Monitors : Higher resolution or higher refresh rate?

AntonisCy · Nov 17, 2021

What would you pick? A monitor with a higher refresh rate or a monitor with a higher resolution?

I currently have a 24" 1920x1080 at 60Hz monitor.

Due to hardware limitations i am torn between buying a 24" 1920x1080 that runs at 144Hz or a 27" 2560x1440 that runs at 75Hz.

Ideally i would like a 2560x1440 that runs at 120Hz or more but that is out of the question.

I do not game but i have this obsession in my mind that more Hz will make my pc experience more pleasurable since i spend many hours a day Infront of my monitor.

On the other hand i am afraid of the 1440p resolution since i watch a lot of HD 1080p movies and i am afraid they might not look good on the higher resolution display.

What are your guys thoughts? What would you do if you had the two choices only?

Black Friday is coming up so its a good incentive to do the upgrade now.

The-Hive · Nov 17, 2021

Both are very acceptable and will work especially as you don't game on it. I think the biggest consideration would be the screen size.
One of my pc's has a large screen and to be honest it is too big as I cannot sit far enough away from it and I quite often miss things on the screen edge. This pc is a laptop with 17" monitor and its great for my needs. It does have a refresh rate of 300Hz ( as it's a gaming laptop ) but I never notice the difference for normal use. I hope this helps @AntonisCy

TairikuOkami · Nov 17, 2021

AntonisCy said:
Ideally i would like a 2560x1440 that runs at 120Hz or more but that is out of the question.

Someone on reddit has just mentioned replacing 120Hz monitor with 360Hz and everything runs slower.
Bigger is not always better, it also depends what CPU/GPU/monitor you have: IPS (beauty) or TN (speed)?

AntonisCy · Nov 17, 2021

I have a TN right now but i am going for VA instead of IPS since every single search i did for movie viewing says choose VA over IPS.

PC specs are in my profile

AntonisCy · Nov 17, 2021

The-Hive said:
Both are very acceptable and will work especially as you don't game on it. I think the biggest consideration would be the screen size.
One of my pc's has a large screen and to be honest it is too big as I cannot sit far enough away from it and I quite often miss things on the screen edge. This pc is a laptop with 17" monitor and its great for my needs. It does have a refresh rate of 300Hz ( as it's a gaming laptop ) but I never notice the difference for normal use. I hope this helps @AntonisCy

Thanks for the post @The-Hive . My eyes are about 28 inches (70cm) away from my screen.

The-Hive · Nov 17, 2021

AntonisCy said:
Thanks for the post @The-Hive . My eyes are about 28 inches (70cm) away from my screen.

@AntonisCy I was surprised how big the screen was when it was delivered even though I knew it in inches, I wish I went to the shop and tried it first :)

AntonisCy · Nov 17, 2021

The-Hive said:
@AntonisCy I was surprised how big the screen was when it was delivered even though I knew it in inches, I wish I went to the shop and tried it first :)

Haha that is what is making me thinking of sticking with the 24"

rchris · Nov 17, 2021

I've moved from 24" monitors to 27" and now a 32" 4K and a 34" curved screen with 3440x1440. I'd never go back. Bigger is better! Go big or go home!
Seriously, I don't game much and the higher resolution monitors are much more attractive to me; refresh rate isn't important for most non-gaming uses.

AntonisCy · Nov 17, 2021

rchris said:
I've moved from 24" monitors to 27" and now a 32" 4K and a 34" curved screen with 3440x1440. I'd never go back. Bigger is better! Go big or go home!
Seriously, I don't game much and the higher resolution monitors are much more attractive to me; refresh rate isn't important for most non-gaming uses.

How far away from the display do you sit?

SlicEnDicE · Nov 17, 2021

I have a 32" display @60Hz. 1440p and using is about 85-120cm away, depending on position, which is the optimal viewing distance for that size monitor.

Definitely get that 27-28" @1440p 75Hz over the other one with higher refresh rate. YouTube will look great on it.

rchris · Nov 17, 2021

AntonisCy said:
How far away from the display do you sit?

My eyes are about 30-32" when working. But I can lean back to view stuff comfortably at 36".

AntonisCy · Nov 17, 2021

How will a 1440p monitor affect the quality of 1080p movies? Or is it not so important? Because i know TVs do upscaling. PC monitors don't though right?

bobkn · Nov 17, 2021

AntonisCy said:
I have a TN right now but i am going for VA instead of IPS since every single search i did for movie viewing says choose VA over IPS.

PC specs are in my profile

VA is preferred over IPS with TVs because VA offers higher contrast. However, VA has a narrower viewing angle (without changes in brightness or color shifts). The viewing angle thing may not matter much if you watch movies alone.

IPS is still the main choice for photo editing.

As regards upscaling, an LCD monitor has to be driven at its native resolution. It's not like the old CRTs. I don't know whether PC monitors do the scaling, or whether the PC itself must. Either way, you would be able to display a 1080p movie full screen on a 1440p monitor. I don't do it often but I have played 1080p movies full screen on my 2160p display. I can make the viewing windows basically any size.

AntonisCy · Nov 18, 2021

bobkn said:
VA is preferred over IPS with TVs because VA offers higher contrast. However, VA has a narrower viewing angle (without changes in brightness or color shifts). The viewing angle thing may not matter much if you watch movies alone.

IPS is still the main choice for photo editing.

As regards upscaling, an LCD monitor has to be driven at its native resolution. It's not like the old CRTs. I don't know whether PC monitors do the scaling, or whether the PC itself must. Either way, you would be able to display a 1080p movie full screen on a 1440p monitor. I don't do it often but I have played 1080p movies full screen on my 2160p display. I can make the viewing windows basically any size.

What i was wondering is how quality is affected. I remember in the old days i would watch 720p movies on a 1080p monitor and didn't notice quality loss. But i am wondering at 1440p and 27" of real estate, if 1080p media quality will suffer.

AddRAM · Nov 18, 2021

No, it won`t. I watch 1080p movies on my 27" all the time, and they look awesome.
The refresh rate is more aimed at gaming. Get the 27"

spapakons · Nov 19, 2021

The upscaling is done by default by the monitor. You just play a 1080p movie and see how good is the scaling. Playing a 1080p movie on a 4K monitor is usually perfect since 2160p is exactly 4 times 1080p. Make sure the movie is of good quality (not too much compressed), otherwise any visual artifacts may be exaggerated (like trying to play a VCR tape - about 360p - on a 1080p monitor without image processing and of course looks crap). If you are not satisfied by the scaling quality of your monitor you can then change it from the graphics control panel to GPU. GPU scaling is almost always better but it adds an overhead to the GPU. So if your graphics card is not that fast and barely can do the native resolution of your monitor, enabling GPU scaling might make the video stutter. I hope this is not your case. To make sure the image covers all the screen without black bars around, I always set the image to full, not keep aspect ratio or similar. If you are using a TV, you can press the aspect ratio button on the remote until you see the image fill the whole screen. If the TV is overscanning and the image is cropped, there should be an image setting to disable that.

AntonisCy · Nov 19, 2021

spapakons said:
The upscaling is done by default by the monitor. You just play a 1080p movie and see how good is the scaling. Playing a 1080p movie on a 4K monitor is usually perfect since 2160p is exactly 4 times 1080p. Make sure the movie is of good quality (not too much compressed), otherwise any visual artifacts may be exaggerated (like trying to play a VCR tape - about 360p - on a 1080p monitor without image processing and of course looks crap). If you are not satisfied by the scaling quality of your monitor you can then change it from the graphics control panel to GPU. GPU scaling is almost always better but it adds an overhead to the GPU. So if your graphics card is not that fast and barely can do the native resolution of your monitor, enabling GPU scaling might make the video stutter. I hope this is not your case. To make sure the image covers all the screen without black bars around, I always set the image to full, not keep aspect ratio or similar. If you are using a TV, you can press the aspect ratio button on the remote until you see the image fill the whole screen. If the TV is overscanning and the image is cropped, there should be an image setting to disable that.

Thanks for the great post. In my case i am viewing 1080p content on a 1440p monitor (not TV) so i don't know if much of what you posted applies. Thanks though.

spapakons · Nov 19, 2021

Just pause the 1080p movie and look closely for details. If they look OK with the default monitor scaling, then you should not worry. Otherwise try changing to GPU scaling from the Intel/AMD/nVidia (whatever your card is) control panel. You can also experiment with RGB or YCbCr output and limited vs full range to see which gives you the best image. All these in the advanced monitor settings of graphics control panel. You may have to select custom colors first.

jvickers · Nov 19, 2021

I would think how large a monitor you chose would also depend on your desk space. I have enough room for a 25" monitor and 2 24" monitors on either side. I like the multi-monitor setup over one large display because I can extend the desktop and put items on each monitor when I work. Sure, you can put items side by side on a large monitor, but it's not quite the same. With Windows 11's it's a little easier to put items side by side, but I still don't find it to be the same.

You could probably settle with a 60Hz monitor and it not matter because the human eye doesn't see anything past 60Hz:

Why Do We Need 120Hz/144Hz Monitors If The Human Eye Can't See Beyond 60Hz?

If human eyes cannot see things beyond 60Hz, why are 120Hz/144Hz monitors better? This question was originally answered on Quora by Joyce Schenkein.

www.forbes.com

Monitor Refresh Rates: Why higher isn't always better

We've created this refresh rate guide, so you're well prepared for the next time you're looking to buy a gaming monitor.

www.trustedreviews.com

So, go for size while factoring in things like if you want multiple monitors on a single desk, brightness, and distance from the monitor to reduce something like eyestrain.

Just my thoughts on it...

iko22 · Nov 19, 2021

AntonisCy said:
What would you pick? A monitor with a higher refresh rate or a monitor with a higher resolution?

I currently have a 24" 1920x1080 at 60Hz monitor.

Due to hardware limitations i am torn between buying a 24" 1920x1080 that runs at 144Hz or a 27" 2560x1440 that runs at 75Hz.

Ideally i would like a 2560x1440 that runs at 120Hz or more but that is out of the question.

I do not game but i have this obsession in my mind that more Hz will make my pc experience more pleasurable since i spend many hours a day Infront of my monitor.

On the other hand i am afraid of the 1440p resolution since i watch a lot of HD 1080p movies and i am afraid they might not look good on the higher resolution display.

What are your guys thoughts? What would you do if you had the two choices only?

Black Friday is coming up so its a good incentive to do the upgrade now.

Well, @AntonisCy , Black Friday deals tends to be placed on stock that the retailer cannot get rid of . In computing terms, this is usually the stock that underperforms. So, it is often wiser to look beyond the deals, to find the high performance kit, in my opinion.