Monitor Advice Needed

[Wreckreation]

Heya folks,

Currently mulling over my 1440p gaming build, and I've hit a bit of a snag when it comes to monitors and hoped for some advice from people who have experience in specific monitors or want to share their experience with their own monitor for some suggestions. I live in a small flat and my pc desk is fairly small, which has been quite the bottleneck for my monitor choices, namely when it comes to the dimensions of the stands (around 26cm depth is as far as my desk can take).

Another thing, from what I've seen IPS monitors seem to be the best of all worlds when it comes to performance vs image quality, and that's likely what I'm after, however I'm finding them very expensive and I think it was somewhere on this forum where someone mentioned that IPS technology doesn't seem to have really improved in the last 4 years or so, and from reading countless reviews of countless monitors I seem to agree. All the monitors seem to suffer from the same problems, some just not as bad as others, or others just make up for it with other "features" that still don't really correct their shortcomings.

On Rtings.com the best rated 1440p monitor seems to be the Aorus AD27QD, which I do have my eye on, and it seems to have had a £100 drop in a lot of webistes (Amazon, Overclockers), likely as a black friday sale. It's now sitting at around £430, which now makes it cheaper than the cheaper (not budget) options I was considering, i.e. the Acer XB27HU (£479.99) or the Asus TUF VG27AQ (£484.99). The high-end Asus models are just way too expensive for me to consider being well over £500.

Does anyone have any first hand experience with the Aorus? At the moment I'm extremely hesitant to pull the trigger on a £400+ monitor, although I have no idea if there would be a better option, or perhaps a new wave of monitors with much improved tech on the horizon. I'm also not eager to play the monitor lottery, especially on Amazon, who seem to just reseal their returned stock and resell it as new, although if the trouble is worth it then I'll absolutely do it.

As a bit of background, I've never had anything better than a "basic" monitor, or at least never spent more than £150 or so on monitors in the past, so maybe I'm being too hard on the reviews that I'm reading?

Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[Oussebon]

IPS 1440p 144hz monitor choices are a lot better than they were a few years ago. Especially with Nvidia now supporting Freesync, and the wave of new IPS monitors this year.

You've seen some of these already:

Gaming Monitors Guide

The monitor is probably the most important component in any gaming build – it defines how you experience games and the hardware the PC should have. Overlooking the monitor can be the single biggest bottleneck to your gaming experience. With recent monitor and graphics card launches, and wider...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

And note the Bright Pixel policy on the AORUS:

GIGABYTE Guarantees Zero Bright Dots for All AORUS Tactical Gaming Monitors | AORUS

Taipei, Taiwan, September 18th, 2019 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, has announced the Zero Bright Dot Guarantee for all the AORUS tactical gaming monitors, going back to the debut of the World’s First Tactical Gaming Monitor - AD27QD...

www.aorus.com

AORUS

AORUS powered by GIGABYTE provides a full spectrum of premium hardware from laptops, motherboards, graphics cards to gaming peripherals. With emphasis on fulfilling gamers and enthusiasts' genuine needs, AORUS is committed to deliver the optimized gaming experience on today’s popular game...

gb.aorus.com

I'm very tempted by the AORUS myself.

so maybe I'm being too hard on the reviews that I'm reading?

You're not spending too long - it's a big purchase, and an exciting one, so you feel a need to "get it right" and also don't want the shine taken off the experience by getting a poor quality unit. At least, that's how I felt when shopping earlier in the year.

In my case I got an iiyama, two Acer Predators, and an AOC Agon, and they all had faults, so got sent back. Bit unlucky there! But these were all returned and refunds received (bought on Amazon) so while disappointed I wasn't out of pocket and no worse off that before.

All you can do is buy what you think you will like (if you like the AORUS and it;'s at a good price -go for it) and see how things go. Gigabyte's policy isn't a guarantee the monitor will be defect free on arrival, but it's some peace of mind and better than what most offer. And as long as the store has a good returns policy, you're covered there too.

 

[Wreckreation]

I'm very tempted by the AORUS myself.

Yeah it's become my top possibility since it dropped in price. I'm hoping the panel lottery will be a bit better on other sites, if it is what I decide to go for in the end. I am also now actually really considering the Pixio PX7 Prime, which apparently is the same panel as the Gigabyte, in a "barebones" type of package. Basically the Aorus without the extra features. I do find that the Aorus is a bit too flasy, however I also know it's built very well, although I have seen people complain about the wobble of the monitor.

Also, due to the price drop, the price difference is now pretty negligible at around just £30, which makes it harder to go with the "budget" (read: still £400) one. A review I watched seems to say it performs a bit better than the Aorus in a few areas? It was very late at night and will have to rewatch the review haha.

It is quite a shame that my desk is small, and can't really be replaced due to the layout of my flat, which has really limited my monitor options. I was initially going to go with the Samsung CHG70, as it performed quite well in reviews and was better in dark rooms with deeper blacks, but that stand is just ridiculous and would take up more than half of my desk space, not leaving any room for my keyboard and mouse.

You're not spending too long - it's a big purchase, and an exciting one, so you feel a need to "get it right" and also don't want the shine taken off the experience by getting a poor quality unit. At least, that's how I felt when shopping earlier in the year.

In my case I got an iiyama, two Acer Predators, and an AOC Agon, and they all had faults, so got sent back. Bit unlucky there! But these were all returned and refunds received (bought on Amazon) so while disappointed I wasn't out of pocket and no worse off that before.

Yeah it is pretty tough. I feel like for things that cost upwards of £400++ that it'd come down to preferences and not so much compromises.

Of those monitors you went through, what did you end up with in the end?

 

[Oussebon]

If it's the same panel there won't be much difference in it. For £30 difference I'd go with the gigabyte for the stuck pixel guarantee - the official gsync compatible sticker and the various add ons are a bonus.

was initially going to go with the Samsung CHG70, as it performed quite well in reviews and was better in dark rooms with deeper blacks

Because VA panel I guess

Of those monitors you went through, what did you end up with in the end?

The one in my sig which I got for £163 and has been a nice upgrade over budget 1080p gaming, pending a further upgrade. It will still be great for office use and someone else in the household will get use of it as and when I do upgrade. I don't recommend 'interim' upgrades as these are usually a waste of money instead of just going for what you are sticking with for a while, but in my context (price and other uses for the monitor) it made sense. Ish.

 

[Wreckreation]

Because VA panel I guess

Pretty much, yeah. I tend to be on my PC late at night with the lights off so technically a VA panel would've been ideal. The CHG70 would've been a good choice for me especially before the sale, but now that the Aorus is actually cheaper, I don't think there's a better option, save for the GL850 seems to only barely have an existence outside of people who pre-ordered/are willing to pre-order with no real time estimates given, which is ridiculous.

The one in my sig which I got for £163 and has been a nice upgrade over budget 1080p gaming, pending a further upgrade. It will still be great for office use and someone else in the household will get use of it as and when I do upgrade. I don't recommend 'interim' upgrades as these are usually a waste of money instead of just going for what you are sticking with for a while, but in my context (price and other uses for the monitor) it made sense. Ish.

Ahh, hence the temptation of the Aorus. I do think I'll be going for the Aorus, once I figure out my finances I'll start ordering everything, hopefully in the next week or 2. Thanks for the input!