What gives a better WoW Experience: 1440p/144Hz VS 4k/60Hz

[TyrianFC]

So I just bought a sexy new comp with a GTX1080 - and need to replace my shitty old 1920 / 60Hz monitor. And i'm having trouble deciding between a 1440/144Hz high refresh gaming monitor VS a 4k / 60Hz one. I've never used a monitor higher than 60Hz, so have no perspective on how vhigh fps feels when playing wow, whether the difference is noticeable/minor etc.

I'm not a competitive FPS gamer, I dont play CS/Doom and twitchy games seriously, I enjoy playing my WoW / Dota 2 / Skyrim / SC / Diablo 3 etc.

What would you choose? What gives a better WoW experience? I didnt want to put this in the niche computer forum because i'm asking specifically for WoW and what would complement the WoW gaming experience.

From reading various opinions on this topic, there's a bunch of observations i've read other people say so far, feel free to confirm/deny whether the following are true or false:

- To really make best use of a 4k monitor, it really should be 32" at least and with gsync / freesync (given that even gtx 1080 wont always hit 60hz - and you'll wanna butter out framerates). Also this means investing in a pretty damn expensive monitor (current 32" 4k monitors arent cheap by themselves, then add in a few hundred more for gsync)
- High refresh 4k monitors dont exist yet as a consumer product (outside of proof-of-concept models) so they arent an option at all. But even if they did exist, nothing outside of (maybe) a Pascal Titan or 1080Ti could power them (which alone would cost a fortune + not withstanding the additional cost of the monitor above). And wont be till volta when non-extreme-priced gpus could power iit.
- High refresh is vastly UNDER-rated by people currently living on 60hz monitors, who dont understand/appreciate how 'good' it feels
- 4k does look better, but the jump in clarity from 1440p->4k is relatively minor/unimpressive compared to the jump from 1920->1440p, yet comes with a huge performance cost. (aka its overhyped and not worth it with current technology).
- Most people think 4k is better just because its a higher resolution, but dont realise they're more likely to get a much better experience at 1440p with higher refresh, until better gpu/monitor tech comes along to actually support/display that experience.

So it all comes down to: What would give you a better WoW experience, 1440p/144hz or a 4k/60hz monitor - and i'm interested in whether any of the above points (or anything else) factors into whatever your answer is or observations are.

It's pretty frustrating to be prepared/ready to spend ~$1000+ bucks on a monitor, but not know which damn one to sink the money into....


*** yes i'm aware of all the QC / BLB / IPS Glow / panel lottery issues on the Acer XB271HU and ASUS PG279Q, which sucks when considering the premium price point required to deliver the high fps 1440 experience.

[melodramocracy]

For gaming in general, I think my preference would be 1440p / 144, but I do play a wider variety of games. In the simplest terms, I'd rather have a game experience that absolutely never drops below a given framerate that looks great, than one that can occasionally be choppy but looks even better.

[Deleted]

1080p 120Hz

I'm not really up for another monitor upgrade to an even larger panel from my own POV.

It makes sense from the pixel density increase standpoint on a similar sized panel but it's not really an issue for me.

The reason? I'm not keen on neck movement. If my eyes can't scan the pane without moving my head then it isn't good.

IIRC, I was on a 24" or 22" screen. Asus VG248QE.

I'd still choose the 1440p for your own reasons provided if I were you though.
The low refresh and the inability for current hardware to churn out proper framerate on 4K isn't what I'd be looking forward to. GSync or not. If you've tasted 120+ hz, you'd probably agree with me.
The reduced input latency feel adds a lot to the overall enjoyability of any gaming experience.
And personally, I would still reccomend people to use 120hz on 144hz panels. For some odd reasons, it's better. I'm not an expert but the system seems to be overdriven a bit with 144, over DVI. Displayport might be better but I haven't tested in a while after having a few issues with it earlier.

[melodramocracy]

1080p 120Hz

I'm not really up for another monitor upgrade to an even larger panel from my own POV.

It makes sense from the pixel density increase standpoint on a similar sized panel but it's not really an issue for me.

The reason? I'm not keen on neck movement. If my eyes can't scan the pane without moving my head then it isn't good.

Interesting way to look at it. I've always thought that the best experience would be one where I can't naturally see the borders of a screen, at least left to right, without moving my head. I don't think anything actually exists that would reasonably satisfy that, but I can certainly get closer than a 27".

[Nevcairiel]

Personally I would not buy into 4K for gaming yet. For WoW it would probably be fine, if thats all you do, but there are also not any real advantages, as WoWs art assets are not that high quality.
For other games, or mores specifically new games demanding higher graphics, 4K is extremely taxing and even a 1080 is still not quite enough.

I have a 1440p/144Hz screen (27", an Acer XB270HU incidentally), with G-SYNC, and the high refresh rate is very neat, coupled with G-SYNC its just a smoothness dream.

[Roadblock]

Watcher: "Reduced Max Camera Distance"







What?
I gave the most authoritative answer I could find, straight out of the horse's mouth.
That's what gives you the best WoW experience.

[RoKPaNda]

I wouldn't buy into 4k for quite awhile yet, honestly.

[Paula Deen]

1080p 120hz

[Schizoide]

Split the difference and get s 21:9 ultrawide 3440x1440 monitor. They are amazing for gaming and your 1080 will be able to drive it at smooth framerates.

(Honestly, a 1080 can play WoW at 4k smoothly too-- WoW is not exactly a demanding game.)

[Paula Deen]

WoW is not exactly a demanding game.)

WoW is one of the most demanding games I have ever played. More likely than not its because of its age, but it is still very demanding.

[chazus]

Neither?

You can't really get 1440p @ 144hz/fps in raids.. And you can't get 4k at 60 either. I'd probably go with 4k though since it's more likely I'll at least it close to that.

You should be asking, do you want 1440p @ 50fps or 4k at 40fps.

[Chemii]

I wouldn't buy into 4k for quite awhile yet, honestly.

Why?

I've been playing 4K for the last month or so on my GTX 1080 and it's totally fine for Wow, D3, Overwatch and basically every game I've tried so far.

Using a LG 27UD68P 27" IPS Ultra HD 4K Monitor

[TyrianFC]

Why?

I've been playing 4K for the last month or so on my GTX 1080 and it's totally fine for Wow, D3, Overwatch and basically every game I've tried so far.

Using a LG 27UD68P 27" IPS Ultra HD 4K Monitor

Thats a freesync model which obvs wont work with yout gtx 1080. So what typical FPS are you getting in various activities (raid vs outdoor random shit vs 5man dungeon etc) and does the lack of gsync give you unacceptable tearing?

Also is a 27" monitor, little small for 4k or suits you fine? (what level of scaling do you use on desktop, because I imagine everything is super tiny or you have supermans vision).

[Low Hanging Fruit]

The best thing I have had that made WoW silky smooth in all situations is gsync monitor. Because with WoW you are likely going to see swings in fps depending on player density on screen or high effect raid encounters even on pretty powerful computers. Gsync really made the biggest difference. When I am at 144 it's rolling at 144 when it drops to 75 it keeps it smooth. Then when in insane moments I land in SW and suddenly 400 players appear and it dips to 30-40 for a few seconds it keeps it rolling smooth still until it rebounds.

If you have invested in a new nvida card I would highly suggest investing in at least a 1440p 120+ monitor with gsync. It will play all the current titles crispy as fuck and WoW will still be boss as well.

4K is newer and honestly cool as fuck but I hate buying monitors when they are still on the newer edge of tech scales. Usually end up regretting it when the fully polished and awesome 4K ones are out and the rest of the tech has caught up.

[Schizoide]

WoW is one of the most demanding games I have ever played. More likely than not its because of its age, but it is still very demanding.

You must not play many modern games. WoW is one of the least demanding PC games still actively played, yes even in raids. That doesn't mean it'll be locked at max FPS all the time at 4k, but it'll be extraordinarily playable with a 1080-- I have a 1080 myself.

[Chemii]

Thats a freesync model which obvs wont work with yout gtx 1080. So what typical FPS are you getting in various activities (raid vs outdoor random shit vs 5man dungeon etc) and does the lack of gsync give you unacceptable tearing?

Also is a 27" monitor, little small for 4k or suits you fine? (what level of scaling do you use on desktop, because I imagine everything is super tiny or you have supermans vision).

Most decent software scales the DPI automatically, including newer games. If you adjust the DPI it can mess with older games and stop the mouse functioning, D3 has this problem when you scale above 149%. I sit at about 125% and manage just fine.

As far as tearing goes, I play with standard V-Sync in most cases but have never seen tearing so far when I don't, with wow/League. Features like Anti-Aliasing can be switched off, even if they are recommended to be left on, I can't visibly see the difference they make anymore and in some cases this makes games look blurry/worse. This reduces the load on the card significantly.

Wow sits at about 130fps on ultra in Stormshield, moving around it can drop to above 70 ish, in dungeons less so - in raids I play with lower setting anyway so can't comment, as I prefer different settings when I'm trying to top dps as apposed to being casual or out in the world. I haven't experienced any noticeable frame drops on any game though bar Diablo 3, which I was used to at 1080p frankly.

I will echo the sentiment that wow while being the oldest, less visually appealing game, generates the most noise/heat from the card by far, bar that though I hardly hear it. It does look fantastic though.

For clarity

16GB DDR3 memory
4.3Ghz i5 Overclocked
Asus Z97 Motherboard
Samsung Evo 850 SSD

[Schizoide]

Wow, you run 125% scaling at 4k on a 27" monitor? You must have great eyes!

Over effective 110dpi or so is just too small for me.

[Pundit]

I jumped to 2k at 144hz and I can't ever go back to anything less. The GTX 1080 is a very beefy card, but as a single card solution for 4k it's still slightly hit or miss. Once you've seen a game at 100+ FPS with no screen tearing through G-Sync, it's a thing of beauty. By my rough estimates we're still a few years out from 4k monitors performing like these high frequency 2k monitors.

As others have said, you can always increase the resolution scaling if you're looking to push the game further.

At GTX 1080 on an Acer Predator or ROG Swift is truly a thing of beauty.

EDIT: A 21:9 monitor is also an option, however the ones that perform well like the Acer or ROG are more than 1000 dollars, and while WoW DOES support 21:9 resolutions and looks great in it, not many games support this aspect ratio and require either special tools to force it, or the monitor simply letterboxes the game.

[Chemii]

Wow, you run 125% scaling at 4k on a 27" monitor? You must have great eyes!

Over effective 110dpi or so is just too small for me.

It was pretty staggering how small it was at first but as I use visual que's from the icons on my desktop instead of reading words and I write music, I'm pretty quick with keyboard shortcuts and do a lot of things via muscle memory. Everything else I just scale up. Thankfully Chrome remembers scaling for each individual site you visit, which is a nice touch.

[Schizoide]

not many games support this aspect ratio and require either special tools to force it, or the monitor simply letterboxes the game.

Pillarbox, actually!