Higher Resolution vs. Higher Refresh Rate

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

I'm looking to upgrade from my current monitor. Nothing wrong with it, standard 27" 1080p monitor, 60hz, etc.

But I've been looking to upgrade for quite some time now, and holiday season is approaching where I'll either be given a bit of cash to put towards an upgrade or find a good enough deal to buy it on my own.

I ideally want both high resolution and high refresh rate features, but even the lowest priced of those monitors go for about $400.

So to prevent me from spending too much, I'm considering looking for a monitor that gives me either 1440p or 4K resolutions OR 120-144hz. I'm wondering what features is more recommended of an upgrade.

If you can recommend a monitor that provides both for about $250-300, that'd be fantastic.

UPDATE: The best of both worlds I've found so far is this here [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HPDAF68/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3OWT63NMYLEDV&coliid=I35XR3L39PVCZU]. I'm keeping an eye out during "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" sales though.

 

[Bad Jim]

It depends on what games you play. High resolution makes games look nicer, but high framerates make gameplay feel nicer. However you won't really benefit from high framerates if you play Civ 5 all the time. I've also noticed that a number of games that might theoretically benefit from high framerates are actually locked to 60Hz.

Also, 1440p monitors improve your experience when you are not playing games, whereas a high refresh rate doesn't make much difference. I'm leaning towards 1440p, unless you play a lot of racing games or twitch shooters.

EDIT One aspect of high framerate monitors is that they use TN panels instead of IPS. IPS panels have better color reproduction and look better at a wider range of viewing angles, but their response times are too slow for 144Hz refresh rates. Even at 1080p, a 1440p 60Hz monitor may look better. But beware TN is also a cheaper technology and 60Hz TN panels do exist, so check what you are getting.

 

[CaitSeith]

This video is old, but shows the advantages from a high framerate monitor.


Basically, FPS get the most benefit from high framerate.

 

[Bilious Green_v1legacy]

Personally, I rate frame rate above resolution if I have to choose, but given that 1440p 144hz monitors are pretty competitively priced, you can have both.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

OP you're going to have a heard time getting the answer to your questions because this really is completely opinion based and depends on what you find most important when you're playing games. For me personally, I wouldn't move to a 1440p monitor until I was sure I could get at least 60fps at all times. The higher resolution is not worth it to me to be hovering between 30-60fps. That's why when I got my 1070 I resisted the urge to buy a 1440p monitor as well. At 1080p I am always above 60fps (and taking advantage of my 144hz monitor) but I definitely would not be at 1440. To me a choppier framerate can ruin the experience. IF you have the hardware to push 60fps on 1440 by all means do so. If not then you have to decide what's more important to you. I haven't found a single game where a smoother 60+fps hasn't made it better.

Edit: OP what are your specs?

 

[sanquin]

In my opinion, anything above 60fps doesn't matter unless you've playing competitively. So I would always go for the higher resolution one. But that's just me.

I'm probably one of the odd ones out anyway. Since I went for a 27,5 inch, 16:10 screen @ 1920x1200. I still don't get why the 16:9 ones are so popular...

 

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

Edit: OP what are your specs?

An overclocked 980ti, Xeon 1231v3, and 16GB of RAM running on Windows 10.

The 980ti is about on par with a 1070, sometimes slightly more powerful in a few cases, especially with the factory overclock.

It can usually manage resolutions above 1080p (through DSR) at above 60FPS very easily in most cases, and can manage well over 60FPS when at 1080p in most cases.

And that's why I'm stuck with my decision. There's really no one way or the other I typically play games.

I do play quite a few online competitive shooters, so that's when I would lower resolution and graphic settings to 1080p and achieve around 120+FPS if I can.
But I also play tons of single player games at higher resolutions and maintain 60FPS.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Edit: OP what are your specs?

An overclocked 980ti, Xeon 1231v3, and 16GB of RAM running on Windows 10.

The 980ti is about on par with a 1070, sometimes slightly more powerful in a few cases, especially with the factory overclock.

It can usually manage resolutions above 1080p (through DSR) at above 60FPS very easily in most cases, and can manage well over 60FPS when at 1080p in most cases.

And that's why I'm stuck with my decision. There's really no one way or the other I typically play games.

I do play quite a few online competitive shooters, so that's when I would lower resolution and graphic settings to 1080p and achieve around 120+FPS if I can.
But I also play tons of single player games at higher resolutions and maintain 60FPS.

Well, there's something you could try. Since you have an Nvidia card you could turn on DSR in the Nvidia control panel. DSR stands for Dynamic Super Resolution and can help simulate the performance hit you'd have by going to 1440p. Turning on DSR will allow you to choose resolutions higher than your monitor's native resolution within games and your card will render the frame at that higher res before scaling it down to your display. It's not exactly 1:1 and obviously it won't look quite as good as true 1440p (or 4k) but you will see some quality increase as well as experience a hit to your performance. Try that out, see how you feel, and realize you might get a few fewer frames with true 1440p than with DSR.

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/dsr/technology

EDIT: I did not read your post carefully enough and now I see you're already familiar with DSR so just ignore me. Sorry! Wish I could help you man as it would give me an answer as well. You can always buy the monitor and return it if you're not happy with how things are going. I'm in que for the EVGA step-up program to go to a 1080 and I'll be getting a 1440p monitor after that. As far as I'm concerned a 980ti/1070 are bulletproof for 1080 but they become a stretch for 1440.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

As much as having a 144hz monitor would be really nice to have for competitive gameplay, I'm honest with myself and know that I'm not good enough at most twitch shooters for it to positively affect my performance.

I'm a slightly above average fps player, I'm in platinum tier in Overwatch if that means anything, but I know I'll never truly be competitive and that's fine with me. As such I value resolution over refresh rate, and I'm happy having a 1440p monitor with a 60hz refresh rate, and getting a solid 60 fps with it.

So that's my advice, look at yourself in the mirror and evaluate if you're a good enough player that having that higher refresh rate is really going to help you. If it is, sweet, go for the higher refresh rate, if it probably isn't, then get a higher res monitor and be happy with how pretty everything looks.

 

[Supernova1138]

EDIT: I did not read your post carefully enough and now I see you're already familiar with DSR so just ignore me. Sorry! Wish I could help you man as it would give me an answer as well. You can always buy the monitor and return it if you're not happy with how things are going. I'm in que for the EVGA step-up program to go to a 1080 and I'll be getting a 1440p monitor after that. As far as I'm concerned a 980ti/1070 are bulletproof for 1080 but they become a stretch for 1440.

From personal experience, I find the 1070 to be sufficient for 1440p if you're targeting 60FPS. I suppose if you absolutely have to max out every slider and turn on stuff like Nvidia Hairworks, PCSS shadows or insist on running high levels of MSAA in the games that still support it you could justify buying a 1080 to keep your framerates as smooth as possible, but I wouldn't say moving up to that level of card is absolutely essential for 1440p if one is really struggling to afford it.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

EDIT: I did not read your post carefully enough and now I see you're already familiar with DSR so just ignore me. Sorry! Wish I could help you man as it would give me an answer as well. You can always buy the monitor and return it if you're not happy with how things are going. I'm in que for the EVGA step-up program to go to a 1080 and I'll be getting a 1440p monitor after that. As far as I'm concerned a 980ti/1070 are bulletproof for 1080 but they become a stretch for 1440.

From personal experience, I find the 1070 to be sufficient for 1440p if you're targeting 60FPS. I suppose if you absolutely have to max out every slider and turn on stuff like Nvidia Hairworks, PCSS shadows or insist on running high levels of MSAA in the games that still support it you could justify buying a 1080 to keep your framerates as smooth as possible, but I wouldn't say moving up to that level of card is absolutely essential for 1440p if one is really struggling to afford it.

It's more of a longevity thing to me. A 1070 is on the border between 1080 and 1440 as of today. In a year or two it's not going to be pushing 60 frames at 1440 anymore and then you're left with a monitor that your GPU can't fully utilize.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Given the choice, I'd prob opt for a 1440p 60Hz IPS. The 120/144Hz is all well and good but the TN screens produce noticeably lower quality images with poor viewing angles. I will mention that the higher the refresh rate, the smoother and better quality motion. Also, you need that refresh rate if you wish to mess around with 3D videos and/or gaming.

I will say one last thing...I would honestly recommend going all out on your monitor. Of all the hardware you buy, the monitor is the end result of it, the thing that you'll be staring at the entire time. It is absolutely worth getting the best monitor your physical space and budget allow for.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

In my opinion, anything above 60fps doesn't matter unless you've playing competitively. So I would always go for the higher resolution one. But that's just me.

I'm probably one of the odd ones out anyway. Since I went for a 27,5 inch, 16:10 screen @ 1920x1200. I still don't get why the 16:9 ones are so popular...

Pretty much my sentiment exactly. However, I do *need* consistent 60fps, anything less annoys the hell out of me, in anything where aiming/reacting are important such as shooters and racing games. That's why I haven't gotten a current gen console yet.

I'm also in the same boat with the aspect ratio. Could I ask what monitor are you running? I haven't seen a 16:10 screen since forever, and 27.5" @ 1920x1200 would be perfect. The ultra wide ones I find a bit silly for gaming though, only place I would run one of those is on my office machine when I do side-by-side spreadsheets/forms with some regularity.

 

[sanquin]

Pretty much my sentiment exactly. However, I do *need* consistent 60fps, anything less annoys the hell out of me, in anything where aiming/reacting are important such as shooters and racing games. That's why I haven't gotten a current gen console yet.

I'm also in the same boat with the aspect ratio. Could I ask what monitor are you running? I haven't seen a 16:10 screen since forever, and 27.5" @ 1920x1200 would be perfect. The ultra wide ones I find a bit silly for gaming though, only place I would run one of those is on my office machine when I do side-by-side spreadsheets/forms with some regularity.

Yea, wide screens are silly I agree. My monitor is a Hanns-G HZ281HPB Though it looks like it's not sold any more. In fact, any 16:10 screen seems to be extremely rare these days. Probably because 16:9 ones are so popular...

As for the FPS, I agree with that too. Anything below 60fps for an fps or racing game is annoying. I mostly play rpg's these days though, and my only shooter (Overwatch) runs above 60 just fine.

 

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

So I found out that I may be getting the ASUS PB277Q. It's 1440p and 75hz. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but hey, I won't complain!

Is 75hz even that much better than 60hz though? I've heard that it only really starts to make a noticeable difference around the 90-120hz range?

 

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

So I found out that I may be getting the ASUS PB277Q. It's 1440p and 75hz. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but hey, I won't complain!

That's a TN panel, though. I'm with the people above recommending IPS. I would probably even trade higher refresh rates for IPS. TN panels are too pale, in my opinion.

I use a TN panel now though and I've tweaked it to where I'm perfectly happy with the colors. I can't see myself having an issue with it.