Upgrading display

So after 8 years I have decided up upgrade my video and audio hardware, I have already got my audio sorted out but now I want to tackle the video (monitor).

I currently have an HP LP2475w 24" display and want to upgrade to a 27" monitor. I mainly play gw2 for games but I also like to watch a lot of films too using blu ray movies. I was looking at the ultra sharp well 27" Tn panel but it's a bit pricey this. Any thoughts? Are IPS panels better?

IPS are WAY better in most cases for image quality, but are very rare for gaming due to higher GTG times etc, there are a few IPS gaming setups, however they are very pricey.

What resolutions are you looking for? What GPU do you have? Do you want or need other features such as G-Sync?

Gpu is an Nvidia GTX 660, but this can be upgraded too. I am reading up and it does seem tn penal would be better for gaming, down side is that they are not as good as IPS for color.

Currently running 1920x1080.

From what I can tell IPS gives a generally better contrast and black levels but generally have worse response times than TN. If you game more than watch film go with a TN as the faster response times will cut down on the ghosting which becomes incredibly annoying in fast paced games. If you find yourself watching movies more then IPS might be an idea and most I can find are about 5ms response, sure it’s 5 times higher than most TN but how much of a difference is up to you.

I have an ASUS VG278H monitor and I’ve been very happy with it for several years now and while the blacks haven’t been as dark as something like my iPad or Samsung phones for watching movies my monitor does great. Only time I might think about replacing it is when we get 27” OLEDs at a reasonable price which is a long time from now.

Also what sound option did you go for btw?

@apharma.3741cambridge audio minx22 speakers and a minx x301 sub, running them with a yamaha receiver. i have heard that TN panals are superior for gaming and that the colors can be tweaked in monitor settings.

@Fat Disgrace.4275 said:Gpu is an Nvidia GTX 660, but this can be upgraded too. I am reading up and it does seem tn penal would be better for gaming, down side is that they are not as good as IPS for color.

Currently running 1920x1080.

Keep in mind your current monitor is a IPS, so if you don't notice the response times now, it will probably not be a factor for you. A quality TN panel will do great with colors, but might not be up to par for someone doing photoshop and video editing on a pro level, but will be fine for gaming and video watching.

@Fat Disgrace.4275 said:cambridge audio minx22 speakers and a minx x301 sub, running them with a yamaha receiver. i have heard that TN panals are superior for gaming and that the colors can be tweaked in monitor settings.

I’ve heard good things about Yamaha receivers and the speakers seem really nice. I don’t like having the sub separate personally so I went for Wharfedale diamond 9.1. I have a Cambridge Audio amp though and it’s built sturdy so chances are the speakers will be great too.

If you don’t have an on board sound card I’d highly rate the offerings from Asus and the Xonar range btw.

If you’re only playing GW2 then 660 will do but more modern games you will need something a bit beefier, I have a 970 and it copes alright but I won’t be hitting max settings on the latest games if I choose to buy them and keep a stable playable frame rate so consider looking to upgrade that at some point. I’d say in terms of monitor it probably doesn’t matter too much for what you’re doing so pick one with a good review but you might want to think about a higher resolution than 1920 as it will offer some form of future proofing.

@apharma.3741 said:

@Fat Disgrace.4275 said:cambridge audio minx22 speakers and a minx x301 sub, running them with a yamaha receiver. i have heard that TN panals are superior for gaming and that the colors can be tweaked in monitor settings.

running my audio via gpu, receiver decodes the rest, i took my old sound card out and gave it away. the plan was to get something like a 1060 gtx or something like that.

@Fat Disgrace.4275 said:

@apharma.3741 said:

@Fat Disgrace.4275 said:cambridge audio minx22 speakers and a minx x301 sub, running them with a yamaha receiver. i have heard that TN panals are superior for gaming and that the colors can be tweaked in monitor settings.

Sounds good, pun not intended.

Ghosting is a thing of the past IMHO. I would certainly go for an IPS panel and enjoy superior color performance and viewing angles. Only when you really need more than 60FPS you could consider a high-refresh TN screen but you will pay with color quality. Not worth it imho.

And when you have some more money to spend: Consider getting that wonderful 34" 3440x1440 UltraWide screen. Believe me that you never want to go back after playing GW2 on such a screen.

Modern TNs in the higher range are considerably better than older TNs, but that said I recently choose a 27" Acer Predator 165hz IPS gsync monitor during the black friday sales. Still pricey but it was either that or the Asus with the same panel for $250 more or so - and with the same panel lottery. Going from a dell 2311h I didnt accept TN. My eyes bleed when I look at them. Pleased with the Acer though, no dead pixels, perfectly uniform with zero blb and to my eyes normal IPS glow (well actually somewhat less than the Dell). The panel lottery is really the biggest issue with all expensive monitors. Sometimes you just get a dud. They did a test where a company bought like 20 Asus screens (which is "the best of the best") and like 5 of them had acceptable panels. Just 5. That's abyssmal.

Anyway, the TL;DR of panel types:TN - faster and cheaper, but with washed out and dull colors if you've ever seen a IPS or VA. Biggest issue is often vertical color shifting which I despise.IPS - somewhat slower than TN and more expensive, with much better colors. Biggest issue is IPS glow but personally I consider it an "acceptable loss". It is really only noticed in situations with very dark scenes, such as movies with black borders.VA - has by far the best colors and contrast of the three but has some critical flaws in the lower end, such as black crush. I'd had an Eizo 120hz (well 240hz) "gaming monitor" and it was completely unusable. It was like looking through a fisheye lens in dark scenes and it was even noticable in normal gaming. Maybe I got a dud, maybe newer screens are better.

thanks for feed back. i mainly do wvw when i play gw2. but am thinking about getting an ips display.

you mean this 1?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/acer-predator-xb271hu-27-2560x1440-ips-g-sync-165hz-gaming-widescreen-led-monitor-black-red-mo-098-ac.html

@"Fat Disgrace.4275" said:thanks for feed back. i mainly do wvw when i play gw2. but am thinking about getting an ips display.

you mean this 1?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/acer-predator-xb271hu-27-2560x1440-ips-g-sync-165hz-gaming-widescreen-led-monitor-black-red-mo-098-ac.htmlThat's what I got yes. I see that it cost £730 there, the reason I took the plunge on the panel lottery was because it cost the eqvivalent of £530 during the black friday week :)(well it's somewhat cheaper here to begin with, maybe £100 cheaper)

@Dawdler.8521 said:

@"Fat Disgrace.4275" said:thanks for feed back. i mainly do wvw when i play gw2. but am thinking about getting an ips display.

you mean this 1?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/acer-predator-xb271hu-27-2560x1440-ips-g-sync-165hz-gaming-widescreen-led-monitor-black-red-mo-098-ac.html

That's what I got yes. I see that it cost £730 there, the reason I took the plunge on the panel lottery was because it cost the eqvivalent of £530 during the black friday week :)(well it's somewhat cheaper here to begin with, maybe £100 cheaper)

kk, after a lot of reserch i just bought theres. (i got a 10% discount)

Acer Predator XB271HU 27" 2560x1440 IPS G-Sync 165Hz Gaming Widescreen LED Monitor - Black/RedMSI GeForce GTX 1060 GT OC Dual Fan 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

hopeing i made the right choice on the card, I only got it because i feel my old card won;t power the 2k resolution.

@Fat Disgrace.4275 said:

@Dawdler.8521 said:

@Fat Disgrace.4275 said:thanks for feed back. i mainly do wvw when i play gw2. but am thinking about getting an ips display.

you mean this 1?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/acer-predator-xb271hu-27-2560x1440-ips-g-sync-165hz-gaming-widescreen-led-monitor-black-red-mo-098-ac.html

That's what I got yes. I see that it cost £730 there, the reason I took the plunge on the panel lottery was because it cost the eqvivalent of £530 during the black friday week :)(well it's somewhat cheaper here to begin with, maybe £100 cheaper)