Considering new Monitor.. Advice?

[gallegos20]

Currently I have my rig connected to my 27" imac.. it has one of the best 27" IPS displays out there.. but i've been considering selling the iMac and perhaps getting like 2x 1920x1200 monitors instead.

The main reasoning is: i use my iMac less.. and i worry that if the iMac has any internal failure my monitor is gone also. ..

keep in mind it has one of the best input lags of 2560x1440 monitors.. and a computer attached to it..

I can sell it today for 1050, (paid 1400 refurbed 2 years ago).


what should I do? Sell the computer and get 2x monitors or keep the computer and use the sick screen and occasionally the iMac..

I've been eying the 24" benQ monitor but.. its TN panel. then again, 120hz.

I have a 670 gtx so it would push the framerate fine.

 

[mjd24]

I think it boils down to what you are looking to do with your system? Are you in need of 120hz for FPS gaming or are you just wanting something different?

I can't comment on the benQ but if you decide to go back with a 1440 27" monitor, I can definitely recommend the ASUS PB series.

I've had mine for about 3 weeks now and absolutely love it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236294

 

[gallegos20]

I think it boils down to what you are looking to do with your system? Are you in need of 120hz for FPS gaming or are you just wanting something different?

I can't comment on the benQ but if you decide to go back with a 1440 27" monitor, I can definitely recommend the ASUS PB series.

I've had mine for about 3 weeks now and absolutely love it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236294

Well, I don't NEED 120hz.. but i've never used it.

Basically I fear that my iMac's monitor life would be cut short by the Computer failing not the monitor.. even though the monitor is fantastic.

If i could get an ACD for 700 I would right away.

the Asus looks good.. essentially I would be making 300$ in a trade for the iMac internal Computer.. which seems reasonable considering I paid 1400 2 years ago.

 

[Doom 4d]

The best advice I could give anyone when buying a monitor, is to look for actual user and independent reviews, instead of eyeballing the retailer's specifications on the item. Monitors and TV's notoriously skirt the grey area between fiction and reality when boasting their specs and without going into a lot of detail on what I mean by that, I will tell you there is infinitely more value in an informed review telling you "this monitor does not have ghosting or input delay issues" vice looking at a spec sheet and seeing "2ms response time" and other things that have varying means of measurement and in the end amount to nothing concrete in terms of providing an exceptionally good user experience.

And additionally, use common sense. Don't let someone sell you on something that you don't want or need or can't even use. I know that a lot of 120hz monitors got sold when Battlefield 3 came out, and plenty of them ended up in the hands of people who owned rigs that wouldn't run the game past 65 fps in the first place. Why? Because the pro's use 120hz monitors in Counterstrike, Quake and so on. Ironically, anyone legitimately trying to avoid their monitor's performance impacting the quality of their play in an fps would be using an ugly old flatscreen CRT since they are available with higher refresh rates and no measurable input latency. So at the end of the day, I wonder about the logic behind consumers supporting the move by display companies to place an equivalent premium on 120hz that they would otherwise place on improved display technologies all together.

I realize you have a 670 and will muster 120 fps in a lot of titles, but not all titles. And that's as things stand today, not tomorrow. Everything is wrapped in several layers of marketing, so that is just a bit to consider.

 

[gallegos20]

has ANYONE gone from 2560x1440 and actually DOWNGRADED the resolution? I think that's a big question for me.

 

[Throckmorton]

The only monitor that's just as good is an Apple Cinema 27"

 

[gallegos20]

The only monitor that's just as good is an Apple Cinema 27"

Yes, you're right.

My question is; will it be game breaking to drop back to a 24" 1920x1200 screen? (rather, 2 of them).

and finally; am I worrying about the computer failing or rather, IS my worrying about the computer failing unjustified?

 

[Throckmorton]

Yes, you're right.

My question is; will it be game breaking to drop back to a 24" 1920x1200 screen? (rather, 2 of them).

and finally; am I worrying about the computer failing or rather, IS my worrying about the computer failing unjustified?

Maybe not but what will suck is switching to a TN monitor. It will also suck to switch to an IPS matte screen. The clarity you're enjoying now will be gone. As far as I know there is no such thing as a 1920x1200 glossy IPS. Manufacturers insist on the nasty grainy matte coatings, which is supposedly "professional".

If the screen has a passthrough, why would it stop working if the computer part of it stops working?

 

[Throckmorton]

BTW I had a 30" Dell 2560x1600 and I sold it and went back to my 1920x1200. Text was too small on the 30" and the antiglare was much worse than the 24" screen, so I had to get rid of it. 1920x1200 felt like enough pixels, so it wasn't too bad.

 

[gallegos20]

Maybe not but what will suck is switching to a TN monitor. It will also suck to switch to an IPS matte screen. The clarity you're enjoying now will be gone. As far as I know there is no such thing as a 1920x1200 glossy IPS. Manufacturers insist on the nasty grainy matte coatings, which is supposedly "professional".

If the screen has a passthrough, why would it stop working if the computer part of it stops working?

Well, it has "Target Display Mode", basically, i hit Command + F2 on the mac keyboard and I can switch the 'Source' of the monitor between the iMac and my PC. If I can't get into actual OSX i don't know if it'll work.

 

[Throckmorton]

Well, it has "Target Display Mode", basically, i hit Command + F2 on the mac keyboard and I can switch the 'Source' of the monitor between the iMac and my PC. If I can't get into actual OSX i don't know if it'll work.

Doesn't that add input lag? Or does the OS just switch something over i the monitor circuits?

 

[gallegos20]

Not that i'm aware of.. I think it just switches the source.. the input to the monitor is just a DP -> Mini-DP cable.