Should I get these upgrades?

[massivefanofdoom]

Hi guys, I have all my settings set to max currently on my new PC and game runs super smooth and is beautiful. One thing though, screenshots come out ugly and I have a 900p monitor and sometimes some videos I see, it seems as if players with 1080p or more (1440p?) get a way more beautiful picture. So my question is, should I upgrade all or any of these:-

16GB DDR4-25600 3200MHz ram gskill tridentz
6700k running at the native 4ghz
ga-z170x gaming 5 gigabyte mobo

(I believe the above are way more than enough for sp doom and make no difference in the graphics, but just checking)

900p monitor with 60hz (vsync adaptive is on atm) .... this is my nr1 prio I think, to a 1080 or 1440p with 120+hz, will it make a big difference??

ASUS overclocked 980ti 6GB ... should I get titan or the new pascal 1080? SLI needed??

Also, what API does doom currently run on? Open gl or DX? And is vulcan supported right now?

[tuo]

OpenGL, with Vulkan coming in a patch in the future.

Think your MoBo, CPU and RAM are fine. With an OC 980 TI, you should get very good FPS at Ultra Settings at 1080p.

I am running it on a Titan (Non-X) (slightly slower non a stock 980) on one of my machines at 1080p, and FPS basically never drop below 70, with Ultra-Settings.

But before we recommend to get a new monitor, could you post one of those screenshots which you are not content with?

[massivefanofdoom]

Here you go, keep in mind the game looks much better than the screenshots. The main thing I see is I need more pixels and fps so probably yeah a new monitor with high refresh rate. My anisotropic filter is max, everything ultra or NM settings, AA option is TSSAA 8TX

http://imgur.com/a/mpQDg

[tuo]

A higher display resolution will give you a higher resolution in the screenshots, yes.

FPS is only relevant when you do videos, or if you can't max out the ultra settings because your FPS get way too low. The display itself won't increase the FPS unless the GPU pumps out more frames the display can physically display. Still, this should not make screenshots worse.

My advice: go for a new display, 1080p or 1440p (should still be fluid with an OC 980ti...IIRC I even got something around 30 to 45 when I tried 4k on the Titan). It will give you a higher screenshot resolution.

The pics you posted are often from within action, where the motion blur kicks in and makes the image blurry. Try disabling it, and/or wait for the new patch (wasn't it released like yesterday or so? haven't checked), it includes a new photo mode, where you can basically "freeze" the game at any moment (thus disabling any motion blur), pick your camera position, even play around with focal distance etc. It will give you much more artistic freedom over the screenshots.

Edit: BTW, what anti aliasing option do you use?

[massivefanofdoom]

tuo said:

A higher display resolution will give you a higher resolution in the screenshots, yes.

FPS is only relevant when you do videos, or if you can't max out the ultra settings because your FPS get way too low. The display itself won't increase the FPS unless the GPU pumps out more frames the display can physically display. Still, this should not make screenshots worse.

My advice: go for a new display, 1080p or 1440p (should still be fluid with an OC 980ti...IIRC I even got something around 30 to 45 when I tried 4k on the Titan). It will give you a higher screenshot resolution.

The pics you posted are often from within action, where the motion blur kicks in and makes the image blurry. Try disabling it, and/or wait for the new patch (wasn't it released like yesterday or so? haven't checked), it includes a new photo mode, where you can basically "freeze" the game at any moment (thus disabling any motion blur), pick your camera position, even play around with focal distance etc. It will give you much more artistic freedom over the screenshots.

Edit: BTW, what anti aliasing option do you use?

TSSAA 8TX

[Plasma Gun]

massivefanofdoom said:

Hi guys, I have all my settings set to max currently on my new PC and game runs super smooth and is beautiful. One thing though, screenshots come out ugly and I have a 900p monitor and sometimes some videos I see, it seems as if players with 1080p or more (1440p?) get a way more beautiful picture. So my question is, should I upgrade all or any of these:-

16GB DDR4-3200 ram gskill tridentz
6700k running at the native 4ghz
ga-z170x gaming 5 gigabyte mobo

(I believe the above are way more than enough for sp doom and make no difference in the graphics, but just checking)

900p monitor with 60hz (vsync adaptive is on atm) .... this is my nr1 prio I think, to a 1080 or 1440p with 120+hz, will it make a big difference??

ASUS overclocked 980ti 6GB ... should I get titan or the new pascal 1080? SLI needed??

Also, what API does doom currently run on? Open gl or DX? And is vulcan supported right now?

OK so if you have a 980 Ti, there is no need to upgrade your gfx card. I recommend buying an awesome new monitor to go with your system.

Personally, I think a 1440P monitor at 144hz is the way to go. Once you go high refresh, you never go back.

Here's my recommendation: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824106004&cm_re=xb271hu-_-24-106-004-_-Product

[Deatheye]

980Ti is a beast, almost as strong as the best Titan.

As Plasma mentioned before, go and get a nice monitor - if you don't want to "waste" too much money on a monitor, go for 120hz

[Plasma Gun]

Deatheye said:

980Ti is a beast, almost as strong as the best Titan.

Some factory overclocked 980 Tis are actually faster than the Titan out of the box. 980 Ti is a really great piece of hardware.

As Plasma mentioned before, go and get a nice monitor - if you don't want to "waste" too much money on a monitor, go for 120hz

No such thing as wasting too much on a monitor :)

[massivefanofdoom]

That's great info, everything I needed to know. Just needed to confirm the monitor is my most limiting piece, thanks a lot!

[Plasma Gun]

massivefanofdoom said:

That's great info, everything I needed to know. Just needed to confirm the monitor is my most limiting piece, thanks a lot!

Oh definitely. The 980 Ti is way, way, way overkill for 900p. It's 1440p card.

Let us know what you wind up buying.

[massivefanofdoom]

Plasma Gun said:

Oh definitely. The 980 Ti is way, way, way overkill for 900p. It's 1440p card.

Let us know what you wind up buying.

I defo will, it gonna take me a while though as a good one aint cheap and I take forever to decide lol.

[Plasma Gun]

massivefanofdoom said:

I defo will, it gonna take me a while though as a good one aint cheap and I take forever to decide lol.

Check out the XB271HU that I recommended. I use the older XB270HU and it is nothing short of incredible. The display itself is beautiful, response time is great, and 144hz is awesome.

It's pricey but the XB270HU is the best monitor I've ever seen; the updated XB271HU can only be better IMO.

[massivefanofdoom]

Plasma Gun said:

Check out the XB271HU that I recommended. I use the older XB270HU and it is nothing short of incredible. The display itself is beautiful, response time is great, and 144hz is awesome.

It's pricey but the XB270HU is the best monitor I've ever seen; the updated XB271HU can only be better IMO.

Yeah I saw that! Its like 1 of the only 3 gaming 165hz monitors around. Problem is I read 4ms response time is conservative, and can be anywhere between 5 or 9(!) ms. And above 5-6ms is a problem with 165hz which is a refresh about every 6 seconds.

It looks amazing though, I am gonna read some reviews to see what they really think of the input lag and response time, and if it leads to any ghosting or other artifacts.

There's also an ASUS monitor at 165hz

http://120hzmonitors.com/monitor-list-120hz-144hz-165hz-200hz-240hz/

[Deatheye]

keep in mind you need a very high frame rate for those 144hz+ monitors

Personally I wouldn't buy a monitor with more than 2-5ms response time

It's important to check the response time, the contrast and the refresh rate

[tuo]

To make matters more complicated, check wether response time is given in BTB or GTG. You will find plenty of 1ms GTG displays, many of them are great (I have a 27'', 144mhz, 1440p BenQ, 1ms GTG display which is great [but with one of the worst gamut mangling I have ever seen]), but it is an easy way to get "low" response times in your specifications. Then again, it depends greatly on what you are doing wether you will see lots of GTG or BTB going on. For Doom, with it's vibrant color, GTG response time should be close to what you experience, then again most displays who use GTG (so the number seems low) are 1ms anyway, so it is hard to judge by pure specs without seeing the display in front of you.

[massivefanofdoom]

tuo said:

To make matters more complicated, check wether response time is given in BTB or GTG. You will find plenty of 1ms GTG displays, many of them are great (I have a 27'', 144mhz, 1440p BenQ, 1ms GTG display which is great [but with one of the worst gamut mangling I have ever seen]), but it is an easy way to get "low" response times in your specifications. Then again, it depends greatly on what you are doing wether you will see lots of GTG or BTB going on. For Doom, with it's vibrant color, GTG response time should be close to what you experience, then again most displays who use GTG (so the number seems low) are 1ms anyway, so it is hard to judge by pure specs without seeing the display in front of you.

Damn bro, mind blown! Haha what is 'gamut mangling'?

Seems like choosing a monitor is so hard! So many variables! So far:-

IPS, TN or VA
response time in ms - GTG or BTB
resolution
width
refresh rate in Hz
contrast
whether it has overdrive / overshoot or not
input lag
free or g sync

[Plasma Gun]

massivefanofdoom said:

Seems like choosing a monitor is so hard! So many variables! So far:-

IPS, TN or VA

TN
TN (Twisted Nematic) is the most common technology and also the oldest. The main advantage is that it provides the shortest response times, making them good for gaming. In combination with LED back-lighting, TN monitors also offer high brightness and draw less power than competing technologies. Another important factor is that they are cheap to manufacture, resulting in low prices for end users.
The drawbacks to the technology is the color shifts that occur at wider viewing angles. There are large differences in quality between different products, but the lower-end ones will exhibit color shift even at moderate angle changes. A TN-based display can usually be identified through these color distortions when viewing the picture from above or from the sides.
IPS
The main advantages with IPS monitors is that the technology offer noticeably better color reproduction as well as much better viewing angles. The downside used to be a difficulty to emphasize blacks, which in turn meant problems with the contrast. IPS panels were also very expensive and slow in the beginning.
Now the manufacturers have started producing so-called Super-IPS (S-IPS) panels at reasonable prices. Response times have crept down considerably and the contrast is much better. In addition, color display and the options to calibrate the colors are superior to the other panel types. IPS panels keep colors constant, even in sharp angles.
VA – MVA and PVA
Further developments have led to MVA and PVA, where the manufacturers are trying to find a technique that would combine the advantages of both TN and IPS. MVA panels offer good viewing angles and generally better blacks and contrast than either TN or IPS panels. Their response times also look good on paper, but unfortunately not in the real world
Even if the response time for white to black is low, it is often considerably higher between two dark tones, leading to Ghosting effects. Another weakness is the color reproduction, which in itself is better than TN but not as good as IPS. PVA panels are in many ways similar to MVA, but have even better blacks and great contrast. The problem with ghosting remains, however.

http://www.tnpanel.com/tn-vs-ips-va/

refresh rate in Hz
response time in ms - GTG or BTB
input lag

One of the most important aspects of a monitor is its response time and also its Hz. Hertz in a monitor is simply how many times it refreshes in a second — 60Hz is fine for most things and 120Hz is overkill — unless you’re going to be viewing content in 3D, in which case a 120Hz panel is a necessity if you want to view your content without experiencing significant lag. Response time is a different story — how fast each of the pixels react to the input sent from your computer. Five ms is preferable and 8 ms is a little laggy — however, higher response time becomes less necessary the bigger your screen is. If you’re a hardcore gamer, however, you’re definitely going to want to seek monitors with lower response time. Some monitors go as low as 1 ms.

http://www.reviversoft.com/blog/2013/05/monitor-refresh-rates-response-time/

resolution
width

This is just how many pixels are rendered horizontally and vertically. More pixels = sharper image, but more processing power required to drive games at higher resolutions.

The GTX 980 Ti that you have is a great 2560x1440-capable card.

contrast

This just refers to the ratio of the brightest color to the darkest color (black). Higher is better. Good IPS panels can do around 1000:1, good VA panels can do 2000:1 or even better.

free or g sync

Both FreeSync and G-Sync are technologies that are designed to eliminate tearing. What they do is they vary the monitor's refresh rate based on the framerate you are actually getting in game. Must-have technologies for high end gaming PCs, IMO.

G-Sync only works with NVIDIA cards, while FreeSync only works with AMD cards, so make sure to buy a G-Sync monitor.

[massivefanofdoom]

That is great info, straight to the point! Seems like IPS 4ms is a good compromise. I really like the idea of that monitor now, it's between that or the ASUS one.

EDIT: Yesterday I turned my 680ti a bit higher in both boost and memory clocks, the maximum that was recommended by hardocp site - and I could swear the picture got smoother and 'shinier' overall. Pretty sure it was no placebo effect. The reflections and lighting looked even better than ever. I had been getting by with a shitty pc for so long that now it feels good to see some good graphics. Now imagine I get this new acer 1440p monitor and I am not limited to 60fps via vsync, and they release vulkan support O_O

[Plasma Gun]

massivefanofdoom said:

That is great info, straight to the point! Seems like IPS 4ms is a good compromise. I really like the idea of that monitor now, it's between that or the ASUS one.

EDIT: Yesterday I turned my 680ti a bit higher in both boost and memory clocks, the maximum that was recommended by hardocp site - and I could swear the picture got smoother and 'shinier' overall. Pretty sure it was no placebo effect. The reflections and lighting looked even better than ever. I had been getting by with a shitty pc for so long that now it feels good to see some good graphics. Now imagine I get this new acer 1440p monitor and I am not limited to 60fps via vsync, and they release vulkan support O_O

Placebo :)

You will probably freak out when you get a new monitor though, the difference will be night and day.

[massivefanofdoom]

Plasma Gun said:

Placebo :)

You will probably freak out when you get a new monitor though, the difference will be night and day.

I have a really hard time believeing it was placebo, but I'll take your word for it as you seem knowledgeable. Everyone has been telling me the same thing about a new monitor, I mean I am really choking the card's potential with an old 60hz 900p POS lol.

[Plasma Gun]

massivefanofdoom said:

I have a really hard time believeing it was placebo, but I'll take your word for it as you seem knowledgeable. Everyone has been telling me the same thing about a new monitor, I mean I am really choking the card's potential with an old 60hz 900p POS lol.

Yeah, like I said, the 980 Ti is a strong 1440P card, at 900p/60Hz it's just sitting there twiddling its thumbs :-)

The nice thing about a good monitor is that it will last you for years. I'd be surprised if I bought a new monitor before 2020.

Anyway, the XB271HU is my pick but I also like the ASUS PG279Q, which is basically the ASUS version of the Acer. The ASUS has nicer build quality, but it's pricier. I believe they are the same panel though (ASUS, Acer, etc. these monitor companies don't make the actual panels; they are sourced from companies like LG, AU Optronics, and Samsung).

[Plasma Gun]

massivefanofdoom said:

Also, what API does doom currently run on? Open gl or DX? And is vulcan supported right now?

OpenGL. There is a Vulkan patch apparently coming soon.