27-30" Displays

[rjundi]

I feel in love with Apple's displays 27-30" while waiting for battery replacement at Apple Store.

Anyone have opinions on working on 27"-30" displays alone 2560x1440 vs two 24" monitors? I am thinking Dell. I currently use a 24" display 1900x1200 and its okay but I strain looking at it.

 

[dparm]

About a year ago I moved from a 24" 16:10 Samsung (1920x1200) up to a 27" 16:9 Dell (2560x1440) and I have no regrets. I didn't need the extra width since it's just a home PC.

The increased resolution is awesome for multitasking, gaming, and looking at photos, but it can make text hard to read unless you flip to the high-DPI fonts in Windows and use your web browser's zoom features. A 30" model might not have that issue since the pixel density is a bit lower.

If you're straining with the 1920x1200, try enabling high-DPI fonts in Windows and/or run the ClearType wizard. Sometimes windows gets too aggressive with anti-aliasing and the text can be hard to read.

 

[dareo]

Mono Price will soon be selling their own 30" IPS LED panel for $682.50. Tempting price indeed with their quality warranty backing it up. 2560 x 1600 for the win.

Or, they have a 27 for 456, but that is not as cool as a 30!

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: dareo
Mono Price will soon be selling their own 30" IPS LED panel for $682.50. Tempting price indeed with their quality warranty backing it up. 2560 x 1600 for the win.

Or, they have a 27 for 456, but that is not as cool as a 30!



I spent a decent amount of time on HardForum, TFT Central, and Prad. The consensus is that those off-brand Korean panels are very hit or miss, and can be a huge gamble. The performance is very poor (low contrast ratios, calibration almost impossible, poor black levels, uneven backlighting) and getting a repair will be very time-consuming. Some have gotten lucky with panels showing above-average figures, but most are not. If you have MicroCenter near you, they typically have one of those Auria models out on the floor, which is the same unit.

You're better off getting one from Dell or another big name when they run a sale and/or have some big coupons. If you can hold out until Cyber Monday, you could get a very nice Dell for $600 or less. The Dells carry a good warranty, have a proper medium-grade anti-glare coating, and have a good no-dead-pixel warranty.

If you're interested, I have the Dell U2713HM:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2713hm.htm

I snagged it on NewEgg last year for about $800. It's on sale for only $650 right now!

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: dparm
The consensus is that those off-brand Korean panels are very hit or miss, and can be a huge gamble.

That monoprice monitor uses an LG panel. I wouldn't necessarily consider LG off-brand.

 

[dareo]

what you say about the off brand korean monitors is true, but Mono price guarantees it for one year and you can send it back to them instead of Korea. Plus it is an LG panel.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: dareo
what you say about the off brand korean monitors is true, but Mono price guarantees it for one year and you can send it back to them instead of Korea. Plus it is an LG panel.



Yes, they might be LG panels, but they are the low-grade ones.

Not saying to avoid them, just to manage your own expectations. The $650 Dell I mentioned up top will have an accurate and crisp image, along with very good build quality and a high degree of adjustability. The OSD is excellent too.

A weak contrast ratio and black level is very noticeable even for basic office tasks. High-accuracy color is less noticeable, but a more accurate panel will have some "pop" and make things almost look 3D. The lower-cost displays also have clunky OSDs and very flimsy construction...plastic that creaks as the monitor heats up, no height adjustments, minimal input choices, no USB hub, etc.

 

[BearZDefect]

I have read (at TFT Central for example, great site) that the latest generation of Dell Ultrasharp IPS displays have finally fixed the coarse grainy anti-glare coating they used for generations prior. Can anyone confirm that change first hand? I had to get rid of a U..11 generation Ultrasharp because text was so grainy and glittery (not too small) on it. Apparently this issue did not bother everyone.

 

[Y_K]

Very happy with these ones. Bought 4 of them at once, no issues, no returns, etc. I use them in Portrait mode, liberates from the multimonitor brackets.
For critical photography/design work my wife doesn't use them, but they are excellent for CAD. I am pretty sure that Dell should be good as well. Just keep in mind the IPS in those and Dells is the "economical" IPS and the backlight is not even for critical work. Still, a lot of people use them for photography and video. The real photo/design quality monitors are still head and shoulders higher in terms price and quality, but most folks don't need them.
Btw, the ones from Apple are the low-tier in terms of quality/price.

Added: I wear glasses since childhood and found no issues reading with these 27" at all. Up to 10 hours in front of them some days.

 

[JHZR2]

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2746293

I ended up going with a high end ViewSonic VP2770-LED 27-Inch IPS LED Monitor, WQHD 2560x1440, HDMI, DVI-D, DisplayPort, USB Hub

I use display port and it works great, really love it, especially that the backlight doesn't pwm, so it is better on the eyes. A little cheaper than the apple monitor too... Waiting for one of those with retina, thunderbolt and normal displayport/vga capability...

 

[nleksan]

Dell 27 and 30" are AH-IPS, not eIPS.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
I have read (at TFT Central for example, great site) that the latest generation of Dell Ultrasharp IPS displays have finally fixed the coarse grainy anti-glare coating they used for generations prior. Can anyone confirm that change first hand? I had to get rid of a U..11 generation Ultrasharp because text was so grainy and glittery (not too small) on it. Apparently this issue did not bother everyone.

My U2713 has no such coating. Its been awesome.

 

[BearZDefect]

Thank you for that confirmation Colt45ws.

 

[Bryankkkk]

I received my QNIX Korean monitor today and its gorgeous, no dead pixels and minimal backlight bleed. Overclocked it to 96hz and everything buttery smooth. Well worth the 299 for a 1440p 27 inch display.

Ditched my old 1080p dual monitors for one and redid my desk, I like the outcome

 

[renegade_987]

I have a 24" Dell monitor and love it. Great colors, and very clear. I'm sure bigger sizes would be just fine.

 

[rjundi]

I got the 27" Dell Ultrasharp U2713HM from best buy online and love it.

Best $600 I have spent. My eyes no longer are tired(still getting them checked out) looking at this display in 2560x1440 for 9-10hrs. The clarity is amazing even though type remains small/unchanged.

I tried extending to my previous 24" Ultrasharp but it looks so cruddy next to it although nice for a 1900x1200. I am giving it to my kids as they are suffering with a 12" display on a Thinkpad x300 they use on a desk.

Thanks!

 

[armos]

Thanks for the update, glad to hear you're having a good experience with it.
I'm definitely interested in getting a 2560x1440 someday. When I watch internet videos, I prefer to do it in 720p (1280x720), and that would match up perfectly with this resolution (pixels exactly double - no distortion). I don't have the bandwidth, patience, or disk space to care about 1080p video, so 1920x1080 doesn't have any appeal.

I occasionally play 3D games. Native 2560x1440 resolution could perform badly in some games. But if that happens, then 1280x720 would be an acceptable fallback. I assume (but haven't tested) modern video drivers should also allow running games in unusual resolutions like 1280x1440, which would still avoid distortion by exactly doubling the pixels on one axis.

Currently I still use a 1280x1024 5:4 monitor. For a while I had 2 of them, but one has lost it's backlight. I wish 1600x1200 4:3 monitors were more available and less expensive than they are. I don't care for the oblong 16:9 layout on a PC monitor, especially when multiple monitors are being used. But it's pretty much mandatory nowadays among mainstream, competitively priced products.

 

[Colt45ws]

Yeah, I had to add a second unlocked 6950 after I went to 1440p to drive it at full res in modern games.