1080p vs 1440p vs 4K Gaming Monitors - My Experience

all right so i've been lucky enough to test out some of the fastest gaming monitors that you can currently buy the 360hz pg259qn from asus the 240hz fi 27qx from aurus and the 160 hertz 27 gn 950 from lg one of the most important details between them though is the resolution 1080p 1440p and 4k respectively and i think that's where the purchasing decision for the consumer becomes really difficult you're essentially playing this balancing act where the higher resolution panel you go with the lower refresh rate you have to compromise with now i've tested and played extensively on all three of these gaming monitors and the different resolutions and refresh rates that they have to offer and today i want to convey my experiences and thoughts on which one i think you guys should go with and the factors that you need to consider [Music] let's start with some good news first and that's that despite all three of these monitors offering the highest refresh rate at their given resolution they will actually use ips panels so that's kind of my first bit of advice if you're buying a tn panel in 2021 you're simply doing it wrong the only exception here in my opinion would be benq's lineup of tn displays with dayak technology but that's only if you consider yourself an esports gamer and you're okay with the significantly worse looking panel compared to ips don't get me wrong ips panels are still a little bit slower compared to tn when it comes to response times with a bit more smearing but trust me when i say that the trade-off for much better collars is absolutely worth it i'd also argue that a more vibrant and punchier image are just as important in competitive titles helping you see targets a lot faster and clearer now before we take a look at 1440p and 4k let's first discuss 1080p and whether this is still a relevant resolution to be considering in 2021 and the answer is absolutely in fact most of you guys watching this are probably watching on a 1080p display based off of the recent steam hardware survey and i think the biggest reason to still consider a 1080p display in 2021 is if you just don't have the gpu power to run higher resolutions maybe you're still running an older gpu and you just don't want to upgrade which there's nothing wrong with at all not everyone needs to be spending thousands of dollars on a gaming pc today you can get a really solid 1080p gaming experience on more affordable hardware not to mention prices for fast 1080p gaming monitors with accurate ips panels have also become a lot more affordable and sure for story based titles you won't be getting the best experience possible compared to 1440p and 4k but you can still totally get an involving and enjoyable experience on a 1080p monitor and cheaper hardware now funnily enough the other group of users who should still be considering a 1080p display in 2021 is the complete opposite end of the spectrum and it's the esports enthusiast there's no way to cut it if you want the least amount of input latency possible and the highest frame rates possible 1080p is absolutely the way to go now that's not only because the highest refresh rates happen to be on 1080p gaming monitors but it's also because you'll achieve a higher sustained frame rate as well compared to something like 1440p speaking of 1440p though before i tested the aorus fi 27qx i would have never recommended that esports gamers pick up a 1440p display but the fact that this can run up to 240 hertz has fast response times and we actually have the gpu power to run those specs now in relevant games that has changed my mind completely and it's only after giving higher resolution panels like this and the 27 gn 950 an honest chance that i've realized the competitive benefit that high resolution displays can have especially if you're playing games that involve fighting at longer ranges that higher image detail does help now even if you're not interested in running 1440p 240hz like the fi 27qx gpus like the rtx 3060 ti are totally capable at this resolution and would make a solid pair for a 1440p 144hz or even 160hz monitor even with the rtx 3060 coming out later this month i'd expect that too to be a great fit for 1440p it's only natural that his gpus become more powerful at these more affordable price points that we move to higher resolution displays 1440p would also be a great pair if you have a high-end 20 series card such as an rtx 2080 or higher and also for those still hanging onto their gtx 1080 ti's so ultimately if you are building a new gaming pc in 2021 with these new mainstream gpus then a 1440p gaming monitor i think is going to be the best fit that is of course unless you fall into the other esports enthusiast group that i mentioned earlier then 1080p is probably still relevant for you and you might want to consider a 240hz or even 360hz option but now let's talk about 4k and after using lg's 27gn 950 for around five months or so i've got a bit more to add to my initial review firstly the bump up to a 160hz refresh rate can be done via a simple firmware update but it's not guaranteed for that reason it's probably safer if we just consider this a 144hz monitor out of the box lg will actually be releasing an updated true 160hz option very soon so you might want to hold out for that one instead but one question that some of you might have is whether 4k gaming is actually worth it on a 27 inch display in the first place like can you actually see all of that resolution and the answer is yes but it's getting close to what we define as a retina display where you can't visibly discern the individual pixels so while 1440p equates to around a 1.78 times increase in resolution over 1080p 4k represents a 2.25 times increase over 1440p from this alone you can understand just how much more demanding 4k gaming actually is think of it like this if you're gaming at 4k resolution at 60 frames per second your gpu is rendering 497 million pixels per second but that same pixel rate at 1440p you're able to render over twice the amount of frames per second now this is a really oversimplified explanation and there are a lot of factors that play into this like cpu load and video memory but you get the overall picture the point here is that i would hands down take the high frame rate 1440p experience here over 4k 60fps for pretty much any game any day of the week that stands true even for story based titles where the immersion and involvement is a lot better at higher frame rate giving you faster inputs and more lifelike animations you can get that at 4k as well but you really do need at least an rtx 3080 or higher before you can even think about running 4k at above 100 fps but if you do have that kind of cash to spare and you do have one of these new higher end gpus 4k gaming really can be something the level of detail the textures that just weren't there before the imperfections in the textures it's something that you just don't see at 1440p or 1080p whether that's something that you actually care about is up to you but it's definitely worth noting another thing that i'll add here that i didn't really mention in my initial review of the 27 gn 950 is that even if you can't hit your desired frame rate in some of the games that you're playing don't be afraid to simply turn down the rendering resolution of the game in fact that's exactly what i do when playing call of duty warzone and apex legends on this monitor as otherwise even with an rtx 3090 those games can't run at 4k 160 fps continuously for some me included this is the slight compromise that you'll have to make to still benefit from a 4k panel in other areas such as video and photo editing alright so with all that info out of the way which one should you go with well referencing the steam hardware survey that i mentioned earlier most of you watching this should probably go with a high refresh rate 1080p display one that i can recommend specifically is the msi mag251rx which i've done a review on previously it has an accurate beautiful and vibrant ips panel with a 240hz refresh rate without breaking the bank then if you're lucky enough to get your hands on a new mainstream gpu these can take full advantage of a 1440p display so that's kind of what i'd recommend there there are a few 1440p 240hz ips options out there so if you're into more first person shooters and esports titles definitely check those out but if you're trying to be a little bit more realistic with your budget and trying to save a bit more cash there are plenty of 144 hertz and 165hz 1440p options as well then there's the smallest group i think we should be considering 4k which for gaming specifically if you're interested in 4k gaming it's really for those who only get a kick out of all of that detail and grit and texture that you get from that kind of retina like 4k gaming experience and i can't stress this enough you absolutely need a high-end gpu 3080 and upwards ideally 4k is also the best option if you're choosing a physically larger display such as 32 inches or maybe the 48 inch oled from lg and of course if you do other work on your monitor such as video editing like myself so i really hope this video made your purchasing decision a little bit easier and if you're after some recommendations i will have some listed down below in the description as always a huge thanks for watching and i will see you all in the next one

Channel: Optimum Tech

Views: 1,024,547

Keywords: 1080p vs 1440p, 1440p vs 4k, is 1440p worth it, MAG251RX, PG259QN, 27GN950, 27GP950, FI27Q-X, best gaming monitor, resolution, gaming, pc gaming, optimum tech, rtx 3080, rx 6800 xt

Id: pZi2V5C40_w

Length: 8min 51sec (531 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 21 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/MrPayDay]

I really miss UWQHD alias 3440x1440 in these compairsons.

UWQHD is amazing for it's form factor and I actually decided against a 4K Monitor, because the ultra-wide immersion just feels better than the better native 4K res on a smaller screen.

And 4K is ~8 mio pixels vs 5 mio pixels of UWQHD so you get way better performance than 4K gaming but you need a bit more GPU punch than on 1440p obviously. But your frames won't get wrecked like they do in 4K.

And you have a "bigger screen, especially in games like Forza Horizon or Call of Duty it's such an advantage to see "more". Football manager 21 runs on a 2014 GPU but it's so much more fan to have all that stats and stuff on 21:9. World of Warcraft is glorious on ultra wide and so is Horizon Zero Dawn or The Division 2.

I played on 1440p the last years and finally the Ampere GPUs with RT and DLSS and their brutal rasterization power now allowed that transition without having to sacrifice the gfx settings.

I play everything on Ultra max, with a 3090 that is. But a 3080 will dance on 3440x1440 Ultra as well.

I really underestimated how much better the ultra wide experience enhanced my gaming immersion. It's a way bigger "stepup" in how the games "feel" than my full hd to 1440p transition was for me 7 years ago.

[u/Z3r0sama2017]

4k all the way. Since I play slow paced single player games and am a major graphics ho, the higher the resolution, the more I can appreciate all the effects.

[u/NoctD]

Was curious about the difference between resolutions on monitors and found this video review of different resolutions for gaming in 2021 - so happens it was posted earlier today! Having upgraded from 1080p to 1440p recently, I have to say I finally believe others that told me the higher resolution comes with some advantages beyond just eye candy.

Being a frame rate junkie, 1440p is as far as I'll go today but this review does open my mind up that there's still room for improvement with an even higher resolution. Will probably take like the 5000 series cards before the 4k frame rate will be attractive enough for me though.

[u/homer_3]

A little OT, but I don't get why some monitors have RGB on the back. I don't hate RGB, but you can't even see it on the back, so what's the point?

[u/WhyWhyBJ]

Picked up a 65” OLED and an RTX 3080, never going back to a monitor. The immersions factor is unreal

[u/YeOldGregg]

Had a 34inch 3440x1440 ultrawide and loved ut but wasn't keen on playing older games with letter box so I picked up a 43inch 4k predator and it gives the same immersive feeling you get from the ultra wide but your whole vision is filled.

Makes my 3080 cry at times though.