PC Gaming Monitor Advice Needed

[adrenalytic]

Hi All,

I'm in the market for a PC gaming monitor. Important PC specs are as follows:

MSI P67A LG1155 Mobo
i5 2500k @ 4.5 GHz
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB 1866 MHz
GTX 980 SuperClocked (currently at stock because I have no need to OC...yet)

I'm fairly certain my monitor is the biggest bottleneck right now (it's a hand-me-down 23" Dell with specs I won't even bother mentioning - anything would be an upgrade). Yes, I'm aware the LGA 1155 lacks PCIe 3.0 support but I've read that this is only a 3-5 % performance increase from PCIe 2.0 (true?) and my 2500k overclocks so well and has been rock solid at its current clock since 2011 that I just can't justify upgrading until the Broadwell and/or Skylake chips are released.

That being said, I have a beast of a GPU that needs more weight to carry on it's back. Besides, what good is having a great GPU when you can't really see what it can do in all of it's glory?

I've been looking at some 24-27" displays (I really want a 27" but willing to sacrifice some real estate for performance). My other "wishlist" attributes are something over 60 Hz refresh rate (144 Hz preferred but I'm not afraid to OC), 1440p resolution, <7 ms GTG, Height Adjust/Pivot/Tilt/Swivel, and thin bezel.

I realize what I'm asking for sounds very much like the ASUS ROG PG278Q. And I would jump all over that if it wasn't currently sold out everywhere (except for ridiculous prices from 3rd party sellers).

My main questions are:

1) Is IPS something gamers highly desire and why? (I know what IPS technology does and have a rudimentary understanding of how it does it. But would it be so noticeable for a gamer who is looking head-on at the center of the screen at all times?)

2) Is G-sync everything they say it is? And, since the tech is so new, would it be worth waiting 6 months or so for the price to come down?

3) What are other gamers using that can't afford and/or do not wish not to take the plunge on an $800 dollar monitor yet?

4) Is 1080p on a 27" really noticeable? (I have 20/20 vision and I've read that it is noticeable).

But don't limit the discussion to this. I am curious what display the community recommends for a set up similar to what I have. Please feel free to ask if I have not provided enough information regarding my intent.

Thanks in advance for any information.

Regards,
adrenalytic

 

[-Lone-]

What about this one? A BenQ 1440p IPS monitor with 4 ms response time and speakers plus all 4 kinds of connectors.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/benq-monitor-gw2765ht

 

[adrenalytic]

Thanks for your reply but that says 60 Hz refresh rate. Good monitor but not for me.

 

[-Lone-]

Thanks for your reply but that says 60 Hz refresh rate. Good monitor but not for me.

Well, the Asus Swift is the only 1440p with 144Hz, unless you wanna go down to 1080p, there are no other options.

 

[adrenalytic]

Thanks for your reply but that says 60 Hz refresh rate. Good monitor but not for me.

Well, the Asus Swift is the only 1440p with 144Hz, unless you wanna go down to 1080p, there are no other options.

Hmm, didn't know that. Anyway, I never said 144Hz was my absolute minimum (only preferred). Just has to be over 60 Hz. I loath screen tearing and V-sync causes problems. And enabling motion blur is about the worst thing you can do in an FPS.

 

[-Lone-]

Thanks for your reply but that says 60 Hz refresh rate. Good monitor but not for me.

Well, the Asus Swift is the only 1440p with 144Hz, unless you wanna go down to 1080p, there are no other options.

Hmm, didn't know that. Anyway, I never said 144Hz was my absolute minimum (only preferred). Just has to be over 60 Hz. I loath screen tearing and V-sync causes problems. And enabling motion blur is about the worst thing you can do in an FPS.

I stand corrected, what about this one? But I'm not sure where you can buy it, pretty weird specs too, I don't know about this one.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overlord-tempest-x270oc-monitor,3879.html

 

[-Lone-]

There are other ones that's higher than 60Hz, I chose from 61-144, there were like 5, but they're all like $1,200 to $3,600, lol. All from only 61-85Hz.

 

[adrenalytic]

Thanks for your reply but that says 60 Hz refresh rate. Good monitor but not for me.

Well, the Asus Swift is the only 1440p with 144Hz, unless you wanna go down to 1080p, there are no other options.

Hmm, didn't know that. Anyway, I never said 144Hz was my absolute minimum (only preferred). Just has to be over 60 Hz. I loath screen tearing and V-sync causes problems. And enabling motion blur is about the worst thing you can do in an FPS.

I stand corrected, what about this one? But I'm not sure where you can buy it, pretty weird specs too, I don't know about this one.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overlord-tempest-x270oc-monitor,3879.html

You do realize I also never said anything about "must be IPS", correct? I don't mean that to sound condescending, I just wonder if you read my OP. That you are providing me with suggestions is great but I was also hoping for some discussion.

 

[-Lone-]

Thanks for your reply but that says 60 Hz refresh rate. Good monitor but not for me.

Well, the Asus Swift is the only 1440p with 144Hz, unless you wanna go down to 1080p, there are no other options.

Hmm, didn't know that. Anyway, I never said 144Hz was my absolute minimum (only preferred). Just has to be over 60 Hz. I loath screen tearing and V-sync causes problems. And enabling motion blur is about the worst thing you can do in an FPS.

I stand corrected, what about this one? But I'm not sure where you can buy it, pretty weird specs too, I don't know about this one.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overlord-tempest-x270oc-monitor,3879.html

You do realize I also never said anything about "must be IPS", correct? I don't mean that to sound condescending, I just wonder if you read my OP. That you are providing me with suggestions is great but I was also hoping for some discussion.

I didn't type to search and checked the "must be IPS" box.

 

[adrenalytic]

Thanks for your reply but that says 60 Hz refresh rate. Good monitor but not for me.

Well, the Asus Swift is the only 1440p with 144Hz, unless you wanna go down to 1080p, there are no other options.

Hmm, didn't know that. Anyway, I never said 144Hz was my absolute minimum (only preferred). Just has to be over 60 Hz. I loath screen tearing and V-sync causes problems. And enabling motion blur is about the worst thing you can do in an FPS.

I stand corrected, what about this one? But I'm not sure where you can buy it, pretty weird specs too, I don't know about this one.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overlord-tempest-x270oc-monitor,3879.html

You do realize I also never said anything about "must be IPS", correct? I don't mean that to sound condescending, I just wonder if you read my OP. That you are providing me with suggestions is great but I was also hoping for some discussion.

I didn't type to search and checked the "must be IPS" box.

Neither did I? Lol

 

[-Lone-]

Well, from what you "prefer", the Tempest is the only other option other than the Asus Swift.

 

[-Lone-]

And yes, I've read your OP before I started typing, some of them I don't have answers to, so I think I'd rather let someone else answer them than randomly give you the wrong answers blindly.

 

[-Lone-]

The only question I can answer for you is number 3, for those who can't afford the Asus Swift, they just go for other Asus or BenQ 1440p monitors, such as the one above. But most people still likes to stick with 1080p 144Hz gaming for like $250 average. That's what most people go for since the Swift is over $700. As for the other questions, I don't want to act like I own them and know them personally, I can only tell you what I've read from other threads. For #1, IPS seems to be pretty noticeable for a lot of people, gamers too, especially in color accuracy, but maybe not super noticeable. For #2, Gsync does help with fps issues, it really does help with not seeing any screen tearing or lagging, as it is shown in YouTube videos, but if you think the Swift is too expensive right now, you could wait a bit and it might go down to $500-600 zone. For #4, some people does say 1080p on a 27 inch monitor makes the screen a bit more pixelated than a 24 inch, but it isn't like really big to the point you will notice it by a lot. This is from what I've read from multiples of threads, not from what I've experienced, I hope that helped a bit more.

 

[adrenalytic]

Well, from what you "prefer", the Tempest is the only other option other than the Asus Swift.

The only question I can answer for you is number 3, for those who can't afford the Asus Swift, they just go for other Asus or BenQ 1440p monitors, such as the one above. But most people still likes to stick with 1080p 144Hz gaming for like $250 average. That's what most people go for since the Swift is over $700. As for the other questions, I don't want to act like I own them and know them personally, I can only tell you what I've read from other threads. For #1, IPS seems to be pretty noticeable for a lot of people, gamers too, especially in color accuracy, but maybe not super noticeable. For #2, Gsync does help with fps issues, it really does help with not seeing any screen tearing or lagging, as it is shown in YouTube videos, but if you think the Swift is too expensive right now, you could wait a bit and it might go down to $500-600 zone. For #4, some people does say 1080p on a 27 inch monitor makes the screen a bit more pixelated than a 24 inch, but it isn't like really big to the point you will notice it by a lot. This is from what I've read from multiples of threads, not from what I've experienced, I hope that helped a bit more.

I appreciate your help, I really do. But again, I never said I couldn't afford the ASUS ROG. I said I wouldn't pay the ridiculous markup that third party sellers are asking. If you can post a link to a retail-price then we can end this conversation. Otherwise, I'm looking for expert opinion on similar alternatives (experience preferred). Thanks.