1080p VS 1440p - Should I continue being patient?

[Clipbird]

So this isn't a topic I would normally create since no one on the internet can tell me what I would personally prefer, but I can't decide so here we go.

I finally built a new computer and coincidentally this is on sale. I've been dying to play since before it was even released, while taking in every detail I could from 1 and 2 during the wait. Now I'm on a computer that should be able to max out everything, but i'm still on my 1080p, 144hz, TN monitor. I wanted to upgrade to 1440p, 165hz, IPS (Asus PG279Q to be specific) but it's literally just rolling out and is currently only available from OverClockers UK (I'm in US and not sure if they do international) that I could find.

Basically I'm just trying to decide if I should keep waiting until I get the PG279Q to get the fullest possible experience out of the game (though by that logic I guess I could wait forever) or if the difference is negligible in reality and I should just get it now while it's on sale.

I guess this is really for people who have 1440p monitors or who have had experience gaming on them, will it make the game that much better and enjoyable for me?

[Clipbird]

Ok, ♥♥♥♥ it. This post sounds way too elitist and just reading it makes me cringe. The game is going to be amazing no matter what so I'm getting it now and I'll just replay it at least twice anyways.

Thanks for all the input! Definitely helped make up my mind

[BudduhSwagg]

You should play it on the monitor you have now and then when you get your new one you can be even more impressed because you see how much better it looks in 1440p than 1080p.

[Clipbird]

I like your thinking Turkeyboy.

[jss1138]

I started the game with a 560 Ti and put it on hold for a couple weeks until I could afford my new 960.

Big difference, definitely worth the small wait.

[Clipbird]

Well I waited from a 660 Ti and now I'm on a 980 Ti Zotac amp extreme so I already know I can handle everything on ultra, plus hairworks, in 1080p with 60 fps minimum, but since that's overkill the question is if it's going to enhance my first time experience that much if I wait until I can get the 1440p monitor.

But I already bought it and I'm just waiting for it to download. I figure I'll want to replay in new game+ so, if I even beat it before then, I'll still be able to see and enjoy the difference. It will almost be like playing an enahnced edition.

[Gabriel Angelos]

You should play at 4K resolution then if you want the best experience.

Im willing to bet that 1440p never sees the mainstream. I know im going straight from 1080p to 4 k.

[VolkNasty]

I've got the acer 27 predator . 144hz / 1440p / IPS / Gsync and the thing rips man.. Everything looks amazing. I'd check out and see if Overlord Tempest monitors have made the jump to these specs. I was holding out for one for some time, but then Acer beat them to the punch. Yes, you NEED this monitor or one similar in nature.

[Clipbird]

Mumm-Ra eredeti hozzászólása:

You should play at 4K resolution then if you want the best experience.

Im willing to bet that 1440p never sees the mainstream. I know im going straight from 1080p to 4 k.

While I have no doubt 4K looks amazing at first glance, their isn't a single 4k monitor that I've seen push past 60hz, meaning that would be worse than my 1080p 144hz monitor for games like CS:GO where you really need a high refresh rate otherwise all the FPS in the world mean almost nothing.

Also 4K is extremely taxing on hardware, especially if trying to maintain a stable 60 FPS or more would require at least an SLI setup for me (two 980 Ti Zotac Amp Extreme) and I don't have another $700 to spend again on a GPU, nor do I even have the space if I wanted to in my slim ITX, steam machine looking build.

1440p is the sweet spot for games as a whole right now if you want the best resolution without compromising too many frames, plus now that IPS panels are practical for gaming, you're basically getting a two fold visual boost. If 4K is going to be mainstream it first needs improvements in the monitor its self to run faster, imporvement in the tech to display that many extra pixels, and improvements in the connections and available bandwith to allow it to stream thorough cables, like the ones connected to your TV for example.

[Clipbird]

VolkNasty eredeti hozzászólása:

I've got the acer 27 predator . 144hz / 1440p / IPS / Gsync and the thing rips man.. Everything looks amazing. I'd check out and see if Overlord Tempest monitors have made the jump to these specs. I was holding out for one for some time, but then Acer beat them to the punch. Yes, you NEED this monitor or one similar in nature.

Nice man. I was going to go with the acer monitor until I heard about the new asus rog coming out with the same stats except 165hz with GSync, plus I like the way it looks, ascetically speaking, more than the other monitors I've come across so far. I will definitely be saving up a few paychecks to make the jump, hopefully sooner than later so I can still get that first time experience with this game and others in 1440p.

[PrTv]

I have 3 monitors setup (Dell U2713H / Dell U2711 / Dell P2412H). The first two are 1440 monitor and the last one is 1080 monitor.

I tested this game on both resolutions (on U2713H and P2412H) before making my mind which monitor I decide to play this game on.

To be honest, despite the size difference (one being 27" and the other being 24"), the game looks the same. You get the same FOV of the world and to me, with proper FSAA setting, I don't find jaggies in 1080 resolution at all. Even HUD size is the same between 1440 and 1080.

Here are samples taken at 1440 vs 1080. They are the same apart from the size.
1080
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tuqn5m0tiuz1vgb/witcher3_2015_11_13_09_01_02_171.jpg?dl=0

1440
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p0o9d0ce3db474q/witcher3_2015_11_13_09_00_24_842.jpg?dl=0

Note that running the game at 1440 is more taxing than running it at 1080. From the above images, max GPU load at 1440 is 69% while at 1080 is 48%. In more demanding areas even with SLI setup, the FPS sometimes dropped below 60FPS.

I initially have one GTX 970 G1 Gaming and decided to add one more to play in SLI so I can play at 1440 @60FPS. The reason I choose to play on the 1440 screen is not that the game looked better, but because the screen is bigger.

Apart from the screen size, I don't think you will lose anything playing at 1080.

Once you upgrade to 27" 1440 monitor, if you have a 980TI, and play this game at 1440@ Max everything, you might not be able to achieve 60FPS all the time, as this game is so taxing.

Here's my 2 cents, just enjoy the game today at 1080 @FSAA and all that sh*t turned fully on, I guarantee that you'll hardly lose anything comparing with playing at 1440.

[Clipbird]

Wow, pretty thorough comment. Interesting how the hud is the same size as I was hoping the letters would be just a little bit bigger on small setting (way too intrusive on large). I still want the 1440p monitor though if not for the slight graphical boost that I may or may not notice (though with different panel types I think that will be the most obvious), then just for the extra size and space. I've always wanted to run a dual monitor setup so I wouldn't have to alt-tab out of games.

[Clipbird]

Also, basing my card on these benchmarks (http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/84722-zotac-geforce-gtx-980-ti-amp-extreme/?page=11) then I shouldn't have a problem running Witcher 3 in 1440p with a 60 frame minimum. I could even go to 4K and still stay above 30, but I'm not interested in that.

[PrTv]

Clipbird eredeti hozzászólása:

Wow, pretty thorough comment. Interesting how the hud is the same size as I was hoping the letters would be just a little bit bigger on small setting (way too intrusive on large). I still want the 1440p monitor though if not for the slight graphical boost that I may or may not notice (though with different panel types I think that will be the most obvious), then just for the extra size and space. I've always wanted to run a dual monitor setup so I wouldn't have to alt-tab out of games.

You can scale the game's HUD to your heart's desire. If you think the HUD is too big, you can make it smaller regardless of resolution you play.

Even if you have 2 (or more) monitors, you still have to alt+tab out of the game, as when you play a game, your mouse and KB input will be focused to the game and you can't simply drag a cursor across the screen to interact with whatever you have opened on the 2nd screen.

About the benchmark at Hexus, based on this page http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/84722-zotac-geforce-gtx-980-ti-amp-extreme/?page=2, they used "High Preset" profile, and with this profile, everything is set to "High" as oppose to "Ultra", so if you want to get the best experience (especially hairwork on monsters), you have to use "Ultra", and the performance penalty is quite significant.

However, if you're OK not to have all options at Ultra, (such as shadow and draw distance), I'm sure your 980TI can play the game very smoothly at 1440 with most options at Ultra.

[PrTv]

Here are videos of 980TI at 1440 @Ultra, you can see that most of the time, you can't achieve 60FPS with 980TI at this resolution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quqeZF-Rqt4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0iaNTRrNXg

But as I said, just dial down some settings to high/medium and you will achieve 60FPS without much problem.

[Clipbird]

I tried changing the size of the HUD in the menu and even though it's a slider it only has to settings either all the way to small or all the way to large, and same with the text iirc. I was going to just download a mod as I saw one that dealt with this on Nexus.

That's a bit disappointing about still having to alt+tab, especially since I play a lot of games with a controller. But I should still be able to display a spread sheet or play a movie or something similar on one monitor while I use the other, right?

And I didn't know Hexus were using settings other than ultra... I hate when I see that but I guess it makes sense for comparing cards to even out the playing field. Still, I'm pretty confident my card can handle 1440p around 60 FPS for graphic intesive games like the witcher. I don't want to lower any settings but if I can just lower AA or something (just not draw distance, anything except my beautiful landscapes) to hover around 60 then I'll live with it.. Not sure how big of a difference hairworks makes in the rest of the world but on Geralt I've seen pictures and it's not a big deal. In some screenshots it actually makes his hair look more like noodles so if that has to go then that would probably be my first choice.

Only problem I really see is if witcher 3 is this demanding then the next year or two is going to stretch the hardware pretty thin.