GPU requirements for 1440 Monitor

fredrock47

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Nov 29, 2017
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I need some advice. I use my PC for playing games and watching movies. Games like AC Origins and Far Cry 5. My PC specs are below.
My goal is to upgrade to a new 1440 monitor. I will first need to upgrade my GPU. My GTX 660 still plays all of the best games fine but I doubt it will with a 1440 monitor. I am trying to decide between a GTX 1060 and GTX 1070. Will the 1060 run a 1440 monitor ok or will I need the 1070?
Also, is there a "Can you run it" utility that includes a 1440 monitor option?

HP Envy 700-430qe
Windows 7 x64
i7-4790CPU@ 3.60Mhz
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 660
RAM: 12.0 GB
Monitor: 1080p
 
Solution
The 980ti is very similar to a 1070 in performance. The biggest difference is the power draw. The 980ti is a power hungry card. So you will need a decent PSU. But if you can find a good deal on a 980ti, then go for it. For me to choose a used 980ti over a 1070, it would probably have to be around $300. Much more than that and I would go with a new 1070.

I would look somewhere other than ebay though. Most of the used 1070's cost as much as a new 1070 because the 1070 price has come down some over the past few months, but it is still high. Remember the MSRP for the 1070 is $379. I challenge you to find one for that price.
At what refresh rate and what detail level?
You can run a 1440p on either card provided you are shooting for 60fps (such as for a 60-hz monitor).
If you want 1440p at 144hz, you need a 1080 or 1080ti.... maybe a well-overclocked 1070ti would do it with a few modest tweeks to the quality8 settings.
I have an overclocked 980ti, I can run pretty much everything at max/ultra and get 60fps on my 1440p/60hz.
 

fredrock47

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Nov 29, 2017
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So it is the refreash rate that determines the GPU requirements? Not the resolution.
I should probably ask a more basic question first. I want a new monitor for a couple reasons. I want a larger screen, say around 34" and I want higher quality video. Will a 3440x1440 monitor give me improved video or is the resolution not a factor there either? What are the factors that determine video quality for movies?

Some of the GPUs I've looked at have a 100Hz refreash rate. Will they be out of bounds for a 1060 and 1070 too?
 


Here is the review for the 1060 from PC gamer.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjBvob_3eTXAhWhm-AKHVE4B-oQFggnMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcgamer.com%2Fgeforce-gtx-1060-review%2F&usg=AOvVaw3mXcIRZ3OLlGG0asDwdNFK

It shows an average of 55 fps for the games tested. Which is pretty good and definitely playable. But all of these games tested are at least 1.5 years old.

The 1060 will struggle to run newer titles. Just look at the AC Origins which was a game the OP mentioned. The 1060 averages 41 fps on the 1060 at 1440p settings.

While the 1060 is a good card, it is not a good long term solution for high resolution gaming. In my opinion.

If it were me and I was on a budget, I would get a good 1080p monitor and a 1060. If you have the cash, then I would go for a 1440p and a 1070.
 


It is both refresh rate and resolution. You have to remember that:
target FPS = refresh rate.
Data per refresh rate = resolution.
So 1440p x 144 is quite challenging. While 1440p x 60 is much easier.
1440p = approx 3.7 million pixels
1080p = approx 2 million pixels
So it takes more GPU power to go from 60fps to 144 than it takes to go from 1080p to 1440p
A 3440x1440 is approximately 5million pixels.
5million x 100hz = approx. 500 million
3.7 x 144 = 532 million.
So 3440x1440 @ 100hz is almost exactly as challenging for a GPU as 1440p @144hz. Both are really going to need a 1080ti or damn close to get a MAX/ULTRA setting and be above their goals. This is where g-sync comes in. G-Sync lowers the refresh rate to match whatever the current FPS is. This eliminates the tearing you get from these two being out of sync.

Videos are not the same as video games. Videos play at a much lower fps and it is ok to have your monitor and your video not match their respective refresh rates. For video, a 1060 is plenty. How good the video looks at 3440x1440 depends on the source. How many pixels are in the frame? What format is it in. A high percentage of commercial videos are in 21:9. Almost no game content is. So a 21:9 monitor such as a 3440x1440 will look odd in many games and even in games which support the resolution, they won't support that in the cut scenes. For video watching a 21:9 is ok. For game play, I would not recommend it. It requires an extremely robust video card and there will be constant immersion breaks as the various cut scenes come up and are a different resolution than the game. There are also games which just don't support 21:9 at all. Since you are looking at both games and movies, I suggest a 32" 1440p screen (16x9) and as powerful a video card as you can easily afford.
If you don't mind 60hz for gaming, I have a money saving option:
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-BDM3270QP2-LED-Lit-monitor-2560x1440/dp/B01LXPX9I4/
It is on sale for 310 right now. Compared to a 144hz montor, video watching will be just as good (although not as good as a 34" 21:9). Game play will be better than a 21:9 and not require a 1080 ti to get full use out of it.
I would suggest at least a 1070, ideally more. But if budget is a big concern, a 1060 will absolutely game on this system and only require a minor bit of tweaking to be full speed in most games (a few games will require more a little tweaking).
If you want a best of the best, this is it:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824025836
$850 and it will need a 1080 ti to get full use of it. So a very costly but very nice thing to consider if you suddenly win the lottery.
 


I have a Predator x34 and it is an amazing panel. Arguably one of the best monitors in the world. So if you can afford it, go for it. But remember, ultra wide 21:9 has more pixels than standard 16:9. So it will require more GPU horsepower to push a 1440p ultra wide than a standard 16:9.

If you are going for 3440x1440p, you have to get a 1070 or better. If not you will be dialing back settings to get good fps and will negate the large sum of money that you have to put down to get one of those panels.
 
For 1440p gaming you want a 1070. For video it depends on the source material. A 1080p video will only have the amount of detail that 1080p has, just because you watch it on a 1440p monitor it won't suddenly become more detailed. It will just be scaled up to 1440p. In fact, because you will be scaling up video and watching on a larger screen, it might actually look less sharp, less detailed. This partly depends on how far away the monitor is, since there's a sweet spot for any monitor. Closer than that and you start to perceive the pixels. Too far away and you lose detail.
 

fredrock47

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Nov 29, 2017
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I have a thought. Would it be worthwhile to buy a 980 TI used? Maybe something like this?
EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB CLASSIFIED GAMING ACX 2.0+, Whisper Silent Cooling w/ Free Installed Backplate Graphics Card 06G-P4-4998-KR
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010GK3YYC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2XH26R0FWWIJP&psc=1
 

It is quite close to the 1070 in performance, but the 1070 is faster. I would buy a 1070 over a 980ti unless the price jump was sufficient to accept the slight reduction. Last I checked they were about the same price for a used 980ti vs a use 1070.
 
The 980ti is very similar to a 1070 in performance. The biggest difference is the power draw. The 980ti is a power hungry card. So you will need a decent PSU. But if you can find a good deal on a 980ti, then go for it. For me to choose a used 980ti over a 1070, it would probably have to be around $300. Much more than that and I would go with a new 1070.

I would look somewhere other than ebay though. Most of the used 1070's cost as much as a new 1070 because the 1070 price has come down some over the past few months, but it is still high. Remember the MSRP for the 1070 is $379. I challenge you to find one for that price.
 
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