27" or 24", WQHD or FHD, IPS or TN panel?

[R2-D2]

I’d like to replace my generic 24” 60Hz BenQ V2410Eco monitor with something more adequate for my use. As I’m a bit more than a casual gamer, high[er] refresh rate and pixel response rate and low display lag would be my main priorities. But at the same time I wouldn’t want to sacrifice color accuracy. Most if not all gaming monitors use TN technology, which provides the best pixel response and supports refresh rate of 120Hz and higher but at the same time is the worst in terms of viewing angle, contrast and color accuracy. So far I’ve seen only one gaming monitor (Eizo Foris FG2421) with VA panel that seems like a great compromise between the TN and IPS screen technologies. I consider monitors within 500 euro price range but I’m prepared to stretch my budget if this would make a difference.

My system specs:
CPU Intel Core i7-860 2.8GHz
RAM Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB dual-channel DDR3
Video card ATI Radeon HD7870XT (GPU chipset Tahiti LE) with 2048MB VRAM
Primary drive Intel SSD 330 180GB
I sit some 0.8-1 m (2.62-3.28 feet) from the monitor.

1) If I want to buy 27” monitor what resolution should I get? I’ve read that 1920x1080 can look quite pixelated and blocky on 27” monitor and is not as good for general day to day office work.
2) Will my video card be able to run games on high settings at 2560x1440 with acceptable frame rate if I get 27” 2560x1440 monitor?
3) Provided that in games the frame rate at 2560x1440 resolution will not exceed 60, would I be better off with 60 Hz monitor that has better color accuracy and viewing angle than TN panel or will I totally lose on gaming side of things with IPS panel, for instance?

 

[NeverBackDown]

Well your gpu would do ok at 1440p if it was not on max settings and 0xAA. If you never go above 60 fps then there is no need for 120hz monitors when you can't saturate that anyway.

VA panels used to be commonly used on TVs but IPS/PLS is starting to replace them. Not that the difference is noticeable to most people comparing the 3 side by side.

 

[R2-D2]

I think I slowly start to understand what I’m trying to do, which is to get a monitor with good all around performance. And now I need to understand whether it’s possible at all. Based on what I’ve learned so far, VA panels generally have higher response time than even IPS panels, leading to ghosting effects. The biggest disadvantage of VA panels is color shifting when viewed from different angles, making various uneven brightness levels across the display. I’m not sure if I’m making the right conclusion but all this makes me believe that IPS panel is the best all-arounder. Or is it only high-end IPS that has low response time? Which is effectively outside my budget…

And what is it that makes my video card too weak to run games on max settings at 2560x1440 resolution? It’s not a regular HD7870 because it’s based on GPU from HD 7900-series. Is it a narrower memory bus or smaller on-board GDDR5? I can try and push the GPU with overclocking thus increasing its performance. Based on some tests this makes it as fast as Radeon HD7950. Would it also help if I’ll pair it with second card in Cross Fire configuration? Only if I won’t find similar card, I’ll have to pair it with HD 7900-series card.

 

[NeverBackDown]

I know what the 7870LE card is. Its based off the 7950. I have a 7950 and i can tell you at 1440p or higher it will struggle if settings are not turned down. Just looking at benchmarks online will tell you that as well. It's also game dependent and if you play non stressful games then yes it will serve you well.

VA panels are good for TV use. Which is why they were common but IPS still has better response time. MVA(an improvement of VA) panels offer good viewing angles and generally better blacks and contrast than either TN or IPS panels but again the speed is slow, though in a TV application its perfectly fine. There is no high end IPS panels only different versions and such. The fastest they can go as of today for consumers is 5ms GtG time at 60hz.

 

[gian83xxx]

27 all the day