Monitor for Civilization

[Delvi]

I'm going to buy a new PC really soon and I'll need to buy a monitor as well. I'm thinking about buying a 27" 1440p IPS monitor and I would like to ask two things:

1) how is the scaling for 1440p in Civilization 5 and 6?

2) which are the refresh rate and response time required to have an excellent gaming experience?

3) since I'm going to get an AMD RX480 8GB, would I benefit having Freesync?

 

[legalizefreedom]

1. There is currently no scaling for 1440 in Civ6. It is badly needed as the UI is too small and this is the go-to resolution for gaming in 2016/2017. The scaling options are greyed out at 1440. Hope and complain that they provide it and it might happen.
2. 120 is good. I got the Asus with 165 and I can't tell a whole lot of difference between 120, 140 and 165. But get 120 at a minimum.
3. I went with the G-sync, but it was a mandatory requirement for me, so I would recommend one of the sync features, most definitely.

 

[Futumch]

I play at 2560 x 1440 resolution and Civ 6 seems fine. The scaling is pretty good.
Here's a screenshot of a game in progress (bear in mind there's going to be some JPEG artefacts, it will look clearer in-game).
http://www.bluestar.com.au/Civ6/spanishturds.jpg
As far as refresh rate goes, that's less of an issue with LCDs as they don't turn off between updates. To be honest it's been nothing more than a wank factor in the last few years - the panels are only made at a couple of places on the planet, so you're pretty much getting the same thing in a different chassis.
Freesync is more aimed at reducing tearing, which is probably more of a problem for twitch-style FPS games rather than Civ. I don't know a lot about how it works to be honest. If you play a fair few FPS games then you ought to hit up forums related to them and see what other people are using.

 

[tekjunkie28]

I wouldn't waste money on a 120hz monitor. Spend that one a better video card.
Freesync and Gsync have too many issues and the monitors are WAY too expensive for what they are. I am personally getting a 1440p monitor soon-ish but only if the price is right at it actually looks better then both of my 8 year old monitors.

What kind of games do you play?
I would hold out on building a new PC untill we see what AMD zen is capable of.

 

[Gorbles]

1. There is currently no scaling for 1440 in Civ6. It is badly needed as the UI is too small and this is the go-to resolution for gaming in 2016/2017. The scaling options are greyed out at 1440. Hope and complain that they provide it and it might happen.

Wrong (1080p is winning on Steam at 38% of the resolution share, 1440p sits at 1.83%).

I'm all for games providing better support for varying hardware configurations, but this is not an easy task and developers have to prioritise based on market preferences.

 

[legalizefreedom]

The UI is perfect at 1080. Unfortunately, this is the same UI size that is used for 1440. Several factors will contribute to whether the UI is too small at 1440. Good eyesight? 1440 on a 30" monitor (if that even exists); both will probably see you satisfied. 1440 on a 27" leaves me leaning in way too much. However it looks perfect on my 1080 laptop.

Refresh rate makes an incredible difference esp if you get eyestrain and or motion sickness.

Vertical sync is an issue in all types of games.

Wrong (1080p is winning on Steam at 38% of the resolution share, 1440p sits at 1.83%).

I'm all for games providing better support for varying hardware configurations, but this is not an easy task and developers have to prioritise based on market preferences.

Yes, I should have said it is the go-to resolution for serious desktop gaming. Anyone who buys a monitor today for a desktop and doesn't get one of the 1440 high frequency options hovering at $800 just plain doesn't have the budget.

I do understand that not everyone is an enthusiast and that most monitors in use today have been in use for many years, but even so, those numbers are surprising. That couldn't be desktop computers... or civ players... That has to include all the casual players and devices...

It's a strange argument to make since there is support for 4K resolutions, which I have to assume is a tiny fraction of even desktop civ players.

 

[spfun]

I have a korean panel and have no issues with Civ 6 @ 27" 1440p - 60hz. Though I've had it for years and never tried 1080p monitor before so can't really compare.

 

[Gorbles]

Yes, I should have said it is the go-to resolution for serious desktop gaming. Anyone who buys a monitor today for a desktop and doesn't get one of the 1440 high frequency options hovering at $800 just plain doesn't have the budget.

I do understand that not everyone is an enthusiast and that most monitors in use today have been in use for many years, but even so, those numbers are surprising. That couldn't be desktop computers... or civ players... That has to include all the casual players and devices...

It's a strange argument to make since there is support for 4K resolutions, which I have to assume is a tiny fraction of even desktop civ players.

I'm not sure calling anyone who doesn't mesh with your statements about hardware options a "casual" (this is the Steam hardware survey, yeah? Not a mobile device survey) or not a Civilisation player works well for you here. I am both a desktop owner, a Civilisation player, and a developer, and I'm quite happy with dual 1080p screens.

The idea that I should have to drop $800 on a monitor to be taken seriously is ludicrous. Most people in the world don't have that kind of budget, sorry

 

[Delvi]

The thing that I can't understand is if there are benefits using a monitor with frequency above 60hz and with fast response (less than 5ms). I play only Civilization, for the rest I use the PC only as DAW and for watching films, so I'd prefer to have IPS...

 

[jollywonk]

Especially if you only play Civ, let me tell you I use a single RX480 8GB to push Civ on a 4K TV, and it's amazing. UI upscaling works great for 4K. It's a 49" Samsung KS8000, has low input lag for a TV in the 20 ms area (compared to monitors with 2-5ms or other TVs with 50ms). Refresh rate isn't a big deal for Civ though. Yes 49" seems a bit excessive, but also glorious (the KS8000 isn't made smaller, or I would have gone 43"). I mean, I had no idea my warriors parted their hair so nicely.

 

[legalizefreedom]

I'm not sure calling anyone who doesn't mesh with your statements about hardware options a "casual" (this is the Steam hardware survey, yeah? Not a mobile device survey) or not a Civilisation player works well for you here. I am both a desktop owner, a Civilisation player, and a developer, and I'm quite happy with dual 1080p screens.

The idea that I should have to drop $800 on a monitor to be taken seriously is ludicrous. Most people in the world don't have that kind of budget, sorry

The OP asked for advice and I shared my experiences and opinions with them. No need to read more into it than that.

If you want a large, quality monitor with all the latest features, it's going to cost more, yes.

 

[mcaswell64]

I have a 27" 1440p IPS (Dell U2713HM) with an RX 480 8GB. It plays Civ 6 great. I used the same monitor (with an earlier video card) for 5 as well, and had no complaints.

I'm not sure what refresh rate is acceptable for Civ, but I don't expect you need anything crazy. It's not like we're playing a multiplayer FPS here.

 

[Gorbles]

The OP asked for advice and I shared my experiences and opinions with them. No need to read more into it than that.

If you want a large, quality monitor with all the latest features, it's going to cost more, yes.

You flat-out called people casuals -. I didn't have to read into anything My original statement stands - 1440p is not the default for any kind of gaming by any metric currently-available for the players on Steam (the only demographic that will be playing Civilisation VI).

I personally would not recommend people waste money on it, unless they have the money to spare. It necessitates a newer video card as well (Maxwell or better I'd imagine to handle the sheer pixel draw requirements) so you can't get away with spending less on your system elsewhere.

 

[c4c6]

The thing that I can't understand is if there are benefits using a monitor with frequency above 60hz and with fast response (less than 5ms). I play only Civilization.

Benefits for you or the seller?

Don't worry about refresh rates, just about the space on your desk ... or the space on the other side of the desk @ the wall ... ultraHD TVs are so cheap now & Big IS beautiful.

If you can, check it out: take a laptop with a relevant game or content on it, go to a TV shop which supports this and test it on, say, 32", 40" & 48" TV models. (And then get the bigger one, because one becomes used to it ...)

 

[mc_norris]

I play on a Dell 27" S2716DG w/ G-Sync at 1440p with a GTX970, and it looks glorious.

 

[Disgustipated]

Playing on a BenQ XL2720Z at 144 herz, no complaints. Realistically I don't even think a high refresh rate affects games like Civ. This would benefit more of a FPS type of game.

 

[God of Kings]

It is also possible to play Civ VI on a 27" iMac with Retina Display (its resolution is 5120 × 2880). Note that iMacs can also have Windows on them if you like. Civ VI on such an iMac would be extremely beautiful with so much screen real estate.

However, the two main caveats are that it is not recommended for gaming and it is very expensive.

 

[eris]

I think the game looks fine with the present UI and my 2560x1440 screen. The frame rate is irrelevant on an IPS screen for this game. It really only matters for faster shooter type games. The same is true for Gsync/Freesync. The graphics in Civ are not the kind that create the issues that those techs are trying to fix.

To respond to the previous message, it is also possible to play Civ on a dual monitor set up with two of these 2560 screens. It is 5120x1440. It is highly impractical because of all the left/right mousing involved, but it is indeed glorious looking.

 

[Mustakrakish]

There's no reason to get higher than 60hz monitor if you're not a competitive MP FPS player. A good 60hz IPS monitor is more than enough, if it's also 1440p res, then it's just perfect.

 

[c4c6]

The frame rate is irrelevant on an IPS screen for this game.

I propose to settle @ 30Hz with 4k resolution (ultraHD 3840x2160) over the cheap HDMI interface ...
(e.g. DeLOCK High Speed HDMI Cabel, 1.8m, 28 AWG, Data transfer rate up to 10.2Gb/s for about 6-9€)