Question about 2560x1440

[noidis]

Alright... So I'm always curious about an upgrade for my machine, and while I was searching for options to go a multi-monitor setup... I'd found that most people seemed to steer those looking for more from their graphics towards higher resolutions.


So it led me to looking at a 2560x1440 monitor. Of course the prices are DRASTICALLY different from what I paid for my 1080p monitor so it has me needing more info =S


Firstly, what's the difference between 2560x1440 and 2560x1600? I know one is larger, but will the difference be visible or no? Second, the prices seem to be upwards of a grand. Is that reasonable for a monitor? How long would I expect it to last? Third, I know I can run most anything currently with my 2 GTX 560 ti's. But the higher resolution is going to eat up my Vram, would I need to consider upgrading my cards first? I like my eye candy, and would hate to lose it.


And lastly, which between a single larger resolution monitor or a multi monitor setup would you suggest? I'm really grasping at straws here, and considering I'm happy with my setup I guess I'm just trying to make sure I'm not missing out on something amazing due to my ignorance about higher resolutions.


Any advice/suggestion/help/etc would be welcome and appreciated =D

 

[jaguarskx]

All 2560x1440 monitors are 27" and all 2560x1600 monitors are 30" so the screen size of the 27" is physically smaller making text harder to read. My eye sight is starting to go bad so I know I would have some problems trying to read text on a 27" monitor vs. a 30" without some glasses.

The high price is reasonable for the 27" and 30" monitors because they use the more expensive to manufacture S-IPS or H-IPS 8-bit color panels. There are some 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 27" monitors that uses lower end TN 6-bit color panels. Your current 1080p monitor probably uses a TN or e-IPS panel which are less expensive to manufacture than the higher quality LCD panels I mentioned above.

How long a monitor last is difficult to say because it can vary from person to person. My 1st LCD monitors is a 19" Planar PX191 which I bought back in 2002, it still works to this very day. I no longer have it since it gave it away to a friend. However, the Planar PX191 was a high end monitor back in the day it typically sold for around $750, but I was able to snag it for around $625. It was basically the most expensive 19" LCD monitor around.

My NEC LCD2690WUXi still works; I bought it back in Oct 2007 and my Planar PX2611w still works as well; I bought that some time in mid / late 2008.

It's a toss up between getting the monitor or video card first. If you really, really do not want to give up eye candy then get the video card 1st. But if you a good deal on the monitor you want then I would get the monitor 1st.

As stated above, I prefer a 30" 2560x1600 monitor because text will be larger on that compared to a 27" 2560x1440 monitor. Besides, I'm not really to thrilled about the 16:9 aspect ratio, I like 16:10 much, much more.

 

[noidis]

I see, so a 30 inch it'll be then. I appreciate the detailed response too, it really helped!

Guess I'll just keep my eyes peeled for one to drop below a grand and then try and snag it.

 

[noidis]

Best answer selected by Noidis.