Monitor and then GFX upgrade

[Oobie-]

Hey people,
So I've come in at a time where it seems like so much has changed I must have been under a rock for the last 2 years, so feel free to throw relevant links at me after you've read the below.

My Aim:

• game at smoothly at 1440p (some current titles and some not so current ones)
• Set the ingame settings set to high - Ive put up with non AA'd edges for too long...
• Freesync with 85hz or more*
• Gaming at 1440p is credible on a 27" so no need to go bigger (I don't think)

I have:

• Gigabyte z87-hd3
• 16gb ram
• Core i5 4670k
• Corsair 550w with (43amps on 12v rail)
• MSI AMD R9 270X Gaming OC (display port 1.2 - not 1.2a)
• 22" 120hz viewsonic native res 1680x1050*

Monitor Requirements/Choice: (this is what Ive currently found that doesn't ruin the budget - found through this)
IPS
Freesync
1440p res
I care not for inbuilt speakers

*Now, Ive played with 120hz refresh and come accustom to the silky smoothness of the desktop/browsing and games that dont stress the gfx too much, but with Freesync this isnt the same and am I'm not entirely clear on - if I get a monitor thats 144hz freesync, I'm not going to gain anything from it unless Im playing with an FPS of 144? And similarly, it wont run at 144hz on the desktop?

GFX choice:
AMD preferably, but for the price of a Vega64 you can get a GTX 1080 depending on which model/manufacturer and where you get it from. So mainly just worried about the when the graph for £££ vs performance starts going vertical.

Budget:
£700-£800 for both (selling the old monitor and GFX would get me about 80-90£ which is nice to know)

[Phage]

That's a good deal on the monitor.

[cheesemp]

*Now, Ive played with 120hz refresh and come accustom to the silky smoothness of the desktop/browsing and games that dont stress the gfx too much, but with Freesync this isnt the same and am I'm not entirely clear on - if I get a monitor thats 144hz freesync, I'm not going to gain anything from it unless Im playing with an FPS of 144? And similarly, it wont run at 144hz on the desktop?

As someone who was looking for a lower budget freesync monitor I may be able to provide some insight (I went for a 32" QHD 75Hz freesync display for £180 in the end).

If you have a 144Hz display it will refresh at that rate if you set the OS to do so even in the desktop. If the GPU/App can handle it this makes scrolling so smooth. Heck I've noticed the difference at 60 > 75! With Freesync the monitor and GPU start working together to drop the refresh rate to a point where the GPU can supply a frame per refresh as long as it is still in the freesync refresh range. This is where the freesync range is so important. For example my monitor does 48Hz to 75Hz. This means if the game updates at between 48 and 75 frames per second I get smooth, tear free gaming (like vsync but more flexible if the GPU doesn't have the power). I understand for a comment on my thread (one below this) that freesync 2 introduces support for low frame rate compensation where the monitor handles FPS drops below the minimum refresh rate better than with plain freesync. How useful this is I don't know as I'd hate to play at less than 50 FPS anyway...

As for driving a QHD display with an AMD card - My Rx480 can play just cause 3 at max setting with AA off at 60~75FPS so you'll definitely need a Vega64 if you want AA on! (However Ive not really noticed the lack of AA as the high res reduces the need for it anyway).

Note Nvidia don't support freesync currently (this might change soon as part of HDMI specs) - look into gsync if you want the tech there but to be honest the extra £200 on a gsync monitor is better spent on going to a more powerful GPU so you can hit 144hz all the time!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The moment you add 120HZ and above to the spec list,the GPU costs go up a lot. Its bad enough running games at qHD at 60HZ TBH!!

[Oobie-]

Thanks for the replies guys.
Yes I don't see a need to do G-Sync unless I'm really pushing for an nVidia card, especially as it adds to the monitor cost.
I hadn't taken the range part on-board. For the Asus one i linked its - 35-90Hz which I guess is decent.

I do like how they state:
Backlight bleed is common in IPS panels I thought bleed is a sign of a manufacturing fault! :/

@cheeseamp - what monitor do you actually have?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks for the replies guys.
Yes I don't see a need to do G-Sync unless I'm really pushing for an nVidia card, especially as it adds to the monitor cost.
I hadn't taken the range part on-board. For the Asus one i linked its - 35-90Hz which I guess is decent.

I do like how they state:
Backlight bleed is common in IPS panels I thought bleed is a sign of a manufacturing fault! :/

@cheeseamp - what monitor do you actually have?

Its this AOC one:

https://m.hexus.net/tech/reviews/mon...-aoc-q3279vwf/

Even with a GTX1080 I fInd its still difficult to hit 60fps in all games at qHD.

[Oobie-]

ah, cool - thanks for that CTF

Is it worth waiting for the new GFX chips from Nvidia in hope that prices start driving down the cyrpto-gold rush - Camelcamel seems to show most cards down to their near lowest?

Just found the Pixio brand that people seem to giving rave reviews - Not being sold over the Pond yet though.

[DanceswithUnix]

Is it worth waiting for the new GFX chips from Nvidia in hope that prices start driving down the cyrpto-gold rush - Camelcamel seems to show most cards down to their near lowest?

Nvidia and AMD are both saying they next gen consumer video cards are a long way off. Which is probably why Vega 56 cards seem to be selling out again just as I was hoping to get one, sigh.

As for FreeSync, I have found it rather handy to the point it seems to have made by old R9 380 card usable in non VR games. My problem is that the Rift really needs to keep the frame rate up and I think I need a Vega for that. My PC spends most of its time in Linux though, which puts me off Nvidia cards else I would just get a 1080.

[Oobie-]

Nvidia and AMD are both saying they next gen consumer video cards are a long way off. Which is probably why Vega 56 cards seem to be selling out again just as I was hoping to get one, sigh.

Ohh - which Vega56 card would you be looking to purchase?

[khoetn22]

Ohh - which Vega56 card would you be looking to purchase?

xin chúc một ngày mới vui vẻ và thành công ....................................................!!!!!

[DanceswithUnix]

Ohh - which Vega56 card would you be looking to purchase?

Not sure, the prices are fluctuating quite a bit atm. There were some available at £450, but I have a car in the garage and I don't know how bad the bill is going to be for that and whilst waiting the prices have gone up again. Cheapest prices seem to be consistently at Overclockers though.

I suppose the main contender would be the Powercolor Red Devil https://www.overclockers.co.uk/power...gx-191-pc.html
The Pulse is cheaper, but I think that is supposed to have quite cut down power delivery which seems iffy for card longevity.

Edit: They actually seem to be running out of cards, so I guess that is why the prices are going up. Not sure I can blame miners this time, probably just pent up demand with people like me playing a game of nerves dutch auction against other people wanting to buy at a decent price. Interestingly the Vega 56 cards have gone from £450 to £500, making a Gigabyte Vega 64 at £549 look more attractive.

[cheesemp]

Its this AOC one:

https://m.hexus.net/tech/reviews/mon...-aoc-q3279vwf/

Even with a GTX1080 I fInd its still difficult to hit 60fps in all games at qHD.

Yes that's the one. What games are you playing CAT? I'm running just cause at ~75FPS with only the odd drop to 60+. I have turned AA off but everything else is at max. I'm sure I could have dropped something else to get some AA but to be honest it looks great at QHD anyway. Its definitely the advantage of freesync as it doesn't matter if you don't quite hit enough frames for vsync. The other thing I've done it enable chill on the 480 as I figure it means when its hitting the 75FPS vsync limit easily the card can cool off so it can boost more when its harder. I'm also planning to undervolt as the 480's can apparently run a lot cooler if you do this with out loosing clock speed (= more boost).

Regarding black light bleed I went with the AOC as it is MVA which is supposed to be a good compromise between TN and IPS. I had been planning on an IPS but the bleed put me off too. The AOC looks fantastic for £180 (I got a supposedly scratched open box at amazon - I've not found a mark and no dead LEDs)!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Yes that's the one. What games are you playing CAT? I'm running just cause at ~75FPS with only the odd drop to 60+. I have turned AA off but everything else is at max. I'm sure I could have dropped something else to get some AA but to be honest it looks great at QHD anyway. Its definitely the advantage of freesync as it doesn't matter if you don't quite hit enough frames for vsync. The other thing I've done it enable chill on the 480 as I figure it means when its hitting the 75FPS vsync limit easily the card can cool off so it can boost more when its harder. I'm also planning to undervolt as the 480's can apparently run a lot cooler if you do this with out loosing clock speed (= more boost).

Regarding black light bleed I went with the AOC as it is MVA which is supposed to be a good compromise between TN and IPS. I had been planning on an IPS but the bleed put me off too. The AOC looks fantastic for £180 (I got a supposedly scratched open box at amazon - I've not found a mark and no dead LEDs)!

ARK:Survival Evolved,modded FO4 with an ENB and Planetside 2 with some shadow settings enabled. Having said that CPU bottlenecks might also be happening.

[Xlucine]

Not sure, the prices are fluctuating quite a bit atm. There were some available at £450, but I have a car in the garage and I don't know how bad the bill is going to be for that and whilst waiting the prices have gone up again. Cheapest prices seem to be consistently at Overclockers though.

I suppose the main contender would be the Powercolor Red Devil https://www.overclockers.co.uk/power...gx-191-pc.html
The Pulse is cheaper, but I think that is supposed to have quite cut down power delivery which seems iffy for card longevity.

Edit: They actually seem to be running out of cards, so I guess that is why the prices are going up. Not sure I can blame miners this time, probably just pent up demand with people like me playing a game of nerves dutch auction against other people wanting to buy at a decent price. Interestingly the Vega 56 cards have gone from £450 to £500, making a Gigabyte Vega 64 at £549 look more attractive.

Scan have the V64 sapphire nitro+ for £540:
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-...-graphics-card

[DanceswithUnix]

Scan have the V64 sapphire nitro+ for £540:
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-...-graphics-card

That's the kind of thing!

Sadly I have £70 of Amazon vouchers (still, for those who read my coffee machine thread a while back) so I have to wait for my car to come back from the garage to know my budget and then wait for Amazon to price match someone good

Still, lack of new toy should mean I get more work done, eh?

[cheesemp]

ARK:Survival Evolved,modded FO4 with an ENB and Planetside 2 with some shadow settings enabled. Having said that CPU bottlenecks might also be happening.

I've only really tried JC3. I do have FO4 and Planetside 2 is free so I can try them some point this week if you like? Saying that I only have an OC'd i5 3570k!

That's the kind of thing!

Sadly I have £70 of Amazon vouchers (still, for those who read my coffee machine thread a while back) so I have to wait for my car to come back from the garage to know my budget and then wait for Amazon to price match someone good

Still, lack of new toy should mean I get more work done, eh?

I find the exact opposite. I spend hours researching, then checking for delivery every half hour... Currently waiting on a new case to be delivered for click and collect. It should have arrived today. Quite distracting checking so often! Once that arrives I'm spent out on birthday money and it'll be Christmas before I get distracted again!