Looking for a display for a more immersive gaming experience: large tv or smaller, but higher res monitor?

[TheScarecrow97]

For the past 2 or 3 years i've been gaming on a 24 inch off-brand 1080p tv. Honestly, it's been alright and has served me well, but I feel it's time to upgrade.

My question is this: should I get a 32 inch 1920 x 1080p tv or should I get a 29 inch 2560x1920 computer monitor? I'm not a "hardcore" or very competitive gamer, so a little bit of input lag on the tv display will probably go totally unnoticed by me. Which would provide me with a more satisfying and immersive experience?

Also, my budget is only about 400 dollars, 500 at an absolute maximum (and i'd prefer not to go quite that high) so if you want to make a product suggestion, please keep it in that price range. Thanks in advance for any help or advice you guys can give me!

 

[Kekoh]

2560x1920 is not a standard resolution.

Do you mean 2560x1080 or 2560x1440? I think you would enjoy either of those resolutions. One is ultra-wide(2560x1080), and one has high pixel density(2560x1440). The ASUS PB278Q would be a great choice. It's an IPS 1440p monitor, so in addition to having higher pixel density, the colors will look amazing.

 

[ChrisR83]

What are your computer specs? will you be able to play games at a decent FPS with a higher resolution?

 

[TheScarecrow97]

2560x1920 is not a standard resolution.

Do you mean 2560x1080 or 2560x1440? I think you would enjoy either of those resolutions. One is ultra-wide(2560x1080), and one has high pixel density(2560x1440). The ASUS PB278Q would be a great choice. It's an IPS 1440p monitor, so in addition to having higher pixel density, the colors will look amazing.

What are your computer specs? will you be able to play games at a decent FPS with a higher resolution?

Well my deskotp only has an hd 7850 1gb so I don't know how well it would handle resolutions higher than 1080p. My laptop however has a gtx 860m 4gb, which although it is a less powerful card does have more memory which might enable it to function better at a resolution like 2560x1440. What do you think?

Also, I do want a screen that is substantially larger than my current 24 inch one, so I am mildly reluctant to go with the asus monitor that is 27 inches, despite the beautiful resolution. I guess part of my question is, does a computer monitor typically display better colors and quality than a tv of the same resolution?

 

[dpassenger97]

ID SAY buy an asus vg248qe and nvidia 3d vision...and your gaming experience will change totally.....3d vision 2 is for 150 and the monitor is for 250 so a total of 500....simple

 

[lowriderflow]

dpassenger.... lol, "150 and 250, so total of 500"
better get out the abbacus and re-do some basic maths there. hahah

i'd reccomend the Qnix QX2710 from ebay/amazon. it's a 27" 2560x1440 monitor that is only $300. it also can overclock from 60hz to 120hz.

 

[lowriderflow]

the size of memory is utterly retarded on nvidia's new mobile video cards.

an 860m would absolutely never use 4gb of VRAM.

to use over 2gb you need to be playing Tomb Raider at 1440p with everything turned on including hair tessalation... then you'd be using 3gb of VRAM but you'd be getting about 4fps.

so it's utterly pointless other than the uneducated consumer that 'more=better'

 

[Kekoh]

Yeah, a monitor will have better colors at the price range of under ~$800 dollars. After that, TVs start to look really good and are probably comprable to the monitors. But also keep in mind a 32" 1080p TV is stretching the picture so far it won't look nearly as sharp as a smaller 1080p or 1440p monitor.

If you want something larger than 27", you are going to run into high prices and limited selection. There are monitors like the Dell U3011 (2560x1600 IPS) which is around $1k. If you are looking for TV suggestions, you won't find many experts here since this website is more based on computer hardware and related components.

Also, ignore the 3D guy. You would also have to upgrade your GPU (and likely PSU) to a high end Nvidia card, because 3D is substantially harder to run (cuts performance in half roughly).

 

[TheScarecrow97]

But also keep in mind a 32" 1080p TV is stretching the picture so far it won't look nearly as sharp as a smaller 1080p or 1440p monitor.

Would this also be true for most 29inch monitors?

 

[ChrisR83]

But also keep in mind a 32" 1080p TV is stretching the picture so far it won't look nearly as sharp as a smaller 1080p or 1440p monitor.

Would this also be true for most 29inch monitors?

Yes. you will have the same amount of pixels on a 24" monitor as a 29" monitor, I think 24" is the way to go for 1080p. having said that if you sit farther away from your monitor then you will not be able to notice the stretching as much on a 29" monitor.

I would not look at anything over 1080p unless you plan on upgrading your GPU. 1GB of Vram is going to hurt you allot, even at 1440p. Your laptop does have more Vram, but laptops are not as powerful as desktop components, and pushing your card that hard in a laptop could cause some overheating problems.

 

[TheScarecrow97]

But also keep in mind a 32" 1080p TV is stretching the picture so far it won't look nearly as sharp as a smaller 1080p or 1440p monitor.

Would this also be true for most 29inch monitors?

Yes. you will have the same amount of pixels on a 24" monitor as a 29" monitor, I think 24" is the way to go for 1080p. having said that if you sit farther away from your monitor then you will not be able to notice the stretching as much on a 29" monitor.

I would not look at anything over 1080p unless you plan on upgrading your GPU. 1GB of Vram is going to hurt you allot, even at 1440p. Your laptop does have more Vram, but laptops are not as powerful as desktop components, and pushing your card that hard in a laptop could cause some overheating problems.

Would it still stretch if the monitor were 2560x1080? Also, would that resolution also put more strain on a gpu and decrease fps?

 

[Kekoh]

The stretching wouldn't be that bad, because most of the 2560x1080 monitors I've seen aren't any taller than a regular 24" monitor, just added pixels on the left and right.

It will put more strain on the GPU, but not as bad as 1440p. Even still though, I think 2560x1080 would be too much for your GPU(s).

 

[TheScarecrow97]

The stretching wouldn't be that bad, because most of the 2560x1080 monitors I've seen aren't any taller than a regular 24" monitor, just added pixels on the left and right.

It will put more strain on the GPU, but not as bad as 1440p. Even still though, I think 2560x1080 would be too much for your GPU(s).

Ah, ok. That is sad. I guess I'll think about upgrading my desktop gpu first : / Anyways, thanks for the help!

 

[TheScarecrow97]

The stretching wouldn't be that bad, because most of the 2560x1080 monitors I've seen aren't any taller than a regular 24" monitor, just added pixels on the left and right.

It will put more strain on the GPU, but not as bad as 1440p. Even still though, I think 2560x1080 would be too much for your GPU(s).

One more question actually. How big would the fps drop be with a 2560 x 1080p monitor? Also, couldn't i opt to run games in 1920 x 1080p even if there is a little bit of pixel stretching?

 

[dpassenger97]

dpassenger.... lol, "150 and 250, so total of 500"
better get out the abbacus and re-do some basic maths there. hahah

i'd reccomend the Qnix QX2710 from ebay/amazon. it's a 27" 2560x1440 monitor that is only $300. it also can overclock from 60hz to 120hz.

typo i meant 400

 

[ChrisR83]

Unless the game you are playing supports 2560x1080p like Presler said, there will be black borders on the left and right of your screen, the game will run at 1920x1080p

 

[TheScarecrow97]

You can even play at 720x576 on 2560x1080p monitor, without feeling any loss of quality, only the information available will be less and you will see black borders around your monitor. 2560x1080p monitor is the best thing going around the corners but be ready to upgrade your gpu too if you wanaa taste the full 2560x1080p resolution.

Ah, ok. How big do you think the black borders would be on a 29 inch monitor (with 2560 x 1080) playing in 1920x 1080p? What I mean is, about what would the dimensions be of the playable screen? Would it cut all the way down to the equivalent of a 24inch monitor?

 

[Kekoh]

The stretching wouldn't be that bad, because most of the 2560x1080 monitors I've seen aren't any taller than a regular 24" monitor, just added pixels on the left and right.

It will put more strain on the GPU, but not as bad as 1440p. Even still though, I think 2560x1080 would be too much for your GPU(s).

One more question actually. How big would the fps drop be with a 2560 x 1080p monitor? Also, couldn't i opt to run games in 1920 x 1080p even if there is a little bit of pixel stretching?

Running a game at 2560x1080 would be roughly 30% more more demanding. A 1440p monitor would be roughly 75% more demanding.