Monitor Upgrade

Relying on a standard monitor while possessing a powerful gaming PC leaves a lot on the table, or so at least I’ve been told. For a long time I went without a gaming monitor despite being prodded by fellow gaming enthusiasts who reminded me that I was not getting the most out of my build. I’ve honestly wanted a replacement but the cost felt more like a splurge than a necessity. However when my wife needed an external monitor for her laptop I made an offer to give her my current model. I then seized upon the opportunity and traveled to Micro Center Mall to get a new model that day.

Honestly I’ve put some thought into this purchase. My first and foremost consideration is G-Sync compatibility. Honestly I don’t see the screen tearing that others mention would be eliminated with G-Sync so that wasn’t the main reason, I just wanted to match what my card could do and see the results. Secondly I wanted 144 HZ. This is the magic number for all gaming monitors to be taken seriously. The best way to future proof is to at least get on the same level as what will be the industry standard a few years from now.

Lastly, I wanted dual hookups with HDMI and DVI. Since I plug my work PC into my gaming station I want to get to the point where cable management stops being an issue. I also want to play Retropie on this monitor, so everything is in the same place. As a bonus, since I read a lot of digital comics, being able to flip the screen 90 degrees without relying on an aftermarket stand would be nice. If the monitor houses a speaker I would be happy too, so that I could listen to the audio on my Retropie.

Interestingly enough I found a model that possessed all five of the items on my list AND it was in stock. Since Micro Center Mall is on the way to Kings Island, and my oldest son wanted to ride a few roller coasters now that he’s 48 inches tall, we hopped in the car and stopped on our way up to Warren County. I chose the Asus VG278QR.

The monitor is amazing. It does look better than the 60 HZ monitor it replaces, which was a decent model in its own right. The colors are definitely richer, the screen is brighter, and the motion blur is non-existent. I played Doom on it on max settings to see what I would notice and I am deeply impressed with it. I am glad I upgraded it for sure.

If you go this route, make sure to download GeForce Experience from Nvidia. This automatically uploads drivers so you can utilize G-Sync. GeForce Experience handled a driver issue I ran into and provided a better way for recording screen activities (the XBox Game Bar that comes on Windows PCs will not record at this level). I still hope to drop a few videos on YouTube of my gaming sessions because I find it helpful to go back and find any instances where I might have made mistakes that’s affecting my progress in a game.