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Avoozl

Going to get a new monitor but unsure what size in inches it needs to be

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I'm getting a new monitor for my PC because I'm growing tired of my current 17" 1600x900 capable monitor and want to go as far as a 1920x1080 capable, but I have no idea how many inches would be best and all I know so far is it needs to be somewhere around 22" and 24".

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If you want a monitor that runs at 1920x1080 resolution, the physical size you need depends on how good your eyesight is. 20" is about the lowest size in that resolution, while 27" is about the highest size. The former will have the smallest pixels, while the latter will have the largest. Of course, you have your pick of anything in an in-between size.

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Bloodshedder said:

If you want a monitor that runs at 1920x1080 resolution, the physical size you need depends on how good your eyesight is. 20" is about the lowest size in that resolution, while 27" is about the highest size. The former will have the smallest pixels, while the latter will have the largest. Of course, you have your pick of anything in an in-between size.

I was not aware of there being so many differing sizes for the same resolution. O_o I guess I wouldn't go so big as it will just display the resolution as being stretched out somewhat.

BlackFish said:

Well I guess I'll aim for 24" then, not so sure about the one you linked to though as amazon listings don't always have international postage available. I may have to look elsewhere.

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BlackFish said:

I bought this exact monitor a few weeks back. It's a beautiful thing, except for it having a stuck pixel, and how ASUS refuse to give me a replacement thanks to their stringent returns policy. I don't know what other manufacturers' policies are like, but needless to say I'll never buy another ASUS monitor again.

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NiGHTMARE said:

Why limit yourself to 1920x1080? Amazon currently have a refurbished 28" 3840x2160 monitor for $25 less than the 24" 1920x1080 monitor BlackFish linked to.

Because anything higher just seems to be too overwhelming for me to get used to straight away, and I only really need it to be a little bigger than my current monitor.

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BlackFish said:

144hz is the way to go!


Is the difference between 120 and 144 significant? I'll be changing my 22"/60hz/1080p monitor as well in the near future and I intended to go for 120hz.

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I can barely notice the difference between 60Hz and 144Hz, let alone 120Hz and 144Hz.

As for 4K monitors, good luck playing games at that resolution if you don't have dual GTX 980s or something.

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Ah, so now not only does size matter, but the frequency as well. Naughty naughty, just getting it big isn't enough ;-)

DoomUK said:

As for 4K monitors, good luck playing games at that resolution if you don't have dual GTX 980s or something.


You can always run DOOM at 320x200 vanilla resolution with all super-duper snake-oil resolution-enhancing filters and claim that it pwns OpenGL and CoD. Post photos of it at 4chan just to troll 1337 0vercl0xx0rz fuxx0rz d00dz.

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I got my self one of these a few months back:
http://gaming.benq.com/gaming-monitor/xl2420t

The 24" one to be precise, mine is an older model the controller on mine is round instead of that sleek one featured on the website.

I've never owned a gaming monitor before and I'm in love with it. Never thought I would use the headset hanger, use it daily...

Didn't think the controller for it was going to all that great, I constantly use it as well it's programmable for many different options and settings.

I believe mine is a 144hz monitor, I sure do notice a huge difference from my old monitor which was a TV so... Yeah big difference.

As this kind of monitor was a new thing for me I'm quite impressed with what these kind of things can come with and it still blows my mind every day. The base of my monitor has a small circular indent for the controller... That said, if I push the monitor up (it adjusts in so many different ways it's crazy!) I have a perfect spot for my beer, soda, average sized glass, handy for small desk space.

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DoomUK said:

I bought this exact monitor a few weeks back. It's a beautiful thing, except for it having a stuck pixel, and how ASUS refuse to give me a replacement thanks to their stringent returns policy. I don't know what other manufacturers' policies are like, but needless to say I'll never buy another ASUS monitor again.


edit:http://imgur.com/onfjcw8

You too? Shit lol.

Yeah there's a green one chilling on the way top of the screen. It's easy to ignore most times thankfully.

Touchdown said:

Is the difference between 120 and 144 significant? I'll be changing my 22"/60hz/1080p monitor as well in the near future and I intended to go for 120hz.


No, not really. 60-120 or 144hz is night and day though.

@Nightmare, that link is the same one I'm linking to! :P

Edit: Before I forget to mention, 144hz GZDoom is like playing in Hyperspace when moving around at first. You get used to it eventually.

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Sorry for the bump. My monitor is 24" but it gives me headache and motion sickness so I have to play all games in windowed mode. The resolution was a nightmare (why do companies think we can all read microscopic text without developing aneurisms?) so I reduced that too.

My point is, bigger is certainly not better. I'd probably go no larger than 22" next time.

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MajorRawne if you are using Windows there should be some basic scaling options in the display settings to make text and windows larger on higher resolutions.

Anyone else been looking at these new freesync/gsync monitors? I get obscene screen-tearing playing CSGO and they look like the perfect answer. Still too expensive however.

I also remember reading about people ordering cheap HD monitors from South Korea, that they are then able to clock to higher refresh rates. Sounds a bit risky however.

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@Nightmare, that link is the same one I'm linking to! :P


Sorry, here's the correct link.

DoomUK said:

I can barely notice the difference between 60Hz and 144Hz, let alone 120Hz and 144Hz.


There is a lot of variation in the visual acuity of the human eye. Some trained fighter jet pilots have been shown to be able to perceive 225+ FPS. Other people report not being able to see any difference between 48 FPS movies like The Hobbit and the standard 24 FPS.

As for 4K monitors, good luck playing games at that resolution if you don't have dual GTX 980s or something.


Actually, that's precisely what I have :)

Of course your statement only applies to newer/more demanding games - older/less resource demanding games would be fine with a less powerful card. It's not as if you're locked at a monitor's highest resolution, so you can always play graphically intense games at lower resolutions.

There are benefits to a higher resolution besides gaming, too, such as 4k video and graphical design work.

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I would go for a 25 inch 60hz 21:9 2560 x 1080 ultrawide. Like having having two screens side-by-side in one. I'd take the extra screen real-estate over 144hz & 4K.

LG 25UM57-P comes to mind, and it's a decent price.

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I've grown exceptionally fond of my 21:9 monitor with 3440x1440 resolution. I love that aspect ratio :)

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So, I didn't want to create a new thread for basically the same thing so let me use this one.

I'm planning to upgrade my monitor very soon. Primarily for gaming purposes, it has to be 27" (or at least not smaller than that) and 120Hz. My target resolution is 1080p (for performance reasons I don't want to go higher) and 16:9 aspect ratio. That's about it, I think. Are there any specific models you guys can recommend that fit those requirements?

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1920x1080 seems pretty low resolution nowadays. If you're going to spend money on a monitor it's probably worth investing in something much higher res.

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fraggle said:

1920x1080 seems pretty low resolution nowadays. If you're going to spend money on a monitor it's probably worth investing in something much higher res.


Like I said, it's performance reasons. I need a bigger monitor but I won't be able to sustain higher resolutions. I'll be upgrading my PC in a couple of months and seeing the prices over here, I'll be lucky if I can afford something that can hold 60fps at 1080p in newer games anyway. I'm not sure about my total budget yet but it'll certainly not be enough for something that can render 60-120fps at crazy high resolutions.

I wanted to at least meet the recommended reqs of DOOM4 (based on the MP Alpha so subject to change) but even GTX 780 might be too expensive considering I have to replace every single component of my rig. Bottom line, I would not use 1440p or 4K anyway.

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I've seen a few 1080p-capable monitors that are only about 20" in size. But eh, whichever size suits you.

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Coming from someone who uses a 56" 4k (2100p+) display for gaming... don't even consider it unless you plan on dumping massive $$$ into top-end SLI gpu's and processors to keep up with such a feamerate.

And even then, it's difference between a 1440p or 1600p display is barely noticeable... if at all. Stick with either of those is my best recommendation.

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I'm having trouble finding any ASUS monitors that have really good, vibrant color.
I commonly see "lacking color" as a con in almost every review/listing for ASUS monitors.
Any good suggestions as to what to go for?

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I did a quick search and those are the results that match my requirements of a 27" 144Hz 1080p monitor:

ASUS VG278HV
Acer XB270H Predator
iiyama G-Master Red Eagle GB2788HS
iiyama ProLite GB2773HS-GB2

No idea what other specs to consider, if you guys have any suggestions, please do share them.

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A good static contrast ratio and if possible an IPS panel for better viewing angles. None of the models you list are IPS though, so their color accuracy and viewing angles probably aren't too great. A display with a decent stand helps too. One that you can rotate at least a little, and doesn't wobble when you so much as look at it.

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I'm not even considering IPS panels - their higher price and slower response time do not sound appealing (unless you go for something really expensive, I imagine). I don't really have a lot of experience with accurate colors. I've been using a TN panel for years (iiyama E2208HDSV) so I should be fine as long as the colors and contrast are not of a remarkably poor quality. Same with viewing angles, I mean, I'm gonna sit in front of the monitor so what does that matter. The only problem of that kind that I have with my current monitor is that there's a large portion at the top of the screen that gets black or even reverses colors unless I look at it from above.

Anyway, I'm currently considering either the aforementioned iiyama GB2788HS or BenQ XL2720Z. BenQ is a bit more expensive though, right on my budget limit for the monitor, not sure if it's worth it.

By the way, I've been reading various things about Freesync and G-Sync. Is it really such a game changer? My current setup doesn't have anything like that I think and I just use Vsync unless it ruins performance. Is it necessary to choose something that has one of those features? One of the monitors I mentioned earlier (ASUS VG278HV, I think) has an altearnative version that is pretty much the same but has G-Sync and is like $150 more expensive. That seems like a lot for a single feature.

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