Monitor for gaming/work and switching solution (KVM?)

[gerarda0]

Hi - looking for a new monitor and getting back in to PC gaming after about 20 years.

Some context:

• I currently run 2 work monitors (DELL U2722D which are 60hz and no KVM) connected via a USB-C and connected with display ports.
• I just purchased a new PC (7800x3D & RTX 4090) for gaming.
• I work from home so will spend the working day with multiple programs and the 2 monitor setup works really well for my job.
• I have a budget of around 900 but can stretch for right deal.
• I don't really play competitive fast paced games (more single player affairs)

So coming up to black Friday I've been keen to get upgrade and at the same time find a solution to easily switch between my work and gaming set up and find a monitor solution to support both.

I've considered ultrawide 49" as seems to be a popular choice however the cons are expensive / not overly great for single player experiences vs a 2 monitor setups that will allow me to easily change between use cases.

Some considerations i've looked at are:

Alienware AW3821DW 37.5 Inch WQHD+ (3840x1600) 21:9 Curved Gaming Monitor, 144Hz, Fast IPS, 1ms, NVIDIA G-SYNC Ultimate, 95% DCI-P3, HDR 600 (£960)
May be too small for dual screening but seems like it has a good rep for gaming.

LG C2
Considered this as a tv replacement for my old c7 tv downstairs. Would require me to run a cable from upstairs to downstairs for gaming and then I could keep the Dells for productivity.

Samsung Odyssey Neo AG95 LS49AG950NUXXU 1000R D QHD Curved Gaming monitor with HDMI 2.1-240Hz, 1ms, 5120x1440, HDR2000 (£1300)
Seen a lot of goof things on this and the screen estate would work.

Anyway - my questions are:

1. Whats a good monitor to look out for this Black Friday that would suit a mixed gaming / working use case?
2. Is there an easy option to switch between the work laptop and gaming PC - what solutions do people use for this?

 

[Bhuna50]

Did you not go for the system you got advice on in February then? What did you go for in the end? What’s your full spec of your new PC?

 

[gerarda0]

Hi Andy,

I didn't mate. I held on for a while longer and finally pulled the trigger last weekend:

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Promotional Item
Get Alan Wake 2 with Select GeForce RTX 40 Series!
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB 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
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
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
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS & UK OFFSHORE ISLANDS / N IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

Came to just over 3K

In retrospect i probably would have went for an upgraded board and was considering the 7950 as I do a bit of video production here and there but missed the chance to change it so stuck with the 7800x3D which i hope will still be a massive upgrade and if i have to wait a big longer on tasks so be it.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Samsung Odyssey Neo AG95 LS49AG950NUXXU 1000R D QHD Curved Gaming monitor with HDMI 2.1-240Hz, 1ms, 5120x1440, HDR2000 (£1300)
Seen a lot of goof things on this and the screen estate would work.

This is the one I’d look out for, Samsung are doing some great deals on the G9 range, I was going to suggest the G9 OLED but OLED isn’t so great for productivity and you’re likely to get burn in.

The G9 Neo is mini LED so doesn’t suffer the same and is down to 1300

49 Inch Odyssey Neo G9 Gaming Monitor LS49AG950NPXXU | Samsung UK

Buy the 49" G950 Odyssey Neo G9 Curved Gaming Monitor. Get Money Off with Trade In & Enjoy 0% Finance, Free Delivery & Returns at Samsung UK.

www.samsung.com

 

[gerarda0]

The G9 Neo is mini LED so doesn’t suffer the same and is down to 1300

Great - that was the issue i was afraid of when it came to OLED even though i've read that a lot has been done to reduce burn in it would still be a massive concern with text on the screen for so long.

Cheers SpyderTracks - will keep an eye out for this come Friday just in case it goes down anymore (one can dream).

 

[SpyderTracks]

Great - that was the issue i was afraid of when it came to OLED even though i've read that a lot has been done to reduce burn in it would still be a massive concern with text on the screen for so long.

Cheers SpyderTracks - will keep an eye out for this come Friday just in case it goes down anymore (one can dream).

There is OLED V2 that's just being released, the first panel is out from Asus, apparently this new tech does more to prevent burn in, but we have no long term reports as yet as it's still so new

A new 49" Superwide OLED V2 contender from Asus

This looks really promising, the new Asus QD-OLED V2 5120 x 1440 at 144Hz, stated for $1300 on launch (competing with the Samsung G9 OLED) It's got a new technology to help with burn in and far better text quality. Asus ROG SWIFT PG49WCD

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

It's actually around the same price as the Samsung but limited to 144Hz, but that's still plenty to be honest, I doubt you'll see a Black Friday Sale on it though as it's brand new.

But CES in January is announcing a host of new OLED V2 monitors.

 

[gerarda0]

Great - thanks.

I guess thats always going to be the rub and something only I can answer - do i wait for the new monitor announcement and see if theres anything better OR hope that the price drops further on the current batch as they'll be even further outdated... or pull the trigger now?

I guess my concern is how quickly monitors depreciate - i've no concept of that in this market and I guess its like any other technology ie quite quickly!