27-32 inch Monitor upgrade advice - to buy or not to buy

[merlin3001]

Hi all,

Just interested in hearing some experiences. My current monitor is Dell u2713hm. It was pretty good back in the day and still working well. But its probably overdue time for an upgrade.

The dell is a 2560 x 1440 IPS screen. It's from a time before screens were all about refresh rates but it's safe to say it tops out around 60-75 Hz.

I'm running a 3070 gfx card, so feel 2560 x 1440 is my sweet spot resolution-wise, so staying away from 4k screens for now. My concern is I'm not sure upgrading to a 32" screen makes sense - worried that images may be a little less clear with the lower pixel density to screen size (I sit about 90cm away from my screen).

And since I mainly play RPGs, I'm not convinced a higher refresh rate is really worth it if I stay at 27" size.

Anyone whose upgrade from 27 to 32 QHD got any views? Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thank-you.

 

[CarboVan]

You partially answered your own question
Higher refresh rate at 1440p @ 27" might not benefit you that much, although your current 8ms response time must be brutal on smearing?
So on response time alone I'd say you will get decent visual improvement even at 60hz.

I went from the trusty Samsung 27 950d (1080p 120hz) to the first gen LG 34" 2560x1080 144hz IPS ultrawide.
The immersion and colors (tn vs ips) were amazeballs. But playing mostly fps games I simply could not deal with the smearing, so I side-traded to the Mecer 32" 1440p 144hz, which was a bit better... Then the itch struck again and I went back down to the Dell 27" 144hz 1440p 1ms TN for it's buttery smoothness. 1440p is the clarity sweetspot for 27", as you said.

Personally I'd look at some 4k benches for your most played games, and consider going 34" UW QHD.
Then you get an upgrade in size, response, refresh rate, (potentially get gsync/freesync), and you don't get a drop in clarity.

 

[iamgigglz]

I moved from 1080p 24" to 1080p 27" and nearly threw up on the spot. Immediately moved to 1440p. Pretty sure 1440p at 32" would be a similar story.
I'm not saying 1440p at 32" is objectively bad; it's just that once you're used to a certain pixel density it's really difficult to accept anything lower (all other variables like distance from screen being equal).

You're right about RTX3070 vs 4K. I went down that dark path (albeit 144hz) and my 3080 hates me for it.

If you need to replace your screen and you're not planning on a GPU upgrade any time soon then I'd go 34" 144Hz Ultrawide 1440p. Not as demanding as 4K but still a nice upgrade, and while you won't "benefit" from the high refresh, I promise you'll love it

 

[pikolec]

1440p on a 27" panel is around 108ppi (pixels per inch) which for me, is the sweet spot. When I wanted a 2nd monitor, I ended up with 22" @ 1080 to get to a similar PPI number (not the usual 24" @ 1080). Don't forget to include the viewing distance in your calculations and factor in your desk size. Although I love my 27" it does occupy a LOT of real estate on my desk.

24" @ 1080 = 91ppi
27"@ 1080 = 81 ppi and you will definitely notice the difference
32" @ 1440 = 91pp

The wide-screen experience is a little different, but for work I prefer 2 screens. For leisure, a single widescreen would be best. Good luck, share the results of your decision and the experience!

 

[ThatGuyJD]

Hi all,

Just interested in hearing some experiences. My current monitor is Dell u2713hm. It was pretty good back in the day and still working well. But its probably overdue time for an upgrade.

The dell is a 2560 x 1440 IPS screen. It's from a time before screens were all about refresh rates but it's safe to say it tops out around 60-75 Hz.

I'm running a 3070 gfx card, so feel 2560 x 1440 is my sweet spot resolution-wise, so staying away from 4k screens for now. My concern is I'm not sure upgrading to a 32" screen makes sense - worried that images may be a little less clear with the lower pixel density to screen size (I sit about 90cm away from my screen).

And since I mainly play RPGs, I'm not convinced a higher refresh rate is really worth it if I stay at 27" size.

Anyone whose upgrade from 27 to 32 QHD got any views? Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thank-you.

Bear in mind that the pannels on those dell Ultrawides are amazing and you're going to struggle to match up to it on the lower end.

 

[merlin3001]

Huge thanks to all for the advice and insights 🙏

After reading the comments and further research, definitely concur that a 34" UW screen will be the way to go. Problem is looking at the offerings around 10-12k and I just get the feeling that what I get on the one hand, I will lose a little on the other with issues like black smearing. As mentioned by ThatGuyJD - my existing screen has a very good panel and I don't want to take 3 steps forward but 2 steps back.

The new screens based on the Samsung QD-OLED panels like the Alienware AW3223DW or DWF looks like it might be a possible option. But it's a lot of money to spend and reading between the line and feels like might be a year too soon. I don't mind being an early adopter but don't want to be a beta tester...🙂

 

[iamgigglz]

Just for an extra 2c; I had the Dell S3422DWG (currently R9k) which has a VA panel. 1 or 2 reviews claimed black smearing was an issue but I didn’t notice it at all. Genuinely one of the best monitors I’ve ever owned.