21:9 1080p vs 16:9 1440p?

[Bullett00th]

Looking at monitor options I've settled with the decision of 144 hz refresh rate, but can't decide on the format.

I'd love a ultrawide 1440p screen, but those are pricey for me.
So it's either 2560x1080 or 2560x1440 and the choice is driving me insane... both a wider fov and a higher pixel count sound so very appealing!

The rig should handle both options alright at 144hz:
GTX 1080
i5 6600
16GB RAM

[Snapjak]

I vote 1440p, but I'm highly biased as I just got an Asus PG279Q.

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

What monitor do you have right now?
Why you want a 21:9, over a 16:9?

I can understand if you want this for movies, and some games that supports it mostly AAA games, but for older games you will run into issues such as black boarders, or game refusing to work on very few, and very old games. For 16:9 you're perfect for everything, only issue with them is you don't get the FOV as the 21:9, and movies are made in 21:9, but TV shows are made in 16:9.

[Bullett00th]

Publicado originalmente por Dr.Shadowds 🐉:

What monitor do you have right now?
Why you want a 21:9, over a 16:9?

I can understand if you want this for movies, and some games that supports it mostly AAA games, but for older games you will run into issues such as black boarders, or game refusing to work on very few, and very old games. For 16:9 you're perfect for everything, only issue with them is you don't get the FOV as the 21:9, and movies are made in 21:9, but TV shows are made in 16:9.

mine broke(
I had a pretty old but great samsung 1080p monitor, to which I switched from a 5:4 monitor a while ago. So when choosing a new one I looked at the options and an even higher FOV sounded appealing.

Old games compatibility is something I definitely want, and black bars don't bother me if a game doesn't support that resolution. However not launching is a bad thing. But I'd suppose you can force a different format to an ultrawide monitor, no?

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

Publicado originalmente por Bullett00th:

Publicado originalmente por Dr.Shadowds 🐉:

What monitor do you have right now?
Why you want a 21:9, over a 16:9?

I can understand if you want this for movies, and some games that supports it mostly AAA games, but for older games you will run into issues such as black boarders, or game refusing to work on very few, and very old games. For 16:9 you're perfect for everything, only issue with them is you don't get the FOV as the 21:9, and movies are made in 21:9, but TV shows are made in 16:9.

mine broke(
I had a pretty old but great samsung 1080p monitor, to which I switched from a 5:4 monitor a while ago. So when choosing a new one I looked at the options and an even higher FOV sounded appealing.

Old games compatibility is something I definitely want, and black bars don't bother me if a game doesn't support that resolution. However not launching is a bad thing. But I'd suppose you can force a different format to an ultrawide monitor, no?

Yes you can force, but may not look as good depending on the game, but don't worry it's only really old, and few games you may not even run into playing aways for not being able to run them.

Anyways FOV is nice for games like Witcher 3, Battlefield 1, and etc... but if you're used to 16:9, I would recommend just sticking to it to have a great time, and enjoying the 1440p 144hz, and with higher pixel count the image quality will be better than the 21:9 1080p.

It's really up to you in this case, but watch this video it's comparing 1920x1080 vs 2560x1080, you get to see more with the 21:9, and some people really likes having more FOV, but some people like the convenience that 16:9 has been around for the longest time. Don't worry about newer games not supporting 21:9, devs have been adding support for them past few years, unless it's a small indie company, or a japanese company which can be 50/50 if they do it, or not, but there can be a mod to make it happen for those, which is only if there enough people wants it, or if the person that makes the mods wants it to be 21:9.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFMw4vBghwc

[Bullett00th]

thx for the details!

I'm leaning towards 16:9 but damn those extra angles are useful in shooters

[hawkeye]

What fov is the video using? Widening the fov can have much the same effect, until the lens distortion comes into play.

[Bullett00th]

Publicado originalmente por hawkeye:

What fov is the video using? Widening the fov can have much the same effect, until the lens distortion comes into play.

it's not really the same effect, given that you're zooming out the whole picture, while on an ultrawide you're getting better angles.

P.S. I still haven't decided omg, toughest hardware decision I've ever made.
I've even started considering 21:9 1440p 75-100hz but I'm not sure if my hardware is future proof enough to take advantage of that resolution and frequency

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

Publicado originalmente por Bullett00th:

Publicado originalmente por hawkeye:

What fov is the video using? Widening the fov can have much the same effect, until the lens distortion comes into play.

it's not really the same effect, given that you're zooming out the whole picture, while on an ultrawide you're getting better angles.

P.S. I still haven't decided omg, toughest hardware decision I've ever made.
I've even started considering 21:9 1440p 75-100hz but I'm not sure if my hardware is future proof enough to take advantage of that resolution and frequency

60hz vs 144hz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jj2IV3apDY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTaIeNajbXc

[just.kamk /idle]

Publicado originalmente por Bullett00th:

P.S. I still haven't decided omg, toughest hardware decision I've ever made.
I've even started considering 21:9 1440p 75-100hz but I'm not sure if my hardware is future proof enough to take advantage of that resolution and frequency

Quite simply, it mostly depends on what you want to play.
21:9 is way more immersive overall, and pretty much all of them are also VA / IPS panels with great colors. You can easily drive 21:9 2560*1080 60 FPS with a 1060, a 1080 will have no issues reaching higher frequencies.
Pretty much all games for years support it, a few exception block it (mostly temporarily, like Heroes of the Storm i.e.).

Now the downside: some games have slightly buggy scoreboards or menues, and often enough cutscenes are still forced to 16:9.
In comparison to basic 16:9 they're rather pricy, and if you want high refresh rate and size, it get's to ludicrious pricing imho.

21:9 1440p 75-100hz should work just fine, especially with the games you mostly play atm.

[Monk]

That second video is one of the best examples of why you want 144 I've seen, seriously, once you've had high refresh, 60 sucks, as for the op, I'd vote to go the 1440p route, the higher PPI is really nice, on the other hand, ultra wide could look good, but if it's just for gaming and not productivity, I'd say there's at 1080p ultra wide might be getting a bit low for the monitors size (usually 28 inch), I feel 24 is a sweet spot for 1080p, now, it won't be AS bad on an ultra wide, but the issue will still be there.

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

Publicado originalmente por Monk:

That second video is one of the best examples of why you want 144 I've seen, seriously, once you've had high refresh, 60 sucks, as for the op, I'd vote to go the 1440p route, the higher PPI is really nice, on the other hand, ultra wide could look good, but if it's just for gaming and not productivity, I'd say there's at 1080p ultra wide might be getting a bit low for the monitors size (usually 28 inch), I feel 24 is a sweet spot for 1080p, now, it won't be AS bad on an ultra wide, but the issue will still be there.

Yes. Spacing between pixel.

[just.kamk /idle]

I'd go more for something like this:
1080p 23-24" / UW 29"
1440p 27" / UW 32"+
4k 27"+
Then the UW versions are pretty much the same height as 16:9 ones (obv. way wider), with similar pixel density.

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

Publicado originalmente por cl_luck -1:

I'd go more for something like this:
1080p 23-24" / UW 29"
1440p 27" / UW 32"+
4k 27"+
Then the UW versions are pretty much the same height as 16:9 ones (obv. way wider), with similar pixel density.

^This is good.

[WarmedxMints]

I went ultrawide a few years ago and haven't looked back. I would definately recommend it if you hardware can drive the extra pixel count. There are not many games which give me any trouble with 21:9 and for the most part, someone on http://www.wsgf.org comes up with a solution when they do.

[Bullett00th]

I think I'll settle with 16:9 1440p.

The temptation to go ultrawide is insane but I don't feel like staying with 1080p since I'm changing monitor anyway, and while I can afford an ultrawide 1440p monitor, it's still much more than I planned to spend, not to mention a smaller refresh rate.

If things go well, an ultrawide 1440p will be my next target sometime along the way.


Dell S2716DG is the most affordable option for me atm, and it has G-sync. It's TN but pretty much all reviews claim great colors and viewing angles to the point of forgetting that it's not IPS.