Triple Monitor Purchase Advise Needed

[nightfire115]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this message board and new to PC sim racing in general. Long time PS4 sim racer. I just bought a new PC with 9th gen i7 9700 and RTX 2080 Super. I would love to run a triple curved monitor set up like I see some of you have that look amazing. Any recommendations on what to buy without breaking the bank? I would like to stay under $600 a monitor but if I'm missing out on a good monitor for $700 or so each, I'll spring for it. I'm guessing I want something with gsync, 144hz, 1ms, etc? I'll be playing all the popular sims. Thanks for the help!

 

[Kek700]

Yes curved.
Sold them last year, moved to a smaller place.

 

[Timobkg]

Hey Nightfire, I run a triple-wide setup, so to add to other's advice here:

You don't need curved. The curve is so slight it might as well not be there. I've used curved 23" monitors right next to a flat 23" monitor and couldn't tell the difference unless I looked for it.

G-Sync is a guarantee of quality, but you pay a premium for it. FreeSync can be just as good, but the standard is looser so you have to check the monitor specs for each monitor - particularly when you're shopping cheaper brands. Specifically, you need to look at the sync range with regard to the lower figure. The AOC CQ32g1 you linked has appears to have a sync range of 30-144 which is really good - it means that it will look perfectly smooth from 30fps up to 144fps. That lower figure is the most important one since that's the minimum frame-rate you need to maintain to look smooth. Some FreeSync monitors have a narrower range, such as 48-144, which means that you would need to adjust your game settings respectively to keep the framerate above 48fps at all times to keep it smooth. It's not a deal breaker, just something to keep in mind as you may have to lower your graphics settings with such monitors. Generally if you google, you can find someone who'll confirm that it can work with Nvidia, but it's honestly rare for a FreeSync monitor not to work with an Nvidia card.

Your PC should have no problem driving triple monitors in games - it's actually a lot less demanding than VR, IMO - but you may not be able to max the graphics settings in the latest games like ACC. I don't think that's an issue, personally, since the game still looks great even at reduced settings. For example, an i5 and RX 480 can maintain 30+ fps at 5760x1080 (1080p x3) at medium settings in ACC, and your PC is a lot more powerful. I wouldn't worry too much about it, but if you're really concerned I can try ACC on my PC to give you an idea of the kind of performance you could expect.

As far as panels, IPS is really nice for richer colors and better viewing angles, but it's more expensive. VA is next best, and is generally cheaper. TN generally has the worst viewing angles and color reproduction and is the cheapest panel (though it may have deeper blacks). I honestly haven't used a TN monitor in years, but I remember they used to really wash out if you dropped your eye line below the top of the screen. Hopefully they've improved since then.

Size is king for racing as it increases your field of view and just gives you more of the game to look at. 23" is the minimum, and at that size you're often either cutting off the top of the windshield or the dashboard and wheel. Everything larger is purely better as you effectively get a larger window onto the track. If you can, I would shoot for 27" or larger. The AOC CQ32G1 at 31.5" would be fantastic!

If you're at 27" or larger, a 1440p monitor will look better, but 1080p honestly isn't a deal breaker. It won't look as sharp, but it's most noticeable on text, and when you're driving things are moving so fast you probably won't pick up on the lost resolution. It's a good compromise if you're on a budget, and a lot less taxing on your system. For example, the AOC C32G1 at 1080p is only $210 where the CQ32G1 at 1440p is $299, so that's an acceptable way to save $270. If it's a choice between a 31" monitor at 1080p and a 27" one at 1440p, I think I'd take the 31" at 1080p for racing - it'll give you a much bigger window onto the track, be much more immersive, and still look much sharper than VR.

And lastly, HDR is really, really nice - these monitors may also be branded FreeSync2. I think it's a huge leap in picture quality on a display with good HDR support. They generally have wider colour pallets and greatly increased brightness to make lights really pop - night driving looks amazing. If you're seriously considering the AOC CQ32G1, I would look at the AG322QC4: https://us.aoc.com/en/gaming-monitors/ag322qc4. It's only $20 more in the US, and I would gladly pay $20 more for HDR. Now, HDR support in Windows is, I believe, still kind of crap at the moment, and not every monitor has a great HDR implementation, but I think both should improve as HDR becomes more widespread. And after seeing the difference HDR makes on a nice TV (like an OLED), I would want HDR on any new monitor I would get.

And triple monitors are awesome - I use mine for every game I can. FPS, RPG, Action, Arcade Racing..., the increased field of view and immersion is awesome, and going back to a single screen suddenly feels like you have blinders on.

Hope that helps.

 

[nightfire115]

Hey Nightfire, I run a triple-wide setup, so to add to other's advice here:

You don't need curved. The curve is so slight it might as well not be there. I've used curved 23" monitors right next to a flat 23" monitor and couldn't tell the difference unless I looked for it.

G-Sync is a guarantee of quality, but you pay a premium for it. FreeSync can be just as good, but the standard is looser so you have to check the monitor specs for each monitor - particularly when you're shopping cheaper brands. Specifically, you need to look at the sync range with regard to the lower figure. The AOC CQ32g1 you linked has appears to have a sync range of 30-144 which is really good - it means that it will look perfectly smooth from 30fps up to 144fps. That lower figure is the most important one since that's the minimum frame-rate you need to maintain to look smooth. Some FreeSync monitors have a narrower range, such as 48-144, which means that you would need to adjust your game settings respectively to keep the framerate above 48fps at all times to keep it smooth. It's not a deal breaker, just something to keep in mind as you may have to lower your graphics settings with such monitors. Generally if you google, you can find someone who'll confirm that it can work with Nvidia, but it's honestly rare for a FreeSync monitor not to work with an Nvidia card.

Your PC should have no problem driving triple monitors in games - it's actually a lot less demanding than VR, IMO - but you may not be able to max the graphics settings in the latest games like ACC. I don't think that's an issue, personally, since the game still looks great even at reduced settings. For example, an i5 and RX 480 can maintain 30+ fps at 5760x1080 (1080p x3) at medium settings in ACC, and your PC is a lot more powerful. I wouldn't worry too much about it, but if you're really concerned I can try ACC on my PC to give you an idea of the kind of performance you could expect.

As far as panels, IPS is really nice for richer colors and better viewing angles, but it's more expensive. VA is next best, and is generally cheaper. TN generally has the worst viewing angles and color reproduction and is the cheapest panel (though it may have deeper blacks). I honestly haven't used a TN monitor in years, but I remember they used to really wash out if you dropped your eye line below the top of the screen. Hopefully they've improved since then.

Size is king for racing as it increases your field of view and just gives you more of the game to look at. 23" is the minimum, and at that size you're often either cutting off the top of the windshield or the dashboard and wheel. Everything larger is purely better as you effectively get a larger window onto the track. If you can, I would shoot for 27" or larger. The AOC CQ32G1 at 31.5" would be fantastic!

If you're at 27" or larger, a 1440p monitor will look better, but 1080p honestly isn't a deal breaker. It won't look as sharp, but it's most noticeable on text, and when you're driving things are moving so fast you probably won't pick up on the lost resolution. It's a good compromise if you're on a budget, and a lot less taxing on your system. For example, the AOC C32G1 at 1080p is only $210 where the CQ32G1 at 1440p is $299, so that's an acceptable way to save $270. If it's a choice between a 31" monitor at 1080p and a 27" one at 1440p, I think I'd take the 31" at 1080p for racing - it'll give you a much bigger window onto the track, be much more immersive, and still look much sharper than VR.

And lastly, HDR is really, really nice - these monitors may also be branded FreeSync2. I think it's a huge leap in picture quality on a display with good HDR support. They generally have wider colour pallets and greatly increased brightness to make lights really pop - night driving looks amazing. If you're seriously considering the AOC CQ32G1, I would look at the AG322QC4: https://us.aoc.com/en/gaming-monitors/ag322qc4. It's only $20 more in the US, and I would gladly pay $20 more for HDR. Now, HDR support in Windows is, I believe, still kind of crap at the moment, and not every monitor has a great HDR implementation, but I think both should improve as HDR becomes more widespread. And after seeing the difference HDR makes on a nice TV (like an OLED), I would want HDR on any new monitor I would get.

And triple monitors are awesome - I use mine for every game I can. FPS, RPG, Action, Arcade Racing..., the increased field of view and immersion is awesome, and going back to a single screen suddenly feels like you have blinders on.

Hope that helps.

That was an amazing write up!! Thanks for all that info! The AG322QC4 seems like a great bang for the buck. I'll definitely be getting it.

 

[dragonbeard]

I run triple 1440p with an RTX2080Ti. ACC on highest settings hovers around 60fps, so your 2080 super will give you plenty to enjoy. I have some settings turned down now to get to around 90fps stable(ish)
I use 27" IPS Acer Predators with G-Sync. They're pretty great and are the cheapest "big name" monitors for their spec over here. While I'm happy with them, I'd buy different if I had to do it again. Simply because they have a raised bar on the bottom side of the monitor, which messes with the alignment.

 

[Timobkg]

That was an amazing write up!! Thanks for all that info! The AG322QC4 seems like a great bang for the buck. I'll definitely be getting it.

You're very welcome.

And while it won't help you at all now, I am very hopeful that as TV tech continues to improve and trickle down we'll see in a couple years 43" 4K TVs with HDR and 20-120Hz G-Sync/FreeSync support selling for $300-380. It will completely disrupt the high-end PC Monitor business, and I'm totally okay with that.

 

[Kek700]

I am waiting for VR with 160 deg or so field of view with two true 8k screens running at 120fps that you can plug in and use exactly the same as you would with a monitor.
Fat chance that is going to happen anytime soon.
you never know, maybe.