Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Originally Posted by brueggma1
Thank you everyone! This is perfect!
One last dumb question: could he use an existing LCD/LED TV for graphics temporarily?
I love the pcpartpicket.com guide as it give you a good break down of cost / performance. The categories are great!
With gaming rigs it's primarily about FPS (frames per second) generated by the video card and the refresh rate (Hz) of the video display. They track 1:1 and will be limited by whichever is lower. For example, if the videocard can render at 144fps @1080p but the 1080p display is fixed at 120Hz then 120fps is theoretical max of what he'll get. For a serious first-person-shooter gamer it's annoying because he will occasionally get beat because his opponent is running at higher FPS but he'll also beat others who are stuck at lower fps.
144Hz @ 1440p on 27" monitor seems to be the sweet spot for avid first-person-shooters today. Prices will drop eventually, and as they say Rome wasn't built in a day.
I'm running a 23.8" GSYNC with 165hz 2560x1440. I prefer the smaller screen for FPS's. If you are hitting 60fps, you're doing alright for casual gaming. 100-120fps is a pretty solid advanced gamer deal, and 120-144 is pro level. Also, if you don't sync the monitor to the graphics card, you're going to have issues with tearing. Then you need to take into account internet/latency. You don't need much speed, but latency is a big deal. Ideally, you want 0-30, I am currently running 40-60, and it hasn't handicapped me much at my level (casual), and even some people are fine with 60-80, but a pro gamer would rip their hair out much over 25-30.