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Let’s talk about monitor formats.
What about ultrawide displays, how do they fit into the picture?
We’re going to answer some of the major questions we often hear in this article for 2022.
What sort of GPU performance hurdles are there to upgrading or choosing a higher resolution?
When to Buy a 1080p Monitor?
The first reason to go 1080p is simply that they are the most affordable monitors.
If you don’t have a lot of cash to spend, 1080p might be your only choice.
The other reason for buying 1080p is that you primarily play competitive esports games.
The majority of competitive gamers and even the pro-level tournaments of today use 1080p monitors.
The other reason for buying 1080p is that you primarily play competitive esports games.
The majority of competitive gamers and even the pro-level tournaments of today use 1080p monitors.
For gamers starting out with more competitive play, 1080p 240Hz displays are pretty affordable these days.
There are a few other minor considerations at play.
When to Buy a 1440p Monitor?
The main reason for this comes down to the pricing structure of today’s monitors.
For a 1080p display you’re looking at between $200 and $250.
But then going from 1440p to 4K doubles the price.
Normalizing for price, let’s say you want to spend $350 on a monitor.
1440p sits nicely in the middle and offers something for everyone.
But it’s not just the “bang for buck” factor that makes 1440p a good choice.
I’m yet to see a 1080p gaming display with 80% Rec.
2020 coverage, allowing for great performance in DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB color spaces.
We’ve also found that 1440p displays are more usable across a wider range of panel sizes.
That cements 1440p as the versatile choice in 2022 with an option for any key in of gamer.
1440p is the only format that offers a bit of both.
It will also increase VRAM utilization, putting more pressure on 4GB and 6GB cards in particular.
Similar with higher performance cards like theRX 6700 XT, which drops from ~160 FPS down to 115 FPS.
On the other hand, 1440p isn’t an ideal resolution for console gaming.
This is something to keep in mind if you want to do both PC and console gaming.
When to Buy a 4K Monitor?
These days, high quality 4K high refresh monitors are available for $650, which is quite reasonable.
4K gaming is for high-end buyers.
Typically you’re looking at spending at least double on a 4K monitor vs 1440p for similar specifications.
It’s also worth it if you have a high-end gaming GPU.
Of course, there’s a performance cost, and it’s higher than going from 1080p to 1440p.
Compared to 1080p, 4K sees a 60% performance drop or greater.
This is why we recommend 4K displays only for high-end gamers with GPUs like anRTX 3070or better.
An additional benefit about buying a 4K monitor is their level of versatility.
4K monitors are also the perfect choice for console gaming.
Features like backlight strobing may also be less refined than on lower resolution monitors.
The other important question is what alternatives are on the market at a similar price to 4K monitors?
So you’ll have to toss up what matters most to you.
Both options should be very future proof and provide years of usage, just optimized for different use cases.
When to Buy an Ultrawide Monitor?
It’s also just a very different format, and not everyone will appreciate the extra width.
But let’s say that you are interested in an ultrawide monitor.
What to get then?
An IPS alternative will set you back roughly $500, compared to $300 for a 16:9 configuration.
There are some limitations to be aware of though.
As for performance considerations, ultrawide formats require more horsepower than their 16:9 counterparts.
