Gaming monitor

[hazmatt]

What's best bang for the buck gaming monitor now?

Would I be better off biting the bullet and going VR?

[DaddyAce]

I love VR and wouldn't go back now, but it has a smaller FOV, than you can get on a monitor, but much deeper feel of immersion, and it's easier for me to see what the bogey is doing when he is in front, but I find I more often miss seeing bogey's coming in from behind with VR.

[Bizman]

Telling which monitor is "the best" is impossible, there's too many variables involved. Also, as DaddyAce's comment shows, monitors vs. VR is much like comparing apples to oranges.

To start with, what are your other specs? Mainly the video card but also the processor and memory tell the limits of resolution and refresh time and the combination of those. Physical size doesn't matter, 60" doesn't stress the system any more than 14" if the resolution and refresh rate remain the same.

If you want a high resolution like 4K or if you want a high refresh rate like 144Hz you'd need a much stronger system than what would run AH at a steady 60 FPS on a FullHD 1080p screen. VR is basically two high speed monitors so the requirements are equivalent to a dual or ultra wide screen monitor - something like https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/monitors/gaming/49-crg9-dual-qhd-curved-qled-gaming-monitor-lc49rg90ssnxza/. The requirements for Rift are surprisingly low so even the recommended minimum may be too optimistic.

[hazmatt]

Thanks for the info.

I'm using an old 60hz 1080p monitor now and I'm trying to determine if it would be worth the upgrade to  faster refresh monitor with the same or higher resolution.

I have a GTX 670 that I stole from Ramesis.(haven't had a chance to fire it up yet) Not sure what that would run. CPU I have a middle of the road I5.

I know I'd have to buy a card for VR but I'm wondering if there some sort of budget upgrade from my 60hz monitor until I can hold Santa hostage for a VR setup. (might not be until next year)

[FLS]

You can turn off vsync and look at your frame rates to get an idea of how much extra graphics power you currently have.

Test it as is and with the gtx 670 if that's a better card. That should give you some useful information.

If your current system works I'd stick with it and wait until you can upgrade to VR.

[Shuffler]

Newer TVs coming out with HDMI2 will make good gaming monitors it looks like.

[Bizman]

Considering that the GTX 970 was about the best card for 1080p @60 Hz a few of years ago and knowing that the "tens" tell the relative power within an Nvidia card generation which is indicated by "hundreds"  I'd say that the GTX 670 should do reasonably well in AH. Since it is two generations older (8 was just a renamed 7 for laptops) you can't expect much but knowing that there hasn't been any major graphics intensive changes since the launch of AH3 you should be able to run AH at a constant 30-60 FPS by reducing some of the eye candy.

As FLS said, turn Vsync off for a while to see the theoretical max in various situations. Up in the air looking up to a clear sky will give the ultimate max FPS so that's not a good control point, flying low over a burning field with lots of moving objects is the real test. Start with the default settings and if you're not happy with the speed, turn features off one by one starting at Post Lighting and Environment Mapping.

After this side track back into your original question: 1080p @60 Hz is what your current hardware beefed up with the GTX 670 can run and even there you may struggle at times.

[hazmatt]

Thanks for the info.

Do you think I could run a 120hz monitor or a 144 at 1080p? Are those worth the money to upgrade for the time being as I don't expect to have the money for a full vr rig for a while.

[FLS]

After you turn v-sync off you can display FPS with ctrl-I.

You'll see what your framerate is generally and also when low over a big airfield or forest.

That will show you what to expect on a faster monitor.

[Bizman]

Do you think I could run a 120hz monitor or a 144 at 1080p? Are those worth the money to upgrade for the time being as I don't expect to have the money for a full vr rig for a while.

As FLS said, test with v-sync off. That's the only way to find the truth in your case and for your needs. Everything else is speculation and educated guessing.

The higher refresh rate monitors are very good as any movement is more fluid and small details can be seen more crisply before fading. Those using them swear there's no going back to 60 Hz. However, knowing your videocard being a GTX 670, you may not get those high speed monitors to work at their full speed. But I repeat, test with v-sync off in various gaming situations. If your frame rate doesn't drop below 120 in any situation, then a 120 Hz monitor will definitely enhance your gaming experience. If your frame rate bounces between 50 and 80, a 60 Hz monitor is what your card is capable to. There's various threads about people asking for help with a GTX 670 and a 120/144 Hz monitor so they can be connected. No one has told how fast they work and what games they play with them so test!

[edit] I just read your other post explaining you being unable to do any testing. I'd be hesitant no matter how good seasonal bargains you find. The prices of large high speed monitors are coming down as the technology gets more common so time is your friend.

[hazmatt]

Thanks for all the info. I was under the impression that I could get 80-100 fps.

I guess a better question would be would it be worth upgrading to a 120 hz monitor if I can not do the full 120fps consistently?

If I can do 100fps consistently would it be worth upgrading to 120.

[Bizman]

Good questions!

If you consistently get 100 FPS or more, a high speed monitor will give you a more fluent motion experience as 100>60. Also, you don't have to limit yourself to a 120 Hz monitor, they all can be limited to a lower refresh rate. If you want a high speed monitor now because of a good bargain or because you just need a new monitor, that's fine. Just set the monitor speed according to your system. If you plan to get a more powerful video card sometime in the future you can then unleash the full power. That might feel like a whole new rig, wouldn't it?

[HL117]

So is it always the monitor that is the limiter when it comes to refresh rate or can it be the video card too.

  I have also heard that specific ports  ( VGA, DVI, HDMI, etc } have limits.

[FLS]

The video card and monitor are just links in a chain.

Monitors are typically 60 Hz so that's often the first limit you hit with the recommended hardware and settings.

Game settings are the big variable to give you usable frame rates.

If you turn off V-sync in AH3, ctrl-i will show you the game frame rate above the current monitor refresh rate. That can show you if a faster monitor would give you better performance.

[TwinBoom]

I use ACER v193 it has a refresh of 75hz