Do I need to change my chosen monitor on my ordered build?

[Spyder_Webb]

Hi guys

I have the below build currently on order. I was looking to build a modern gaming machine to play the latest games, also revisit some older games and also be future proof (as much as possible). I also wanted a system I could watch DVDs and Blu Rays on. I wanted lots and lots of storage space as I'd fried an old external hard drive on my old PC by having it too full. I wanted it to stay cool and be fast, but I'd read that no more than 8 cores and 16GB RAM was needed for gaming at the mo (and RAM is easily upgradable in the future is needed anyway). I didn't want any RGB and was going for 'as quiet as possible'.

I was concerned about a monitor bottlenecking the system. I did discuss it with the PC Specialist staff in the Live Chat and they convinced me that a 144Hz monitor such as the IIYAMA G-MASTER GB2760QSU-B1 27" would be fine with the RTX 3080 Ti but I might need to upgrade it in a year or two.

However, I've just been reading the forums and it seems like I might be better off getting a better monitor from the outset. What are your thoughts? Should I be going for a higher Hz monitor and spending a bit more on it now rather than upgrading it later? Can I change the monitor in my order at this point (currently in pre-production) as it shouldn't affect the build of the PC itself? And are there any specific monitors you would actually recommend? I don't want to spend crazy money on one as the build itself has already cost most of my budget. But perhaps another £200 or so if it's definitely needed?

Thanks in advance.

Case
COOLERMASTER SILENCIO S600 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
6TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 120 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fans
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Monitor
IIYAMA G-MASTER GB2760QSU-B1 27"
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK270 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Promotional Item
Get Far Cry 6 with select Samsung SSDs
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

 

[Martinr36]

To get a monitor to suit the 3080Ti you're looking at £800+, I suggest you let us know what the budget is for pc and monitor and also the configuration link for the above, so we can get you better bang for your buck

 

[Spyder_Webb]

Hi

Sorry! I mustn't have copied the whole thing first time: Here are the specs with the link (below):

My budget for the build was £3K-ish, which I pretty much used up. I'd already tweaked and re-tweaked and I had it at about £2850. Then the prices went up over night and it shot up to £3,020! So I re-tweaked yet again and got it to about £2950.

The IIYAMA G-MASTER GB2760QSU-B1 27" is £277 - so if I swap that out for another monitor plus maybe another £200 or so - I guess I'm looking at having about £500ish for a monitor. Is that doable? Are there any good deals elsewhere for monitors? Or are PC Specialist's the best prices around?

What if I bought one quite good monitor now and then bought a better one in a year or two? - would I be able to then use both or would they have to be of the same standard to use dually? (i.e. would I still be bottlenecked by the lowest monitor?).

Maybe I get a quite good one now, and sell it when I get a better one in a year or two? Or would it make more sense to just get a better monitor from the outset?


Case
COOLERMASTER SILENCIO S600 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
6TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 120 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fans
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Monitor
IIYAMA G-MASTER GB2760QSU-B1 27"
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK270 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Promotional Item
Get Far Cry 6 with select Samsung SSDs
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/tHuKfxHZ35/

 

[Bigfoot]

The monitor your are describing is 27" 1440p and doesn't need a 3080Ti. You could probably use a 3060Ti and save some money. You will need a big budget for a monitor that doesn't throttle the 3080Ti. Going with a lesser monitor just wastes money and if you are going to change this in a couple of years, the 4070 will likely be cheaper and more powerful. You will get more choice of monitors and better deals elsewhere.

 

[Martinr36]

Ok this is where i'd go it comes in £2257 without the monitor so gives you plenty of budget to get a great monitor elsewhere

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB ASUS DUAL GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK270 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Price: £2,257.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/ZbyDSJHq4c/

 

[Spyder_Webb]

Thanks for your feedback. What should I be looking for in a monitor that suits the 3080Ti ? I know it's all about Hz (which = fps) and resolution. But from what I've seen on the PC Specialist website, all the highest res monitors are only 60Hz. And a lot of the higher Hz monitors require the PC to be overclocked to achieve it. What resolution and/or HZ would you recommend for the 3080Ti?

 

[Steveyg]

Thanks for your feedback. What should I be looking for in a monitor that suits the 3080Ti ? I know it's all about Hz (which = fps) and resolution. But from what I've seen on the PC Specialist website, all the highest res monitors are only 60Hz. And a lot of the higher Hz monitors require the PC to be overclocked to achieve it. What resolution and/or HZ would you recommend for the 3080Ti?

You want a 4K 144Hz monitor and there aren't a lot of them. Generally we recommend the Samsung G9 to pair with the 3080Ti but there are other options out there

 

[Spyder_Webb]

Martin, I notice you have reduced the storage, added a HD, upgraded the MBO, increased the PSU, changed the case, changed the cooler and removed the extra fans and the Blu Ray drive. What is your thinking behind each of these changes?

 

[Spyder_Webb]

You want a 4K 144Hz monitor and there aren't a lot of them. Generally we recommend the Samsung G9 to pair with the 3080Ti but there are other options out there

Thanks for this. So is 144Hz ok as long as it's 4K? I thought 144Hz was the problem/ Or am I missing something?

 

[Steveyg]

Thanks for this. So is 144Hz ok as long as it's 4K? I thought 144Hz was the problem/ Or am I missing something?

Combo of both, the Iiyama monitor you've selected is a 1440p monitor which isn't 4K.

1440p = 2560 x 1440 pixels (with some variations)

4K = 3840 x 2160 Pixels (with some variations)

 

[Spyder_Webb]

Combo of both, the Iiyama monitor you've selected is a 1440p monitor which isn't 4K.

1440p = 2560 x 1440 pixels (with some variations)

4K = 3840 x 2160 Pixels (with some variations)

So a higher resolution is preferred over a higher Hz?

 

[Spyder_Webb]

You want a 4K 144Hz monitor and there aren't a lot of them. Generally we recommend the Samsung G9 to pair with the 3080Ti but there are other options out there

What about this one? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electriq-UHD-144Hz-USB-C-Monitor/dp/B092VRM9RH/qid=1634050462

 

[Bigfoot]

So a higher resolution is preferred over a higher Hz?

144Hz is probably the probably about the ideal frame rate, as the vast majority of people cannot see the difference in frame rate much above 120Hz. 60Hz is a bit slow for modern games. More resolution gives more detail. 1080p is now old hat and you wouldn't want that above 24". 1440p is great for 27", but go to 32" and you probably want 4K. The ultra- and super-wides tend to have the same vertical resolution as 1440p but more pixels horizontally. Putting it simply, a graphics card can handle a certain number of pixels per second (equal to resolution x frame rate). If you over spec the graphics card, you will never see its true performance, as you will be limited by the monitor. If you under spec the graphics card (not done that often here) then that will be the bottle neck and you won't get the best out of your monitor. What we are trying to do is match the graphics card and monitor, so that you get the best experience and value for your hard earned money.

 

[Bigfoot]

What about this one? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electriq-UHD-144Hz-USB-C-Monitor/dp/B092VRM9RH/qid=1634050462

4k really needs 32". I have never heard of that brand and would want to buy from a reputable manufacturer (ideally with recommendations from here) if I was to spend £100s of my hard earned cash.

 

[Spyder_Webb]

144Hz is probably the probably about the ideal frame rate, as the vast majority of people cannot see the difference in frame rate much above 120Hz. 60Hz is a bit slow for modern games. More resolution gives more detail. 1080p is now old hat and you wouldn't want that above 24". 1440p is great for 27", but go to 32" and you probably want 4K. The ultra- and super-wides tend to have the same vertical resolution as 1440p but more pixels horizontally. Putting it simply, a graphics card can handle a certain number of pixels per second (equal to resolution x frame rate). If you over spec the graphics card, you will never see its true performance, as you will be limited by the monitor. If you under spec the graphics card (not done that often here) then that will be the bottle neck and you won't get the best out of your monitor. What we are trying to do is match the graphics card and monitor, so that you get the best experience and value for your hard earned money.

That's really well explained. Thank you. I appreciate your help.

 

[Steveyg]

So a higher resolution is preferred over a higher Hz?

There's a balance mate it's a combo of both things. I personally wouldn't like to game on anything less than 100+Hz these days, I'd say 144Hz is the sweet spot

 

[DarTon]

The 3080 Ti is a basically a "3090 Lite" in the sense it has half the VRAM (but still more than enough) and a few less CUDA cores. It's really the top spec gaming GPU given the 3090 is more a prosumer card for data analysis/creators etc.

So it's needs to be paired with display that has high resolution and a high refresh. Examples would be
34" 21:9 3440x1440 144Hz: Acer Nitro XV340CK
38" 21:9 3840x1600 144Hz: Dell AW3821DW
49" 32:9 5120x1440 240Hz: Samsung Odyssey G9
28" 16:9 3840x2160 144Hz: Gigabyte M28U / Asus XG27UQR
32" 16:9 3840x2160 144Hz: Gigabyte M32U / Asus PG32UQ

If you want to use a 16:9 display 2560x1440 144Hz save yourself some money and choose a 3080 or more probably a 3070 Ti/3070 or even a 3060 Ti.

Whether you need such a high resoluton ands/or refresh rate depends on what you play. FPS type titles might benefit more from 120 fps than an RTS game, for example, where instead you might just want a rock steady 60 fps.

 

[Spyder_Webb]

Thanks for all your help everybody. I have some difficult decisions to make...

 

[Spyder_Webb]

The 3080 Ti is a basically a "3090 Lite" in the sense it has half the VRAM (but still more than enough) and a few less CUDA cores. It's really the top spec gaming GPU given the 3090 is more a prosumer card for data analysis/creators etc.

So it's needs to be paired with display that has high resolution and a high refresh. Examples would be
34" 21:9 3440x1440 144Hz: Acer Nitro XV340CK
38" 21:9 3840x1600 144Hz: Dell AW3821DW
49" 32:9 5120x1440 240Hz: Samsung Odyssey G9
28" 16:9 3840x2160 144Hz: Gigabyte M28U / Asus XG27UQR
32" 16:9 3840x2160 144Hz: Gigabyte M32U / Asus PG32UQ

If you want to use a 16:9 display 2560x1440 144Hz save yourself some money and choose a 3080 or more probably a 3070 Ti/3070 or even a 3060 Ti.

Whether you need such a high resoluton ands/or refresh rate depends on what you play. FPS type titles might benefit more from 120 fps than an RTS game, for example, where instead you might just want a rock steady 60 fps.

Any thoughts on either of these two monitors?

I have tried to look for your recommended 3440x1440 resolution and 144Hz as these seem to be lower priced of the suggested monitors:

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[DarTon]

I can't really advise on 34" ultrawides since I don't use them (bit small for me!)
I think though you can get very good VA 34in Ultrawides in the £400-500 territory.

I think a few people here like the AOC CU34G2X

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