1080p 144Hz vs 1440p 60Hz

[mbrandon]

Hey guys!

So i just got a Galax GTX 1080 and was looking to upgrade my display. I currently have a 1080p 59Hz Samsung LCD display. What i'm confused about is should i be going for a 1080p 144Hz panel to see all those glorious frames, or up the resolution to 1440p with a 60Hz panel.

One of the things im actually concerned about is if I get the 1440p 60Hz panel and not be able to hit a constant 60FPS on maxed/very high settings.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[King_V]

a GTX 1080 will easily be able to manage 2560x1440 at max details at 60.

In fact, the GTX 1070 is generally listed as the "max details at 2560x1440@60" card.

A 1080 can handle 60fps even with a 3440x1440 as far as I know.


As to whether to go with more frames, or higher res @ 60 frames, well, you'll probably get a 50/50 split on opinion.

I tend not to be impressed with the idea of enormous numbers of frames per second.

 

[coozie7]

As long as the rest of the system can keep up 1440@60Hz should be more that achievable with a GTX1080, although a FEW super demanding games like Wildlands will need a little trimming of the settings to stay over 60FPS.

Screen size is probably as important as refresh rate, I find large 1080 displays too grainy while a 24" 1440 display will make some in game text ( and text in more than a few applications ) virtually unreadable.

Those of us lucky enough to have fast displays will tell you-instantly-the improvement in responsiveness and fluidity can be a literal game changer; hurtling through Doom ( 2016 ) at 144FPS can be truly heat pounding while little Lara swings, runs and climbs with true gymnastic grace and racing games really come alive so I'd go for a 24" 1080 144Hz display in a heartbeat.
EDIT^ King is correct on the 50/50 split. Expect some other highly polarised replies, like mine.

 

[King_V]

And similarly as coozie mentions on the frames-per-second issue.... as an extreme example, I was happy with a 27" 1920x1080, and think a 34" 2560x1080 looks fine, but some say that creates pixels that are too large.

 

[mbrandon]

Thanks for the quick responses guys!! to help with my decision, is the graphic quality from 1080p to 1440p big enough to make me want to play at 60fps or (if im thinking properly) should i be looking at something like a 29" 1080p ultra-wide 144Hz panel? Honestly I'm really just stuck between either experiencing buttery smooth 100fps and experiencing 1440p graphics. From what I have heard is that 1440p isnt too far off from 4K, which puts me between an even bigger wall and hard place if thats true LOL.

Major apologies if i sound like im just asking the same thing over and over but this is my first time actually doing serious upgrades.

As for my system, I'm running an i5 6500 with 16GB ram. Going to probably upgrade to either 7700k or wait for next gen CPU's to come out buuuuut thats a whole other thread i will create for another time haha.

 

[King_V]

This is one of those things where, if there's any sort of big PC-related store (ie: Microcenter is the place I used) that keeps a number monitors of varying sizes and resolutions on display, I would strongly suggest going there and seeing in person.

What looks good is EXTREMELY subjective, as evidenced by the replies above, and only your own eyes can say for certain "this looks great" vs "that looks like crap."

Of course, there are the recommendations, etc., and I know that the monitor I have for myself and the one for my son were both influenced by reviews from this site.

But, yes, more pixels requires more GPU horsepower to maintain the same number of fps.

 

[coozie7]

Sterling advice from King_V there, if you can see different displays working it'll help hugely with your choice.

Also do bear in mind that viewing distance can come into play, a 29" 1080 display is likely to look very grainy if you're sitting a metre or so away but will be fine if you're, say sitting on a couch two or three metres away. Yes, you can add AA to smooth out the pixellation, but once you start adding more than 2XAA the frame rate hit comes close to running at 1440 with minimum AA.

A few points that have yet to be mentioned:
Your budget.
Your location.
The type of games you play.