I recently built a new PC and gave my previous system to my girlfriend. It has a Ryzen 5 2600X, MSI B450 Gaming Plus, 16GB of DDR4-3000, a reference RX 5700, a 500W Be Quiet Pure Power 11 CM, and a Meshify C case with plenty of airflow. She will mainly target 60 FPS, although higher refresh rates would be nice for shooters and esports games.
The games she is likely to play include The Sims 4, Overwatch, Minecraft, Roblox, Marvel Rivals, Valorant, The Last of Us Part I, Resident Evil Village, GTA Online, Forza Horizon 6, Silent Hill F, Cities: Skylines 2, Until Dawn, Evil Within, Jurassic World Evolution 3, and some lighter Nintendo Switch emulation.
I am deciding between buying an inexpensive 24-inch 1080p monitor now and replacing it when the PC is upgraded in roughly two or three years, or buying a good 27-inch 1440p monitor now and keeping it through the next upgrade. The difference between a decent 1080p display and a good 1440p display is only around €30–40.
The current RX 5700 may struggle with some newer games at 1440p, so we could lower the resolution or settings when necessary. However, 1080p does not scale perfectly on a 1440p monitor and may look blurry. The future upgrade will probably use a Ryzen 7 5800X3D and a midrange GPU from that generation. Would a 27-inch 1440p IPS or VA monitor be the better long-term choice, or is 24-inch 1080p more sensible for this hardware?
3 Answers
For the current PC alone, 24-inch 1080p is the safer choice. The RX 5700 can handle many games well at 1080p, while demanding titles such as Marvel Rivals, The Last of Us, newer horror games, and large simulation games may require substantial compromises at 1440p. A 1440p panel also does not display 1080p perfectly because 1440 is not an exact multiple of 1080, so the image can appear blurry.
If the monitor will definitely be replaced when the computer is upgraded, buy 1080p now. If avoiding a second monitor purchase matters more, the 1440p option is reasonable despite the temporary compromises.
At only €30–40 more, I would choose the 27-inch 1440p monitor, provided it is a good model with decent motion handling. The RX 5700 should run lighter games and esports titles at 1440p, while heavier games can use lower settings or a quality upscaling mode. For the panel, IPS is generally the safer recommendation for response times and consistent image quality; a good VA can offer better contrast, but model quality varies and some VA panels have noticeable dark-level smearing. A 144Hz or 165Hz display is also worthwhile for Overwatch and Valorant, even if demanding games remain around 60 FPS.
A 27-inch 1440p monitor does not force you to run every game at 1440p. You can lower the resolution, use upscaling, reduce settings, or play in a smaller window until the graphics card is upgraded. That gives you a better long-term display, especially since the monitor will likely outlast the current GPU. It may look softer at 1080p, but it is still usable as a temporary compromise.
The upgrade is probably about two years away, and most of her games should be relatively easy to run aside from a few poorly optimized titles. That makes me lean toward the 1440p display, but I am still concerned about how often we would need to lower the resolution.