Monitor Sizing help

[danos_2503]

Hi Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on monitors i am looking to upgrade as i would like a bigger view. My current screen is a 27inch ASUS VG27A 2560x1440

I am looking at the following,

4K screens 3840x2160

Acer Predator 43inch CG437K

Aoc G4309VX/D

 

38" ultrawide 3840x1600

LG 38GN950-B

Acer Predator X38S

 

34" ultrawide 3440x1440

Heaps of options

My computer specs are RTX3080 Intel I9-10850K 32GB ram all M2 solid state hard drives

I do like the option of 38" ultrawide, but there isnt much to choose from doesnt seem like a common size and the ones listed above are $2199Aud the 4K screens are about $1600 for the Acer and $1100 for AOC, the 34Inch are quite cheap. 

Just wondering is the 4K height to much? and is the 34" to narrow? Any help would be appreciated. 

 

[LucShep]

Getting a PC monitor is really a matter of preference, use case scenario, system and budget. So take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Personally, I tried plenty ultrawide 21:9 monitors (QHD+), curved and non curved, and find it really is an acquired taste - you either love it or hate it.
After the novelty initial moments impressed with "oh you can really see more to the sides when in cockpit!", it ends up feeling like the top of the screen has been chopped off.
The vertical depth is completely lost (IMO) and with flight-sims (DCS and others) it does not work as good as 16:9 - these for me are still the perfect format.

The upside of 3840x1600 is that, not having as many vertical pixels as 3840x2160, your graphics-card will need less work to display with same settings. 
And that is (IMHO) the only downside in a 3840x2160 (4K) screen - it can push the graphics-card quite a lot.

Coming from your 2560x1440 27'' monitor, you'll have your jaw dropped once looking at a big 43''(+) 4K 3840x2160 screen, that's for sure. It may even feel a little "too much" in the first days (maybe distance yourself a bit more from the screen) but you'll get used to it and, trust me, afterwards nothing smaller will ever get the same appreciation.  
All of a sudden the cockpits and everything else in the sim/game look nearly "real life size", it's amazing (at least it is, in my experience).  

You got a pretty good system, so I don't envision it having any problem with performance in 3840x2160 (4K) at this moment, but as you know DCS is always increasing details and getting heavier, so be well aware of it in the future.
All of those monitors you list are very good, so I think it's just a matter of your preference and budget, really.

I'm currently biased towards a good QLED or OLED 4K TV, also great options at the moment if you want a big screen (42'' and over) for gaming/simming, some at lower prices than 43'' 4K PC monitors. Maybe also check those from LG, Samsung, TCL, Hisense and also Toshiba, if interested in that route.
 

Edited December 23, 2022 by LucShep

[danos_2503]

@LucShep thank you for all that information and advice I did have a look at the ultra wide 34inch today and they do really look chopped even with no picture. So I am steering towards a 4K monitor and I did think about the tv option, but what is the advantages of getting a 4K monitor over a 4K tv or if there is any benefit? 

[EightyDuce]

If I had to do it again and not going VR, I would be aiming for an LG OLED C2 (42"). I have a 32" 1440 for when I'm in pancake mode and it feels tiny after seeing by buddy's 42" C2. I have a 77 C1 in the living room and would not hesitate to buy another LG OLED for gaming. My 32" is on a single full articulated arm and allows me to move it closer to me when I sit back further in DCS due to controls (Hotas/stick). 

 

But LucShep is right. It's going to depend on your preference and setup. For example how far away you sit from the screen. If I sat at my normal gaming desk range, 42" is very uncomfortable because your eyes have to dart all over the screen as it is too large. But, when playing DCS, the seat + controls move your sitting position back by about a foot and half and 42 is perfect and fills your FOV. Best advice I can give you is, don't just go by what someone recommends in a review or a YouTube video (they are good for factual specs and performance etc.); try to view the screen in person. If you can try different screens in your particular setup, that's thr best case scenario. Bigger isn't always better. 

 

Hardware Unboxed lads have a sub channel that does monitor reviews, might be something to look at as far as what's out there; what's good and what is overhyped marketing trash. 

[LucShep]

2 hours ago, danos_2503 said:

@LucShep thank you for all that information and advice I did have a look at the ultra wide 34inch today and they do really look chopped even with no picture. So I am steering towards a 4K monitor and I did think about the tv option, but what is the advantages of getting a 4K monitor over a 4K tv or if there is any benefit? 

In my experience, image will be great on both if it's a good monitor and a good TV that is compared. The advantages are not many in a PC monitor, but there are some:

One is the use of DisplayPort instead of HDMI. For example, it's usefull in some specific situations, like using an Nvidia GPU with FreeSync if that's what the monitor features (can not do it through HDMI).

The others are lower response times and input lag, higher refresh-rates, and better motion handling, though this has been no longer an issue with mid to high range models of 4K TVs (those of such reknowned brands, notice), thanks to console gaming lately (Playstation and Xbox) forcing a big raise in the gaming standards for them.

Especially the latest OLED TVs from LG (the C1 and C2) are pretty much perfect in everything (image, response, latency, refresh, whatever), they're trully amazing.
The only downside of the OLED TVs is image burning with prolonged use of static images (for example, overlays and huds in games, etc) causing issues in the long term and, of course, the high price. 
And here is where QLED gets in, it's plenty good, more affordable and there are no burning issues for long-term usage, in whatever usage scenarios. Problem is, a good 120Hz QLED TV may be too close in price to one of those two 43'' PC monitors you list (and both are good).

I look at it in the two extreme opposite ways...
If you want to spend the least, and if you're ok with being limited to 60Hz, the TCL 6 series C635 (or R635) 43" 4K QLED TV is a great "budget" option to use as a big PC monitor.
But, that said, if you can afford any of those two monitors you mentioned (ACER Predator CG437K or AOC G4309VX/D) then certainly go for either 43'' PC monitor. 

Edited December 23, 2022 by LucShep

[MadKreator]

I use a 49” Samsung crg9 ultrawide. I love it, I don’t see myself ever using something different. It scales just like a regular monitor, just gives you more view on the sides, although some seem to think you’re losing vertical view. Might feel like it at first,  but not really. Guess it depend a lot on the FOV you prefer in game. If you like the view wider and from farther back in the cockpit, sure a large 16:9 tv will seemingly give you more view, or let you move your fov wider and still be able to see things in the cockpit better. Now, me, since I use helios/ and or external mfd’s and a ufc app, I like my fov much closer to the hud. On a standard 16:9 screen it will just fill it up like a regular monitor, but a widescreen will add some extra peripheral to the same view. Its really a tough choice.. I will say that I’m not much of an A/A combat kinda guy, having a zoomed out fov on a large screen would definitely help, i think, when trying to look around all over the place. Being more of a ground pounder, i spend much more time looking out of the sides of the aircraft so the widescreen definitely help not having to turn your head as much with trackIR.  I have view zoom on a hat switch on my throttle to constantly get the fov I want at the time too.. in my experience, unless you are going for a large screen such as a tv, there’s no need to go with 4K. 1440p on things like a 27” or like mine, that is literally the size of two 27” side by side, 1440p is more than sufficient for crips clear graphics.. again, personal preference. Couple examples of my setup…  

Edited December 23, 2022 by MadKreator

[LucShep]

3 hours ago, EightyDuce said:

Best advice I can give you is, don't just go by what someone recommends in a review or a YouTube video (they are good for factual specs and performance etc.); try to view the screen in person. If you can try different screens in your particular setup, that's thr best case scenario. Bigger isn't always better. 

Yep, this! ^^

Even better if you can test before commiting to it.
I'm the living proof of it - I've "downgraded" from a beautifull 55'' curved Samsung NU8500 to a flat 43'' Toshiba 43'' QLED, exactly because (unfortunately) it was simply too big for desktop use (was awesome for simpit though).
42'' to 48'' is where the min to max limit is for me but, well, of course each has his/her own preferences.  
 

Edited December 23, 2022 by LucShep

[danos_2503]

Thanks all. I think you’re all right just comes down to your preference. Thru searching some people hate the ultra wide and some love it same with the 16:9 big screens. I do find the picture from @MadKreator with the F16 looks awesome, but I think that is also down to the open style cockpit of the F16. I mainly fly the FA18 and I do find the FOV is too close even on my 27inch, but I do have the zoom setup on my hotas to adjust. Currently not using track IR just using smooth track and my phone I know it isn’t the best, but it works and will be looking at track IR next upgrade. Bit hard for me to try before you buy as my friends who are into gaming none are in to flight sims, but after Xmas I will go shopping and hopefully be able to have a look in store and make a decision! Either way I am sure it will be an upgrade over the 27inch. 

[MadKreator]

8 hours ago, danos_2503 said:

Thanks all. I think you’re all right just comes down to your preference. Thru searching some people hate the ultra wide and some love it same with the 16:9 big screens. I do find the picture from @MadKreator with the F16 looks awesome, but I think that is also down to the open style cockpit of the F16. I mainly fly the FA18 and I do find the FOV is too close even on my 27inch, but I do have the zoom setup on my hotas to adjust. Currently not using track IR just using smooth track and my phone I know it isn’t the best, but it works and will be looking at track IR next upgrade. Bit hard for me to try before you buy as my friends who are into gaming none are in to flight sims, but after Xmas I will go shopping and hopefully be able to have a look in store and make a decision! Either way I am sure it will be an upgrade over the 27inch. 

I started with a standard 16:9, went to a 3440x1440 21:9 then took a leap of faith going to the 32:9.. I will say it definitely took some getting used to. In dcs it felt more natural, but in general computer work and other games, like battlefield, cod etc it’s definitely a change. Now its hard fort me to even play on the xbox on a regular tv, i feel like I’m looking down a tunnel lol

Just for fun I will fire up the f-18 set the fov to where I would most likely play if I didn’t have exported displays and get a screen shot, just to show you how it may look. The f-16 can be deceiving because of the open design. In normal play I don’t necessarily zoom in quite as far as the screenshot of the a-10 I posted. 

I started with smooth track/opentrack as well. Nothing beats trackIR but smooth track is for sure better than nothing at all. I used it for a long time. I actually bought my track IR used off of eBay and its worked flawlessly for years now.

Some food for thought though, widescreen does introduce a couple quirks, like the HUD’s don’t scale quite right so the lines and text are all fat and fuzzy (some mfd’s too). I went through and modified the lua files for the line thicknesses to get them nice and small and crisp. If you end up going wide and need some tips or where to go to modify them feel free to reach out. The f-18 isn’t too bad, but the f-16 looks quite out of place and the harrier is basically un-useable without modifying the files lol

Edited December 24, 2022 by MadKreator

[danos_2503]

Well I ended up going out to the sales today with full intentions of getting the AOC or Acer, but when I got there I was not happy with the picture of these monitors. They had next to them a 48inch lg ultra gear OLED model 48GQ900 and the picture was amazing so I ended up spending more then I thought, but got a good deal. Anyway just set it up and DCS on max settings I am still getting min of around 70fps and max of just over 100fps and the picture and colour is amazing straight out of the box without any tweaking. Being a oled it is super thin so was able to push it right back against the back of my desk and I am about 4foot maybe a little more and it feels fine, it also has a ultra wide mode which is 3840x1600, but you get the black bars top and bottom. So far pretty amazed, but still getting used to it. 

[BuzzU]

Keep an eye on vid card heat when running at unlocked fps. If I don't lock my fps my card runs at 100% and too hot for my comfort.

[TheBiggerBass]

vor 17 Stunden schrieb sinoba:

It depends on your use case. The 4K 43" screens like the Acer Predator CG437K offer great sharpness but might be too large for general use, especially if you’re sitting close to the monitor. The 38” ultrawides are fantastic for multitasking and gaming, providing a wide field of view without being too overwhelming. However, they are more expensive and less common. The 34” ultrawides are a solid middle ground—affordable, with a nice widescreen, but they might feel a bit narrow compared to the 38”. If you prefer more horizontal space, the 38” ultrawide would be your best bet.

I guess, he's already found a monitor after >2years...