Is a 4k monitor worth it with this set up?

[JNicko]

Hey
I've just upgraded my rig, and it's complete overkill for 1080p gaming, however, since a 1080p monitor is the only one I own, I'm looking to add either a 1440p or 4k to the collection for gaming

Is a 4k monitor worth buying currently, given that there is only a few models to choose from? Also, of course there's the hardware you'd need to run about 40-45fps on high settings (playable with G-Sync), wouldn't it just mean constant upgrades, even more so than at other resolutions?

A 1440p speaks for itself really, high refresh rate, great gaming resolution with high frames a second etc

I'm not planning on upgrading at all for quite a while, at least 2 years, so with these specs, would 4k be worth it?

SLI Evga Geforce 980TI
I7 6700k
32gb 2333Mhz DDR4 RAM
ASUS ROG Maximus viii hero (mobo)

 

[okcnaline]

Woah... That 32GB RAM though.

Your GTX 980 Ti can handle 4K games (JayZTwoCents did it live) with ~70 FPS with an i7-5820K, and your i7-6700K has about the same performance as the 6-core Haswell-E.

And also, the 4K monitor market is really mature nowadays, and barely any new monitors are coming out. You have a lot of selection here. For the high clock speed, the best card for 4K right now is a Titan X. That thing only gives at most 80FPS for 4K content. What are you looking to achieve with >120Hz? You need some 144 FPS to make 144Hz playable. And there are no video cards that gives you that much. Also, 4K is a very detailed resolution, designed for something like the Far Cry 4 scenery. The higher the resolution goes, the more details it gives, the more realistic it becomes.

As for 1440P, if you're not looking for breathtaking vista, and want to play competitively, then by all means go for 1440P. Competitive gameplay ask for very high refresh rates, response times, and FPS. 2K has more detail than 1080P, allowing more details on where your opponent is.

 

[jdmkira]

That is more than enough for, at least, 4k ultra @ 70Hz. My friend has that exact same cpu/gpu setup and he plays everything @4k 60fps

 

[spagalicious]

What do you value most in a display? Fast response times with low input lag? Low Motion Blur and smoothness or overall image quality and pixel density?

A 144Hz 2560x1440 panel will provide fast/response times, low input lag, and a fluid image but cannot match 4K in terms of image quality. But with 4K, you are limited to 60Hz. There is not a 4K panel out that support a refresh rate over 60Hz. That capability will come when DisplayPort 1.3 is adopted by panel manufacturers.

It depends what you want, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to monitor preference. Just depends on your budget and personal preference.

What is your budget and what are your desired specifications?

 

[Componentgirl90]

I've considered a 4k set up with a 390x where I play 4k in some titles (like skyrim) and 1440p on others. In the end I felt not enough titles were within reach of my 390x. But with a 980ti, it's definitely worth considering. You have to fully appreciate what fps is playable. I set max fps to 30,40,50 etc in battlefield 4 and it really gave me an appreciation that for me, any dips to around 30 or below are simply unacceptable. Even if my 390x averages 44fps on bf4 at 4k, this isn't smooth and there will be plenty of dips to make the experience not good. A 980ti might just do it for bf4. You'll probably need to reduce to 1440p for witcher 3 etc

Another thing to consider is that when you come to upgrade your graphics card, you'll be wanting a 4k monitor. If you have a 4k monitor now, you won't need to buy one.

You must make sure the monitor displays 1440p well (look at reviews/ask on forums).

Ultimately if you get a 1440p monitor, the experience isn't going to be hardly any better than my 390x (at the moment). Your 4k potential is going to waste. If I were you I would assess if you can play enough games smoothly at 4k and then if you can, then get a 4k monitor.

 

[determinologyz]

What do you value most in a display? Fast response times with low input lag? Low Motion Blur and smoothness or overall image quality and pixel density?

A 144Hz 2560x1440 panel will provide fast/response times, low input lag, and a fluid image but cannot match 4K in terms of image quality. But with 4K, you are limited to 60Hz. There is not a 4K panel out that support a refresh rate over 60Hz. That capability will come when DisplayPort 1.3 is adopted by panel manufacturers.

It depends what you want, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to monitor preference. Just depends on your budget and personal preference.

What is your budget and what are your desired specifications?

Yeap some people want more fps and some people want higher resolution...As for me i went for the 4k monitor but some may want something different

 

[JNicko]

What do you value most in a display? Fast response times with low input lag? Low Motion Blur and smoothness or overall image quality and pixel density?

A 144Hz 2560x1440 panel will provide fast/response times, low input lag, and a fluid image but cannot match 4K in terms of image quality. But with 4K, you are limited to 60Hz. There is not a 4K panel out that support a refresh rate over 60Hz. That capability will come when DisplayPort 1.3 is adopted by panel manufacturers.

It depends what you want, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to monitor preference. Just depends on your budget and personal preference.

What is your budget and what are your desired specifications?

A low input lag would be better and an ips panel is a must for me

Yeah, it's a shame that 4k is capped at 60fps atm, but to be honest, you can't push past about 80 fps on 4k with ultra settings with current equipment

I've settled to go for a 1440p IPS 144hz G-Sync monitor, since I wont be upgrading for at least over two years, and whilst 4k would be perfect for my rig now, I think my fps at 4k will take a large hit over the 2+ years due to game advancement. So, I think I'll build my next rig in the future for 4k, when hopefully the new architectures can power 4k better, and when the 4k monitor market has matured a little

You guys mind helping me settle on a monitor?
I've been eyeing up the ROG Swift PG279Q, but the QC seems to be a big issue for people

Just assume that there's no price limit

thanks!

 

[spagalicious]

A low input lag would be better and an ips panel is a must for me

Yeah, it's a shame that 4k is capped at 60fps atm, but to be honest, you can't push past about 80 fps on 4k with ultra settings with current equipment

I've settled to go for a 1440p IPS 144hz G-Sync monitor, since I wont be upgrading for at least over two years, and whilst 4k would be perfect for my rig now, I think my fps at 4k will take a large hit over the 2+ years due to game advancement. So, I think I'll build my next rig in the future for 4k, when hopefully the new architectures can power 4k better, and when the 4k monitor market has matured a little

You guys mind helping me settle on a monitor?
I've been eyeing up the ROG Swift PG279Q, but the QC seems to be a big issue for people

Just assume that there's no price limit

thanks!

There is always going to an element of uncertainty concerning quality when choosing a high end panel these days. On one hand, a consumer spending $500+ just on peripherals is going to command a certain level of quality from their display and on the other, high end panels are difficult to perfect and manufacture to that standard.

That said, I would not hesitate to buy the exact panel you want. Just be prepared to RMA the panel if it lacks in quality. Retailers are used to it, manufacturers are used to it. It may take time and effort to get a panel you are satisfied with but it will be worth it.

The Acer XB270HU and PG279Q are the best 27" 1440p panels available right now for obvious reasons (144Hz for XB270HU, 165Hz for PG279Q, G-Sync, IPS). But some of the panels are plagued by excessive IPS glow. The AHVA AU Optronics panel used in the PG279Q is newer than the panel shared by the XB270HU/MG279Q. The PG279Q has 'borderless' design. However, it is still plagued by glow in some monitors. This is where the term 'panel lottery' comes into play, some may have glow while others not so much.

 

[JNicko]

A low input lag would be better and an ips panel is a must for me

Yeah, it's a shame that 4k is capped at 60fps atm, but to be honest, you can't push past about 80 fps on 4k with ultra settings with current equipment

I've settled to go for a 1440p IPS 144hz G-Sync monitor, since I wont be upgrading for at least over two years, and whilst 4k would be perfect for my rig now, I think my fps at 4k will take a large hit over the 2+ years due to game advancement. So, I think I'll build my next rig in the future for 4k, when hopefully the new architectures can power 4k better, and when the 4k monitor market has matured a little

You guys mind helping me settle on a monitor?
I've been eyeing up the ROG Swift PG279Q, but the QC seems to be a big issue for people

Just assume that there's no price limit

thanks!

There is always going to an element of uncertainty concerning quality when choosing a high end panel these days. On one hand, a consumer spending $500+ just on peripherals is going to command a certain level of quality from their display and on the other, high end panels are difficult to perfect and manufacture to that standard.

That said, I would not hesitate to buy the exact panel you want. Just be prepared to RMA the panel if it lacks in quality. Retailers are used to it, manufacturers are used to it. It may take time and effort to get a panel you are satisfied with but it will be worth it.

The Acer XB270HU and PG279Q are the best 27" 1440p panels available right now for obvious reasons (144Hz for XB270HU, 165Hz for PG279Q, G-Sync, IPS). But some of the panels are plagued by excessive IPS glow. The AHVA AU Optronics panel used in the PG279Q is newer than the panel shared by the XB270HU/MG279Q. The PG279Q has 'borderless' design. However, it is still plagued by glow in some monitors. This is where the term 'panel lottery' comes into play, some may have glow while others not so much.

That's true, although it'll narrow down my retailers a bit, since the returns department at some retailers are just terrible

I was looking at the Predator X34 which seems to be nice, although the stand leaves a bit to be desired, but it seems a lot of people found that setting the display to 100hz created problems, so had to settle for about 95hz

Looks like Acer is bringing out a new 27" Predator XB1 to compete with the PG279Q, which will be interesting to see