Monitor question (again)

User Support Hub Hardware & Peripherals
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Hello,
I am not really new to the forum, as I read allready couple of items before posting here.

I consider my question equal to many other monitor questions, but also different, else I would take the advice for others.

I have MSFS since it came out, but did not fly much, because I have the feeling that I am blind, and cannot read the gauges anymore, which was never an issue with other Microsoft sims.
I have a setup of 3 HP 24" 1920*1200 monitors, which I had used for a complete surrounding in FSX.
Now that I new to this MSFS, I do like I did with FSX, when I started go back to 1 monitor. And when I fly now, I can either choose between looking outside, but the text on the Proline monitors in the cockpit are completely garbled.
Yes when I an 5cm away from it, I can make out something, but that is not normal.
So I did find out, that you can zoom in. But if I am zoomed in so much that I can read the text, I do not see the outside anymore. Which is very unhandy…
I ask myself why is that so bad?
I did read that some people have a 1080 monitor and are fine with it, though believe the persons, I myself cannot imagine that it is so, having this experience.

But now what do I do now? Fun in flying is totally gone.
I need to change something, and that is probably the monitor. With pain in my hart.
The question however is, what size then?
Lets pretent, I have a bag of uncounted money (not really, but lets pretend), but I have limited space. I have a desk of 16080 cm (roughly 63’)…
I also want a second monitor, as that is very handy for my work, email on an extra monitor etc. But I could also use the extra monitor for navigation.
What I don’t want is 2 monitors of different size, because if you have lets say word on one monitor and email on the second or a spreadsheet, that when you go from monitor 1 to monitor 2, that your eyes are constantly refocusing, or that your mouse does not want to go further as the other monitor is lower in size. (I once had a 24" and a 22" HP monitor, and that was so tiring irritating.)
I also would not like to go from 24 to 27 to find out, that it is just not…

What then?
Is 27" eirher 2k or 4k, really sufficient, that you can see the text clearly form 50/60cm distance and also can see outside, so that you know that you are on track for landing?
I did read many forum items and found out that many are happy with 27.
But I would not like to buy 27 in order to find out, that it is not that great, and have to buy an even bigger. (28", 30", 32").

So I am not looking into which is the best brand, or an advice, go 55" or so, because I cannot house that.

Thanks for reading this epistel, and I hope you can understand my question, else ask.

RobB

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My main monitor is 27" 2560x1440p 180Hz. My second monitor is 31.5" 2560x1440p 170Hz. The clarity on my 27" monitor is better (better pixel density). I have hardware that could easily run MSFS maxed out at 4K comfortably (I actually used to use a 49" 5120x1440p 240Hz monitor) but I’m happy with what I am using now. I personally would not want to ever go back to a 1080p monitor no matter their size or refresh rate.

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Thank you for your post.
Height wise is 1200 I have in between 1080 and your mentioning 1440.

I consider it, you fly on the 27"?
Why not on the 31.5"?

And with the 27" it is good? So that you can read the letters, and can see outside?

I friend of mine confirmed that he had upgraded from 22 to 27, due to the exact seem issues I have, and stated that it was sufficient.
I had not been visiting him, as he lives 250km away, and the roadworks make it this year nearly impossible for me, to visit him. But he showed me via sharing his monitor through skype, even though the shared part was very small, I could read the text, better.

Thanks,
RobB

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Because the image is more clear / crisp / sharp. Keep in mind that both monitors are 2560x1440p in resolution. 2560x1440p is going to look better on a smaller monitor over a larger monitor. There comes a point in monitor size where 1440p on a large monitor looks more or less like 1080p on a smaller monitor.

In my opinion yes, I have no problems most of the time. Sometimes I lean in a bit with TrackIR. I think if you’re going to go 2560x1440p 27" is the sweet spot.

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I have the Track IR too, somewhere, might want to put it to use again.
Leaning abit forward is not an issue at all, but crawling over the yoke to read a bit, is an issue.

But that is good news. Well explained.

Yet one question.
Pure hypothetical.
What if you had the 31.5" in 4K.

What brand/type do you have?

Apart from FS, I play Transportfever and occasional a shooter. I could live with 60hz until now.
I wonder if 27"with 4k would be even clearer?
I have gathered a list of potential monitors, and the Acer Nitro XV282K was on it. lol.

Hardware wise, I think I need something newer.
Having Intel 9900K, 32gb memory, and an 2080TI.

RobB

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I would swap out my current main monitor for it.

Acer Nitro XV271U

Yes.

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I once bought 2 HP Z27 Omen curved monitors for a friends Office.
When I delivered them I really liked them. Yet I had my 24" a year or so, and would not like to bring up the money again.
It was a Curved VA panel at 60hz. Really nice. And I think you need curved with that VA panel. Hardly available on the moment. But I found an Dell Alienware AW2723DF.
I think I like that one.

Samsungs G7 are also nice, but I stay away from Samsung since they had the shortest longevity of all monitors I had or sold to customers.

RobB

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While it would be more clear unfortunately your current 2080Ti would not be able to drive it. Essentially for 4k you would need to purchase a new video card.

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That is, why I also said, I need some new hardware.
Thinking about 4080 super and AMD 8x3d cpu coming out last of this year, beginning early 2025, hopefully.

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I also have difficulty reading the instruments on the monitor. I’ve found the Instrument Heads Up Displays available under the User Experience tab of Assistance Options to be invaluable to somewhat make up for this. Also, if you have a large monito or a second one, you can pop out the instruments and make the large eneough to read.

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Have you tried setting the Zoom level to a different value? I just recently did this and it made quite a nice improvement. The default value had the cockpit view back too far. At the new (closer) zoom level I can read gauges in GA aircraft that required me to zoom in before. It also gives a more realistic, apparently full size view of the cockpit, even with three 22" monitors.

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I think I had the zoomlevel at .50.
At least something that is equal to the normal eye viewrange.
I also tried the option of NonstopOyster0.

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Another thing I have been thinking about is using the Proline of Realsimgear opr Flightsimbuilder, and then keep my monitors.
Left or right around it is costing me money.
Or using my older ipads for that case.
I have series 2, 3 and 5 I think.
But then the buttons around it are not working.

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Is 2080TI a 8GB card? Then you may straggle in 4K. If you are thinking about going to 4K ask someone who is doing this already. I did not have 2080Ti. I have an RTX 4060 8GB (and my PC is old - a i75930K + PCI 3 motherboard) and when I fly airliners in 4K I have to lower my graphic settings. My monitor is a 4K Samsung U28D590 (pixel pitch is 0.16mm or 0.0063in or 0.0005ft). When I switch to 2K it is still acceptable, but again I am not able to set everything on Ultra and most of the gauges do not look as clear as in 4K.

Here are 2 screenshots, the first is 4K and the next one is 2560x1440, TAA 100% (click on them and then select the original image)

20240909185621_1
20240909185621_11920×1080 134 KB

20240909185700_1
20240909185700_11920×1080 135 KB

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I just have checked and found out that I have 11GB on the card.
But it wil be simular to the 8GB.

I had checked the images, for which I am greatfull, and conclude that the 4k, is a tiny bit better.
Both are readable.

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checking the internet for a new monitor is like walking through a nice sandy beach, but watch out, there are a lot of glass-splinters.

For instance OLED looks nice, but can burn in, or is mostly a mirror due to glossy monitor.
Then I find a nice Dell, and I read, not acceptable for gaming, as it is only 60hz. But for MSFS and Transportfever I play it is well enough, as there is no action. And the occanional World of Tanks, I play…

Bu I read that the Acer Nitro XV275K is a good one. I think it is somewhat equal to the I had found earlier XV282K (which does not have a nice foot.).
As my HP z24g2 are not fast either 60hz 5ms, I consider the HP series 7 pro a good alternative, or the Dell U2723QE, evnthough the Dell is a lot slower.

In short eyeing on:

  • HP series 7 - 60hz
  • Alienware AW275DF - 165hz
  • Acer XV275K - 160hz
  • Acer XV282K - 144hz
  • Dell U2723QD - 60hz

32" is really big, especially if you want 2.

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Couldn’t have said it better myself!

One other option to consider is 2560x1440 with HDR-10. The sim supports HDR-10 which will provide a little more clarity/detail (I enable HDR-10 on my Samsung 4k 55" Qled to give the sim a little more detail). I’m skeptical however, if the 2080Ti can drive a 2560x1440 with HDR-10 above a 60Hz refresh rate though. In addition, you’ll need to be careful that the monitor supports a decent VESA DisplayHDR level of 600 or above (some even say at least 1000).

In my opinion, the sweet spot today for the sim is a monitor that supports 120Hz - 144Hz. A little higher if your cpu is top tier and also to provide some futureproofing. My reasoning is that a PC that can do 40-60fps without frame gen could do up to 120fps with frame gen turned on and the monitor won’t drop frames and you’ll get a smooth experience.

The Acer Nitro XV275K checks all the boxes as far as I’m concerned. With your 2080Ti you won’t be able to do 4k unless you dumb down many of the parameters in the sim which sort of defeats the purpose of wanting more detail/clarity. However, 2k (2560x1440) should work great with HDR-10 at whatever the max refresh rate the 2080Ti will be able to drive it. With this monitor I would wait to see how it works with MSFS 2024 before you make any move to upgrade your 2080Ti. For any new gpu I would not consider anything under 16GIG of Vram.

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Obviously there are more version of the XV275K P3. With powerbrick and with a normal powercord. Conform a forumpost on Reddit, many people where returning it for various reasons. Eventhough Rtings says it is an exelent monitor.
Even the foot is different from what I can find in the Netherlands. We have the V version.
The question is who to believe.

I agree on a new graphics card with more memory. I doubt between the 4080 super and 4090. But consider the latter one is really expensive.

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Rob,

I sympathise with you as these days I need glasses to read fine text.

The clearest display is our 49in curved 4K Samsung tv. YouTube 4K videos of flightsims are easy to read from about 4ft to 5ft - without glasses and there is fantastic detail in the colour and texture of instruments, buttons and a sense of immersion.

I feel I could fly comfortably with that and the wide curved screen gives a good sense of depth.

In other words you need the largest, highest resolution, with a natural curve. Then pick a convenient distance to sit.

However my flightsim has a 22in monitor and I pop out instruments onto a 15.8in touch screen. It’s not ideal,

My preference would be three 4K big TVs in 165 degree wrap around.

Maybe one day…

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TaurineCorn,
Thank you for your nice message. Situation is more or the less equal.

This weekend I did read myself completely nuts. Saw youtube reports till the morning.
I thought to go with 3x 27" or 2x 27" , OR going for an 32" curved. Maybe I go for 2, becuase I think I am annoyed about the height difference between 32" and my current 24".
That also means, new hardware, which I wanted to buy anyways.

In the end I had decided : Just start flying again, and use the 1st monitor for MSFS, the 2nd for navigation and the 3rd for pop-out the instruments, and see if I can fly this way. Which is simular to what you do.
I had tested this half a year ago, and it worked. But my mind wants it different.
I think I can get used to it.

Anyway, the most planes I fly have steamgauges or are available (C206/c207/c208, Twinotter, BAE/RJ) .

RobB