Replacing my monitor

[papaschtroumpf]

I'm running a dual monitor system, one panel is a 4:3 21" Dell that is built like a tank and won't die, the other one is a ASUS VW266H 25.5" 16:9 that is starting to misbehave in that the picture is garbled most of the time coming out of standby, but a full power usually fixes it, so not an emergency.

My main criteria was that the monitors support a vertical resolution of 1200, at the time most only went to 1080.

My graphic card is a Radeon 7900


I'm trying to understand my choices, my gaming days are over so looking for value and longevity rather than top of the line performance.

Should I go 4K for future proofing or are there great monitors for cheap I can get now and that will look good vendor after I upgrade my computer in a few years? My gaming days are more or less over so I'm not buying top of the line every year or two anymore.

Will my Radeon 7900 drive a 4K display along with the Dell 1600x1200? I really like dual monitors, so I still want to run them side by side.
Would I be better off with a 1440p or will I regret it later?
Size-wise I was thinking 25-27", or things are going to get really crowded on th desk, although I might be able to go as large as 32" (I haven't measured)

Any Black Friday or other deals? Any models I should monitor for deals?

I think mostly I'm asking for recommendations on what technologies to go with.

 

[whm1974]

With a large 4K display you can ditch your dual monitor setup. I would just go with 4K display from 32" to 43" in size.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

Can I play a game on one side and browse or have YouTube on the other? So you basically run games windowed?

Will the Radeon 7900 run 4k?

I've been out of touch with the new technologies for too long!

 

[whm1974]

Can I play a game on one side and browse or have YouTube on the other? So you basically run games windowed?

Will the Radeon 7900 run 4k?

I've been out of touch with the new technologies for too long!

With a large 4K display you can have 4 to 6 large windows open, and yes if your system is powerful enough you can play a game in one of those windows.

How old is your system? The Radeon 7900 sounds fairly old.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

Looks like I ordered it in September 2012 based on the confirmation email I just looked up. It's actually a 7950 it was hot shit back then!

 

[papaschtroumpf]

Sounds like I should go with a "cheap but good" 25"+ monitor that does ???x1200 or more and I can worry about upgrading to 4k when I upgrade the computer? That being said I didn't realise my computer was already 5 years old.

Edit: actually maybe it's the other way around, by better display now assuming that I will have to upgrade soon.

 

[96Firebird]

Are you sure about gaming on just one section of a 4K screen? Is there a way to limit the mouse to just the one section of the screen? As far as I know, that isn't possible...

Anyways, there are some deals out there now, and probably more to come.

If you want 32" 4K, this Acer for $288 is a good deal: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824011158&Tpk=N82E16824011158

Monoprice has a good price ($250) for a 27" 4K, if that is what you're after. New monitor though, hard to find reviews: https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=113&cp_id=11320&cs_id=1130703&p_id=27771&seq=1&format=2

Personally, I'm waiting for Costco to have their sale on the 32" 2560x1440 HP Omen, starting tomorrow. Supposed to go on sale for $250, but I'm hoping to knock another $25 off with a coupon.

Even after that goes on sale, I'll probably wait a bit to see what else drops.

If you just want a simple set of 24" 1080p monitors, this is a good combo... 2x Asus monitors for $180 after $40MIR and coupon code (EMCBBCC69): https://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.3706060

 

[whm1974]

Sounds like I should go with a "cheap but good" 25"+ monitor that does ???x1200 or more and I can worry about upgrading to 4k when I upgrade the computer? That being said I didn't realise my computer was already 5 years old.

Edit: actually maybe it's the other way around, by better display now assuming that I will have to upgrade soon.

What are the specs of your system? If you have decent CPU from 5 years ago, you may just need to upgrade your video card and perhaps the memory as well.

 

[whm1974]

Are you sure about gaming on just one section of a 4K screen? Is there a way to limit the mouse to just the one section of the screen? As far as I know, that isn't possible...

If your system is powerful enough to play a game at 4K, why would you run it in a window? But yes, if you set the game to 1080p in windowed mode, you can can drag it to one quarter of the screen. Not sure about locking the mouse to one window however.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

I like running the game on one monitor (the 1920x1200 ASUS monitor) but have something else (e.g. YouTube, music, email...) open on the smaller monitor. Some games require alt-tab to free the mouse from the main monitor.

The CPU is an i7-3770K, 8G RAM DDR3 1600, Z77 motherboard. Not sure how that compares with recent systems.

I don't want 1080p, at least for the desktop. The 1200 vs 1080 is noticeable in real estate.

I'm thinking the Costco monitor may be a good fit. Where did you get the extra $25 coupon?

 

[papaschtroumpf]

My video card is this one: https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16814202006

I found this thread: https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/4k-monitor-radeon-7950-set-up-question.394486/

It looks like I will need a mini-display cable adapter to properly run a 4K display. It's also not going to run games well, but I think I can still run games at lower resolutions and enjoy the full 4k experience for everything else? Is so maybe I should go "future proof" and go with a 4K display.

Thanks newegg 32" seems like a good deal.

 

[whm1974]

My video card is this one: https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16814202006

I found this thread: https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/4k-monitor-radeon-7950-set-up-question.394486/

It looks like I will need a mini-display cable adapter to properly run a 4K display. It's also not going to run games well, but I think I can still run games at lower resolutions and enjoy the full 4k experience for everything else? Is so maybe I should go "future proof" and go with a 4K display.

Yes you can still play games at a lower resolution. What is your budget for upgrading?

 

[papaschtroumpf]

I was hoping to keep it in the $200-$250, the 32" 4k on newegg for $288 is still acceptable though.
Something local would be good in case I want to return it, although tax would be higher.

 

[whm1974]

I was hoping to keep it in the $200-$250, the 32" 4k on newegg for $288 is still acceptable though.
Something local would be good in case I want to return it, although tax would be higher.

Well I would just get the monitor now then upgrade the memory and video card later on.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

Thanks all. Sorry for the churn, but I am learning and reading as you guys answer the post, so getting smarter about it as I go.
One thing I did not realize is that most video cards will run 4K fine for non-gaming use, and the 7950 definitely will.
Also it seems that there is not much reason to get 4K for 27" and possibly 32", so QHD may be sufficient.

Given no tax at Newegg but tax at Costco, the Omen is only $10 cheaper than the ACER 4K but easily returnable (assuming the Omen really goes to $250 tomorrow), so more or less a wash.

Which one is the better monitor in the long run?

 

[papaschtroumpf]

The Costco add does say the Omen will be $250. I think that's what I'm going to go for. Thanks for the tip.

If anyone has a coupon code for the $25 off $250 at Costco.com, is love to get one, that would be icing on the cake (or pay for tax)

Anyone knows when the sale turns on online?

 

[papaschtroumpf]

Waited till 1:00am here (midnight Pacific) and ordered the Omen for $250. I don't have one of those $25 coupons, curious if it would have worked.

Based on my reading I may need to buy a mini displayPort adapter/cable.

 

[whm1974]

What is the Omen? Is it from HP?

 

[whm1974]

Well I hope you enjoy your purchase when you get it. Me I'm looking at this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N29XPO3?tag=techreport09-20&ie=UTF8
But my GeForce GTX 970 does have a HDMI 2.0 port so I can do 4K at 60Hz.

 

[96Firebird]

I have a $25 off coupon you could have used, assuming it works on that monitor. Not sure how much of a pain it is to cancel and re-order, but let me know if you want it.

They are usually available up by the service desk in-store, I picked one up last time I was there. I also have another from when I signed up earlier this year, in case I do get the monitor myself.

Well I hope you enjoy your purchase when you get it. Me I'm looking at this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N29XPO3?tag=techreport09-20&ie=UTF8

But my GeForce GTX 970 does have a HDMI 2.0 port so I can do 4K at 60Hz.

Make sure that TV will do 4:4:4 chroma at 4k@60Hz... Otherwise, text won't look as crisp. It's not easy to find info, might have to look through some reviews.

 

[tential]

I'd go 1440p high refresh rate. Why wasn't that suggested?
I miss not having the opportunity to use high refresh rates in shooters as a 4k/60hz user.

 

[UsandThem]

The Costco add does say the Omen will be $250. I think that's what I'm going to go for. Thanks for the tip.

I ended up getting one of the Omen monitors as well. I didn't know it was going to be on sale at Costco until I saw your post.

I had actually ordered the HP 32Q, which is very similar to the Omen for $229. Best Buy ended up so many site issues when they went live, that I must have clicked "pay now" ten times over the nearly 2 hours I tried. But for only $20 more, I am cancelling it and going with the Omen mainly because it has FreeSync and a little better response time (5ms vs 7ms), which the HP doesn't.

 

[whm1974]

I have a $25 off coupon you could have used, assuming it works on that monitor. Not sure how much of a pain it is to cancel and re-order, but let me know if you want it.

They are usually available up by the service desk in-store, I picked one up last time I was there. I also have another from when I signed up earlier this year, in case I do get the monitor myself.



Make sure that TV will do 4:4:4 chroma at 4k@60Hz... Otherwise, text won't look as crisp. It's not easy to find info, might have to look through some reviews.

I check from a few reviews online and this TV does do 4:4:4 chroma at 4K@60Hz and it also has fairly low input lag for a TV as well.

From the looks of things I'll will buying this next year as I just quit drinking soda due to the money it was costing me. Otherwise I could have brought it this week.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

Someone sent me one of those $25 off coupon codes (Thank you!!!!) and it worked on top of the regular discount. I'll cancel or return the original order.

I love this place! Thanks to everyone that helped.