I want to replace my current 27-inch 1080p IPS monitor running at 165Hz with something sharper at the same size. I found an inexpensive 4K display for about $240, but it only supports 60Hz, and I'm worried that the resolution improvement wouldn't be worth giving up so much smoothness.
How low can the refresh rate go before the sharper image becomes worthwhile? Would a 1440p monitor with a much higher refresh rate be the better choice if it costs about the same? I'd prefer not to spend a lot. My system has a Ryzen 7 7700X, an RTX 4060 Ti with 8GB of VRAM, and 32GB of RAM.
1 Answer
I’d personally choose a 1080p high-refresh display over a 4K 60Hz one. Once you’re used to 120Hz or higher, 60Hz feels noticeably sluggish even during normal desktop use, not just gaming.
A 1440p monitor running at 120Hz or more is probably the best middle ground here. It’s a substantial sharpness upgrade over 1080p, while still being easier for your RTX 4060 Ti to drive than 4K. You may get lower frame rates than you do at 1080p, but the image should look considerably cleaner.
High-refresh 4K monitors are available, but they usually cost more and put a much heavier load on the graphics card. One useful option with 4K is that demanding games can be played at 1080p using exact 4:1 pixel scaling, while desktop work and lighter games can use the full 4K resolution.
An 8GB RTX 4060 Ti can handle 1440p, especially with sensible settings and upscaling when needed. It won’t run every new game at maximum settings and very high frame rates, but 1440p at around 120Hz is a much more realistic target than 4K high refresh for this GPU.