Thoughts on monitor for best visuals

[jparnold]

I have a 27 inch Samsung monitor with a resolution of 1920X1080 and a refresh rate of 60Hz.

As much of the information on the PFD (Beechcraft King Air) is very small and I struggle to see it clearly (yes I know that I can zoom in) I am considering upgrading to a 32 inch monitor as everything will then be slightly larger.

After speaking with a salesperson it seems that resolution plays an important part in how sharp the image is and the monitor I am considering is 4K (2560X1440).
Does screen resolution always affect sharpness of the image or are there other things to consider?

The salesperson also stated that the refresh rate affects the smoothness of movement but apart from outside scenery is this important with FS2020?

I believe that higher resolution also affects refresh rates/fps as the video card has to work harder. Mine only has 6GB Vram - could this be a problem?

Lastly does anyone have any opinions on MSI brand monitors (I have never heard of them before)?

[daspinall]

copied from google......

"The RTX 2060 isn't powerful enough to game at 4K, at least using maximum quality settings, but that's not really the point. ... At some point games are absolutely going to require more than 6GB of VRAM for best visuals"

[jparnold]

Thanks,
A new video card adds at least $A600 (the cost of the monitor is $A600) which tips me over what I can currently afford.

Maybe I can get the 4K monitor and if it affects fps too much use it at resolution 1080 until I can afford a better video card.
My first consideration is simply to upgrade from a 27" to 32" monitor and many are the same resolution as my 27" ie 1920x1080 but surely the sharpness would not be as good as 2560x1440. Here I am thinking of the altitude and VS speed settings on the PFD which are very small and difficult to read unless I zoom in close. Consider the following image of the pfs and auto pilot panel both of which needs to be displayed when setting required altitude and VS - the VS is marked with a red arrow and if VERY small. Is there something different I can do to set ALT and VS.





Currently I get around 30fps from 'pilots view' and 40fps over Sydney Australia with the following settings.



What could I expect with a new video card with 8gb vram and everything else much the same as my current card using it at 4K?

Lastly is 75Hz fast enough for FS2020?

[loki]

First thing to note is that 2560x1440 (also called 1440p) is not 4k, which would actually be 3840 × 2160. I find 1440p to be a decent resolution for games, especially for a 27" monitor. The higher the resolution, the more GPU power you need, and for 4k you really need the fastest GPU you can get (ie. GTX 2080 or better, and preferably a 3080). Anything less on the GPU side and I would stick to 1440p at the most.

As for sharpness, both the physical size as well as the resolution play a role. A 1080p 32" monitor would be relatively grainy at typical desk viewing distances as you will be able to see each individual pixel, whereas a 27" or 32" 1440p would be sharper, and a 4k model the sharpest of all. Keep in mind that the high resolution will also affect Windows and other programs too. Many applications these days are designed so that text and icons won't be too small, but there are still many that aren't.

What you could try is take a screenshot, save it to a USB stick and see if the store would let you open it full screen on the larger 1080p monitor to get an idea of what it would look like. This would only work when looking at monitors with the same 1080p resolution though.

[jparnold]

Thanks loki.
Sorry I was getting things confused. NO I would not necessarily want a 4K monitor (4 X the pixels of the 1080p) and I think 1440p (1.6 x pixels of the 1080p) in a 32" monitor would be good enough and reasoned that I need better than 1080p for a larger screen for sharpness.

I will consider taking a 1080p screen shot on usb to my local store and compare 27" and 32" but would expect it to not look so good on a 32" monitor.

Will my 6GB video card be 'up to' a 1440p screen without too much drop in fps?

Do you think that I would noticed any difference with FS2020 on a monitor of 75Hz compared to one at 140Hz? I have been advised that faster Hz results in smoother animation.

[loki]

Will my 6GB video card be 'up to' a 1440p screen without too much drop in fps?

Your GTX 2060 should be able to handle a 1440p monitor without too much drop in performance or settings. Given the issues with GPU supplies these days, not having to find and buy a new one would be good.

Do you think that I would noticed any difference with FS2020 on a monitor of 75Hz compared to one at 140Hz? I have been advised that faster Hz results in smoother animation.

The faster refresh rates only matter if your computer can generate matching frame rates. If you're only getting 30-40FPS though, then you won't notice any difference going over a 60 Hz refresh rate. However, what would make a difference is that many gaming oriented models offer Nvidia's G-Sync or AMD's Freesync features that allow the monitor to adjust the refresh rate to match the frame rate of your sims or game. There is a lower limit to the supported refresh rates though.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-is-g-sync/

[jparnold]

Great reply loki - thanks
Now all I have to decide on is a flat or curved monitor and I am thinking that with a 32" monitor viewing at no more than 24" away a curved one might be better.

[GlennAir]

As a bit of a newbie, thought I would share my personal thoughts.

I have an i5 9600K running at 4.8 Ghz. 32 GB sys memory. Graphics is a Gigabyte GTX 1660 OC (6 GB VRAM). Monitor is an AOC 32 inch curved. Res' is 2560 x 1440 and I have it running at 144 Hz. Most FS Settings are on 'High'. AS you can see from the screenshot, flying over London (UK FS Update 3) and REX WeatherForce running live weather, I am getting just below 26 fps. I, personaly, am quite happy with this and it appears (to me) to be running acceptably comfortably. Jitters and judders are so small as to be barely noticeable. Yes I would love to upgrade to a 3070 or 3080, but under current circumstances that's just not going to happen!

Happy & safe flying peoples.

https://prnt.sc/100ry2x

https://prnt.sc/100s9f2

https://prnt.sc/100srje

[chicagorandy]

I went with a 32" curved, have a lower grade PC system (with a 4gb graphics card) than yours and the view IMHO is marvelous compared to my former 24" flat screen. MY PC desk could support something even larger but my limited budget can't - lol.

Upgrading and then adding my $75 budget IR head tracker has made for a wonderfully immersive sim experience. Doubtless not as much as VR, but my system isn't powerful enough and for now good VR is mighty pricey, just like the PC I'd need to run one.

[Disneyflyer]

I've got a MSI 27 inch monitor with refresh at 144mhz and I am pretty happy with it.
I was skeptical at first but its much better than my samsung 27inch. I use the samsung as a 2nd monitor and have undocked the radio, weather, mini vfr map on it.

Specs for my machine are I7-9700 @ 3.6ghz 32gb Ram, RXT 2070 Super and I rarely dip below 30fps even in the heavy graphic areas like the handcrafted airports or flying in and around NYC, London etc.

I have my settings at high visuals on almost all.