Suggest 1080p monitors that can show off shaders

RetroArch Additions Shaders
#1

Hi, I am opting to change my PC monitor. I am addicted to shaders :slight_smile: and I can see that my current monitor is not good enough to display the wonders guys do with shaders.

I do not know which type of panels work best (is IPS the best for the job?), refresh rates (is 144hz a good thing since it cannot be divided with 60?) etc.

My only requirements is to be 1080 (I am on a 750Ti so it cannot do 4K in anything more than Atari 2600 :frowning: ) and to have VESA (to mount it to my rotating base so I can also TATE it)

If you can point me into some models it will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

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#2

Bigger the resolution, the better for shaders (mainly crt ones).

IPS is recommended because its colors are very good.

Some shaders need HDR to work properly, so I’d search for a monitor with good support to HDR.

Above 60Hz refresh rate isn’t a big deal for emulation, though. OTOH, Freesync and/or Gsync are!

Unfortunately, I don’t know about models to suggest.

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#3

This will limit the quality and types of CRT Mask Patterns that you’ll be able to emulate significantly, especially Slot Masks and Shadow Masks.

Why not hold onto what you have until you can upgrade to something more capable?

Even Sony Megatron Color Video Monitor might be able to run on your 750Ti. It’s light weight.

Suppose you can run that and you choose a 1080p screen over a 4K screen when you didn’t have to?

Even GDV-MINI can run on a 750Ti, I bet.

It can run on cell phones.

I suggest you do a little more research before committing to a particular upgrade.

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#4

The GTX 750 TI shouldn’t be bad just for retro stuff, most shaders would run fine even at 4K, including upscaling for some 3D systems. It doesn’t do HDR, there are no new drivers for Windows either. So it would be good if the monitor does have the highest standard brightness (SDR) possible. Could possibly settle for 1440p if you don’t have any other needs where the GTX 750Ti is lacking.

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#5

My GTX 750 Ti disagrees with this statement. I’m pretty sure I updated my drivers within the last 4 to 5 weeks.

I’d advise against this.

1440p is a bit of an oddball resolution when it comes to CRT emulation.

Sony Megatron Color Video Monitor only supports 1080p, 4K and 8K for example.

A GeForce GTX 970 can handle HSM Mega Bezel Reflection Shader SMOOTH-ADV-NO-REFLECTIONS at 4K, while a GTX 1070 can do them all at 4K.

If you’re gonna upgrade, upgrade or just don’t.

Right now 4K is at the pinnacle of CRT Mask Emulation. I don’t see the point in “upgrading” to 1440p.

I’m also not seeing that GTX 750 Ti as something that can’t be easily and affordably upgraded in the near future. Right now graphics cards are very cheap. Finally!

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#6

Huh, you’re right, I thought GTX 750ti was Kepler. Maxwell has still support.

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#7

That’s not really true although it’s completely understandable why you say that as the shader parameters allude to it.

The Sony Megatron supports any resolution it’s just that you won’t reach the simulated CRT TVL with the mask it selects if its a lower resolution or it will over shoot the simulated CRT TVL if it’s too high.

I do agree though that 1440p is a kind of odd resolution when simulating CRTs. 4K is the best as a RGBX mask gives around 600TVL which is a high end TV back in the day.

Other than that go for the brightest you can afford!

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#8

Thank you guys! So…from what I read the best approach is to update to a beefier card (1070 maybe - do you believe I cannot find any 1070 in my country as we speak??) which can sustain 4K and a bright 4K monitor in order to have the best CRT-like exprerience.

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#9

Exactly! GTX 1070 is just a reference. It doesn’t have to be that exact card just something around that performance level or better. You also want something with at least 8GB VRAM if possible. A GTX 1070 is “old” by today’s standards.

You definitely want a bright 4K display. Something with G-Sync/Freesync and BFI/Backlight Strobing with low input latency would be the icing on the cake.

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#10

My laptop has a 1050 and it runs RA shaders perfectly fine I reckon you could go way lower as well: 970, 780, 770, 680 even - are you sure your 750 can’t do 4K with these shaders? They’re extremely light weight compared to even a simple game. If it’s a HDR thing then try and find a TV/monitor that does 600nits in SDR - they do exist. At that point it’s what costs less - a new graphics card + HDR display OR just a very bright SDR display.

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#11

My minimum GPU recommendations take into consideration running HSM Mega Bezel Reflection Shader with real-time reflections using the highest quality presets at 4K60p using, up to 3D cores such as PS1 and N64 for a “complete” experience.

You’d have to go back an extremely long time to get to the time when I emulated old school games without any bezel/Overlay.

Realtime reflections now form an integral part of my “default” emulation experience.

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#12

I suppose the question there is whether bezels are important to @Wally as in is it worth a couple hundred quid on a gfx card for them? There are benefits to not having them - especially ones that encroach the vertical axis as in the most amount of screen real estate is devoted to the consoles output.

As for the PS1 and N64, again a 750 should easily be able to handle this and the shader - N64 does 2048 triangles over a 240p screen for example and PS1 isn’t far ahead.

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#13

I don’t know if it’s been mentioned yet, but I would highly recommend a glossy screen rather than a matte one.

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