Monitor

Hello iLegionLord - welcome to the Digital Storm forums!

1) Optimal resolution depends on your graphics card. The more powerful the graphics card, the higher the resolution you can go while still maxing out graphics quality settings. Of course, the more powerful the card, the more you pay. AnandTech has a handy buyer's guide that breaks down cards by price and resolution:
http://anandtech.com/show/7981/best-video-cards-april-2014

Performance      Price Range
1080p (Low)      $99-$149 (ie R7 250X)
1080p (Med)     $149-$199 (ie R7 265, GTX 750 Ti)
1080p (High)     $199-$299 (ie R9 270, GTX 760)
1440p (Med)     $299-$399 (ie R9 280X, GTX 770)
1440p (High)     $399-$679 (ie R9 290, GTX 780)
1440p (Max)     $679+      (ie GTX 780 Ti)
4K/MM* (High)     $1200+     (ie 2xR9 290X)
*MM = Multi-monitor

2) Size is entirely your preference, but the larger the monitor, the higher the resolution you'll want. Personally, I wouldn't go above 24" on a 1080P monitor, as it's just not crisp enough for me. Fortunately, there are a lot of 27" 1440P monitors on the market, though once you step away from 16:9 aspect ratio 1080P monitors, prices tend to jump. (16:9 1080P monitors are the most common, so they benefit from economies of scale).

3) Generally speaking, these are the factors to consider when looking for a gaming monitor:
Size
Resolution
Panel Type
Refresh Rate
Input Lag
Price (Obviously)

Size
Self-explanatory. Measured diagonally across the monitor. Note that some monitors have large bezels or black space, that make the screen look bigger than it actually is when turned off.

Resolution
Discussed above. At a given screen size, higher resolution equals a crisper display. Of course, the higher the resolution, the more power needed to game at native resolution. (And you generally want to game at native resolution). These days, the most common resolution is easily 1080P, followed by 1440P, 1600P - each of those numbers refers to the number of horizontal lines on the monitor. "4K" is also beginning to make a splash, but they're still hammering out the connection standard, so I wouldn't recommend it. ("4K" is actually slightly different from "UHD" (or 2160P), which is what is used in most TVs and Monitors. Nevertheless, these monitors are typically called "4K" anyway).

Panel Type
The two basic types of panel for gaming are known as "TN" and "IPS." TN is an older tech. It has poorer quality color reproduction and worse viewing angles, but higher refresh rates. Generally, if a monitor boasts a refresh rate above 60Hz, it's a TN panel. IPS (which has many variants) is a newer tech. It has superior color reproduction and better viewing angles, but generally poorer refresh rates. (There are some exceptions - so called "overclocked" 1440P 27" panels - but these are very rare, and in many cases involve buying on the gray market with very limited warranties).

When choosing between TN and IPS, the question generally boils down to whether you need frame rates above 60fps. For a young gamer with good reflexes who plays "twitch" games like COD, BF4, or Starcraft II, the higher frames per second may provide a competitive advantage. For more of the rest of us, 60fps is usually fine. That said, there are plenty of gamers who just plain prefer frame rates over 100, and for them, a TN panel is pretty much the only option.

Refresh Rate and Input Lag
Two connected concepts. Refresh rate is how many times per second your monitor refreshes it's image. Generally, it'll be 60Hz (most monitors), 120Hz or 144Hz (certain gaming TN panels).

Input lag is generally a function of three things: The refresh rate (lower refresh rate = more input lag), the panel tech (IPS = more input lag than TN), and the quality of the circuitry in the monitor. Unfortunately, manufacturers do not give good figures on this, so you generally need to read monitor reviews. Some good IPS panels have lower total input lag than cheaper TN panels.

To determine the input lag on a monitor you're interested in, I recommend checking out dedicated monitor review sites, like:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/
http://pcmonitors.info/

Hope this helps!

Originally posted by iLegionLord Hi, Thanks for the welcome and for the extremely well thought-out response. I'd just like to add on a few things that I just found out. For the refresh rate and input lag, Asus's VG248QE eliminates that by introducing G-Sync. The monitor only displays/refreshes when there is a new frame. It does not re-display the frame rendered and held in the buffer, so there is no lag or stuttering. As for the refresh rates, I personally think that anything above 30 FPS isn't necessary. It has been proven that the human eye cannot distinguish between 30 FPS or more so there isn't any difference between 60Hz, 120Hz or 144Hz. I would say the thing that truly matters would be a monitor that offers a stutter free experience with a resolution that is as high as possible while offering 1 ms response time. Hence I've decided to settle on the Asus VG248QE over the Asus PB278Q. If I may, can you evaluate both of the monitors and give me your verdict on what I should buy? Many thanks, iLegionLord

Technically, G-SYNC doesn't eliminate input lag. What it eliminates is stuttering and tearing caused by a mismatch between the (generally variable) framerate put out by the GPU and the (without G-SYNC, fixed) refresh rate of the monitor. As a side effect, G-SYNC monitors have no need for V-SYNC, which is a less effective solution that can cause input lag. Anyway, the initial reviews have been pretty clear - G-SYNC equipped monitors offer a vastly smoother gaming experience than non-equipped monitors.

The pros of the PB278Q:
*Higher resolution / sharper screen.
*Larger size (if desired).
*Superior color reproduction.

The pros of the VG248QE:
*Vastly smoother gaming experience if equipped with G-SYNC.
*Higher refresh rate in general.
*Lower input lag.

Edited by Counsel - 04 May 2014 at 1:03pm

It's your choice.... smooth(er) gameplay or more visual fidelity

Edited by Nav - 04 May 2014 at 5:00pm

Definitely the ROG SWIFT PG278Q. No two ways about it. Just waiting for it to be released...hehehe

Originally posted by Counsel Originally posted by iLegionLord If I'm not wrong, the VG248QE is the only monitor to offer G-sync at the moment, but the PB278Q looks darn good when playing games too. It's a difficult choice I guess... You could look into whether ASUS is shipping the ROG SWIFT PG278Q yet. $800 for a TN panel, but it ups the resolution to 1440P at 27". http://www.asus.com/us/News/xXtX0FNhXQWPrry7