1080p @ 120hz vs 1440p/1600p @ 60hz for FPS games

[Nvidiaguy07]

this got brought up in another thread, and since im starting to play more games on the PC, im probably going to sell my current monitor (Asus VG236H 120Hz 3D Monitor) and upgrade.

I can definitely see a difference in desktop use, and in scrolling with 120hz, and everything just seems very smooth. I think i would have a pretty hard time giving it up, but if i upgraded to the bigger/newer version of my current monitor: 1080p @ 27" is gonna look kinda weird with those huge pixels.

What i would consider if i went the 1440p route, is probably dell or HP's offering (which would be IPS - do they even make 1440p monitors that arent IPS?). Besides the gameplay which wouldnt be as smooth, I can see the benefit from having that much clearer of the battlefield, and it would probably make it easier to snipe people. Also with IPS, the screen would look more even throughout, so i wouldnt have to worry about one part of the screen being lighter than another, and weird viewing angles and stuff like that.

This is also assuming that I would have the hardware to run games at >60fps (probably 70-100fps) on the 120hz monitor, and at least 60fps @ 1440p.

Also, how far away is better tech? I know OLED monitors are still a way off, but could there be 1440p 120hz displays coming out anytime soon? is it possible they would be IPS as well? or would this never work because of response time?

 

[PrincessFrosty]

1080p @ 27" is a bad idea for quality.

Most 1440 and 1600 panels are IPS, you simply can't use cheap TN type panels at that size because the viewing angles are so bad, you'd have different parts of the screen looking different colours/brightness.

Once you've gone to a good IPS panel, and compared it side by side with a TN, you'll never go back. The 60hz limitation is annoying but unless you're a pro gamer it basically doesn't matter, I remain extremely competative in my games on my 30" IPS.

I think 1440p 120hz monitors will be a way off, data rates on cables starts becoming a problem at that point, it's such a huge amount of bandwidth needed to transmit full colour at that resolution and refresh rate.

What you should focus on is how you intend to power these resolutions, remember that number of pixels goes up squared with the resolution increase, 2560x1440/1600 is coming on for 2x more pixels than 1920x1080 so you're looking at a harsh frame rate hit, if you want to run everything maxed out then you'll be looking at dropping some cash on a top end video card.

 

[imaheadcase]

Spending more on a monitor because it "feels smooth" and "scrolling is better" is silly no matter how you spin it.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Spending more on a monitor because it "feels smooth" and "scrolling is better" is silly no matter how you spin it.

well just saying that my eyes definitely notice a difference. Not sure if its there in BF3 - since i dont think im that much over 60fps anyway, but if i play a less demanding game that i can get >100fps like xonotic, i can also notice how smooth it looks, and can see the difference.

Now if that extra few fps's will make a difference in more demanding titles (where i wont get anywhere near 120fps) is really what the issue is here.

Im leaning more towards 1440p once i upgrade my pc to be able to handle it anyway, but just seeking others input.

 

[wuliheron]

Short of paying $8,000.oo for the new 55" LG OLED TV you'll just have to compromise. What compromise you are willing to make it up to you, but for most of us it's a choice between and a fast LCD and e-IPS monitor. 27" 1080p monitors are good enough for most people to watch TV and play games. Go to the store and actually look at one to judge for yourself or just buy something else.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Spending more on a monitor because it "feels smooth" and "scrolling is better" is silly no matter how you spin it.

It's not and anyone who has a 120hz monitor will agree. They are by far one of the best upgrades a person playing a game that relies on reaction time and twitch skills can make.

I had one of the fastest 60hz monitors I could by, and my 120hz monitor is still night and day better for me as a gamer.

My accuracy went up 3% in BF3 which may not sound like much, but when you consider the fact that that I was at 21% accuracy before gaining that amount is impressive for just a monitor upgrade.

Also, I do notice that 120hz monitors tend to stutter when your FPS gets lower than 80. YMMV. For the cost of most 1440p monitors you could buy a good 120hz monitor and another GPU to keep your frames high.

 

[SunnyD]

It's not and anyone who has a 120hz monitor will agree. They are by far one of the best upgrades a person playing a game that relies on reaction time and twitch skills can make.

I had one of the fastest 60hz monitors I could by, and my 120hz monitor is still night and day better for me as a gamer.

My accuracy went up 3% in BF3 which may not sound like much, but when you consider the fact that that I was at 21% accuracy before gaining that amount is impressive for just a monitor upgrade.

Also, I do notice that 120hz monitors tend to stutter when your FPS gets lower than 80. YMMV. For the cost of most 1440p monitors you could buy a good 120hz monitor and another GPU to keep your frames high.

Or maybe you just got better over time.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Or maybe you just got better over time.

When I go to the friends leaderboards and see all the people in my friends list that have been playing in high level lan settings all hovering around 20-21% accuracy while I'm at 24% I tend to think it's the monitor.

I can see everything more clearly, and I don't overshoot my targets anymore because there is no blurring taking place at all.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

When I go to the friends leaderboards and see all the people in my friends list that have been playing in high level lan settings all hovering around 20-21% accuracy while I'm at 24% I tend to think it's the monitor.

I can see everything more clearly, and I don't overshoot my targets anymore because there is no blurring taking place at all.

what kind of system are you running? I feel like the only way 120hz is going to really benefit in BF3 is with a monster rig. Just from looking at benchmarks, i know im probably nowhere near 60fps, and to be honest, it seems fine to me. Because of that is why i was thinking about going back to 60hz, and bumping up the res.

Dont get me wrong, i definitely feel like a game like nexuiz or xonotic feels much smoother at 120fps than 60, but i think i might benefit more from 1440p in games like BF and MW3.

 

[drebo]

Best thing for a game for smoothness is for your frame rate to be locked to your refresh rate (or derivative).

I typically just dismiss anyone who says they went from 60 Hz/fps to 120 Hz/fps and noticed a difference, because it's always bullshit.

There's a reason movies are 24fps, and it ain't because people like them choppy.

 

[Worthington]

yeah, it's called Motion Blur

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Best thing for a game for smoothness is for your frame rate to be locked to your refresh rate (or derivative).

I typically just dismiss anyone who says they went from 60 Hz/fps to 120 Hz/fps and noticed a difference, because it's always bullshit.

There's a reason movies are 24fps, and it ain't because people like them choppy.

I always turn off sync to refresh rate - i thought it makes performance worse.

For myself, that its a fact that i see a difference. Even with something as simple as moving the cursor around the screen, and scrolling through a webpage, thats why i mentioned it before. Just how much that difference actually affects me and my gameplay is another question.

TV and movies shot at 24fps are a completely different thing than playing a game at that refresh rate. When i watch a show on a TV with a crazy refresh rate, it looks unnatrual to me, because it looks like everything is in slow/fast motion (yes that weird).

Have you ever tried a 120hz monitor? Its possible some people are more sensitive to this, but for me its a pretty big difference.

 

[dmoney1980]

turning v-sync off can result in screen tearing in many games

 

[AznAnarchy99]

turning v-sync off can result in screen tearing in many games

I used to turn it off back in the old CS days but god damn I cant stand the tearing now.

 

[Juddog]

turning v-sync off can result in screen tearing in many games

But turning it on can result in microstutter. It's a tradeoff that Nvidia is working on with their new version of vsync (basically the framerate going above the sync rate of the monitor causes tearing, and if it goes below, the framerate drops to a multiplier of the monitor - e.g. 60, 30, 15, etc..)

The new tech is referred to as "adaptive vsync" and it looks to be promising - you'll now be able to get the best of both worlds (the non-tearing advantage of vsync and the no microstutter from vsync off).

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

I havent had any screen tearing as far as i know with my setup in BF3. Nor any other games that i can think of.

Q6600 @ 3.15, 560ti factory Overclocked.

 

[Juddog]

I hate to link another site, but this is for those who might be interested in adaptive vsync:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/04/16/nvidia_adaptive_vsync_technology_review/

 

[Ben90]

I typically just dismiss anyone who says they went from 60 Hz/fps to 120 Hz/fps and noticed a difference, because it's always bullshit.

I typically just dismiss anyone who says people can't notice 60Hz vs 120Hz because its bullshit.

 

[Pia]

I typically just dismiss anyone who says people can't notice 60Hz vs 120Hz because its bullshit.

Maybe they don't do things where they have to watch for very rapid changes or track movement, so they honestly don't (consciously) see the difference.

For example, we will never have realistic looking muzzle flash in games with 60Hz screens. 1/60s, the shortest possible muzzle flash duration that can be shown on a 60Hz screen, is way too long. Of course we aren't going to see that sort of realism added until developers specifically develop for 120Hz screens, but I think we'll get there.

 

[shurato]

I sold my Hanns-G 28" 1080p monitor and bought a Samsung 27" 3D 120hz. I don't care for 3D, I've not even used it once. I splurged on it to get the 120hz refresh rate and 27" was the biggest I could find.

I noticed a huge difference in smoothness in MW3 in 120hz mode. It really reduces eye strain and the movement is so fluid it's like night and day.

If you got the money to burn, go for it. 120hz it's a serious upgrade for FPS twitch shooters.

 

[BD231]

Spending more on a monitor because it "feels smooth" and "scrolling is better" is silly no matter how you spin it.

Now that's just dumb, anyone who has been on a 120hz monitor knows tearing makes a game look like sh t. 60hz gaming sucks unless the game is locked at 60fps.

 

[wuliheron]

Ideally you want 85-120fps just to avoid the worst visual problems like blurring backgrounds when you turn around fast. Some competitive gamers crank arcade style games like Quake up to 180fps just to smooth out any bumps in the programs and give themselves that extra edge over the competition. However, in each the case the game itself has to be designed for 60fps to begin with for it to have the maximum benefit.

Games like Crysis designed for 30fps just don't benefit nearly as much from high frames per second. Still, having 120hz can reduce lag significantly in such games even at 30fps making them at least play as smoothly as possible with their limited frame rate design.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

For current games 1080p to 1440p doesn't improve iq that much except with Jaggies which are much less but still exist. But apart from games ips panels are pretty good. So if gaming is the only concern go for 120hz but for an overall balanced rig not just for gaming ips 1440p will be good because games will get a higher Rez and movies and videos will get much better colors

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Ideally you want 85-120fps just to avoid the worst visual problems like blurring backgrounds when you turn around fast. Some competitive gamers crank arcade style games like Quake up to 180fps just to smooth out any bumps in the programs and give themselves that extra edge over the competition. However, in each the case the game itself has to be designed for 60fps to begin with for it to have the maximum benefit.

Games like Crysis designed for 30fps just don't benefit nearly as much from high frames per second. Still, having 120hz can reduce lag significantly in such games even at 30fps making them at least play as smoothly as possible with their limited frame rate design.

Games have seemed smoother since the upgrade, but my rig has also gotten better since then, so that could also be the reason.

I think i just need to play a few different games at 120hz, and 60hz, and try to see if i can really see a difference. Maybe even have someone change the settings for me, so its like a blind test. Just not sure which results i value more - the difference in feel in newer games like BF3, or older games like HL2, and nexuiz (which BF3 will play like in a few years when my PC will destory those games)

For current games 1080p to 1440p doesn't improve iq that much except with Jaggies which are much less but still exist. But apart from games ips panels are pretty good. So if gaming is the only concern go for 120hz but for an overall balanced rig not just for gaming ips 1440p will be good because games will get a higher Rez and movies and videos will get much better colors

Im looking at the detail on 1440p and 1080p screenshots in BF, and it looks like there is a much higher level of detail in the 1440p shots. I cant imagine not benefiting from that extra res. To me strictly for gaming - i think the choice is pretty difficult between 120hz and 1440p.

 

[Juddog]

Games have seemed smoother since the upgrade, but my rig has also gotten better since then, so that could also be the reason.

I think i just need to play a few different games at 120hz, and 60hz, and try to see if i can really see a difference. Maybe even have someone change the settings for me, so its like a blind test. Just not sure which results i value more - the difference in feel in newer games like BF3, or older games like HL2, and nexuiz (which BF3 will play like in a few years when my PC will destory those games)



Im looking at the detail on 1440p and 1080p screenshots in BF, and it looks like there is a much higher level of detail in the 1440p shots. I cant imagine not benefiting from that extra res. To me strictly for gaming - i think the choice is pretty difficult between 120hz and 1440p.

The other thing to consider is that you can basically duplicate what the higher resolution would look like, to an extent, by simply turning up AA and Anisotropic filtering. Personally I would rather have a smoother lower rez game with AA and Anisotropic filtering than a super high res game with AA and Anisotropic filtering turned down super low. That's just me though.

Also as mentioned above the higher your resolution gets, the more beefy your GPU will have to be in order to compensate.