Monitor buying advice - Not sure what to look for

[WeegyAVLover]

Hi All,

Ok so I am just about finished on turning a room in house into a home office.

I plan on having a 3 monitor setup. 2 x 24" and another one which will also be used for gaming.
I am not a PC gamer (at the moment anyway - please don't hate me ) and I am planning on buying the new xbox series X when it is released or as a christmas present.

I therefore want a monitor that can deliver the best experience with the next gen gaming console.

However I am getting more and more confused the more I look into what I need/want as well as finding it hard to set a budget as prices can vary widely.

For size I am thinking 24" (to match other 2 monitors) or 27". If I go bigger for gaming monitor this can sit in the middle with other small monitors at side - any advice on size?
NOTE: I have bought myself a triple monitor arm that can support up to 30", but thinking 24" or 27" is big enough.

Panel type: I have been learning about these types - TN, IPS, VN & OLED. It seems for gaming that TN panels are better but not sure how much I should factor this into my decision?

Refresh rates - I have read that 120/144Hz is what I should be looking for but most monitors seem to only be 60Hz - again how much weight should I place on refresh (to me this seems like a key rating along with resolution).

Resolution: FHD/UHD/4K - so as I understand on these acronyms - FHD is just good old fashioned 1080p HD, UHD is 3840 and 4K is 4096 pixels. I want 4K but is this UHD? (all the acronyms melt my head ).


So if I put that all together in once sentence, I am looking for:

A 27" TN, 144Hz, 4K monitor.

Is this really what I am looking for?
Does anyone have any recommendations of best sites to be looking at?
Any suggestions on best monitors that fit my billing.

 

[EndlessWaves]

Resolution: FHD/UHD/4K - so as I understand on these acronyms - FHD is just good old fashioned 1080p HD, UHD is 3840 and 4K is 4096 pixels. I want 4K but is this UHD? (all the acronyms melt my head ).

Resolutions on computers were never particularly clear, all the SXGA and WUXGA nonsense, but the fashion for using TV-style notation has definitely muddied the waters more. At least you could look up the cryptic shorthand, now when someone says 1080p or 2K they could be referring to half a dozen different resolutions.

I stick to just using height and width in pixels these days. Console games tend to output at different and dynamic resolutions anyway, so it's scaled up/down to match the screen resolution.

I'd lean towards whatever resolution suits your office work. If you want 16:9 that's likely either [email protected]" if you've got a narrow desk or 1920x1080 or [email protected]" depending on whether you want a HiDPI/Retina screen or not (i.e. how gracefully your apps support it).

In TV and console terms 4K and UHD are identical - 3840x2160 - but there are some professional image editing monitors using the Cinema 4K format of 4096x2160.


The refresh rate, response time, backlight strobing and high frame rate desires are the preoccupations of those who want motion that's as smooth and as close to reality as possible.

Refresh rate is the limit of frame rate to be displayed, it doesn't do anything unless the game is running at over 60fps.

Both higher resolution and higher frame rate are very processor-intensive improvements that not every developer will feel are worth the trade-off if they can get bigger improvements elsewhere for the same resources - especially when there are lots of screens that don't even support them and would see no benefit.

Bear in mind that even 60fps can be at least as smooth as anything displayed on TV.


Response time and backlight strobing/black frame insertion are both technologies/aspects that don't require any extra console performance and work with everything.

Both affect perceived motion blur.

Response time is the strength of TN-type LCD panels and the reason why they're liked by those after the best motion. But most panels are up to a good standard these days, with the exception of some VA panels that struggle with darker shades, and the differences tend to get covered up if you're using backlight strobing anyway.

So the trade-offs of the TN-type of LCDs such as less colour consistency across the screen may not be worth it. It's certainly not an automatic choice for anyone playing games, and you'll find plenty of monitors marketed towards gamers that don't use that type.


I'm not a great fan of 27" screens myself as they're a shrunken down version of 32" ones with the same resolution, meaning everything (other than the console) is smaller - the 32" ones have stuff the same size as a 23" 1920x1080 screen. I have a fairly deep desk though, so if your desk is shallower and you're closer to them then they may suit better.

 

[WeegyAVLover]

@EndlessWaves - thank you so much for this response, its very helpful.

If I am reading into everything correctly that you have stated above:
- 27" may gave more real estate but that is only if it is not cropped from the aspect ratio when gaming or doing the day job.

- the closer you are to the monitor the less a 27" is needed and more a 24" is the better option.

- my desk is going to be around 75cm front to back so not small, not big (as they say in the fairy tale) just the right size.

- TN panel types may offer best responses but not something to be overly concerned about but other panels such as VA I might want to avoid if darker shades are an issue.

- refresh rates are only as good as the console and the game your playing and how many frames each of those can support.

So I am now thinking a 24" monitor with UHD (3840x2160 pixels) with 60Hz if there is 120 or 144Hz then this future proofs more but only if affordable.

If that is understood then thanks.

 

[Fe_man2000]

deleted

 

[Fe_man2000]

Check what refresh rate the monitor can do via the HMDI port if possible before you buy it, Xbox uses HDMI 2.1 to reach 120 hz, PC montiors will accepted high refresh rates via displayport always but the HDMI could be 2.0 which is often limited to 60hz at 4K - this might be worth sacrificing as 2.1 hdmi can be expensive on the monitor where as HDMI 2.0 is cheap.

Some monitors will do 120+ hz at 4K via HDMI 2.0 but its super rare.

 

[WeegyAVLover]

Hey again....

I have been looking at monitors and have a few options and if anyone is willing to give me their opinion on what I am looking at:

I have seen a couple of 27" monitors I like:

ASUS-Gaming-VG27WQ1B-Curved Monitor - £369.99:
Amazon product

NOTE - I am nor sure if I want a curved monitor, I have never used one so not sure what they are like but I really liked the features (HDMI 2.0, resolution, 165Hz). The panel type is VA, again not sure how much that matters.

ACER Nitro VG271UPbmiipx - £269.04:
Amazon product

NOTE: again this is a 27" but I like the features (HDMI 2.0, 144Hz) only FHD so not sure if I should be concerned about that.

HP 25x - £199.00:
Amazon product

NOTE: This is a 24" and is at the cheaper end but looks like a decent monitor with good reviews on amazon and currys.

Just curious as to what you think of these options?

 

[GreyMutton]

Dell S2721DGF monitor

I'd consider the Dells as well, especially as their monitor warranties are so good. There was a recent discount code for 15 or 20% off bit it looks like it's expired now.
Keep an eye on Hot UK deals, this forum and Reddit discussions etc as you often see decent deals pop up.

 

[WeegyAVLover]

Only just seen you Comment & that was aftee I pulled the trigger.

After watching a few youtube monitor reviews I ended up ditching the 3 i had linked to above. The monitor below i went for as the youtube videos kept picking it as the best in the 1440p 27” range:

Gaming Monitors - Cheap gaming monitor deals | Currys

Optimise your gaming experience with gaming monitor from Currys. Our exciting collection features monitors with 144hz refresh rates and immersive 4K visuals.

www.currys.co.uk

I also got a 7% discount through my work so got the monitor for only a few more sheckles than £400. So very pleased & excited.

 

[GreyMutton]

Let us know how it goes. I'm going to get a new one around Xmas so it'd be useful!

 

[WeegyAVLover]

Let us know how it goes. I'm going to get a new one around Xmas so it'd be useful!

Well i am proper excited. The study/home office will hopefully be in a state we can start using and I have a temporary desk that I can setup my overwatch command centre from . I will get some pics taken when I its here and setup