I'm deciding whether to move from my 27-inch 1080p 240Hz IPS monitor to a 1440p OLED before upgrading my graphics card. My current system has a Ryzen 5 5600X, RTX 3070 Founders Edition with 8GB VRAM, 16GB DDR4-3200, a B550 motherboard, a 650W Gold PSU, and a 1TB NVMe SSD.
The two monitors I'm considering are the ASUS ROG Strix XG27ACDMS, a 27-inch 1440p 280Hz QD-OLED for about $500, and the Alienware AW2726DM, a 27-inch 1440p 240Hz OLED for around $350. I may wait for another sale, but I'd really like the image-quality upgrade from 1080p IPS to 1440p OLED.
I mostly play Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Monster Hunter World, Monster Hunter Wilds, and other single-player games, with some Fortnite and other shooters. Benchmarks suggest my RTX 3070 can generally manage around 60–90 FPS at 1440p Ultra, although the 8GB of VRAM could become a limitation in newer games. Eventually, I'm considering an RX 9070 XT and a later AM5 platform upgrade, but I can't afford to replace everything right now.
Would you buy the cheaper OLED now, get the more expensive ASUS for its panel features and OLED-care options, or keep the 1080p monitor and upgrade the GPU first?
4 Answers
I’d get the cheaper Alienware. The jump from 1080p to 1440p is very noticeable, and the RTX 3070 should handle 1440p reasonably well in most of those games. The difference between 240Hz and 280Hz probably won’t be noticeable, especially in single-player titles. Put the extra $150 toward the eventual GPU upgrade.
A 3070 can do 1440p well enough, but it won’t consistently drive 240–280 FPS in demanding games. If you want very high refresh rates, you’ll eventually need the faster GPU. For now, though, variable refresh rate should make a 60–90 FPS experience feel smooth, so I’d buy the monitor first and upgrade the GPU later.
If you could get an RX 9070 XT for $550 after trading in the 3070, that would be a strong performance upgrade. Just check the power requirements carefully: many 9070 XT models recommend a 750W supply, while your 650W unit may be borderline. Also make sure the card uses properly connected power cables rather than daisy-chaining them.
The monitor is the upgrade you’ll actually look at every day. Going from IPS to OLED, especially in a darker room, can be a much bigger improvement than going from roughly 60 FPS to 90 FPS. Your 3070 should be fine if you lower a few settings when necessary, though 8GB of VRAM may become the main limitation in newer games.
Unfortunately, the trade-in offer doesn’t accept the Founders Edition version of my RTX 3070. I was mainly considering the $500 ASUS because of its OLED-care features and darker blacks, not just the extra 40Hz, so I’m still weighing whether those benefits are worth the premium.