Monitors

[keynes]

Still undecided about a suitable monitor. I was considering the Acer Predatpr X34A but not sure if it is what I need. The Acer predator Z35 is not 4K but has 144hz and it is cheaper. Would it be worth it spending more than £600 on a monitor? I wouldn't say I play very often but when I do I would like to take advantage of my pc. Should I consider other options apart from acer or asus?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Still undecided about a suitable monitor. I was considering the Acer Predatpr X34A but not sure if it is what I need. The Acer predator Z35 is not 4K but has 144hz and it is cheaper. Would it be worth it spending more than £600 on a monitor? I wouldn't say I play very often but when I do I would like to take advantage of my pc. Should I consider other options apart from acer or asus?

I think there are pro's and con's here which only you can evaluate... an ultrawide 1440p monitor at high refresh will give a great experience, but isn't going to push your cards as much as 4k will, but then you have to consider lower refresh rates. I would say either way, GSync is a must, and that limits the manufacturers really down to Asus and Acer

4k willl be a max of 60hz, as far as I'm aware, there are still no panels with high refresh rate, and if there are, they're going to be extremely expensive.

The X34A is a really nice screen, but even at 100Hz and way under 4k is not gonna push your setup all that much.

Predator XB321HK is one to consider if you want a premium 4k experience, but I wouldn't personally go any higher that this panel. This is a premium quality panel which ticks all the boxes for high end gaming (apart from high refresh), I don't think there are many returns above this pricepoint. I will say, given the choice, I wouldn't go under 32" with a 4k monitor

I will mention my budget 4k Gsync monitor (£400) as I love it and will recommend it to everyone if you want to keep costs down. There have been a lot of reports of graininess with white pixels showing in dark backgrounds, but I'd have to say those are dud panels, because mine has no such issue or I just can't see it: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/28-...aming-monitor-tn-3840x2160-1ms-100m1-dp-hdmi-

 

[keynes]

The X34A is a really nice screen, but even at 100Hz and way under 4k is not gonna push your setup all that much

The X34A is 4K and 60hz (100hz OC) from what I read online. The XB321HK looks good but for £60 more I can get the X34A. Maybe 34" is too big for a desk.

 

[SpyderTracks]

The X34A is 4K and 60hz (100hz OC) from what I read online. The XB321HK looks good but for £60 more I can get the X34A. Maybe 34" is too big for a desk.

It's 3440 x 1440, basically 1440p ultrawide, so a bit under 4k, but the 100hz is very appealing over 60 of the 4k screens (I know you love your high refresh rates :yes

 

[keynes]

It's 3440 x 1440, basically 1440p ultrawide, so a bit under 4k, but the 100hz is very appealing over 60 of the 4k screens (I know you love your high refresh rates :yes

Thanks for that!!! I was about to buy it thinking it was 4k. Which one would you choose between XB321HK and the X34A/PG348Q ? Not sure if the 3440 x 1440 would be fully supported by all games.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks for that!!! I was about to buy it thinking it was 4k. Which one would you choose between XB321HK and the X34A/PG348Q ? Not sure if the 3440 x 1440 would be fully supported by all games.

My given choice would have been the XB321HK, perfect size at 32" for 4k, anything below is like buying below 27" for 1440p, just makes everything a little difficult to make out. It's Acer who personally I've had a lot of success with and given what I've read about Asus quality control, I'd always choose Acer over Asus even though the panels may not be quite as high quality.

99% of the reviews I've read for the XB321HK are glowing, it's probably the most popular 4k Gsync display about at the moment. Amazon and Debenham's Plus seem to be the best price at the moment around £770 - £800, Ebuyer is just under £800 which may be more appealing for support.

There's a good review at Tom's hardware here:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/acer-predator-xb321hk-uhd-monitor,review-33619-8.html

 

[Wozza63]

4K @144Hz panels I believe are coming very very soon. So it might be worth waiting around for those. I'm sure Asus had one planned.

 

[SpyderTracks]

4K @144Hz panels I believe are coming very very soon. So it might be worth waiting around for those. I'm sure Asus had one planned.

Asus demo'd one recently, but it's pricepoint is expected to be between £1500 and £2000

http://www.anandtech.com/show/11014/asus-demonstrates-rog-swift-pg27uq-4k-144-hz-hdr-dcip3-and-gsync

There's also the XB272-HDR by Acer which is expected around the same time Q2 2017 which they reckon will be a minimum of £1200

So pricepoint really is in consideration there.

 

[keynes]

4K @144Hz panels I believe are coming very very soon. So it might be worth waiting around for those. I'm sure Asus had one planned.

Not sure I would be able to tell the difference. I don't play competitively or play shooters. I would expect with Gsync you can minimise any issues.

My given choice would have been the XB321HK

Can you lower the resolution to 1440p without any issues? I can't on my laptop

 

[Wozza63]

I was sceptical too, but I love 144Hz now. You even notice the difference on the mouse cursor just in Windows.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Not sure I would be able to tell the difference. I don't play competitively or play shooters. I would expect with Gsync you can minimise any issues.

Can you lower the resolution to 1440p without any issues? I can't on my laptop

I haven't tried on mine as I have a 144hz 1440p gsync as well, so just play on that for really demanding games that struggle at 4k. That's on one GTX1080 though, haven't you ordered a ti or two? Don't think your build would struggle at all.

1440 into 2160 doesn't go very well though, so I imagine it would look a bit blurry.

 

[keynes]

I haven't tried on mine as I have a 144hz 1440p gsync as well, so just play on that for really demanding games that struggle at 4k. That's on one GTX1080 though, haven't you ordered a ti or two? Don't think your build would struggle at all.

1440 into 2160 doesn't go very well though, so I imagine it would look a bit blurry.

only 1 x GTX 1080 ti. Don't think they scale well on SLI at the moment that being said if the built is not dispatched before my next pay day I may upgrade the whole thing. My query regarding lowering the resolution was in case the gpu can't handle 4k gaming in a couple of years time.

 

[Wozza63]

Might it be worth waiting around a bit for Vega? We don't really know what to expect and it could bring down Nvidia prices too.

 

[keynes]

Might it be worth waiting around a bit for Vega? We don't really know what to expect and it could bring down Nvidia prices too.

Which means cancelling my order. Can't think it would be better than the GTX 1080 ti.

 

[keynes]

That's on one GTX1080 though, haven't you ordered a ti or two? Don't think your build would struggle at all.

should I go for 2?

 

[SpyderTracks]

should I go for 2?

I think 1 will be fine for the next year or so, maybe sli in the future.

 

[keynes]

I think 1 will be fine for the next year or so, maybe sli in the future.

The liquid cooling kit I got is the mid one which only allows for 1 GPU. Adding a 2nd GPU right now is around £1000 including another waterblock , GTX 1080 ti and the high kit

 

[SpyderTracks]

The liquid cooling kit I got is the mid one which only allows for 1 GPU. Adding a 2nd GPU right now is around £1000 including another waterblock , GTX 1080 ti and the high kit

Ah, I see... maybe a second is worth it then for future consideration.

 

[keynes]

Ah, I see... maybe a second is worth it then for future consideration.

or I could upgrade in a year to a better single GPU? Getting the 2nd GPU is within my budget but I would have to delay the purchase of the monitor. Not convinced yet about the benefits of the 2nd GPU.
Regarding the monitor, a 3440x1440 is tempting as it could make my set up last longer but it seems not all games are supporting that resolution. A 4k monitor would be nice but may force me to upgrade earlier than plan.

 

[Wozza63]

I've only had one experience of SLI and my experience may be different from others. But personally, I prefer to upgrade now instead of add a 2nd GPU, I had a lot of issues when I had dual 570s just having games run, and there was no guarantee that there would even be better performance. But with DX12 and Vulkan offering better support for multiple GPUs (of different brand and model too), who knows where multiple GPUs might stand in a few years. But for now, not many devs implement support.