Which would be the best monitor for games between these two?

[bubaduba]

Hello everybody!

I just finish building my first gaming PC, but haven't bought my monitor yet, and I would like very much to hear your opinions of which of these two would be a better gaming monitor, and why:

1° Samsung U28D590D 28-Inch Ultra HD Monitor

2° BenQ XL2720Z 27-Inch 144 Hz Monitor


By the way if that helps, these are the specs for the PC I've just finished building:

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212X 82.9 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Red 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Red) Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: Silverstone 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition 37.9 CFM 120mm Fan
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan
Case Fan: Cooler Master Megaflow 110.0 CFM 200mm Fan


Thanks in advance for all your help and support

 

[salawow]

Well they are both very different. The samsung is a 4k monitor and the BenQ is a 144hz 1080p. It's always a matter of taste between higher resolution (pixels are smaller so it looks better), and 144hz (camera movement will be smoother in games that supports more than 60fps).

But since you only have a single GTX 980 (you'd need much more than that for 4k gaming), i'd take the XL2720Z.

Edit: I don't have any particular one to recommand, but you could also consider a 1440p monitor. 1440p@60hz and 1080p@144hz are both inside your graphic card capabilities.

 

[bubaduba]

Thanks for you answer Salawow!

Its hard to make a decision because where I live, these two monitors are exactly the same price, but they offer a completely different spec sheet from each other.

The thing I like most of these two is the fact that they are 27' and 28' inch monitors, but the only selling point on the BenQ compared to the Samsung is the 60hz to 144hz (is that even really noticeable?) difference, other than that it seems the Samsung is much better being Larger, and having a much higher resolution.

Now even though I agree with your point related to 4K gaming, and my PC not being able to run it at that resolution, I could play games at 1080p or 1440p, and use the 4k just for watching videos and what not, without any problems, correct?

 

[salawow]

The benefits of the BenQ is the low response time and the refresh rate (144hz), which make it perfect for fast paced gaming. The low response time means less ghosting (the trails left behind a moving object on the screen), but most monitors these days are good enough for gaming, unless you're very sensitive to it. (except VA panels which are still too slow, at least for my taste). About the 144hz, it's the number of image per seconds the monitor will show you. (EDIT: more precisely, how often per second the monitor refresh itself). Doing thing like browing forums or office work, you will notice that everything is smoother, the mouse, the scrooling, moving a window on your desktop, etc. Pretty much the same with gaming, it will feel smoother at 144fps than 60fps. However, you won't be able to run all games at 144hz, and there are some games (some console ports and older games mostly) that don't even support more than 60hz, which means you will have to cap your fps in some way. (trying to play skyrim at 144fps for exemple will make the game engine go crazy). Also take into account that your graphic card won't be able to run all games at 144fps on ultra settings, some are just too demanding. When watching movies, there will be absolutely no difference between a 60hz and 144hz monitor.

Most people will say that once you get used to 144hz monitor, you will never be able to go back to 60hz.

About playing in 1080p/1440p on your 4k monitor, it's possible, but it will make everything looks blurry. Try to put your current monitor in a lower resolution that its native resolution and you will see an exemple of what i mean.

EDIT: Is there any way for you to try them before buying ? Or buy one and return it for exchange/refund if you're not satisfied ?

 

[bubaduba]

Thanks again for you answer Salawow!

I've ended up buying the BenQ XL2720Z, since what you said seems to be a real issue between changing the resolutions and consequently the image appearing a little bit blurry.

Since there barely is any 4k content out there besides gaming (which I wont be able to use), there isn't really a good reason for me to buy it, and at least I'll be able to use everything the BenQ has to offer, like the 144hz, 1080p and all that good stuff.

Thanks for all your help Salawow!