Question on video cards and monitor resolution

[Dravenspur]

I have a question for you guys. I have a 1080p panel. It is not leaning toward any GPU company (not freesync or G Sync). I have an RX480 right now and I'm looking to switch companies and upgrade to a GTX 1080. From what I have asked on these forums in the past, anything above a 1080 would be a waste of money for me (TI or above...even the 1080 I've been looking at is maybe too good for a 1080p monitor). My question is, why? So if I get a GTX 1080 and stay at 1080p, I'll supposedly never have to upgrade again (unless the card fails and I need to replace it)? Any upgrading of my panel that I would do would be to 4K most likely (when/if 8K comes to pc monitors...unless it already has somewhere, and 4K becomes more reasonably priced) and of course I would need to upgrade my card then to a TI model or maybe a second generation RTX card. Until then, though, I shouldn't have to upgrade beyond a GTX 1080 if I stay at 1080p, right? Even if games start saying minimum requirements are an RTX or whatever AMD is coming out with when Navi finally releases?

 

[AnimeMania]

Most 1080p (1,920x1,080) monitors are 60hz. A 60hz monitor refreshes the image on the screen 60 times a second. You want to have a video card that can output at least 60 frames per second (fps) in the games that you play, to match the refresh rate of your monitor. Video cards can produce a different fps based on the CPU they are paired with, the game they are running, as well as what resolution you are running the game at. There are many 1080p monitors that have higher refresh rates than 60hz. 120hz and 240hz are also common refresh rates for 1080p, 1,440p (2,560 x 1,440) and 4K (3840 x 2160) monitors, but other values for hz can exist. If you have a 120hz monitor, you want a video card that can produce at least 120 fps in the games that you play. At 240hz, 240 fps.
If your video card can not produce enough fps to match the hz of your monitor, screen tearing might occur, this is where part of one image and part of another image is displayed on the screen at the same time. This is where g-sync, which only works with select NVidia video cards and Freesync, which works with select versions of XBOX, Playstation, AMD video cards and AMD and Intel internal CPU graphics. Freesync and G-sync adjust the hz of the specially designed Freesync or G-sync monitor to match the fps of your video card (within the specifications that your monitor will allow) to prevent screen tearing.
The short answer to your question is: Choose your video card based on the fps that the video card can produce for the games that you play now or think you might want to play in the future. Have the fps match or exceed the hz of your monitor. If the video card that you have can not match the hz of your monitor, a Freesync or G-sync monitor were designed to give you the best experience possible in those circumstances.