Hi guys, I need bit of an advice.

I'm currently sourcing out parts to build a PC for one of my cousins. All except the VGA (surprise, surprise) and the Monitor is covered.

This rig will mostly be used to play simulation and arcade games, and most of these would be on driving.

The options I have before me are, since we cannot have the cake and eat it at the same time ,

1. Spend on a very high end VGA (RX 6800 or a 3080) and continue gaming on the LED 32 Inch TV which he has been using all this time, or

2. set the expectation low on the VGA (maybe a 5700XT or a 2070 Super) and go for a 2K, 27 or 34 inch monitor.

I may have not had any trouble going with the 1st option, but after seeing how much of a difference a 2K display make over a 1080P (TV), I am not so sure now.

And insights, advise or comments- all appreciated 

Well, IMHO, the short answer is the first option. The long answer is of course it depends, but I would still say the first option makes the most sense.

The first option - High end VGA (RX 6800/RTX 3080) with current LED 32 Inch TV 

This will give you the current-gen graphic cards which are a considerable jump over the last-gen RX 5700 XT or the 2070 super with better RT if you go the Nvidia route.

Your cousin can always go for a screen upgrade later if needed since it'll be less of a hassle than the graphic card upgrade and will cost less overall (assuming you'll be looking to sell and get the new one).  If the TV is used at a distance like from a couch (I'm assuming a 1080p TV) it might hold up well for the time being, and you can use supersampling to smooth out the games if needed.


The second option - 5700XT/2070 Super with a new 1440p, 27 or 34 inch monitor

This will give you a much better screen now at the cost of graphic power. While it's possible to run 1440p on both these cards (5700 XT and 2070 Super), they will take quite an FPS hit with cyberpunk or Microsoft flight simulator level games from what I see. So very likely you will have to upgrade to get over 60 FPS with high/ultra settings for new titles coming in the next few years.

That said, TVs are meant and built to be used at a distance compared to monitors, so depending on how these are set up distance-wise and the quality of the monitor you get (IPS or VA) you will probably see a significant difference between the TV and the monitor. Even a 1080p IPS\VA might be a considerable step up if both the TV and monitor are used on a desk like a normal PC setup. A monitor will generally have less input lag and if you choose to variable and higher refresh rates than the majority of the TVs. Well, pretty much any TV in the same price category.


TL;DR or conclusion; Go for the best graphic card you can at the moment and upgrade the display if it's actually needed or when you can! Hope this helped  :)

If I were in your shoes, I would go with the first option,  save up and then get a 144Hz monitor.

However what processor did you get?  1080p and a 3080 could result in a bottleneck

Contact us if you plan to take the LED 2K 27" or 32"

Well, IMHO, the short answer is the first option. The long answer is of course it depends, but I would still say the first option makes the most sense.

The first option - High end VGA (RX 6800/RTX 3080) with current LED 32 Inch TV 

This will give you the current-gen graphic cards which are a considerable jump over the last-gen RX 5700 XT or the 2070 super with better RT if you go the Nvidia route.

Your cousin can always go for a screen upgrade later if needed since it'll be less of a hassle than the graphic card upgrade and will cost less overall (assuming you'll be looking to sell and get the new one).  If the TV is used at a distance like from a couch (I'm assuming a 1080p TV) it might hold up well for the time being, and you can use supersampling to smooth out the games if needed.


The second option - 5700XT/2070 Super with a new 1440p, 27 or 34 inch monitor

This will give you a much better screen now at the cost of graphic power. While it's possible to run 1440p on both these cards (5700 XT and 2070 Super), they will take quite an FPS hit with cyberpunk or Microsoft flight simulator level games from what I see. So very likely you will have to upgrade to get over 60 FPS with high/ultra settings for new titles coming in the next few years.

That said, TVs are meant and built to be used at a distance compared to monitors, so depending on how these are set up distance-wise and the quality of the monitor you get (IPS or VA) you will probably see a significant difference between the TV and the monitor. Even a 1080p IPS\VA might be a considerable step up if both the TV and monitor are used on a desk like a normal PC setup. A monitor will generally have less input lag and if you choose to variable and higher refresh rates than the majority of the TVs. Well, pretty much any TV in the same price category.


TL;DR or conclusion; Go for the best graphic card you can at the moment and upgrade the display if it's actually needed or when you can! Hope this helped 

Thank you very much! This cleared a lot for me guess I'll be going with the Graphics Card 

If I were in your shoes, I would go with the first option,  save up and then get a 144Hz monitor.

However what processor did you get?  1080p and a 3080 could result in a bottleneck

Yeah, guess I'll tell him to save it for later. Processor is a 10900K.

Contact us if you plan to take the LED 2K 27" or 32"

Thanks for the offer Right now more interested if you have 30x series cards in stock 

Yeah, guess I'll tell him to save it for later. Processor is a 10900K.

Thanks for the offer Right now more interested if you have 30x series cards in stock 

The 3060 should come by next month, also if you are looking for i9-10900k we can offer you a good price.

Thank you very much! This cleared a lot for me guess I'll be going with the Graphics Card 

No worries glad it helped 

If I were in your shoes, I would go with the first option,  save up and then get a 144Hz monitor.

However what processor did you get?  1080p and a 3080 could result in a bottleneck

I would go the same route, but also spend an unnecessary amount of time overthinking and researching first 

I would go the same route, but also spend an unnecessary amount of time overthinking and researching first 

lol that happens always. But that's part of the fun also, like foreplay before the crescendo :p

Yeah, I would have gone for the GPU as well.

1. Spend on a very high end VGA (RX 6800 or a 3080) and continue gaming on the LED 32 Inch TV which he has been using all this time, or

All the comments cover pros and cons well so I won't go into much detail, but do check if that 32 inch model has a native panel resolution of 1366 x 768 or 1920 x 1080. Not just input options but check actual pixel density. 3080/6800XT would be great to have but if 768p, might be a major bottleneck + little visual improvement until he upgrades the display. Even 1080p is going to be limited to 60Hz anyway but at least an acceptable compromise.
Found out the hard way.

I used a LED 32inch TV for over 2 years before switching to a monitor.

One main reason I advice you to switch to a monitor is because I highly doubt you are keeping the TV at the recommended distance? This weakened my eye-sight without me even realizing it still regret it to this date.
The colours, quality and high-refresh rate is a breath of fresh air when compared to playing games or etc on the TV. Unless you have a good panel and resolution but mine didn't even have FULL HD 1920x1080.

Only saw the 32" Inch scene now... They don't really have FHD 32" Panels over here right? (There's only a couple of panels, but they are too expensive). 
So a 3080 might be bottlenecked even with a 10900k at 1366*768 that the normal 32" Panels support....   Maybe get a 3070 and get a decent monitor with the rest? (even a used 144)

Something like a RTX 3070 is perfectly capable of playing anything on a 1440p panel. Even a 3060Ti will handle 99% of games with no issues whatsoever. Get a good 1440p 144hz gaming monitor for around 80-100k. A monitor is an investment you won't regret. It's like using an SSD, you don't realize how much better higher resolution and refresh rate are until you have to go back to using 1080p 60hz again.

All the comments cover pros and cons well so I won't go into much detail, but do check if that 32 inch model has a native panel resolution of 1366 x 768 or 1920 x 1080. Not just input options but check actual pixel density. 3080/6800XT would be great to have but if 768p, might be a major bottleneck + little visual improvement until he upgrades the display. Even 1080p is going to be limited to 60Hz anyway but at least an acceptable compromise.
Found out the hard way.

Only saw the 32" Inch scene now... They don't really have FHD 32" Panels over here right? (There's only a couple of panels, but they are too expensive). 
So a 3080 might be bottlenecked even with a 10900k at 1366*768 that the normal 32" Panels support....   Maybe get a 3070 and get a decent monitor with the rest? (even a used 144)

Thank you both. This TV has a true HD 1080 panel. It's just that its from the 1st generation of HD TV's. It is old and it clearly shows.

I used a LED 32inch TV for over 2 years before switching to a monitor.

One main reason I advice you to switch to a monitor is because I highly doubt you are keeping the TV at the recommended distance? This weakened my eye-sight without me even realizing it still regret it to this date.
The colours, quality and high-refresh rate is a breath of fresh air when compared to playing games or etc on the TV. Unless you have a good panel and resolution but mine didn't even have FULL HD 1920x1080.

This is exactly how he plays. Thanks for the insight. Just strengthened my resolve on getting him a new monitor.

Something like a RTX 3070 is perfectly capable of playing anything on a 1440p panel. Even a 3060Ti will handle 99% of games with no issues whatsoever. Get a good 1440p 144hz gaming monitor for around 80-100k. A monitor is an investment you won't regret. It's like using an SSD, you don't realize how much better higher resolution and refresh rate are until you have to go back to using 1080p 60hz again.

Thanks! Yes, I'll have a look at those.

All in all, thank you everyone for the suggestions. Right now I may advice him to get a Monitor first and try for a 3070 or at least a 3060 TI. With the absurdity in GPU pricing these days I think it's probably the best way to have the best of both worlds, rather than going to the extreme end.