I've currently got 2xSamsung 2443BW (24" 1920x1200 60hz) which work perfectly fine with my Nvidia 970 currently, but with the purchase of my new 1080ti I'm now concerned that I'll have a fantastic 'engine' powering everything and a terrible 'body kit' (sorry for the car reference) to view it all on (not to mention my monitors do not have any modern day inputs!).
I've spent the last day (holy hell!) researching and stressing about what to do, all these terms I never knew existed and then the classic "should I wait for x and y" (4k 144hz etc). Compiling all this together it looks like I have the following options (keeping my desire for dual vs this new curved/ultrawide shenanigans):
- 1080p 24" 240hz
- 1440p 24" 144hz
- 1440p 27" 144hz
- 4k
I've heard good things about Acer/Asus as well - also I've considered looking at 27" 1440p instead of 24" 1440p but I'm concerned about my viewing distance (I sit about a 60cm away from my Monitors) - what are your thoughts?
I've heard there's a current (and not 'fixable') problem of having your primary 240hz/144hz monitor brought down to the lower 60hz of the secondary monitor when something GPU heavy is going on - that terrifies me as its such a waste to pay extra for 144hz just to have it stuck at 60hz! Apparently its due to W10, solutions (not always working) include one monitor into iGPU, bringing your refresh rate into a divisible of 60hz etc.
I'd love to try and keep the monitors looking the same, hence my idea of the Dells as I believe (correct me if I am wrong) they look almost identical - short of having to buy the 'higher' spec'd one twice for the perfect combination (I think it'll be a waste to have GSync/144hz+) on a monitor solely for Browsing/Videos...
Options so far...
1. ASUS PG248Q 24" (Gaming - 1080p 144hz TN) and pair one of my old Samsung 2443BW (Secondary - 1080p (1200p) 60hz) = $650
2. Acer XB241H 24" (Gaming - 1080p 144hz TN) and pair one of my old Samsung 2443BW (Secondary - 1080p (1200p) 60hz) = $529
3. Asus PG258Q 24" (Gaming - 1080p 240hz TN) and pair one of my old Samsung 2443BW (Secondary - 1080p (1200p) 60hz) = $800
4. Acer XB252Q 24" (Gaming - 1080p 240hz TN) and pair one of my old Samsung 2443BW (Secondary - 1080p (1200p) 60hz) = $800
5. Dell S2417DG 24" (Gaming - 1440p 165hz TN) and Dell P2418D 24" (Secondary - 1440p 60hz IPS) = $518 ($859 direct) + $360 ($459 Direct) = $878 (Direct: $1318 - Dell has offered me a discount to $1181)
6. Dell S2716DG 27" (Gaming - 1440p 144hz TN) and Dell U2717D 27" (Secondary - 1440p 60hz IPS) = $779 (Direct) + $595 ($849 Direct)[NOTE: I can get the UP2716D which seems to be slightly better than the U2717D on sale for $672 Direct] = $1374 (Direct: $1451 with UP2716D)
7. <Insert Brand> 27" (Gaming) and <Insert Brand> 27" IPS 60hz (having difficulty trying to match any cosmetically)
With regards to Option 7:
Viewsonic XG2703-GS - $900
Asus PG279Q - $1100~
Asus PG278Q - Doesn't exist anymore (phased for IPS above?)
Acer XB271HU (TN 165hz) - $900
Acer XB271HU (IPS 144hz) - $1000
Would love to hear feedback, open to any and all ideas/brands!
-VD
EDIT: Updated options above and added prices. Also I assume its best practice to go Dell directly for there apparently fantastic RMA? With regards to the Asus/Acer/Viewsonic approach, I still need to find a Secondary Monitor (or stick to my Samsung BW2443).