So, lets talk about monitors.

[DeadlyTitan]

When do you guys feel like you really need to upgrade your monitor other than when its dead/faulty.

Me personally i have a 27" 1440p 165hz GSync display (Acer predator) and i really dont see myself upgrade anywhere in the near future. The monitor technology seems to be pretty stagnant with nothing new on the horizon. I dont really feel like its worth upgrading to 4K cause of UI scaling issues in old games which i still play with my friends on weekends. I also do not see anything worthy of upgrade, maybe the upcoming microLED will be awesome and HDR is the new future but as of now they seem to be pretty meh and curved monitors are a pain to work with when you are designing stuff. I actually returned my 32" 4k display and bought this one instead cause the text in some game is so small that it started giving me headaches. I was actually looking forward to buy an OLED monitor before this but that thing never lived up to my expectations and was such a disappointment.

This kinda bothers me as i used to be on the look for the next best thing and look forward for it and i see nothing on this end. I see nothing worthy of upgrading.

So when do you guys usually feel like you really need to upgrade your monitor? What new technologies are you guys looking forward to?

 

[er557]

Not seeing myself upgrading either at least till my monitor dies, 40" 4k 60hz VA panel. Fits my needs exactly. Do you notice more smoothness with 165hz? even with vsync on?
You might wanna be looking into 4k, the difference is night and day

 

[Vayra86]

Eh? Monitor tech is stagnant? Not a day goes by without some new release. Scroll back five to six years, THAT was stagnation. All you had was 1080p, perhaps the odd Korean 1440p IPS if you had the balls to order one... and otherwise some el cheapo TN was the real deal. You wanted something else? Buy three. Run Eyefinity or something.

You're coming from a 27 inch 1440p high refresh Gsync and you speak of stagnation. I mean... what? Perhaps focus more on using your gear rather than looking at the next best thing. As soon as you hit the high end segment, the remaining 'top 5%' becomes exponentially more difficult and expensive to get/support/afford.etc. And the merit of it is barely noticeable anyway.

Right now display technology is more vibrant than its ever been, I dare say better than it was during the launch of digital TV and the move to HD. Right now we have access to a wide diversity in resolutions, color gamut, backlight/display tech, price, refresh rates... diagonals that range from 3:2 all the way to 32:9...

I mean come on!

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I'm still using a monitor I bought in 2009. When it finally dies, it will be a sad (I have to spend money) and a happy (new high-tech monitor) day.

FreeSync 2 (which there's only three monitors certified for it) is really the pinnacle of gaming monitor tech right now:
1) 144 Hz adaptive
2) HDR (1000 nit possible, 600 nit typical)
3) 10-bit color
4) 1ms gtg (really fast)

Problem is there aren't many HDR games.

 

[Caring1]

I wait until they die.
Nothing that compelling out there at a price I'm willing to dump a working monitor for.

 

[Mussels]

I upgraded my second PC screen yesterday just because i felt like it

Went from a 27" 1440p 60hz (Dual link DVI only... had some issues with compatibility and certain GPUs) to a 32" 1440p, 60Hz max but no burn ins.

$200 second hand in perfect condition, not the cheapest but i wasnt gunna spend $300-$350 Au for the exact same thing new

 

[moproblems99]

I actually just moved to an Acer XR341CK from a pair of 23" 1080 IPS monitors. Overall, I like it although I need a new GPU to make use it. But the thing getting me right now, is that there seems to be some jitter, most definitely in Rocket League, but I haven't been able to track it down yet.

 

[GreiverBlade]

well i got my final some time ago ... 32" 3K is fun .... (4k is pointless technically, specially for me ... ) errr ... well it's a 2560x1440p60 natif but it handle 2880x1620p75 like a champ (which is technically 3k )

also ... Medion brand ... put all the other to shame ... i got some Acer: none of them survived their warranty duration, Phillips: did hold good but pricey compared to the last one, Asus: pricey
more metal than plastic still had a DVI-D alongside HDMI and DisplayPort IPS panel well sad point 8ms (joke ... 5ms with overdrive and it's quite enough ... i had a 1ms before ...) and quite cheap (well 299chf was cheap ... most other 1440p i did find were around 150 to 200chf more and a 4k screen was double that price for the lowest of the lowest )

 

[Athlonite]

back in 2012 I bought an Alienware 22" 1080p monitor to replace my MAG innovission 17" 1024x768 @100Hz CRT I've just replaced the Alienware with an Veiwsonic 24" 1080p 75Hz freesync monitor end of last year so can't see myself doing it again for a while or I see a 27" 144Hz for damn cheap here

 

[IceScreamer]

I won't upgrade this monitor until it breaks or it becomes unusable with other tech that I'm using. That happened with my previous monitor, my GPU died and the replacement did not support VGA, and since the adapters I used were fiddly I bit the bullet and bought my current monitor.

The step up was 18.5"@1366x768, 60Hz to 24"@1920x1080, 60Hz and to be honest, apart from the added screen real estate I find nothing THAT much better. Sure, the viewing angle and the colors are better but since I'm not doing any color sensitive work my old (and still used) monitor would have done the job perfectly.

 

[FireFox]

I have a ROG Swift PG278Q Gaming Monitor - 27'' 2K WQHD (2560 x 1440), 1ms, up to 144Hz, G-SYNC bought it i don't even remember but for sure over 3 years if i am not mistaken and till it works i wont upgrade.

 

[Bill_Bright]

When do you guys feel like you really need to upgrade your monitor other than when its dead/faulty.

There is no way I can define when I "need" to upgrade. "Need" and "want" are two totally different criteria, with one sometimes taking priority over the other.

If I went by "need", I would probably still be using my old ViewSonic 19" widescreen along side my old 17" 4:3 Samsung because those two monitors are still working. But as my financial status improved, I wanted the two monitors on my desk to match, so I felt I needed two 22" identical monitors. Then a couple years ago, I decided I wanted 24" monitors so I bought a pair of them even though the 22" monitors are still working just fine too.

Now for sure, I need two monitors - regardless their size. One big monitor will not do! If you have never got used to a multi-monitor setup, you wouldn't understand! But did I "need" to dump the 2 x 22" for the 2 x 24"? No. But I will only give them up when they pry them, and my full sized keyboard and mouse, and surround sound speakers from my dead hands. Well... ...unless I find one day that I "need" 2 x 27"!

The monitor technology seems to be pretty stagnant

Advances in monitor/TV technologies do not move as quickly as other high-tech hardware, but it is not, by any means, "stagnant".

For superior image quality, OLED is the way to go - not even the gorgeous QLED can compete (at least not in a side-by-side comparison). Not sure why you say OLED did not live up to your expectations, or even how you can say that since OLED computer monitors are virtually non-existent - for now (to see why, here's a nice explanation). Especially for gamers, OLED's limitations (notably burn-in problems) are not a factor since images in games are constantly changing.

What really hurts the PC monitor market is PC sales in general continue to stagnate or even decline. So the OLED makers are concentrating on hand-held devices and big screen TVs. Production losses are marginalized by the much smaller panel sizes of cell phones, and big screen TVs have profit margins large enough to make up for those production losses. Computer monitors are stuck in the middle.

 

[Norton]

Have dual Dell Ultrasharp U2414H monitors. Upgraded from older Dell Ultrasharp 22 and 24 over the past year or so. Not seeing any reason to change to anything else for at least the next 4-5 yrs or so since I'm not in need of 4k and have all of the screen space I need with these.

Now for sure, I need two monitors - regardless their size. One big monitor will not do! If you have never got used to a multi-monitor setup, you wouldn't understand!

Yep, no way to go back to a single imo

But I will only give them up when they pry them, and my full sized keyboard and mouse, and surround sound speakers from my dead hands.

 

[Frick]

Eh? Monitor tech is stagnant? Not a day goes by without some new release. Scroll back five to six years, THAT was stagnation. All you had was 1080p, perhaps the odd Korean 1440p IPS if you had the balls to order one... and otherwise some el cheapo TN was the real deal. You wanted something else? Buy three. Run Eyefinity or something.

You're coming from a 27 inch 1440p high refresh Gsync and you speak of stagnation. I mean... what? Perhaps focus more on using your gear rather than looking at the next best thing. As soon as you hit the high end segment, the remaining 'top 5%' becomes exponentially more difficult and expensive to get/support/afford.etc. And the merit of it is barely noticeable anyway.

Right now display technology is more vibrant than its ever been, I dare say better than it was during the launch of digital TV and the move to HD. Right now we have access to a wide diversity in resolutions, color gamut, backlight/display tech, price, refresh rates... diagonals that range from 3:2 all the way to 32:9...

I mean come on!

Aye this.

Personally I used old monitors I got for cheap and repairing them until I got the Benq GL2450HT for €60 new a few years back. I've no need for more, but the industry is far from stagnant, as previously stated.

 

[Mussels]

Can someone explain to me how they actually us their multi monitor setup, apart from work purposes

I just dont get how it can be actually useful... alt tabbing is a thing, and if i'm gaming/watching a video/doing just about any task, i want to focus on just that one task :/

edit: i have something like 8 monitors, three desktops and a laptop in this room. I only ever use one screen at a time, despite being in the perfect situation to use many.

 

[Vayra86]

Can someone explain to me how they actually us their multi monitor setup, apart from work purposes

I just dont get how it can be actually useful... alt tabbing is a thing, and if i'm gaming/watching a video/doing just about any task, i want to focus on just that one task :/

More energy drinks, more adrenaline and higher stress levels somehow taught me the merit of multi monitor. Also in a work related scenario multi monitor is useful to have several things up for display; ie one to read another to work on. It also helps that some applications are so horribly slow to come out on alt-tab that you just want them all open and avoid tabbing through them.

Beyond that? No. If I want to chill its a single 1080p at high refresh. Perfect.

 

[PLSG08]

Just waiting until Freesync and Gsync can be implemented in one monitor. That'll be the day.

 

[theFOoL]

Ha when it comes to refresh rates, vsync etc I don't care. It should... Matter on you ping in games. That is what I look into. 40 and below is my sweet spot

 

[Vayra86]

Ha when it comes to refresh rates, vsync etc I don't care. It should... Matter on you ping in games. That is what I look into. 40 and below is my sweet spot

Ping and refresh rates/sync are completely unrelated.

You can have the worst experience with 1ms Ping and a monitor with sluggish refresh rates, bad contrast ratio and ugly colors. Even up to the point that it hurts competitive play.

 

[cucker tarlson]

I feel like my 24" 1440p 165hz is gonna serve me for a looong time. It's got perfect dpi to pefromance required to run it ratio, and still a lot of unused potential (my gtx 1080 runs it brilliantly, but still nowhere near 165 fps in new AAA tiltles). It's got g-sync. What else can you possibly want.
ATM I'm more interested in other technologies that could make gaming better, like tobii eyetracking, cause your mouse response is always that little bit slower than when you see it, and analog buttons on keyboard like isku fx force has.

 

[Tatty_Two]

I am on a 2 year old curved LG Ultrawide 29 inch 2560 x 1080 IPS panel, moved from a straight 24 inch 1080, I love this one, as much for the looks as the picture quality, happy with it for the limited gaming use it has, if things change I will probably move up to another ultrawide but 34 inch @ 1440, but not for a while.

I only like Ultrawide because it sits lower, the position of my desk/chair in my study means I can look straight and not up at the full picture.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Just waiting until Freesync and Gsync can be implemented in one monitor. That'll be the day.

Nope, never.

 

[Vario]

I use multi monitor for gaming often. The secondary monitor I put my discord or team speak. If a Singleplayer game, it is useful for putting up tutorials, maps, etc. If I am doing stuff with cheat engine with PS2 emulator, it can be useful to put cheat engine on that side.

Can someone explain to me how they actually us their multi monitor setup, apart from work purposes

I just dont get how it can be actually useful... alt tabbing is a thing, and if i'm gaming/watching a video/doing just about any task, i want to focus on just that one task :/

edit: i have something like 8 monitors, three desktops and a laptop in this room. I only ever use one screen at a time, despite being in the perfect situation to use many.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Can someone explain to me how they actually us their multi monitor setup, apart from work purposes

and if i'm gaming/watching a video/doing just about any task, i want to focus on just that one task :/

edit: i have something like 8 monitors, three desktops and a laptop in this room. I only ever use one screen at a time, despite being in the perfect situation to use many.

If that works for you then great.

I only focus on one task at a time too - but I switch between them often. So on my two 24 inch monitors right now, I have this TPU reply window in front of me on monitor 1. But on monitor 2, I have my email program up so I can see when a new email (forum notification comes in). On that second monitor is also Pandorian (my Pandora client - highly recommended by the way - makes Pandora much much better). I also have another browser window open for quick Bing Google searches.

The two monitors gives me nearly 41 x 13 inches of screen real estate to move windows around. I cannot get that in an ultra-wide. Even if I could, I would be taller than I want. Moving our human heads side-to-side all the time is natural. Up and down is not. So that 13" height the 24" monitors gives me is ideal.

Think of your desk's desktop. Do you have everything you do on your desk in one pile? Or do you have papers spread out in various piles?

I really think you should just try it. Give it a week to be fair. Keep an open mind about it too. You will find it is really convenient to temporarily move an open window to the secondary monitor where you can still see it and use it, instead of having to constantly alt-tabbing.

Oh, and I don't "work" - unless you call "working the forums" work.

 

[cucker tarlson]

A lot of it depends on how you set up your monitors to have them in your field of vision comforbably at all times. I didin't like my 27+27 setup, but I'm loving my 24+27 setup. having two 27 inch ones was just too much space for my eyes to cover, plus the mx27aq had no height or rotation control, so it was quite uncomfortable. Now that I have 24+27 I can have both in my filed of view, perfectly adjusted in height and angle.

I watch sports or videos all the time, so having a spare 27" for just that while I do other stuff on the 24" is just amazing. I was also thinking of building a small pc, nothing fancy, just basic pentium+4 gigs of ram + igpu, to connnect to my secondary monitor through hdmi. I could use two systems just switching them with input source in monitor's osd. This way I would not have to alt-tab a fullcreen game whenever I wanna do something else on the secondary screen.