21:9 or 4k? Also Gsync or not?

Hello!

I have been looking into 21:9 aspect ratio monitors for a while now and cant make up my mind on if i should get 21:9 or 4k. I am also on the edge if i should get Gsync on either monitor, this is mainly because i am not sure what kind of games Gsync is meant for. Is it meant for all games or just FPS. I mainly play open world games (witcher, fallout, etc..) so i'm not sure if i need Gsync. It might not seem like a big deal but everywhere i look Gsync monitors seem to double the price of all the monitors i look at so it begs the question is it that good and even necessary for me? Anyways lets get to the main reason i came here to look for help.. and that is should i get 4k or a 21:9 monitor? I had my eye set on 4k whenever i started looking into monitors but then i came upon the Acer Predator X34 ,which still might be an option but that price of $1300 has me all on the fence. So here i ask the community to maybe link me some good monitor for my setup ( i7 4790k with 1080 FTW, 16GB RAM) with all the goodies, and most importantly if i need Gsync with my new monitor or not. I would rather not spend the extra money if its not game changing to ALL games but i am if it changes the way gaming feels!

So if you guys wouldn't mind sending me some links with some great monitors to look at and even some suggestions on what to look for that would be excellent.

@karhmuh:

Screen tearing usually happens when fps is different than your monitor's refresh rate (mostly when you are not using vsync and get higher fps than you monitor can show, i.e. 70fps on 60Hz monitor, but can happen if the fps is lower as well - depends on game engine). Seeing as your PC might not give constant 60fps on a 4K res, you might get more tearing than on a 1080p res. It's up to you, if you want to spend more for gsync (maybe you get screen tearing now, but just don't notice it, so gsync would be useless).

If you don't notice screen tearing in games, you don't need gsync.

I haven't tried 4k but having gone 21:9 I don't see myself ever going back.

@rmpumper: quick question.. do you think it is worth it for Gsync? playing on standard 1080p i don't notice any tears at all but wondering if i switch to 4k will i maybe see more? Thanks for the response.

@MuD3: Do you mind if i ask which monitor you have? I am still on the fence on some 21:9 monitors and have no idea on which 4k monitor I should get if I do go that way.

I was one of the first adopters of 21:9 on this site I think that posted... I had the Dell 29", I love them but I hate them. Main reason I hate them is because even now some games don't support the aspect ratio.

I upgraded to a 34" LG and then just said f*** it an got a 40" 4K AMVA iiyama 10Bit Panel and glad I did.

@rmpumper: Thank you so much lol. I think I am gonna lean on the 4k side of the fence and as for Gsync I think I am good without it. I will just use v sync and hope I avoid the screen tears :p! again thank you for all the help.

@Grey_Eyed_Elf: Yes i had read about the lack of games for 21:9 gaming but i had seen that more and more games where starting to support it and even some mods were coming out with patches. i.e fallout 4. I think i will look more into 4k monitors for the sake of saving some money and getting some nice res. Thanks for the response.

@karhmuh: If you're looking at a predator what I got isn't going to be what you're looking for. It's an LG 34um68-p. If I had the money to also upgrade my GPU I would have gone with 1440 too.

The only games I have played recently that didn't support 21:9 were Fallout 4 and Inside. I was able to get it working easily with a mod for fallout 4 and I wasn't concerned about it for Inside, it just played at 1920x1080 with black boarders on either side.

@karhmuh: Is this too expensive? Its the best of the best.

http://www.eizoglobal.com/products/flexscan/ev3237/index.html#tab02

Or this

http://www.eizoglobal.com/products/coloredge/cg318-4k/index.html#tab02

G-Sync also smooths out fps fluctuations quite nicely so that everything of around 70fps and above feels more or less the same (or at least looks it) even if the fps is changing due to GPU load (G-Sync won't smooth out abrupt stutters coming from a CPU bottleneck).

So, if you are going to be playing at well above 60fps you might want to consider G-Sync even if you don't mind or notice tearing. After all, achieving 60fps might not be that hard, but trying to V-Sync to a stable 120/144 is near impossible at times, and it's in those times that G-Sync shines.

No point in playing at over 60fps if the monitor is just 60Hz. All it does is add extra load and thus heat/instability to the system and gives you screen tearing. Sure, some games seem to run better at higher frames (i.e. CSGO), but usually it's just a placebo or crappy vsync support by the game engine (again, CSGO, where vsync just makes everything appear floaty, that's why it's better to limit FPS in-engine rather than using vsync in Source games).

If you do end up not getting a gsync monitor, remember that Nvidia's last few updates added the fastsync to their drivers so its a nice thing to enable if your going to play full screen and want your fps to run unlocked without the extra lag of vsync... and its nice how it works on any monitor. My monitors pretty old and just a 60hz but i don't get screen tearing with it fastsync enabled.

gsync is useless. Its another proprietary nvidia technology that will be obsolete in a few years just like their so called physx. AMD already supports and open standard version called free sync if I remember right and as you would probably guess its much cheaper and also superior. Free sync is also the standard version which the industry uses, including intel.

@GTR12: I would say that is for sure out of my range! the first one inst so much but the second one is way beyond what id pay for a monitor! You are right though they are best of the best that is for sure! I appreciate the links. always love getting other peoples opinions.

@Yams1980: Thanks for the info! I am getting all of this help and somehow its still super hard deciding on which monitor I should get lol. life choices :D

@karhmuh: Also this one;

http://www.benq.com.au/product/monitor/bl3201pt/

Do note, that's a 4k2k resolution, not 4k, if that matters.

I'd recommend Dell as well, but they don't have any ultrasharp monitors at 4k yet, highest is 2k.

I have a 4K / 60hz monitor and a Acer Predator X34. 99% of my gaming is done on the Acer Predator X34.

• A few games don't work with 21:9, but a majority of the ones I play do. So + for 21:9. Best to look up what games you constantly play and see if it does or doesn't and make your judgement off that.
• 4K looks beautiful and I love it, but for gaming, higher refresh rate trumps it. 100hz >>>>>> 60hz
• G-Sync makes things much better. Frame rate fluctuations aren't annoying anymore. FreeSync or G-Sync are a requirement for any monitor I buy in the future. Variable refresh rate is that good.

21:9 BY FAR. You're not gonna notice the extra resolution from 4K much but you will notice the extra Hz from 21:9. I have both 21:9 and 4K and I prefer the 21:9 by light years. Get gsync if you can afford it, no reason not to.

For your setup, I'd say neither. 4k and 21:9 both require a lot of horsepower to make the most of. Maybe I'd recommend a nice 1440P set. G-Sync's a must. But if you really want something nice, Acer has some crazy 144Hz 4k quantum dot monitor coming out. Maybe wait for that. Because currently the issue with 4k monitors is that AFAIK they aren't 144Hz (and next to none are quantum dot, for that matter).

You have a 1080gtx try using 4kDSR in NVidia control panel and notice how laggy it is as this will be same on a native 4k. I'm in same position and looking out for a decent 1440p and also got a KFA2 EX OC 1080gtx I7 6770k 4.0ghz and I cant use 4kdsr. I get like 15fps and bad lag and stutter.

I'm keeping an eye on Dell S2716DG 27" 2560x1440 TN G-Sync 144Hz Gaming Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey or the Asus PG279Q ROG Swift 27" 2560x1440 IPS G-Sync 165Hz Gaming Widescreen LED Monitor - Black/Red

Both abit much at the moment but have been cheaper so I will wait for price to come down first. The dell is £589,99 at the moment but will be prepared to pay £515 if drops as it was last week. The Asus is way too much at £799

Just ordered DELL S2716DG Quad HD 27" LED Monitor £499 from pc world. Should be here in next week. So after my birthday :(. Wish it was here on my birthday. hehe.

21:9 looks too long and not so wide from top to bottom. or is there different sizes. I didn't like the look of the one I saw.

G-Sync is a must. Ultrawide and 4K optional.

G-sync is just way too awesome to pass.

As for 21:9 or 4k. I'd say 21:9.

4K is still a ¤¤¤{ when it comes to the necessary power to get a decent framerate, and superwide screens are just awesome.

21:9 is obviously much wider and slightly skinnier from top to bottom, more like your natural eye movement. Eyes are far more used to looking left and right rather than up to down. While you won't really see the edges of an ultra wide your peripheral vision will, making it much more immersive especially since most ultra wides are curved. Ultra wide (and curved) actually makes quite a big difference in immersion, I was surprised. Given the choice I would never ever even consider going back to 16:9 or flat screens. My 4K TV is curved as well. Ultra wide and curved 4 lyfe.

Nvidia just announced gysnc HDR monitors. But I bet there be £1000 + $1000 plus to start with.

Havent 2nd guessed my Gsync monitor even once, its amazing. And people havent noted that while playing with vsync does get rid of screen tear, it comes with negatives as well, like stutter and worst input lag.

Gsync is great.. No tearing, no input lag or stuttering with vsync.. And it helps mask dips in fps that would be noticeable otherwise.. Also most gsync monitors I know of are 3d capable.. And I actually quite like using NVidia 3d on quite a few games (though you would have to disable gsync when doing that unfortunately)..