Many people will think that getting a gaming monitor is as easy as walking into the shop and buy the best one available, or the best that your budget can afford. The truth is that your PC setup and the games you play have an important role in deciding your next gaming monitor. A mismatch can lead to performance bottleneck or wasted resources. This guide show you how to find the perfect gaming monitoring optimized for your PC setup and games.
Content
- Why It’s Important to Match Monitor With PC Setup
- Match the Monitor Refresh Rate to Your GPU’s FPS Output
- Find the Right Balance Between Screen Resolution and GPU Power
- Choose the Right Panel Technology
- Aspect Ratio’s Impact on PC Performance
Why It’s Important to Match Monitor With PC Setup
If you think CPUs and GPUs are the main bottlenecking components in your PC setup, you’d be surprised how big of an impact the monitor can make. Those high frames from your powerful GPU are nothing if your monitor can’t keep up with them.
You need to match the performance of your PC with the monitor’s capabilities to ensure the monitor can display everything the PC outputs. To the contrary, if you buy a more powerful monitor that your PC is not able to keep up with, you are wasting your money.
For example, even if your GPU can run your favorite game at 240 FPS, you will only see 60 frames if your monitor refresh rate is 60Hz. Furthermore, if your GPU struggles to output 60 FPS at a 1920 x 1080 resolution, the game will probably be unplayable on a 2K or 4K resolution monitor.
You need to make sure your PC can run your games at your desired FPS and resolution, then buy a monitor that supports that resolution and refresh rate.
Match the Monitor Refresh Rate to Your GPU’s FPS Output
The game’s frame rate and monitor’s refresh rate need to match to avoid screen tearing and wasted resources. If your PC is capable of running a game at a high FPS, like 120 or 240, look for monitors with 144 Hz or 240 Hz high refresh rates for the best results. Otherwise, your PC will keep generating high frames that your monitor can’t show, forcing you to use V-sync or G-sync and limit your PC’s capabilities.
You can use the PCGameBenchmark web tool to get an idea of how much FPS your PC can offer for your games. In the right panel, enter your PC details, like CPU name, GPU name, RAM, etc., and click on What Games Can My PC Run.
Use the search bar at the top to find your game, and scroll down to the frame rate bar graph section on the game’s page. You’ll see graphs for the CPU, GPU, and RAM, showing how strong or weak your setup is compared to the game’s recommended specs.
A performance of over 150% for both CPU and GPU is usually an indication that the game should run between 100 and 150 FPS. If your PC can handle the game at a high FPS, you should look for a similarly higher refresh rate in the monitor.
Find the Right Balance Between Screen Resolution and GPU Power
Screen resolution matters a lot when it comes to GPU performance. The bigger the screen resolution, the harder the GPU will have to work to fill up those pixels.
Using 1920 x 1080 as standard, if you intend to get a higher resolution monitor, like 2560 x 1440 (2K) or 3840 x 2160 (4K), you should expect a drop in performance. How much drop you’ll see depends on your GPU and the game you are playing. Usually, the drop is between 15% and 30% when going from 1920 x 1080 to 2560 x 1440. This drop increases the higher you go.
Overall, if you intend to run the game at one or two resolution levels above 1920 x 1080, then your GPU should be able to deliver 40% to 70% more frames than required at 1920 x 1080. Of course, that is only if the GPU can handle the higher resolution in the first place. Make sure you check maximum resolution support in the GPU manual.
Choose the Right Panel Technology
Panel technology matters as well, depending on the type of games you intend to play on the PC. Whether you play games with beautiful graphics and immersive gameplay or competitive titles where fast response is crucial, panel technology can make a huge difference.
There are four panel types to consider for gaming:
- TN (Twisted Nematic): most competitive gamers prefer it, as it’s cheap and offers the fastest response times. You’ll see your actions faster and avoid motion blurring and ghosting effects. If you play competitive MOBA and FPS titles, then TN will give you a competitive edge in gaming. However, it’s lacking in color accuracy and contrast.
Image source:
Unsplash
- IPS (In-Plane Switching): this offers good color accuracy and contrast, while also offering good response times. When you want a balanced experience with no special preferences for good visuals or fast response, IPS is the right choice.
- VA (Vertical Alignment): when you want the best color contrast at cheap rates, the VA panel should be your choice. It’s cheaper than IPS and offers much better contrast for immersive gameplay. However, it has slower response times and color accuracy.
- OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode): it offers incredible contrast ratios, perfect blacks, and vibrant colors, while also having the fastest response times. While it’s the best for everything, it’s also very expensive, and there is the risk of burn-ins due to static images. However, when you want the best gaming monitor, it’s hard to beat OLED.
Choose one of the above panels, depending on your budget and the type of games you intend to play on the PC.
Aspect Ratio’s Impact on PC Performance
Currently, 16:9 and 21:9 are the go-to aspect ratios for gaming. 16:9 is the standard for most monitors, offering a good balance between width and height. 21:9 are ultrawide monitors that offer wider displays, leading to a bigger field of view (FOV) in many games.
Image source:
Pexels
If you play games with fixed FOV, you might prefer ultrawide monitors as they allow you to view more content. However, if you choose an ultrawide monitor, it will have more pixels horizontally, which your GPU will have to work harder to fill.
For example, an ultrawide resolution of 3440 x 1440 has approximately 34% more pixels than a standard 2560 x 1440 resolution. If you choose ultrawide, then expect to see a further 15% to 25% drop in FPS.
By considering the key specs and features discussed here, you can avoid a monitor bottleneck or overspending on one your PC can’t fully utilize. Apart from these main specs, there are other features and perks to consider when buying a monitor, such as a curved or flat screen.
Image credit: Flickr. All screenshots by Karrar Haider.
Karrar Haider –
Staff Writer
Karrar is drenched in technology and always fiddles with new tech opportunities. He has a bad habit of calling technology “Killer”, and doesn’t feel bad about spending too much time in front of the PC. If he is not writing about technology, you will find him spending quality time with his little family.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox
Sign up for all newsletters.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and European users agree to the data transfer policy. We will not share your data and you can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe