acer Predator.



It's only an inch bigger than what I have now, but it's got G-Sync and runs at 144hz refresh rather than 60. It's got 1ms latency as well. This seems like a decent compromise... *slightly* bigger screen and G-Sync. EDIT: PC Gamer's Guide To Monitor Technology also says that anything over 24" is going to start to look bad at 1080p vs how it looks on a 24" and under screen.


For $400 there's a 27" 1440p Asus.



This is not necessarily a "gaming monitor." I'm not sure I'm sold on needing a 1440p now. From what I've researched the big plus is having more "real estate," but I mean... I already have plenty. On all 3 of my PC's the only thing on the desktop is literally a trashcan.


Finally at $500 I could go with a 27" Philips (1080p) w/ G-Sync.



This would probably feel like the biggest upgrade to me as it's (A) much bigger than my 23" that I have now, and (B) has G-Sync which is fancy and new. $500 would really be pushing the ceiling of what I'd want to spend on a new monitor tho... EDIT: And maybe a bad idea to do 1080p at 27"...

[Jmustang1968]

The 144 Hz is the must have. If going 27 Id also want the 1440.

If you are going to spend 300-400, might as well go the little bit extra and all in.

[noiseredux]

The 144 Hz is the must have.

why though? I don't know that I understand the benefit for gaming?

EDIT: Sorry, I misread this as 1440, not 144 hz. Though I still don't fully understand the refresh thing. I know that 144 hz is going to look better than a 60 hz... I don't know how or why yet.

If going 27 Id also want the 1440.

Agreed. If I was going to do a 27" it would not be a 1080.

If you are going to spend 300-400, might as well go the little bit extra and all in.

But it seems like "all in" is like $600-$700... which is like saying "hey if you're going to spend $300-$400, might as well spend double that." My main sticking point right now is that I can't see why I would want to spend more than $400. I can't really understand if or how 1440 would make a difference to me when I'm sitting at a desk, and using this exclusively for gaming. If someone can explain to be a true benefit worth the price difference, I'm all ears.

From the bit of reading I've been doing on gaming monitor shopping, it seems to me that of the features I've outlined, G-Sync is going to be the most noticeable. And it seems that if sticking with a 1080p then I shouldn't go bigger than a 24".

[isiolia]

The 144 Hz is the must have. If going 27 Id also want the 1440.

If you are going to spend 300-400, might as well go the little bit extra and all in.

For a gaming focus, yeah, 144hz and probably G-Sync would be the big thing.

I think resolution would depend on additional things. Going to 1440 over 1080 is, what, nearly an 80% increase in pixels for the GPU to push? It's a significant hit to performance, and largely the realm of higher end GPU setups right now, at least for maxing out current games.

There's definitely some logic in sticking to 1080p for now too. Personally, I'd want to go to 1440p as well, but I'm also anticipating upgrading my GPU soon.

I think it really comes down to what noise (or whoever) sees as the main thing they want to improve. I mean, you can go buy a 40" 1080p/60 TV too, inside the stated budget, if all you want is a big picture.

[noiseredux]

For a gaming focus, yeah, 144hz and probably G-Sync would be the big thing.

I'm glad you guys brought up the 144hz as being important for gaming. I wasn't really paying much attention to refresh rate.

I think resolution would depend on additional things. Going to 1440 over 1080 is, what, nearly an 80% increase in pixels for the GPU to push? It's a significant hit to performance, and largely the realm of higher end GPU setups right now, at least for maxing out current games.

There's definitely some logic in sticking to 1080p for now too. Personally, I'd want to go to 1440p as well, but I'm also anticipating upgrading my GPU soon.

Fair enough. And on the same token, I don't plan to upgrade my GPU for a while now.

I think it really comes down to what noise (or whoever) sees as the main thing they want to improve. I mean, you can go buy a 40" 1080p/60 TV too, inside the stated budget, if all you want is a big picture.

Haha, that's a good point. And you're right, I don't want just a big picture. I want a really nice picture. I do the vast majority of my gaming sitting at this desk. So I'd just like it to be really visually pleasing. (Part of my thinking of this is that I want to use my current monitor in my arcade stand setup, which is a nice excuse to buy a new main monitor).

I think right now my front-runner is the Acer Predator XB241H... it is 24" 1080p 144hz and includes G-Sync... and it sits at $400 MSRP. Seems to check off all the boxes that I'm narrowing in as being the ones I care about.

[Jmustang1968]

I just got this:


My local MicroCenter has it as well, but I can get from Amazon, and since a 3rd party, no tax, with Saturday shipping for $45 cheaper due to paying sales tax at MC.

So I will be getting this tomorrow and checking it out.

Here it is at Newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

[noiseredux]

nice, John!

Looking forward to your thoughts.

I might wait about a month to pull a trigger on a new monitor.

[Jmustang1968]

Monitor arrived around noon today, some fast shipping buy Amazon/UPS. Under 24 hours!

I set it up while recording the RPGamer podcast. still not finished recording, so cant exactly test it out, but I did load up a few games menu/intro screens, and it looks amazing so far. the resolution and size of the monitor is beautiful.

I will have to test and see how nice the 144Hz is.