What should I be looking for in a monitor?

[cst1992]

I have an Acer 19" 1440x900 monitor, and I want opinions on if I should upgrade to 1080p or not. Also I'd like to know that if I do, what specifications should I be looking for in a monitor?

 

[techgeek]

What do you have for a graphics card and what is your usage? Gaming, is different from content creation and desktop publishing.

 

[cst1992]

Gaming, and I'm thinking of a GTX 960 when it releases. Hopefully it'd be faster than a 760. I'll be pairing it with a i5 4440, but I'm sure that doesn't matter here.

 

[techgeek]

Well for gaming, response time is king. Something with a 1 -2 mS GtG, no higher than 5mS, especially if you are into FPS's.

Since you are thinking of going nVidia, and if your budget allows it, I'd look at something with G-Sync, these monitors are just becoming available now. G-Sync is supposed to be a game changer (pardon the pun), making for a very smooth experience.

With the lower response times, come the higher refresh rates, this usually means that it'll be a TN display although there are a few VA variants out there with high refresh rates. So you'll have a slightly reduced color gamut than say a VA or IPS panel. This shouldn't concern you unless you are into desktop publishing or image manipulation, etc.

In most cases it's advisable to stay at or under 24" displays if going at 1080p. Most people claim the image quality of 27" 1080p displays is poorer due to low DPI.

Hope that helps.