27" 1440P vs 37" 1080P vs 3x25" 1080P

jester55

Member
Feb 3, 2007
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Been out of the loop a few years having kids and moving a lot. My last rig was a Q6600 with a GTX 295 and a 37" Westy (LVM-37W3). I am currently building a rig with the following parts:

CPU: Intel 3570K
MOBO: ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
COOLER: Zalman LQ-320
GPU: undecided between 7970 or GTX 680
RAM: undecided
SSD : 120GB Vertex 3
CASE: Silverstone FT-02
PSU: Seasonic X750

Now for my question. I am waiting on purchasing a GPU until I can answer this question for myself. Coming from the Westy, what would be the best upgrade for me in your opinion and why? @ 36"-40" viewing distance BTW

1x 27" 1440P (South Korean)
or
1x 37" 1080P HDTV with 4:4:4 chroma subsampling (Similiar to Westy)
or
3x 25" 1080P Asus VE258Q in Eyefinity/Nvidia Surround (Already own 1 VE258Q)

My budget is between $300-$400 - which I believe is fairly doable with all 3 options. I miss my Westy like crazy and just want to make the best decision for gaming on my new rig.

Thanks!
 
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MrK6

Diamond Member
Aug 9, 2004
4,458
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27" 1440P; once you go to IPS and a higher pixel density you will never go back.
 

scannall

Golden Member
Jan 1, 2012
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Like MrK6 said, once you go to a 2560x1440 IPS panel, you'll never go back. I have one of the Korean monitors (Qnix) and its been great.

Oh, and it's South Korea. I shudder to think of what a North Korean monitor would be like.
 

3DVagabond

Lifer
Aug 10, 2009
11,951
204
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I agree with everyone else. 27"@1440. Better IPS picture quality and that's about as big as a single card will go with very high to Ultra settings, depending on game. Also the higher pixel density will make lower levels of AA better looking. That will help over all performance too.
 

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
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@ 36"-40" viewing distance

I don't think the high pixel density would be that helpful in gaming at that viewing distance.

What happened to your old Westinghouse anyways? I still have my 42" from many years back.
 

jester55

Member
Feb 3, 2007
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I don't think the high pixel density would be that helpful in gaming at that viewing distance.

What happened to your old Westinghouse anyways? I still have my 42" from many years back.


Yeah, the pixel density/viewing distance ratio is why I was considering something similar to my Westy. I had to downsize a few years ago when baby 2 and 3 came along while living in a 2 bedroom house. I had to sell a lot of what I had including the Westy and switch to a gaming laptop. Just recently bought a large home with an office so I am stretching my wings again by building a new desktop. I can't tell you how many times I wished I was able to keep my Westy...

Is there anything comparable to the Westy? There is a part of me that feels a 27" 1440 will be too small of a screen on my huge desk at 30" viewing distance.

This sure is tough to call for me...
 

Tweak155

Lifer
Sep 23, 2003
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Gaming on a TV I don't think compares. The 27" 1440p will have much better quality. But sounds like you may have made up your mind - if you liked the TV I don't see why you can't do it again.
 

omeds

Senior member
Dec 14, 2011
646
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I have both connected to my PC, the 40" TV is better for viewing at a distance, but at like several feet, while 1440p is better to sit infront of at my desk.
 

jester55

Member
Feb 3, 2007
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Gaming on a TV I don't think compares. The 27" 1440p will have much better quality. But sounds like you may have made up your mind - if you liked the TV I don't see why you can't do it again.

Well, the Westy wasn't exactly a TV. It was a 37" 1080P LCD monitor. That was why I was wondering if there was something similar or better in the 37" range. I have heard there are some 1080P HDTVs with 4:4:4 chroma subsampling that look as good or better than the Westy with the correct settings. Where the Westy shined was clarity of text like a monitor should be as opposed to most HDTVs.

I have both connected to my PC, the 40" TV is better for viewing at a distance, but at like several feet, while 1440p is better to sit infront of at my desk.

Curious - how far do you sit away from the 1440P @ your desk? Is 30" too far?
 

skipsneeky2

Diamond Member
May 21, 2011
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32'' 720p t.v sitting 4 feet away gaming or 10 feet away watching a movie or 24'' dell u2412m with the same distance?

Thinking the 32'' will look awful up close but at 10feet away it would look fine,even for gaming.
 

Tweak155

Lifer
Sep 23, 2003
11,448
262
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Well, the Westy wasn't exactly a TV. It was a 37" 1080P LCD monitor. That was why I was wondering if there was something similar or better in the 37" range. I have heard there are some 1080P HDTVs with 4:4:4 chroma subsampling that look as good or better than the Westy with the correct settings. Where the Westy shined was clarity of text like a monitor should be as opposed to most HDTVs.



Curious - how far do you sit away from the 1440P @ your desk? Is 30" too far?

I'm familiar with the model. I have a friend who did the same thing back in the day "why spend $1200 on a 27" monitor when you can have a 37" for $800!"... He had it sitting less than 2 feet from him though.

I agree it didn't look bad or anything, but it still doesn't compare to a 27" @ 1440p (the smaller size alone gives it a sharper image). Not to mention IPS. I think if you used an IPS monitor at any size for an extended period of time, you'd have a hard time switching back for personal use.

EDIT:

I personally have a 1440p. I could handle going back to 1920x1200 or 1920x1080 but I'd want to keep the IPS.
 
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tweakboy

Diamond Member
Jan 3, 2010
9,517
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www.hammiestudios.com
At 5ms the mouse wont be instant and smooth like CRT.

laggy mouse etc. LEDs imo blow goat, I hate the brightness it brings with it too,, not genuine if you ask me. Gonna be worse on TV. Me, I have no lag.
 

UaVaj

Golden Member
Nov 16, 2012
1,546
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1x 27" 1440P (South Korean)
or
1x 37" 1080P HDTV with 4:4:4 chroma subsampling (Similiar to Westy)
or
3x 25" 1080P Asus VE258Q in Eyefinity/Nvidia Surround (Already own 1 VE258Q)

-----

when comparing quality display to quality display.

it is all about pixel pitch (used to be call dot pitch during the crt era). the typical human eye can start detect jagged egdes when pixel pitch exceeds 0.280pp. hence the need for aa.

on a 27" with 2560x1440, the pp is 0.234pp.
on a 37" with 1920x1080, the pp is way beyond 0.280pp
on a 25" with 1920x1080, the pp is 0.288pp.

27" is the clear winner. a single 7970/680 will compliment that resolution well.
37" is nice. due to the excessive pixel pitch, only if you plan to compensate by viewing further back. effectly shrinking the actual viewing size.
25" is too much resolution. a single 7970/680 is not enough gpu to push that resolution. unless you like playing at good setting.

-----

single gpu only. get the 7970. the clear winner. 3gb + 384bit bus.
if ever considering dual gpu in the future. get the 680 instead.
if ever considering 5760x1080 get the 4gb edition.
 

KingFatty

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2010
3,034
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the typical human eye can start detect jagged egdes when pixel pitch exceeds 0.280pp. hence the need for aa.

Do you recall what viewing distance is used to justify that pixel pitch? Would that information only apply to cell phone viewing distances like 8 inches? When you pull back to monitor viewing distances (up to what, 30 inches?), I could see a lower pixel pitch being ok?
 

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
2
81
32'' 720p t.v sitting 4 feet away gaming or 10 feet away watching a movie or 24'' dell u2412m with the same distance?

Thinking the 32'' will look awful up close but at 10feet away it would look fine,even for gaming.

But we're talking about 1080p screens, not 720p.

Not to mention IPS.

What kind of panel do you think HDTVs use? They certainly are not TN. AFAIK most HDTVs use either IPS or MVA (rather, whatever variants like S-IPS or S-MVA).

I think the bigger issue with HDTVs is to get one that doesn't have horrible input lag, and that can map pixels without always scaling.
 

UaVaj

Golden Member
Nov 16, 2012
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Do you recall what viewing distance is used to justify that pixel pitch? Would that information only apply to cell phone viewing distances like 8 inches? When you pull back to monitor viewing distances (up to what, 30 inches?), I could see a lower pixel pitch being ok?

in the crt days, believe it was 18". even though this measurement was for crt. no reason why it could not be applied to any display - including smart phones.

smart phone are crystal clear due to the fact the pixel pitch is very low. sony x10 smartphone with 854x400 resolution measures out to 0.134pp.

30" is the sweet spot for 2560x1440 @ 0.251pp
22" is the sweet spot for 1920x1080 @ 0.254pp

one reason why 27" monitor with 2560x1440 is so popular among image professioanl is thanks to the larger size and the small pixel pitch of 0.234.
 

KingFatty

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2010
3,034
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The viewing distance is how far away your eyeballs are from the screen surface.

Just a guess, but I think I'm around 30 inches from whatever computer monitor I'm using. So for me, I wouldn't change my viewing distance from one display to another, if they are all computer monitors on my desk.

Even if I have two different sized monitors (like the 2560x1400 and 1920x1080), I still would arrange them to be about the same viewing distance.