guy above posted your best option in your budget





and yes they sit closer to $350
the one I got was $340

https://www.amazon.com/PB258Q-2560x1440-DisplayPort-Ergonomic-Back-lit/dp/B00VRKVGJG

This post was edited by itzpookiie on Jun 20 2016 11:18am

That is actually the one I'm looking at as well. It's either going to be that or the Acer.

i love my monitor
I can tilt or raise it to the position i need it to be
plus the colors are so good

I see quite a few complaints about light bleeding. Any issues?

Not noticeable unless you're really looking for it but yes there is some

I never notice it but it's noticeable on an all black or really black screen
I think most if not all monitors have light bleeding to some degree

This post was edited by itzpookiie on Jun 20 2016 07:21pm

Honestly, 1440p is way superior when doing any sort of graphics, as is color accuracy overall. I use a 144Hz monitor to play FPS games and going back to 60Hz causes me headaches, looks horrible and feels unresponsive.

You're in a pinch and you need to decide whether you want to enjoy your hobbies when you're at home or do your freelance stuff more efficiently. You can always buy another monitor later, to have best of both.

Saving for Asus MG279Q or similar would obviously yield the best results if you insist going for single monitor. In most cases, that's only a few more months of saving.

This post was edited by nexcoor on Jun 21 2016 01:56am

Gtx 970 cannot handle 1440p 144hz for overwatch unless you played medium to low settings and at that point it would not be worth it
You are over exaggerating on 60hz looking horrible and being unresponsive
While 144hz is a difference, 60hz is not even close to being unresponsive lol

I use a 144Hz monitor to play FPS games and going back to 60Hz causes me headaches, looks horrible and feels unresponsive.

For a moment, you thought you were me. For a moment, you thought I wasn't speaking from experience. For a moment, I even thought you're probably pretty mediocre at fps games if your brain views the responsiveness of a 144Hz and a 60Hz monitor to be approximately the same.

And yes, GTX 970 does not do well 1440p 144Hz Overwatch, but 1080p 144Hz on medium to high settings results around 90-140fps, depending on map and the fireworks.
Unfortunately, he has to make a choice between more responsive gameplay and better workflow for his freelance work. At this point, it's only about which one he sees more important, and that should be the one driving his decision, not your opinion about "1440p/4k being the future therefor better choice", because it's only a better choice if he sides with graphic design. I was in the exact same position; I studied graphics and multimedia and was an avid gamer and I made my choice back then.

From our view this is a coinflip, as we cannot determine whether OP respects gaming or his freelancing more. I can only recommend him to make his own decision on which he sees most important or to take the middle route, and wait for him to able to have both.

For real?
My GTX 970 in SLI can handle epic settings 144fps steady.

I was actually going to ask... do you think it'd be worth it to get a 2nd 970 for SLI?