Ultrawide Options

[Sprite]

Hi,

Next month I'm going to be upgrading my 8 year old 22" 1680 x 1050 screen and I'm currently considering an "ultrawide" monitor. Does anyone have any experience with these? I've seen that the main sizes are 25", 29", and 34". I think that 29" will be the best size for me, as 25" is apparently very small vertically, and 34" seems massive and will be 4k resolution meaning spending a lot on a good graphics card. In the 29" space I've seen a lot of LG monitors, and 2 have caught my eye:

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/29-l...1wYaAsg-8P8HAQ

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/29-l...tKkaAiEM8P8HAQ

The LG 29UB67 has better response time and brightness, but the LG 29UM68 has Freesync (which I don't really know anything about). Both are similar prices. Would I miss having Freesync?

I've also seen a Korean 29 inch ultrawide on ebay, a Crossover 290W, which I'm not sure if anyone else has heard of? Here's a link - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Crosso...MAAOSwbwlXAe59

[Agrippa]

This is just my own perspective of course, but personally I consider an increase in vertical resolution far more important than the horisontal as long as you're coming from 1080p. If I were you I'd strongly consider if, for instance, a 27" 1440p monitor should be a contender. Coming from 1050p that'll be a serious upgrade which I doubt you'd regret. That's not to say that an ultrawide screen isn't very desirable, I'd quite like one myself, but only a 1440p model.

[herulach]

I've got the crossover one, and it's a great screen, but I wouldn't buy it again. a 1440p 16:9 would be my choice (or 4k if your card can handle it and it downscales nicely at somethin other than 1080p). You'll notice a higher refresh rate & vertical res much more. THe extra FOV is nice in some games, but the number that simply don't support it or look like balls in UW is pretty annoying.

[skubi2808]

Hi, if you want to play games on it do not take any that you mentioned are not suitable for gameing, look for something 1ms and the best 144Hz.
Freesync is for AMD card and G-sync is for Nvidia card is achieved by synchronizing display refresh rates to the GPU bla,bla,bla it's a lot's of info about this
It's just my advice
Regards,

[Sprite]

Thanks both, I'll have a look at some 1440p monitors. I think I'll skip out on the Crossover anyway as 1 - it will cost nearly the same as a 29" LG, and 2 - it's gold...

[1stRaven]

I think the 29" are about the best size to work with. Depends if it is your only monitor as well. I used mine as a centre in a three monitor setup.

[virtuo]

I've got a Dell U3415W (1440p 34" curved), I wouldn't go any smaller as vertically its no bigger than my 25" Dell.

It's a pleasure to use for DTP/Photoshop/Development/3D work, but honestly the gaming gimmick wears off quick. there's a lot of extra pixels to shunt around (almost 4K levels but not quite) and as has been mentioned not many games really benefit from the ratio.

FPS's just looked weird to me, driving games on the whole are good when they can handle positioning the dials to the extremes but I found you are only really gaining extra scenery flying past.

I don't play flight sims but I expect they'd be the sort of thing you'll want to experience at UW ratio. I've seen someone playing FIFA on UW as well, that was impressive even though I don't go for that genre.

[Sprite]

1stRaven - what size monitors do you have either side of your ultra wide?

I really only use my computer for games, and browsing the web. I never do any coding, don't watch that many films (I have a PC connected to my TV for that), and never do any photoshop or 3D work. I'll only be purchasing a single monitor.

Which would be better - a 120Hz monitor with no Freesync/Gsync, or a 75Hz monitor with Freesync/Gsync?

[DanceswithUnix]

I would expect 120Hz to be better, though these days I would expect any new 120Hz/144Hz monitor to have freesync.

Freesync has a feature called "Low framerate Compensation", and that needs a frequency range of 2.5X to work. So for example, if you have a 35Hz to 144Hz monitor, you have a 4.1X range and you are in. If you get one of the cheaper Freesync monitors, you might get eg 75/48 = 1.6 so LFC gets disabled.

If you buy a 120Hz monitor, then I think with Vsync turned on you get a pretty snappy experience and freesync isn't so important.

[skubi2808]

Any way u need a good garphic card to handle 1440p resolution, even when u buy a GTX1080 you will be have max 50-80fps in new game so think about it
Regards,

[Dashers]

1080 for 29", 1440 for 34" to keep a good density.

I'm thinking of getting one but I don't think the models are there yet. I want AMVA for increased static contrast (photos), over 60Hz and of course, not silly expensive

[Hoonigan]

Freesync and G-Sync explained:

G-Sync and FreeSync introduce variable refresh rates. If your game is rendering at 40 frames per second, your display will update at 40 frames per second. If it starts rendering at 75 frames per second, your monitor will refresh at 75 frames per second. The monitor and graphics processor talk to each other, and the refresh rate constantly changes to be the ideal one to match the images being sent to the display. This eliminates stuttering, input lag, and screen tearing, resulting in a much more fluid image when playing PC games without the problems of V-Sync.

[1stRaven]

[QUOTE=Sprite;3657260]1stRaven - what size monitors do you have either side of your ultra wide?
[QUOTE]

22" at 1920x1080