I have decided to build a new setup with the main goal of running wow at max settings for the best visual experience but still keeping a high fps in raid. One of my favorite things about the game is the gorgeous art and beautiful vistas and I want a setup to maximize this as I enjoy my time in game outside of raiding. I have an RTX 3080 on the way and now looking at monitors but having trouble with all the options out there. I am looking mostly at 34" 3440x1440 ultrawide but open to consider other options if it fits my needs better. Budget is generous, but needs to be reasonable.
That all said, I am trying to quickly get up to speed on all the current monitor tech, but there is a lot lol. I thinking that a VA or IPS will be more appropriate for what I want as opposed to a TN. Color reproduction is important, but so is good contrast. I want to be able to pick out all the details in some of the darker zones without everything looking like a dark blob. I know that 1ms response times are big in gaming, but what I am not sure is if this is really necessary for what I am looking for. I have read that ghosting can be an issue with VA but is this really something I will run into in wow?
HDR is another area I am not sure on, I feel like this might be important to me for the visual effects I want, so should I avoid anything with only HDR10 and stick to something with higher HDR 500/600, etc?
I was originally looking at 100Mhz monitors but now thinking perhaps I need at least 144 to get the most out of my GPU. At least I think I do. Since I am investing in a good GPU for the sake of framerate, I don’t want to be limited by monitor.
So, I am looking for recommendations on monitors that are not just good for gaming in general (something I can get from reviews) but specifically something that will showcase the visuals in wow at its best while keeping a balance with high performance for raids.
Any and all help is appreciated.
I bought a 2k 32" viotek on sale over the holidays. I was using a 75mhz 28 inch monitor before that and it’s like night and day. If there is anything wrong with the monitor I haven’t noticed it. No ghosting, no tearing and the colors look right.
If you’re the nitpicky type that needs to have all the fancy bells and whistles this might not be for you. If you want a good looking 2k monitor to play games at 2k and only want to spend about $250 I highly recommend going cheap and off-brand. I’m glad I did.
I’ve been pretty interested in these cheap VIOTEK monitors I’ve been seeing pop up on amazon and newegg.
Thanks for your feedback.
Do you know if it has some kind of trace-free or sharpening features?
What kind of settings does it have for different color/game modes?
I have this and can’t recommend it enough:
I believe there is a slightly newer revision that should be around $800-1000 (which is what this was for me: ~$800)
It doesn’t have a whole lot of features and the interface is a bit clunky. It has the old sharpening 1-100 scale, so not much there. There are a couple of color/game modes, I know a few looked good, some not as good and you can adjust slider for custom settings. I found something that I liked and I’ve just ran with that. I don’t tinker too much.
I mostly bought it because it was only $250, was 144mhz and had freesync. I knew ahead of time that some of the features on the $500+ monitors weren’t going to be there. I’m pulling 144mhz with an amd 5700xt with no tearing, ghosting, artifacts… I’ve run newer games with no issues either.
That’s quite nice.
I’m considering completely revamping my entire WFH/office set up.
Presently I have 4 (four!) 24" displays, two for work two for play. One is 1080p, the others are all 1440p.
I am considering ditching the 1080p display, and setting 2 of the 24" 1440p displays for work, with one really nice 3440x1440 gaming display and one of my 24" 1440p displays as a secondary play display.
Desk space real estate is a problem, though.
I tried setting up my old 27" 1440p monitor next to the widescreen 34" one but it took up way too much space (even with the old one in a vertical orientation). The widescreen alone has worked amazingly for WFH though. When I’m lecturing on Zoom, I’ve got enough space to have the presentation, my notes, my students’ cameras, the chat, a timer, and the participant list (to let people in when they come late or get DC’d). It’s actually funny how well this “gaming monitor” works for my profession
I didn’t know you were a teacher. Or maybe I did but I forgot.
Goes to show how gaming tech can drive the industry in unexpected ways.
My WFH needs aren’t too difficult. It’s mostly looking through records and policies on one display and word processor on the other. I could do single display but tabbing in and out of records is a pain.
As for play…all I really need is a great ultrawide and a secondary display for forums/youtube/miscellanous.
I could make this work by dropping one of the displays, and making one of the 24" 1440p displays a toggle during work hours.
I don’t really need my gaming display + alternate display during work hours, as I can just use the main gaming display for videos or whatever.
That would drop me down to 3 displays, I guess. I sometimes feel like I am trapped at my desk.
I saw this one. The only option on Amazon is in white and my case is black. I am not sure if that is a big deal to me or not.
I will say that the pictures of my display on Amazon make the back look way, way lighter than it actually is. That said, I have seen the revised version on Alienware’s website, and it does look like they went with either white or a really light silver for the backing. That would probably bug me, too.