So.. After a day in ASUS ROG South Asia finals tourney (which was freaking amazing btw!!), I got to see all kinds of monitors and, set ups. Here are my thoughts and experience with the same. This is just my personal experience and, it may vary from person to person.
1. 1080 144Hz
If you are buying a 1080p monitor, the sweet spot is 24" and, definitely 144hz!! From what I saw, 144Hz is definitely an upgrade from 60Hz. However, I did not find it to be, well, THAT good! Looking at the cost, I feel that a good 1080p IPS panel 144Hz is still worth investing in. This however, also demands a good GPU mind you. Since, it may require to tone down settings from max for some of the more demanding games! This can be an option if you game casually and, you want a good experience along with good eyecandy in games.
2. 1080p 60Hz
Well, this being the standard and, this being the most vastly available option, always go for IPS panels instead of TN. The difference is night and day when it comes to colour accuracy, color gamut, etc.. Also, look for something at the range of 10k INR. VA panels give best of both worlds though, not as vibrant as the IPS panels when it comes to color reproduction though.
3. 1440p 60Hz
1440p is definitely an upgrade from 1080p!! Always go for a 27" or higher monitors. Never go for 24" 1440p monitors. Its just not worth it!! I much prefer the IPS panels along with a 4-5ms response time. This, is for those who have a tighter budget ( like me ) and, is something you can look as an upgrade if you have a decent graphics card. Do your research on how your GPU performs at 1440p and, if you are willing to tone down the settings a bit, you can still get a good looking game with 60+ FPS. Though, I would love to see at least Dynamic Adaptive Sync tech in these for the best experience!
4. 1440p 144Hz
Having experienced this live, playing CS:Go and, mirror edge, I gotta say, its just butter smooth and awesome!! Though, this is the best buy for those looking for good visuals and details with a good gaming experience, it does take a GTX 1080 or, 1080 ti with the settings turned down to high or very high for getting the FPS anywhere near to 144!! For those who can afford the cost of the GPU AND the extra cost of the monitor itself, do go ahead and, you will not be disappointed!!
5. Triple monitor set up
While this is something I have always wanted ( every gamers dream eh! ) after trying it out, playing Tomb raider for sometime ( 27" triple monitor set up in that!), I should day, while its immersive, it also has its cons. For me, this particular con was a huge let down.. "The sides appear stretched!!" ... I mean, it was immersive to be frank, however, it felt that the game was not optimized enough for that resolution may be? I did not like the confusion it bought while making quick turns. It was disorienting at times. At least for me.. Though, it may not be same for others! However, if you are indeed going for such set up, I would suggest go for a 24" set up with 1080p 144/120hz monitors.. It's just really good!
So as a conclusion to my confusion, I finally figured out that, a 1440p 144Hz monitor, while its tempting in all sorts, may not be worth it for me as of now. Thanks to the added cost in India where every damn thing costs double the US cost, its just not worth it. I have also seen many complaints against such monitors having dead pixels or, black light bleed or, black patches ( Especially in ASUS monitors! Why ASUS why?? ).. I may for now, go for a good 1440p 60Hz monitor with an IPS panel. So the hunt begins...
Hope this helps someone in the same situation as me. Please do keep in mind that, as the games get more tuned to 4k, they can get more demanding making it a must to upgrade your GPU in order to get anything decent in terms of FPS on a 144Hz 1440p monitor!! I may, if money and time permits, go for a 1440p monitor in the far future. However, as of now, 1440p 60Hz makes sense to me more than anything!!
Cheers,
KP
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