What to look for in a new monitor

[NeilV]

Hi All.
I know it’s outdated & most of you will have moved on from this but I’m still running a Radeon 7870 XT & a 24” 1680 x 1050 monitor, I’ve had this monitor for many years but need to buy a new one with an HDMI input and headphone output. I’m not sure what to prioritise, I don’t want to spend more than £150 & don’t want to go down from 24”. I play fallout 4, Skyrim HD edition, Deus Ex and whatever Batman games I’ve got so I’m not hitting high frame rates, I don’t think it goes over 60 but it may be sync locked or too high detail.

Is curved really better?, do I need 1 or 2 ms response times, should I get 144hz so I’m ready for my GPU (eventually). Is IPS visibly better than TN @ 24”. I know with my budget I can’t have all of these things and don’t want to prioritise something which won’t make a real world difference!

Thanks for reading. All advice gratefully received.


Neil

P.S. I know the 7870 doesn’t support Freesync but my next card might & I have seen one monitor advertising low input lag but I’ve never noticed a problem with my current one (DVI-D connection)

 

[jgustin7b]

If you are on a budget, prioritize fps over resolution. Every time. You could have the top-of-the-line monitor with a curved display at 5k (although that isn't in many monitors today) but only pull out a low fps because of how taxing it is to the components. The headphone output should be dependent on your pc case, even though some monitors do have headphone jacks. Your monitor is setup for displays while your system handles the rest. In terms of a potential monitor (assuming you are in the UK), here is what I found (including an hdmi, dvi, and vga port as well as a headphone jack).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AWG4MR8/?tag=pcp0f-21

And its under 100 pounds.
You're welcome

 

[k1114]

Your budget isn't going over 1080p or 60hz anyways but if you did have a higher budget I'd go res over hz unless you play faster paced games. The cheapest 1440p is ~£190 and the cheapest 144hz is ~£180. There is an ultrawide 1080 for £157 but I don't suggest ultrawide.

I would suggest saving more for a worthwhile upgrade since you're really just going from 24" 1050p/60 tn to 24" 1080p/60 ips or va. For best image, you want va. At this low budget, color gamut and accuracy is similar and va>ips>tn because of contrast. Ips will also have the infamous ips glow but spending this kind of money for just a contrast increase isn't worthwhile unless your current monitor is just horribad.

Curved won't matter at this small size. 1ms is a marketing gimmick. You don't get ghosting issues with even 8ms on 60hz but the specs are also unreliable since they state best possible and not normal usage.

 

[NeilV]

The headphone output should be dependent on your pc case, even though some monitors do have headphone jacks.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. It's actually the headphone socket which is more important then anything to me, I'm made a few posts in other areas about the MOBO i bought 2nd hand which has a dodgy Analog audio, can't get anything from front or rear 3.5mm jacks, So I NEED to use the HDMI audio from my GPU. I've tied adding a PCI sound card but it's not good!

I've seen a 75Hz monitor (saw it on my phone so I'll paste the link when I can find it.) for about £130, in your opinion is this just a gimmick?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014RKZ81O/ref=psdc_428652031_t2_B005OPLG0O

 

[jgustin7b]

Asus is a pretty reputable brand. It is $300 in USD on Newegg, so my advice would be to get the extra 20 pounds for a protection service, just in case, but since it is being sold by amazon itself, it is highly likely it does what is described.

 

[k1114]

That is a 60hz monitor, check the manual. They state 75hz because it, like most others, can do 75hz on a lower res but not at 1080p. Even if it was 75hz, it's not noticeable over 60hz. I've owned the vs248hp and it's good for a tn but still, it's not a worthwhile upgrade. You are really just spending all that money for a monitor with an audio output and just getting a sidegrade in any other aspect. Just get a sound card for a lot less.

Never get a protection plan. It's just a waste of money. What's the return policy and warranty for? That same thing but it's free. Ignore the $300 usd price, the HR is the UK version so prices won't make sense anywhere else.

 

[NeilV]

Just get a sound card for a lot less.

If only it were that simple. I have bought a PCI sound card which I was assured would work in windows7 but it seems to have made my PC a bit unstable and I'm getting HAL.dll errors and games crashing for no reason. Sound also seems a bit less clear than my previous MOBO sound.

Never get a protection plan. It's just a waste of money. What's the return policy and warranty for? That same thing but it's free.

Couldn't agree more, I DID have a dead pixel in the monitor I bought from ebuyer and because I didn't have Dead Pixel insurance, they wouldn't do anything but tbh it was cheap and not a brand I was familiar with.

I looked @ curved monitor in Currys yesterday and must say that compared to the standard ones it did feel a bit more immersive, looking at the Samsung website i believe it was a VA panel. Anybody have an opinion on this one?

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/5445990?cmpid=COJUN&utm_campaign=11553376&cjsurferid=219304189637791125%3ACYby_RzTB3CJ&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_content=Pepper+Deals+LTD&utm_source=CJ&catalogId=10001&storeId=10151&_%24ja=tsid%3A11674%7Cprd%3A1546795&utm_term=1453124&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fproduct%2F5445990&referrer=COJUN

 

[k1114]

Just because you got a bad card doesn't change the fact that it is that simple. You could even get a cheapo plug n play usb adapter. I have one that came with a cheap logitech headset and it's good enough. Yes it doesn't use the integrated sound card.

If you must spend more money, that monitor is good. Samsung has been putting out lots of va models for the last 2 years which is great because who wants ips glow or terrible tn.

 

[NeilV]

Just because you got a bad card doesn't change the fact that it is that simple. You could even get a cheapo plug n play usb adapter.

I hope this doesn't sound ungrateful for your advice as I really do appreciate it and part of the reason for my post was to have a discussion, something which you can't do by simply reading reviews but I think my desire to keep the post brief has led to suggestions I have already explored. I don't want another USB device stuck out of the front or back of my PC. I have a problem with sound lag ATM, even from the BT headphones I use and I'm hoping that getting audio as it is delivered to the monitor will help with syncing. Also I want to move from 1680 x 1050 up to full HD

If you must spend more money, that monitor is good. Samsung has been putting out lots of va models for the last 2 years which is great because who wants ips glow or terrible tn.

As I said above, I'm really grateful for you advice because i wasn't even aware of VA as technology (although I may have bought it anyway without realising.) but am impressed with the reviews. I am aware that my PC doesn't even hit 60Hz consistently at the moment but I don't intend to buy another monitor for 5 years+

 

[k1114]

Not having enough info is an all too common problem when helping but it doesn't hurt to be given more info than needed. If you have any more questions or need any other assistance, we'll be here.