I didn't buy a cheap 4k monitor, decided i don't want a 27" 4k 144hz monitor and 32" 4k 60hz is not enough hz
I bought a expensive rx 6700 xt , if a rx 6700 xt where priced normal and you could get what ever you want within 1-2 day i could have gotten a more expensive monitor (or gpu), i already have a cheap monitor but don't think i would have been happier if it was a different monitor that was 50% more expensive
I have for some years have max performance of a gtx 1080,rtx 2060,gtx 1660 super and rx 5600 xt, i was lucky to get a rx 6700 xt (my monitors support freesync) now i can run either at higher fps samme settings, higher setting or both, higher setting and more fps than my last gpu gtx 1660 super
3440x1440 144hz would be something between 2560x1440 144hz and 3840x2160 60hz but feelt to many reviews had cons on every monitor i couldn't live with (the danger of reading reviews to find the best..).
Having performance above rtx 2080 super (under 2080 ti) compared to what i have used in the past and what games i still play like project cars 2 (around 200 fps in 2560x1440) i could upgrade my monitor to take advantage of having alot more gpu power, min is 100% more fps in every game compared to my last gpu gtx 1660 super.
Couldn't find any 3440x1440 i wanted, 32" 4k 60 not enough hz and 32" 4k 144hz is gonna be as expensive as 4x 24" 1080 144hz gaming monitors or more.
Look at the DPI calculator, 24" 1920x1080 has the same DPI as a 32" 2560x1440 monitor
I do want a min 32" monitor max 34" so i did a compromise, my 2 current monitors are non curved, i bought a curved 32" 165 hz monitor and if i get some kind of ocd having 24" non curved 144h vs 32" curved 165hz im gonna buy a 24" curved 165hz monitor, 2560x1440 165hz is also easier to achive than 3440x1440 144hz + 32" 16:9 is bigger than a 34" 21:9 monitor
if i can sell my monitors i won't have to spend more than a few 100 euros to upgrade (under 250 euros)
Viewing angle is absolutely not an issue on this G34WQC I'm sitting in front of. Compared to an IPS, of course, VA viewing is not as uniform at strong angle. But the curvature kinda removes it as a drawback if you're using the monitor sitting in front of it. I can move my head freely in front of the monitor without noticing any sort of tone/uniformity shift. Its only when I lean extremely to one side that you can see it. But its really slight. All you get from that is lose a tiny bit of brightness towards the corner. No colors get warped like older VAs do.
Question is if thát is an issue to skip this monitor which, on all other boxes, ticks them. I've looked around for a long time before landing on this one. Like yourself... I don't give a rats ass about HDR, or lots of ways to tilt or move the monitor. Just give me the panel with no frills and decent quality. And it has that at a very competitive price. You won't find one better at 450 bucks at this res and refresh currently. You can pay more for LG IPS though and it'll be more consistent at an angle, but you get IPS glow in return plus lower contrast.
That's really the choice you're looking at. Move your budget to 550-650 and you can get similar quality IPS with better viewing angle. But again - I had an Eizo FG2421 1080p flat panel before this one, and it had far worse viewing angles being only a 23,8 inch panel... go figure.
As for gaming performance and all that. I'm still getting a very good experience out of this GTX 1080, playing games at high settings everything lands over 60 FPS and the high refresh fixes the rest. Its smooth. I also wouldn't jump on 4K. Its a shitload of pixels and its going to push you into expensive GPU territory. As for DPI - 24 inch @ 1080p is a rather low bar and you will often use AA methods to remove jaggies. But if you nudge that up a little bit to what is similar to 27 inch @ 1440p, you can often just drop the AA and unsee the jaggies due to viewing distance.
Its important to keep in mind there are no perfect monitors. Simply don't exist. LCD tech is inferior and every monitor is just tweaked differently to emphasize certain qualities.
I also want a bigger main monitor, how about this instead ? (easier to drive in games than 3440x1440 144hz)
AOC CQ32G2SE
https://www.eteknix.com/aoc-cq32g2se-gaming-monitor-review/ only problem i see is no height adjustment, i found a cheap stand so it's not a problem
31,5 inch VA looks good but this one will have an equal or bigger viewing angle issue than the G34WQC. But, in much the same vein, that is only problematic if you want to share the monitor and use it together. Realistically, the only differences are that you lose pixels and side-by-side 2 page viewing at full resolution; and that the curvature is less pronounced. At the same price I'd jump on ultrawide because its simply more real estate / $. The height is identical to 27 inchers.
And if you need perf, you can always just render at 2560x1440 and accept a black border at the sides. Still native
And because its VA, the black is good enough to unsee as well.
An important drawback of the AOC is 165hz native is absolutely shite for vsync and half rate sync. Higher isn't better here.