Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Monitor and Graphics Card suggestions

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    106
    Thanks
    8
    Thanked
    4 times in 4 posts
    • siu99spj's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus NForce 750 SLi
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core 2 Q6600
      • Memory:
      • 8GB
      • Storage:
      • 2 x 750 GB, 2 x 1 TB (ext), 2 x 500 GB (ext), 2 x 250 GB (ext)
      • Graphics card(s):
      • AMD 6870
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic 600W
      • Case:
      • Antec Solo
      • Operating System:
      • Win 7 64-bit, Ubuntu 11.10, Mac OSX, Win XP
      • Monitor(s):
      • HP 2407W
      • Internet:
      • 24Mb ADSL 2+

    Monitor and Graphics Card suggestions

    Finally getting round to upgrading my ancient rig (A quad-core Q6600 ) Probably won't happen until Q3 2019, but already started day-dreaming!

    But I need some help from you wonderful people . I got most of the rest of my kit figured out (I have some weird requirements, but nothing which affects this part), but just can't get settled on the monitor and graphics cards. GTX, RTX, some-other-bizarre-acronym-X? I just don't know. Want as future-proof as possible (Who doesn't?) but a little uncertain on what the general feeling of nVidia's tech is like (Personally, not a fan of their proprietary approach to things, much prefer AMDs open-tech). It's good (If bloody expensive), but is it any use? Physx fizzled out pretty rapidly, will this be the same? Is Intel doing the same. I (We?) just don't know.

    For the monitor, I really want to get into editing my photos, so colour accuracy is a must. I'm thinking 4K might also be good for that but I don't have much space, a slim 27" is probably going to be as big as I can get without my wife handing me an eviction notice! (I currently have a 24" but the bezels on it are enormous!) Speakers in the monitor would be a plus, but I'm not expecting anything audiophile grade. Just the generic dings and pops from the OS, maybe the odd video clip. I got some nice headphones for better listening. Is 4K suitable? Would a 1440p be 'better'?

    As for the graphics card, well it has to drive the monitor obviously. I'm not the worlds biggest gamer. I like driving games and FPSes, more in the style of Portal/Half Life (Any suggestions for new games, seems a bit desolate in the single player space) so it will need to push the games at a fair clip. Not a big fan of twitchy/multiplayer shooters ala Fortnite, Destiny, Halo, etc. Generally like to play and explore on my lonesome, in my own time. Not getting yelled at by some Lucozade scozzled teenager!

    So, hopefully very do-able. Price has an absolute limit of £700.

    PS: I'm not the most active user of forums (Lonesome player remember?) but I will pay attention to what you guys suggest, even though I might not say much.
    If the Earth is a sphere how do you travel to the ends of it?

  2. #2
    Evil Monkey! MrJim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    London
    Posts
    2,116
    Thanks
    192
    Thanked
    379 times in 294 posts
    • MrJim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Supermicro C9Z390-PGW
      • CPU:
      • Intel 8700K
      • Memory:
      • 32Gb G.skill DDR4 @ 3200Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB NVMe, Samsung 850 Evo 1TB SATA, Toshiba 3TB SATA HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI RTX 2080
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic Prime Ultra Gold 750W
      • Case:
      • Jonsbo UMX4 Black
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Viewsonic 27" XG2703-GS
      • Internet:
      • 72mb/s fibre

    Re: Monitor and Graphics Card suggestions

    If you're interested in a monitor primarily for photo editing, an IPS panel is probably your best bet. True 'professional' colour-accurate monitors tend to be extremely expensive, but there are some cheaper options out there. As far as 4K is concerned, I'm not sure that using such a resolution on a 27" monitor is really ideal, due to the issues of scaling. I've not got a 4K monitor myself, and although Windows 10 has gotten a bit better with its scaling options, I think there are some programs that don't behave well where scaling is concerned.

    I found this monitor on Amazon that might suit your needs, it's 4K and IPS, and offers Freesync too, which can now be used by Nvidia graphics cards too...

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-27UK650-...ag=amazondn-21

    As for graphics cards, it's fair to say that any GPU in your price range is going to struggle to run games at 4K resolution and at higher frame rates. Depending on the graphical fidelity you desire, your options would be to lower the graphics settings in game, or run the game at a lower resolution. Some games can be set to render the game at a lower resolution, but then 'upscale' the output to 4K, which is one solution. It all depends on the games you play, and the image quality and frame-rates you're happy with.

    In terms of your budget, this graphics card might be the best compromise between cost and performance:

    https://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-...-1830mhz-boost
    Last edited by MrJim; 14-03-2019 at 12:32 PM.

  3. Received thanks from:

    siu99spj (18-03-2019)

  4. #3
    Evil Monkey! MrJim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    London
    Posts
    2,116
    Thanks
    192
    Thanked
    379 times in 294 posts
    • MrJim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Supermicro C9Z390-PGW
      • CPU:
      • Intel 8700K
      • Memory:
      • 32Gb G.skill DDR4 @ 3200Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB NVMe, Samsung 850 Evo 1TB SATA, Toshiba 3TB SATA HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI RTX 2080
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic Prime Ultra Gold 750W
      • Case:
      • Jonsbo UMX4 Black
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Viewsonic 27" XG2703-GS
      • Internet:
      • 72mb/s fibre

    Re: Monitor and Graphics Card suggestions

    I forgot to mention that the above LG monitor doesn't have internal speakers. However, every monitor I've ever owned that's had internal speakers has just had horrible audio quality. Pretty much any external speaker system will be a big improvement.

    I also found a review of the monitor which gave link to a calibrated ICC profile, which might be useful if you don't have access to a colorimiter to do your own calibration:

    http://i.rtings.com/images/reviews/m...cc-profile.icm
    Last edited by MrJim; 14-03-2019 at 12:37 PM.

  5. Received thanks from:

    siu99spj (18-03-2019)

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •