Monitor BenQ PD3200U still recommended?

[Darcy 63]

I am looking to move into the 4K world for my main screen for P3D v5.  Right now my main display for P3D v5 is on a BenQ 2560x1440 with 2 other monitors, 1 27 in 2560x1440 and 1 1920x1080 for cruising internet and weather, Navigraph, vpilot STKP, etc ). I see the BenQ PD3200U is recommended by several people.  Is this still the way to go?  I will be running the 2 27" BenQ just for weather, maps etc.

So should I go for it?  Would I be happy with the difference from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160?

My specs are:

Processor    Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-9900K CPU @ 3.60GHz, 3600 Mhz, 8 Core(s), 16 Logical Processor(s)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080ti

32GB RAM

 

Thanks

Darcy

[Ray Proudfoot 8,959]

Darcy, absolutely. I also run another BenQ 27” for Aivlasoft’s EFB and LittleNavmap. I’ve had mine over two years now and remain totally happy with it.

Others may recommend other 32” UHD monitors but you have to go a long way to beat BenQ.

I went from 1920*1080 straight to 4K so couldn’t comment on the jump from 2560*1440 but everything will be pin sharp with excellent colour rendition.

[Darcy 63]

Thanks Ray.  Yeah I am just curious whether the jump from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 is worth the money.

[Ray Proudfoot 8,959]

21 minutes ago, Darcy said:

Thanks Ray.  Yeah I am just curious whether the jump from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 is worth the money.

Only you can answer that question. It’s 3.69m pixels versus 8.29m. Over twice as many.

[RudiJG1 172]

Mine's on order, thanks to Ray's endorsement.

Ray, my computer specs are similar to yours, except that my GPU is a RTX 2070 with 8Gb VRAM. I know you advocate running the sim at native resolution and 30 Hz...May I ask what your nVidia CP/P3D settings are? Thanks!

[Ray Proudfoot 8,959]

Hi Wayne,

NCP Settings shown below. Nothing fancy other than Power Management Mode set to 'Prefer Maximum Performance'.

I have a variety of aircraft which have different impact on P3D but the most important is very little AA is used because of the very high resolution. FXAA is Off, AA is 4xMSAA and Anisotropic set to 16x.

Vsync in On plus Triple Buffering and Target Frame Rate at Unlimited.

Wide-Angle Aspect is On and Mip-Mapping VC is Off.

Scenery complexity is around medium but varies depending on how demanding the aircraft is. Higher for PC12 and DA62, lower for Learjet 25.

[martin-w 3,235]

I'll be looking for  a monitor shortly. Isn't the PD3200U meant for CAD/CAM and designers rather than gaming and sim? 

[RudiJG1 172]

1 minute ago, martin-w said:

I'll be looking for  a monitor shortly. Isn't the PD3200U meant for CAD/CAM and designers rather than gaming and sim? 

By the manufacturer's own website, it is. But Ray's enthusiasm for it, coupled with my own desire to use it for digital photo/video editing as well as for flight sims, has convinced me to buy one.

[RudiJG1 172]

4 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Hi Wayne,

NCP Settings shown below. Nothing fancy other than Power Management Mode set to 'Prefer Maximum Performance'.

I have a variety of aircraft which have different impact on P3D but the most important is very little AA is used because of the very high resolution. FXAA is Off, AA is 4xMSAA and Anisotropic set to 16x.

Vsync in On plus Triple Buffering and Target Frame Rate at Unlimited.

Wide-Angle Aspect is On and Mip-Mapping VC is Off.

Scenery complexity is around medium but varies depending on how demanding the aircraft is. Higher for PC12 and DA62, lower for Learjet 25.

 

Thanks, Ray.

[martin-w 3,235]

8 minutes ago, RudiJG1 said:

By the manufacturer's own website, it is. But Ray's enthusiasm for it, coupled with my own desire to use it for digital photo/video editing as well as for flight sims, has convinced me to buy one.

 

Fair enough. Is the 60 Hz just at 4K? Higher refresh rate at lower res? 

[Ray Proudfoot 8,959]

15 minutes ago, martin-w said:

I'll be looking for  a monitor shortly. Isn't the PD3200U meant for CAD/CAM and designers rather than gaming and sim? 

Gaming monitors are pushed because of their very high refresh rates. That’s essential when games can return 100+fps. But flight sim cannot and monitors that can run at 30Hz as well as 60Hz are far more useful to us.

You shouldn’t run a monitor at anything other than its native resolution as the image quality suffers even on the PD3200U. I have to run P3Dv3 at 1920*1080 for Concorde and it’s not ideal.

You also have an IPS screen, a large vertical adjustment, several USB ports  and wonderful build quality. 

[martin-w 3,235]

My monitor is primarily for games though. It won't be a dedicated sim monitor.

I also prefer high refresh rate monitors. I have one, and won't go back. So much nicer pottering about the desktop. Smooth and lovely... like me. 

 

I'm aware of running monitors at native refresh rate but aren't some newer monitors variable refesh rate?

Edited February 25, 2021 by martin-w

[Ray Proudfoot 8,959]

@martin-w, then the PD3200U isn’t for you as it’s limited to 60Hz max.

Yes, variable refresh rate is useful but the monitor and graphics card have to match either AMD or Nvidia. You can’t mix ‘n match I believe.

Good luck Mr Smoothie. 😁

[RudiJG1 172]

Got it today and am mightily impressed. No dead pixels or light bleed, and wonderfully balanced settings right out of the box. P3D, MSFS, and DCS look fantastic, and next, I'll run the sims to find the right mix of settings. Thanks again, Ray.