Monitor Refresh rate...how important to flight simming?

[Boomer 1,619]

60 Hz versus 144 Hz..does it really matter?

Looking for a new 27 inch monitor and the difference in price is quite wide.

Cheers.

[dmarques69 316]

In my opinion important for general gaming, not important for flight simming... i have one 27" 144hz g-sync monitor and a 4k 60/30hz TV, and my choice goes to.... 30hz TV best relation performance/looks.

[GCBraun 2,390]

I have a 100Hz G-Sync Acer Predator Ultrawide 34". It is a really good monitor, but the higher rates are important for other games, considering that: 1- P3D/XP11 are locked on 30fps, 2- I would not care too much about the Monitor, considering that I prefer VR.

So, if you enjoy gaming besides simming, higher refresh rates monitors are definitely something nice to have. If not, don`t bother.

[odourboy 1,288]

For P3D, having a monitor capable of 30Hz and 60Hz operation is an important feature for me since using the monitor setting as the frame rate limiting mechanism is giving me the smoothest performance.

[franjoflyer 10]

2 hours ago, odourboy said:

For P3D, having a monitor capable of 30Hz and 60Hz operation is an important feature for me since using the monitor setting as the frame rate limiting mechanism is giving me the smoothest performance.

I currenty own a TCL 4K 43 inch TV.  It runs 30hz and 60hz in all resolutions.  So do you just set your monitor to 30hz in windows?  Do you set your frames to 30, or 31 or unlimited in P3DV4?

[odourboy 1,288]

1 hour ago, franjoflyer said:

I currenty own a TCL 4K 43 inch TV.  It runs 30hz and 60hz in all resolutions.  So do you just set your monitor to 30hz in windows?  Do you set your frames to 30, or 31 or unlimited in P3DV4?

I leave frames at unlimited in the P3D and VSync on. I set 30Hz or 60Hz using the NVidia Control panel (equivalent to setting it in Windows), the choice depends on the complexity of the situation and the aircraft. I can pause P3D and alter my setting on the fly if I've chosen poorly. YMMV.

[Boomer 1,619]

So, there is a big price difference between 60 Hz and 144Hz...is 60 Hz going to be good enough for fluid flight simming?

Keeping in mind I (like most of us) never get up to or over 60FPS anyhow in FSX/P3D?

[odourboy 1,288]

IMHO, yes 60hz provides a very smooth simming experience. Of course, you want to hear from somebody who's tried 144. 

[Boomer 1,619]

Dudes anyone else have any input please...boxing day approatcheth.

[kevinfirth 1,392]

My halfpenny's worth...

If consideration is restricted to refresh rates only (colour representation, luminosity, asthetics etc are variably important to diff people as well)...

Since any benefit of a higher available monitor refresh rate will only be extremely marginal unless your sim is able to sustain fps approaching that,  IMHO any refresh rate available above 60Hz is pointless for P3D at the present moment in time.  

Better to get a cheapish 4k tv that does at least 30 and 60 hz (I chose one on clearance as a discontinued model that supports 25,30,50 and 60Hz.) and invest any other cash in the best GPU you can get.

I cannot forsee a use case (involving a monitor) in the next few years where being able to maintain a solid fps approaching anywhere near 144 would be preferable to being able to maintain 60fps with higher settings.

[Boomer 1,619]

One thing I hear consistently is the 144hz, outside of simming/gaming, gives more smooth desktop performance in common task.

[kevinfirth 1,392]

1 hour ago, Boomer said:

One thing I hear consistently is the 144hz, outside of simming/gaming, gives more smooth desktop performance in common task.

depends on a) how much use you make of desktop apps; b) how much you benefit personally from increased refresh rates; and c) whether the cost of a monitor supporting such higher refresh rates is worth the benefit that you personally  perceive...

It's a very subjective area, only you can decide for you.

[Boomer 1,619]

Well funny thing is I have been using a 24” 60hz monitor for flight simming for years and never noticed any trouble.  So of course I have to wonder if 144hz is worth the extra money...leaning towards no.

[Boomer 1,619]

How would p3d look on a 32” monitor?

[kevinfirth 1,392]

15 hours ago, Boomer said:

How would p3d look on a 32” monitor?

Depends what resolution.  I ran on a 28" @ 1920x1200 for years and it was fine.  You'd prob need some anti-aliasing at 32" I would think.   There's undoubtedly a totally different experience at 50" 4k though.   Either way is going to require some GPU horsepower to be able to turn settings up.