Part Recommendations

[BigAl01]

This has been a busy year for me, building several computers and upgrading a few older machines.  One recent upgrade was the rebuild of TOTB (Thinking Outside The Box) in August 2023; I went with the AMD 5600 CPU and a Gigabyte AB350-Gaming III motherboard and reused an AMD Radeon RX580 GPU (MSI Armor) which is pushing pixels to an older HP 27" 60 Hz 1080p monitor.  The system works well and I'm very happy with it.  However, I'm starting to think that a 120Hz or greater gaming monitor (maybe curved a bit) would be better, and I would want to move up to 1440 resolution too.  Granted, I might have to update the video card along the way, but that could be a Xmas present to myself.  

So, what 27" (or similar size) curved gaming monitors that have a VESA mounting should I be looking at?  Remember that I want at least 120 Hz response, I prefer AMD FreeSync Premium support, and a 1440 resolution.  An IPS monitor might be ideal, but the price goes up quite a bit for that.  As for cost, I want to keep it under $300 USD if possible.

TOTB-2 rebuild in August 2023, with a moveable monitor mount. A curved gaming monitor might be ideal here.

[Wally_AMD]

It's always difficult to find a good monitor since there are SO many out there, but I did stumble across this Gigabyte 27'' that looks to meet all your requirements! It's close to the top of your budget though, but maybe worth looking into?

edit: Ope, but it's not curved!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09Z6VRX8F?tag=rtings-mn-r-out-of-stock-20&ie=UTF8&th=1

• 27" 2560x1440
• IPS Display
• 165Hz Refresh Rate
• 1ms (GTG) Response Time
• $279 (on sale)

[BigAl01]

I've been wondering about an IPS display.  Expensive they are but impressive too.  I think on my workbench that a curved monitor would be less in the way as the current flat display.  Otherwise, the refresh rate and resolution work for me.

[BigAl01 · Accepted solution]

Well, I just learned that today is an Amazon Prime Deal day.  Remember that 34" 160 Hz monitor I bought for $350 when I assembled 'Lian Li X3D' in July 2023?  Today that same monitor is $299, so I bought it.  No, I'm not going to mount the 34" monitor to the workbench.  Instead, I will place that new 34" monitor with another computer (Game-A-Tron-3) that is running an AMD Radeon 6700XT video card, and the 27" curved Acer ED270U monitor that was with Game-A-Tron-3 can move over to the workbench.  It has a higher refresh rate (120 Hz I think) and it's a 1440 resolution.  Down the road I will need a better video card for TOTB-2, which is running the AMD Radeon RX580 video card right now. 

[Thrasherhoodie]

The short answer is: Yes. The majority of current monitor models are VESA compliant and allow for easy mounting on the wall or a desk mount.

[Sam_AMD]

Hello, Al! 

I've always been a fan of MSI and ASUS, I've owned both and never had an issue in terms of performance and compatibility. 

I have an MSI Optix MAG342CQR for my gaming rig. It's awesome! 

With the above in mind, I suggest you get the:

MSI G27C4X 27" Curved Gaming Monitor, 1920 x 1080 (FHD), 1ms, 250Hz, FreeSync, HDMI, DisplayPort, An...

It's $169 at Amazon. 

[BigAl01]

So, I decided (see solution above) to use my existing Acer 27" curved display.  It actually supports 165 Hz and WQHD resolution (2056 X 1440).  I pulled it away from my Game-A-Tron-3 computer and swapped out the work bench monitor that goes with TOTB-2 this afternoon.  Initially I was using the existing HDMI cable since I didn't think the RX580 video card supported Display Port.  But I started having problems after the system was running for about 5 minutes.  The display would suddenly go blank, even though the monitor light was still blue (meaning it had a signal).  I did a Windows update and downloaded the latest Radeon drivers, but it still blanked the display after about 5 minutes.  I looked at carefully at the video card and it does have Display Port ports (they had those plastic plugs inserted so it was hard to tell initially).  I pulled out a Display Port cable (not the latest 2.1 spec, but a free one that came with some monitor) and plugged it into the monitor and video card.  Problem solved.  I'm not sure why the HDMI connection was causing me problems, but I did have a 90 degree adapted in the connection that's been there for years.  

I did some gaming with World of Tanks and with Stray.  Both games are running well and I am happy with this gaming computer now.  Tomorrow my new 34" monitor should arrive and I'll hook it up to Game-A-Tron-3 and see how well it performs.

I removed the base from the ACER 27" curved monitor.

After mounting it to the workbench, and still using the HDMI cable, it booted up but the display went blank after 5 minutes.

I swapped to the DP cable and that fixed my display problems. I tested it with World of Tanks.

Here's the original box from the ACER 27" curved monitor.

[BigAl01]

The new 34" Ultra-Wide LG monitor arrived an hour ago.  I already have it up and running with Game-A-Tron-3, and it's very nice.  I think I'll go play a game or two.  This was the right decision, to take the 27" curved monitor from this computer and buy a 34" curved monitor as it's replacement.

The Post Office delivered this Amazon purchase. Donald is wondering why I keep spending money on computer stuff.

The base is assembled and ready for the monitor attachment.

The monitor clicked into place. This is ready for use now.

And here we are, Game-A-Tron-3 has a worthy monitor. This computer is running the AMD 5600X CPU and the AMD 6700XT video card.