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New Monitor Setup


IRFC Hawkeye

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Recently I finished the last part of my computer upgrade project.  Having built the new box last spring, I still needed (or wanted) to upgrade my video capabilities.  I wanted to upgrade to an actual gaming monitor, one with higher refresh rates than 60 Hz, which is what my old 32" 1080p monitor would do.  I wanted to take advantage of the new G-Sync technology in the nVidia GPUs that syncs the GPU with the monitor, if they're both capable.  Lastly, I wanted higher resolution, and no downgrade in physical size, from my old 32" TV.

 

Over the months it's become apparent that ASUS has been making some really nice gaming monitors that have as much as 144 Hz refresh rates, and they're made specifically for gaming (the "ROG" series, "Republic of Gaming").  But it's been almost impossible to find anything bigger than 27" in that series, and I didn't want to reduce the size below what I had before.  A few months ago, they came out with a 34" curved IPS screen, capable of 100 Hz, which is a decent frame rate for gaming:  PG348Q  I did not fully understand until recently the data throughput needed is a function of both the resolution and the refresh rate combined, which is why is was so hard finding a monitor larger than 27".  This new monitor has higher resolution than what I had ("2K": 3440 x 1440), and also a better refresh rate, and G-Sync capable.  Of course it's monstrously expensive; but I realized that what I was asking is not going to be cheap for a very long time, if ever.  So I bit the bullet and ponied up for the $1,250.00 it costed, and also a new nVidia 1080 GPU by MSI to drive it.

 

Once I received everything, I installed the new GPU and connected it to the new monitor via the Display Port cable, which is a requirement to be able to use the G-Sync feature, and also for anything higher than 60 Hz.  (HDMI would not work, although it does have an input for it).

 

The new monitor would not work.  I could see the boot up screens, but once it tried to show the desktop, it was simply black.  After messing around I finally figured out that the longer Display Port cable I had bought that could reach to where my computer was positioned, simply had too much loss to support the data required, even at 60 Hz, let alone 100 Hz.  So I grabbed the 6 ft cable that had come with the monitor, and everything immediately started working.

 

That brought up a big problem for me.  I was going to have to get my computer box much closer to the new monitor, and re-cable everything I had in order to make this thing work reliably.  After sleeping on it, I realized that my corner desk had enough room directly behind the new monitor, and everything else would be able to connect directly to the computer without using any extension cables, as I had before, and that was a nice benefit.  Here is where the case ended up:

 

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Here is the new monitor, in the place the old one used to be:

 

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Then I got the bright idea to keep using my old 32", 1080p TV too, as a map display from my second machine, and a backup.  Smaller screens are kind of worthless for displaying maps, since all the map details are too small to really see well.  I thought hey, I could put this thing overhead!  But I would need a VESA mount for that so it could be at a comfortable viewing angle; so I ordered what looked like a good one, and it finally arrived a day or two ago, and I installed it today:

 

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It worked out well, here is what the entire rig looks like:

 

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Here's the view from the hot seat:

 

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The new monitor has a frame rate counter built into it, and with the resolution at 3440 x 1440, and G-Sync enabled, the GTX 1080 GPU runs RoF at 100 FPS, solid as a rock;  that reading never budges from 100, no matter what I do or set.  Gotta be happy with that!  Thumbs up to ASUS so far   :wub:

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I'm in the market for a new monitor myself.

 

Was thinking of the ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q.  Does anyone have this monitor?  Or something like it?

 

I think Rotermann might have that one.  That's supposed to be a great monitor, probably a far better deal.  Honestly, I think my monitor and that one are no different in the vertical size dimension....this one is just wider.  Also I think it's a TN screen, as opposed to IPS;  TN has faster response times, no "backlight glow", and I think higher contrast ratio.  IPS is supposed to have better color and a better viewing angle range, both vertical and horizontal.  I think ASUS also makes, or is about to make, an IPS version of that called the PG279Q, if that's your preference.  I think for gaming, TN is more the standard; but nobody makes a 34" TN panel right now.  I think if I would have had a choice, I probably would have gone with a TN panel, everything else being the same.

 

If you read that link in the O.P., you'll learn a lot.

 

S!

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  • 1 year later...

Do you still like the IPS monitor Luftritter. Thinking of upgrading my system also and upgrading to a 34" curve but as you all ready stated you can't get a TN in that size. Also does anyone have an argument for getting a 4K screen.

 

My screen now is a 27" Benq TN 144HZ 1 MS response. 1080p

 

I started thinking about my system and relized its 10 years old.

 

Also I was zoomed in on an aircraft in BOS and started thinking if it would be easier to ID it if I had better resolution.

 

I know that last sentence could open a can of worms.

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I can tell you anything you want to know with respect to how my monitor works with RoF. Here are some of the main things to consider:

 

I see no problem at all with respect to backlight glow. There is significant glow that is seen when the screen is black. This is no issue with RoF since almost all the action takes place in bright scenarios, and even night missions have enough other light that it's not noticable or distracting. That being said, if you're a big user of space sims in which the screen is mostly black almost all of the time, you might want to consider this aspect very carefully.

 

Resolution. I would definitely not consider a large, 4k monitor for gaming because of the extra stress they put on your GPU. Mine is what they call a 2k monitor and I must say honestly, I can't see any real difference in detail compared to my old 1080p tv. On the other hand, the higher resolution makes everything smaller, so although you can see a bigger chunk of the world on the screen, it actually makes seeing tiny objects more difficult for somebody like me, who's eyes aren't that great anymore. Judicious use of zoom can and must make up for that.

 

Aspect ratio. The screen I have is 34 inches, but I was mistaken in thinking it would look equal or bigger than my old 32 inch TV. The increase is all in width, and is actually smaller in vertical height. Honestly I think that RoF and other games is optimized for 16:9 aspect ratio. I forget what odd ball aspect ratio I have, and RoF certainly runs on it; but I now have a fish eye effect that I never had on my old 16:9 screen. That is, there is some stretching that goes on at the edges. This becomes noticable when you turn your head and see an object with the edge of your view, and it looks a certain size. Then as you turn your head more so that the object is toward the center of your view, the object becomes bigger. This can bite you when an enemy is chasing you and you think he's far enough away, but as you change your view angle you realize he's closer than you thought. You get used to this after a while and naturally compensate, but it's always there.

 

High refresh frequency. You have to look at resolution and frequency as total throughput; together they comprise the load on your GPU. I have a GTX 1080 and it has no problem running the high resolution at the 100 hz max of my monitor. This does more for you than extra resolution with respect to gaming, because it reduces the adverse effects of latency, ghosting, lag, etc. This is the main reason I bought a gaming monitor, and I believe it's a significant advantage. If you're suffering any of these effects on your old screen, you probably don't notice them because you've grown used to them.

 

GPU to monitor cable. In order to use G-Sync, and especially because of the high throughput required by the fast refresh rates and high resolution, you must use a Display Port (DP) cable, but also the length of that cable can't be very long due to the extra signal loss that causes. Basically only the cable that comes with the monitor is guaranteed to work, so you must plan on having your computer within reach of that cable to the monitor.

 

G-Sync. This is probably the best aspect of a screen like mine and the best reason to buy one. It gives you the benefits of V-sync without any of the drawbacks. When you have G-Sync enable you'll have additional options available in Nvidia Control Panel that you don't have now. They can be confusing but I can explain what they do to anybody who wants to know.

 

S!

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G-Sync. This is probably the best aspect of a screen like mine and the best reason to buy one. It gives you the benefits of V-sync without any of the drawbacks. When you have G-Sync enable you'll have additional options available in Nvidia Control Panel that you don't have now. They can be confusing but I can explain what they do to anybody who wants to know.

 

 

 

Great Info, Luftritter! No just the g-sync stuff, but all of it. Fritz mentioned G-sync to me a few weeks ago, also. Too bad I didn't research further before I bought my rig (assuming g-sync's been around for a while). Still, I could use the one I bought as a map monitor, as you have done, and get one with the features you suggest as the main display.

 

One thing I don't understand is the desire for fps greater than 60. My knowledge about fps is 20 years old, but my work with video back then (as a R&D tech in biometrics) gave me to understand that, due to "persistence" of the human eye, few people can detect any choppiness in video when fps is above 40. Clearly, this must not be true when it comes to gaming, or there wouldn't be this constant striving in the industry for frame rates above 60. Do you find the increase from 60 to 100 truly beneficial?

 

Thanks and S!

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Yes. Not to the eye, but in the game itself. Much, or even most, of the processing is done directly by the GPU instead of the CPU now (although RoF is known to be CPU intensive). I can't explain why, but if I set Nvidia CP to run unlimited frame rates, although I see some tearing, the planes actually seem to perform better. They don't seem to fall out of sustained hard turns as easily. The planes seem to zoom better. They even seem to do more damage (my theory is that fewer of the bullets are "lost"). But if you were to measure the straight up performance parameters like top speed, climb,etc., you wouldn't see any difference.

 

I guess you have to ask yourself this: why the big push for higher refresh rates in gaming monitors over other monitors, gained at a high price, if only to have an improvement in a spec that the eye can't detect anyway?

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I guess you have to ask yourself this: why the big push for higher refresh rates in gaming monitors over other monitors, gained at a high price, if only to have an improvement in a spec that the eye can't detect anyway?

 

Exactly, and your observation about GPU involvement in "doing the math" of the game is probably the answer I was looking for. Thanks!  :)

I stopped following computer tech development over a decade ago, which might as well have been a century, which means that I now know as much about computers as my namesake did. :P

 

Thanks!

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