1440p Monitor worth the GPU cost?

[BrentRitztro]

Hi all,

I am very interested in one of those 1440p Korean monitors. THIS one in particular. I am considering upgrading from THIS. I usually play the Source games, LoL, Warframe, and occasionally BF3 (All for fun, not competitively).

I have three questions:
Is 1440p worth it for Gaming? Web Development? General use?
Is 1440p worth the cost of having to buy a new GPU much more often in order to run games on it?
Will I have to buy a new GPU to run BF3 (50+ fps, non-competitive so FPS just has to be decent) at high? Medium? Low?

My other option is just getting a second one of the one I already have.

Here are my PC Specs in case you need them:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($83.72 @ Amazon)
Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.71 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($247.23 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill Green 530W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.68 @ Amazon)
Monitor: AOC e2251Swdn 60Hz 22.0" Monitor ($136.21 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $827.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-28 21:09 EDT-0400)

Thanks ahead,
Brent

 

[BrentRitztro]

I was very skeptical about the benefits from moving to 1440p over 1080p but at least for me... WOW. Night and day difference for both work and gaming. I could never use a 1080p screen again for anything after moving to 1440p.

Alright I have an answer for question #1! How about question #2/3? I don't want to have to spend large amounts of money to keep up with being able to support it's resolution for my type of semi-casual gaming.

 

[BrentRitztro]

Only you can answer #2, I think. For me, I will always pay to have a GPU setup that can run at least 1440p.

As for #3, you'd have to check benchmarks but you'd almost certainly be fine at high settings if ultra wasn't smooth enough for you. BF3 really isn't that demanding once you get away from MSAA and ultra settings.

Alright so I can stand not being on max settings. I can deal with high and maybe even medium. And based on THIS I should be able to run BF3 just fine with my current setup. Based on being fine with those high/medium settings how often do you think I will have to upgrade to be able to play the most modern games at high/medium? (My next modern game will probably be BF4)

BTW, Thanks for all your help thus far!

 

[envy14tpe]

1) Worth it for gaming? If you got a 7970, then yes. A $200 GPU would struggle tremendously. You have a 7870 so I'm guessing if you want 60fps then you would have to play at Medium or maybe High. The extra resolution is stressful on the GPU. In terms of general use, hmm HD videos are 1080p not 1440p. So, I don't see the benefit there.

2)Worth the cost? Gotta find benchmarks, although most benchmarks are 1920x1200 at most. You'd probably need a second 7870. But then your CPU might be the bottleneck.

 

[BrentRitztro]

1) Worth it for gaming? If you got a 7970, then yes. A $200 GPU would struggle tremendously. You have a 7870 so I'm guessing if you want 60fps then you would have to play at Medium or maybe High. The extra resolution is stressful on the GPU. In terms of general use, hmm HD videos are 1080p not 1440p. So, I don't see the benefit there.

2)Worth the cost? Gotta find benchmarks, although most benchmarks are 1920x1200 at most. You'd probably need a second 7870. But then your CPU might be the bottleneck.

If needed I can grab a 7970 GHz this Christmas. But it will probably work on BF3 for now right? Also I already only watch YouTube videos in 720p because otherwise it takes too long to load lol.

 

[envy14tpe]

If you wanted to play below the monitor resolution then games won't look so good and you'd be wondering why you spent the money on something you can't utilize. How about a 1920x1200 monitor? However, 1920x1080 is most common. Also, a 660ti can play BF3 on Ultra so you don't need to spend $400+ for a 7970.

 

[BrentRitztro]

If you wanted to play below the monitor resolution then games won't look so good and you'd be wondering why you spent the money on something you can't utilize. How about a 1920x1200 monitor? However, 1920x1080 is most common. Also, a 660ti can play BF3 on Ultra so you don't need to spend $400+ for a 7970.

Well I will be playing at 1440p, just on something like high on BF3. Also I am going to be using this for more than just gaming so that is why I want 1440p

 

[envy14tpe]

The one you listed has 8ms response time. For BF3 it is better to go a little lower. You might grab a 5 or 6ms response time monitor.

 

[BrentRitztro]

The one you listed has 8ms response time. For BF3 it is better to go a little lower. You might grab a 5 or 6ms response time monitor.

What cheap Korean monitor do you recommend? I can't find much on response times when looking at them. Also I might just go for a wired connection, then I can take my Wifi card out, then i can cf another 7870 sometime in the future I can stand medium/high on bf3 for now

 

[envy14tpe]

The one you listed has 8ms response time. For BF3 it is better to go a little lower. You might grab a 5 or 6ms response time monitor.

What cheap Korean monitor do you recommend? I can't find much on response times when looking at them. Also I might just go for a wired connection, then I can take my Wifi card out, then i can cf another 7870 sometime in the future I can stand medium/high on bf3 for now

Scroll down to bottom of page. Or type "Ctrl + F" and search for "response time". It should take you to it. 8ms is ok, I played on my Dell, but now I have 2ms on an Asus monitor so I won't touch 8ms again. 5ms is totally decent and could be an IPS.

 

[BrentRitztro]

The one you listed has 8ms response time. For BF3 it is better to go a little lower. You might grab a 5 or 6ms response time monitor.

EDIT: Found THIS one. Around $50 more and IPS (not PLS) and 6ms response

[strike]Is it worth paying $200 more? My eyes aren't the greatest at noticing this stuff (recently moved from PS3) so maybe I should stick with this and never upgrade so I never know what I am missing [/strike]

Anyway, thanks for all your help thus far!

 

[envy14tpe]

The one you listed has 8ms response time. For BF3 it is better to go a little lower. You might grab a 5 or 6ms response time monitor.

EDIT: Found THIS one. Around $50 more and IPS (not PLS) and 6ms response

[strike]Is it worth paying $200 more? My eyes aren't the greatest at noticing this stuff (recently moved from PS3) so maybe I should stick with this and never upgrade so I never know what I am missing [/strike]

Anyway, thanks for all your help thus far!

Good choice. I've heard good things about Catleap.
Just spend as much as your budget allows for a good GPU and you'll see amazing graphics.