Monitor Advice for SLI 970s

dan_mackers

Active member
Hi All,

Been thinking of upgrading to an SLI build but don't really see the point unless I upgrade my monitor also - any excuse eh ;)

Anyway, I originally had a 3570k/16GB/7970 build, which I've since upgraded to a 970. My monitor is a 27" IPS display, 1080/60hz.

I've been looking at where to upgrade the monitor and I honestly don't know where to start - there seems to be so many things to consider - the performance of the SLI cards at a higher resolution, monitor size, pixel density, 60/120Hz response time, G/Freesync, Do I go Super-wide? etc, etc...its all a little overwhelming.

Although it's probably the most superficial part of all the features, part of me feels like I couldn't spend all that money on a new monitor to get one the same size/smaller than I already had - but then I already think 27" was probably too big for a 1080 display, so will I just be setting myself up for the same compromise if I bought like a 1440p 34" Superwide behemoth or something?

I guess after all that waffle, I am essentially asking - If you had £800 absolutely tops to buy a monitor above 27" and had a 3570k/x2 970 SLI/16GB build, what would you be going for?
 

SmokeDarKnight

Author Level
I'm currently runnning GTX 980's with 24" 3 monitors.

Left is a Dell 1680 x 1050 60HZ, Samsung 1080 Overclocked to 78hz, and another Dell 1680 x 1050 60HZ

They all look good at their native resolution however i notice that the Overclock to 78hz from 60hz makes a big difference on the Samsung which leads me to the point that to me Refresh rate is the most important.

I sometimes play with Nividia surround and use all three monitors also which is a great touch.

I'm also looking to upgrade, as you say the GPU's are kind of bottle necked by the moniors and we get screen tearing with Vsync switched off.

I first looked at ULTRA WIDE monitors, and thought that this looked awesome. I had a loan of one from a friend and found that it worked well on games that were compatible with the wider resolution and there were work around for the games that didn't. I found that i would still play games at 1080 and would just use the center of the screen leaving black lines on the left and right. Also when using the monitor for general use (non-gaming) windows would take up the whole screen meaning a lot of looking left and right. On the plus side though videos looked awesome on the ultra wide.

Now doing some research i think im going to invest in a faster refresh rate monitor of 144hz to get nearer the framerate of some of the games i play.

The one thing i cannot decide on is the resolution. Im not going for 4K as its still a bit of a stretch at the moment. 1080 still looks amazing in my opinion and i use the Nvidia DRS to upscale no problem. so maybe 2K monitor or a 1440P Resolution?

This would be the Ultimate but its a bit expensive 1440P & 144hz http://www.amazon.co.uk/PG278Q-Wide...&qid=1428417314&sr=8-6&keywords=1440p+monitor

or

More reasonable 1080p 144hz http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-VG248Q...&qid=1428417391&sr=8-1&keywords=144hz+monitor

Sorry its not much help just thought I'd share my current thoughts
 

dan_mackers

Active member
No that's much appreciated, definitely things to consider. I hadn't even really thought about the ergonomics of a superwide
 

Ilium

Member
I'm in a similar position myself, preparing to upgrade to a new PC with the GTX 980 and have been looking at monitors to make the most of it.

Two at the top end of the scale I have been considering are the ROG Swift (TN Panel) mentioned above or the forthcoming Acer Predator XB270HU which is out in the UK in the next couple of weeks and is the first combination of 144hz, G Sync but with an IPS Panel rather than the standard TN so in theory a bit better picture quality. Early reviews seem to suggest its pretty much the best monitor you can get for gaming but very pricey (£650-£700).

I'm torn between going all out on one of those or settling for something a bit more reasonably priced. Best of luck :)
 

dan_mackers

Active member
I would be willing if it was really going to be the best bang for buck - I'd originally had my eye on an ostentacious Samsung 34" Curved superwide before that was about 800 :D I am more concerned whether SLI 970s would even make the most of the new monitor's firepower - seems a bit redundant to go all out on the peripherals if the settings are going to be turned down anyway!

Is there just a clear and tangible visual improvement at higher resolutions? I feel like a bit of a fraud because I have the itch to upgrade, but I've never even really seen above 1080 in person, which is a bit silly I know
 

dan_mackers

Active member
Reading about that Acer Predator monitor has me all excited now, but the idiot in me feels cant get past spending hundreds to replace one 27" monitor with another, despite 27" being perfectly big enough, and the screen size being the least important feature in relative terms :D
 

Ilium

Member
I'm by no means an expert but there is a noticeable difference, more so from the higher refresh rates for gaming I think. I would imagine SLI 970s would be fine to run the QHD monitors but might struggle to really make the most of the 4k ones, hence why I am thinking the acer predator is the perfect sweet spot right now unless you are a millionaire :) I had a look at those curved ones but man..34inchs for a desktop monitor seems crazy big to me! Each to their own though.

Let me know what you go for, would be interested to hear your experiences
 

dan_mackers

Active member
Yeah I definitely will do - I always hate when people ask for advice in threads and then never report back - especially if it's for a fix!

I've definitely got one eye on the Predator now, I just think I'd love it if they had like a 29" version or something
 

Ilium

Member
Cheers that would be good yeah. haha.. always those extra few inches.

I've been doing a bit more reading up about it now and its worth bearing in mind, from what I can see the GTX 970 and 980s only have the mini dp ports whereas these gysnc monitors use normal DP only so you would need a mini to normal dp adapter cable. Glad I spotted that before I ordered anything and was sat there with all my new kit unable to connect and use any of it!
 

dan_mackers

Active member
Just thought I'd come back to confirm I did actually plump for the Acer Predator in the end and I am absolutely delighted with it, money well spent.

Still can't decide on how to reach my SLI setup though - mobo doesn't support SLI and it seems like z77 / 1155 motherboards are actually kind of hard to find. Seems like my choices are either source an aftermarket mobo which I don't really want to do, or buy a new mobo AND processor to facilitate it. Just don't know whether it's worth it
 
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