Display upgrade: monitor or TV?

[The_Freeman]

I need some advice on what kind of display I should get. Right now I have a Samsung 24" 1080p monitor that works great for gaming but is a little small for watching movies. My computer serves as a gaming/HTPC rig and I'm about to spend around $3000 on the audio (5.1 w/ an AVR.) I sit about 8' away when watching movies, but up close when I play games. Was thinking about going to a 40"+ TV but am afraid the picture won't be clear like on a monitor dedicated for gaming. I'll have to sit 8' away, like when I watch movies, when I game if I get a TV. I also hear that basic computing looks like shit on a TV (web browsing ect.)
My other two options would be the 39" Seiki 4K TV as a monitor but I heard that my FPS will suffer due to the low hertz of the refresh or something. If I'm right, HDMI 2.0 will solve this but isn't available yet...plus, I'll need one hell of a GPU to handle that rez, I know.
The other option is for me to get a 27-30" 1440p monitor now, and wait a few years for 4K gaming to develop. This wouldn't provide a very big jump in size at all, but I hear that 27" @1440p is the sweet spot for gaming...is this true with 29-30" too? Or will I start to lose clarity?
If the TV rout will make gaming and basic computing suffer then I may just have to go with 1440p for now and wait a year or so when I move to get a TV dedicated for movies.
Unfortunately I can't go dual either simply because I don't have the real estate on my desk . I'd like to keep it around $400-$500 but can go up if need be. I live in the states too fwiw. Oh, my GPU is an ATI 7950 and I'll probably wait for the 800 series nvidia to upgrade.

 

[ithehappy]

You know the answer yourself. Get a 1440p monitor, period TV is only good for watching movies, that's all.

 

[The_Freeman]

Yeah, I'm just trying to get a few opinions from the guys here. I've been reading AVSforums on HTPC's and it's a pretty dead thread regarding HTPC for gaming. The few that are there like their TV's and recommend plasmas if you can avoid burn-in. But I think most people there are audio and theater gurus where as here, I'll get better advice for PC/gaming.

If I do go 1440, I'd like to go as big as possible unless the picture will suffer :/.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

I've been using a 27" Samsung TV as a monitor for a few years now. 1080. I tried out a 32" 1080 but felt it was too big for a monitor when I'm sitting close to it for computer work. a 40" would, IMHO, be terrible to try and game on unless you window it.

 

[SMOGZINN]

My recommendation would be to keep the Samsung 24" 1080p monitor for gaming, and mount a HDTV above it for watching movies. Then you can just duplicate the screens, and have the best of both worlds.

 

[corkyg]

Echo SMOZINN's concept. Have two separate displays. I use three. TV in family room, and bedroom, and monitor in the computer room. If you have them in the same room, just mount them based on usage.

 

[ithehappy]

Yep, I am echoing the above two comments.

 

[The_Freeman]

Appreciate the suggestions but stacking one on top the other won't work. There won't be room for a center channel speaker and I can't drill holes in the wall.

 

[The_Freeman]

So I was confused in thinking that 1440p monitors went up to 29"+. I see they're only 27". Are the 29-31" monitors good for gaming as well? I know the ratio isn't the same...think they're 2560x1600. Shouldn't take much more GPU to run than a 1440p. Only problem I see is they are more expensive and I'm not sure if many games are compatible with that ratio.

 

[Essence_of_War]

So I was confused in thinking that 1440p monitors went up to 29"+. I see they're only 27". Are the 29-31" monitors good for gaming as well? I know the ratio isn't the same...think they're 2560x1600. Shouldn't take much more GPU to run than a 1440p. Only problem I see is they are more expensive and I'm not sure if many games are compatible with that ratio.

Nice 29'' monitors are typically 21:9, 2560x1080, or ~25% LESS pixels as 2560x1440.

Nice 30'' monitors are typically 16:10, 2560x1600, or ~10% MORE pixels than 2560x1440.

Either can be good for gaming depending on the exact model. See reviews here for example. Most modern games are built so that the wider aspect ratio, the wider your in-game FOV, so that's something to consider.

For a variety of reasons, the nice 30'' monitors are typically quite a bit more expensive than their increased pixel count would indicate. See the price difference between the dell u2713hm and the u3014, for example.

 

[Throckmorton]

My recommendation would be to keep the Samsung 24" 1080p monitor for gaming, and mount a HDTV above it for watching movies. Then you can just duplicate the screens, and have the best of both worlds.

You'd get neck strain with a TV that high

 

[SMOGZINN]

You'd get neck strain with a TV that high

Matters where you sit to watch it. A friend's son has a great set-up with 3 monitors in an eyefinity setup on his desk and a (I'm guessing) 55" TV mounted above all of them. He sits at the desk to play games on the monitors and lays in bed to watch TV.

 

[MongGrel]

Sorry I had to I can't believe I hadn't seen this one before.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAKgWwReh6w&list=RDvwBZObfp24c

teasing a bit.

I used to use a 32 inch 1080P TC for monitor but they are a bit grainy.

Picked up a Dell 29 inch widescreen 2560 X 1080P for $399 last Thanksgiving, and have it extended to a Olevie 47 inch for movies, yeah a monitor is usually preferable for a computer I'd say.

The 2560 X1440 do seem the popular things these days, I do still like the 2560 X 1080 but it took some getting used to.