What to look for in a £300 monitor

[david87]

I'm looking at getting a new monitor soon.
But I have no idea what to look for. The only way is to buy online these days so I can't walk into a shop and go, that one looks best, so I'm after some recommendations. I'll be replaceing a 22" samsung syncmaster b2230, powered by a 970gtx/i5k combo

Whats Is going to make my experience better, do I want more pixels, more screen real estate, higher refresh, 120 hz, 144 WQHD

I've been thinking about the LG 21:9 29" monitor at £300 (which is the hard cap on the budget), but are there better pieces for gaming at 1080p. (are there any 16:10 around anymore and are they supported in most games?)
Should I even consider waiting till prices drop on WQHD?

 

[werberman]

Samsung 4k display: LU28D590DS It goes for around $CDN 600 (341 pounds)
Might as well get on the 4k train; spend the extra money and save yourself a headache later.

 

[werberman]

Should also point out that I own that particular monitor, and it really is fantastic for gaming and videos, especially considering how inexpensive it is

 

[pauls3743]

As much as I'd like to say to go for 4k, I cannot recommend it for gaming. It runs at 60Hz, even though it's has a 1ms response time, it lags worse than my 60Hz 1080p BenQ with a 5ms response time. I've also seen 29" superwide screens lag something horrible as well, the newer ones might be better but I just don't know.

If you're looking to get a better gaming experience I'd suggest going for a 120Hz screen. If you can get it at 1440p (2560 x 1440) I'd probably go for that.

 

[werberman]

As much as I'd like to say to go for 4k, I cannot recommend it for gaming. It runs at 60Hz, even though it's has a 1ms response time, it lags worse than my 60Hz 1080p BenQ with a 5ms response time. I've also seen 29" superwide screens lag something horrible as well, the newer ones might be better but I just don't know.

If you're looking to get a better gaming experience I'd suggest going for a 120Hz screen. If you can get it at 1440p (2560 x 1440) I'd probably go for that.

God no - seriously, 1440p is NOT worth it - it's a useless format that is being supplanted by 4k. This monitor works extremely well in gaming (I have no idea where this "screen lag" nonsense is coming from [at the very least in the case of this particular monitor]) - honestly, you have no idea how awesome it is to play your favorite games in crisp 4k.

 

[david87]

So how about - this

 

[pauls3743]

God no - seriously, 1440p is NOT worth it - it's a useless format that is being supplanted by 4k. This monitor works extremely well in gaming (I have no idea where this "screen lag" nonsense is coming from [at the very least in the case of this particular monitor]) - honestly, you have no idea how awesome it is to play your favorite games in crisp 4k.

I have the Asus PB287Q (28" 3840 x 2160 60Hz), it is this screen I am referring to as having worse lag than the pair of BenQ screens I have flanking it. I must also point out the I think most of the lag is caused either by the screen itself or the displayport interface as it has to transfer so much more data.

Of course, if you're not a serious gamer and response time is not so important then 4k is the way to go.

 

[werberman]

God no - seriously, 1440p is NOT worth it - it's a useless format that is being supplanted by 4k. This monitor works extremely well in gaming (I have no idea where this "screen lag" nonsense is coming from [at the very least in the case of this particular monitor]) - honestly, you have no idea how awesome it is to play your favorite games in crisp 4k.

I have the Asus PB287Q (28" 3840 x 2160 60Hz), it is this screen I am referring to as having worse lag than the pair of BenQ screens I have flanking it. I must also point out the I think most of the lag is caused either by the screen itself or the displayport interface as it has to transfer so much more data.

Of course, if you're not a serious gamer and response time is not so important then 4k is the way to go.

No, the lag would be caused by the screen itself - DisplayPort is plenty fast to handle the data. I'm sorry you got a shitty screen, but the one I'm recommending DOES NOT LAG AT ALL - if it did, it would have gone straight back to the store.

 

[pauls3743]

From what I've seen it's on par with all the other 4k screens.

 

[werberman]

So how about - this

From what I've seen it's on par with all the other 4k screens.

That's utterly illogical. 4k screens are built for gamers - besides, you have another "serious gamer" who owns another model of 4k monitor telling you that there are models (like the Samsung) that don't lag. Period. I've never seen a 4k screen that lagged - I feel like you've been royally screwed over

 

[pauls3743]

I'm not a serious gamer. I didn't say the lag was big, just slightly worse than a 24" 60Hz screen. Sometimes I notice it, mostly when I'm dragging windows between screens, mostly I don't notice it. I don't feel like I got screwed over. I just can't recommend it for serious gaming.

 

[werberman]

I'm not a serious gamer. I didn't say the lag was big, just slightly worse than a 24" 60Hz screen. Sometimes I notice it, mostly when I'm dragging windows between screens, mostly I don't notice it. I don't feel like I got screwed over. I just can't recommend it for serious gaming.

Well, I am a serious gamer and I wholeheartedly recommend the Samsung.

Hahaha oh lord, we've created a loop XD - let's agree to disagree

 

[david87]

So I suppose it comes down to UHD @ 60hz vs WQHD at 120 and £75 in my back pocket

do i need hdmi 2 to get the full 60hz rate
will i get a performance hit if i have games running at 2k on the 4k screen etc or will it just look crap?

 

[werberman]

So I suppose it comes down to UHD @ 60hz vs WQHD at 120 and £75 in my back pocket

do i need hdmi 2 to get the full 60hz rate
will i get a performance hit if i have games running at 2k on the 4k screen etc or will it just look crap?

You can use either hdmi 2 or displayport (I recommend displayport). 2k looks great on a 4k screen - it scales really well.

 

[david87]

awesome, after a quick check i have both hdmi 1.4a/2 and display port 2. time to molester the piggy bank

- thanks guys