Monitor Recommendations

[EQnoble]

So I am sitting here enduring a massive headache and this ritual is due in part to the fact that I use a 10 year old 40" 1080p television as a primary.

In order for me to be at my desk 12 hours+ a day I need a new monitor that doesn't make me feel like I am growing a melanocytoma in my eyes.

I am looking for a monitor 27 inches or larger, 1920x1080 or better but must also support a standard 16x9 ratio (like if not set to a max resolution and 1920x1080 is used it should be able to fill the panel and not box it). Proper color reproduction is the most important thing for me but all aspects of what makes a solid monitor are important to me here as I like to get good equipment and keep it for a long time and a good monitor is one of those things you can hang on to for quite some time.

I tried one particular monitor out already and to be honest, it's going back to where it came from as it under-performs, has radically incorrect color reproduction (beyond fixing with calibration) and while it looks alright, the stand provides as much stability as a balsa foundation would for a 3 story house. In all honesty, my 10 year old tv looks better as a monitor than this actual PC monitor. I will leave out the model as I am sure no one will suggest it anyways.



Anyone have any suggestions preferably based on experience (meaning you physically saw the monitor perform) that would help me find a new screen sooner than later?

 

[Jaxel]

http://www.amazon.com/NEC-MultiSync...&qid=1424535998&sr=8-2&keywords=nec+multisync

 

[Paul B]

I use 2 of these: http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=US&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=225-4148

And 1 of these: http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=US&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-2676

I have used other Dell monitors in the past and never had any issues with them.

 

[Jaxel]

BTW... the NEC Multisync and the Dell UltraSharp brands are actually the SAME monitor. If you're looking for color fidelity, they are both equal.

The difference between the price is because Dell adds a lot of really cool features to their monitors, such as 3 times the number of inputs and much better speakers.

 

[EQnoble]

BTW... the NEC Multisync and the Dell UltraSharp brands are actually the SAME monitor. If you're looking for color fidelity, they are both equal.

The difference between the price is because Dell adds a lot of really cool features to their monitors, such as 3 times the number of inputs and much better speakers.

Didn't kn0w that, good info. What I don't like though is that round base plate...like linear efficiency...those corners that are missing on the stand don't really afford any useable space on the desk while removing some stability by not just leaving the plate square or rectangle. Call me boring but I feel like all monitor stands should be square just on principles of practicality.

I probably should have noted that for now I am not mounting them anywhere and as such they need to have a sturdy stand and be adjustable (rotate a +) though having the spot for a plate is a definite plus as well.

I use 2 of these: http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=US&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=225-4148

And 1 of these: http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=US&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-2676

I have used other Dell monitors in the past and never had any issues with them.

For Dell these are the ones I am considering (There were only two other brands I was considering but I don't want to influence opinion too much based on brand preferences though I have my own):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6R42M88082

One of which is the one you have two of, the other a close approximate (almost) that is 100 cheaper at the moment.

Are you happy with your U2713H, like if budget permitted and you were going to replace your 24" would you get another one of these?

 

[Paul B]

My 24" is gathering dust since I got my 27's.

If I had the room I'd have another 27" on the desk...

 

[EQnoble]

My 24" is gathering dust since I got my 27's.

If I had the room I'd have another 27" on the desk...

Ahh see we have opposite problems, desk space is not my issue as I built my own and it is around 7 feet long and supports and can support a couple thousand pounds.

If you set your desktop resoultion to 1920X1080 on your 27 does it go edge to edge on the panel or does it get the border?

I have been putting off replacing what is a great screen (just not for what I am doing now a days) with something else which may fall extremely short of what it is advertised as or what I am expecting and ending up spending money on garbage. I don't like to waste things but I stuck to using my screen for 10 years and think it is really time to move on from it.

I am at the point now where I am ready to ninja kick something every time I really need to get stuff done and a massive headache takes over or extreme eye strain with all work slowing or stopping due to the current monitor situation so now I am forced to make a decision and do it quick because the more time I look at this thing the more I want to just sell my computer and do something simple that won't hurt my eyes like crushing pinecones with my teeth or chopping trees with a ball pein hammer and a center punch.

 

[Paul B]

If you set your desktop resoultion to 1920X1080 on your 27 does it go edge to edge on the panel or does it get the border?

Edge to edge, no black borders

I run them at 2560 x 1440 though.

 

[EQnoble]

Edge to edge, no black borders

I run them at 2560 x 1440 though.

I would mostly run my monitor at the highest setting (you can never have a high enough pixel dimension ) but some things I do just have to be run at 1920x1080 which is why I was asking.

You get edge to edge at 1080 with your 27?

 

[Paul B]

Yes, but I didn't feed it a 1080 signal - that was just regular Windows apps.

Oh wait, that's a lie - I have my PS4 hooked up via HDMI so yeah.

 

[EQnoble]

Ahh sometimes there is different modes though that internally auto detect and switch (PC/AV modes, sometimes a manual setting).

Hmm, so you didn't change your desktop resolution in windows (to 1920x1080) but you ran an app that runs fullscreen at 1920x1080 and it works just fine edge to edge?

 

[RobinHood]

Just had one of these delivered, it's amazing in terms of real estate.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-BDM4065UC-40-Inch-Monitor-5000/dp/B00OO9YWR0

40", 4k, 110ppi which is the same pixel density as current WQHD 27" monitors, so no faffing about with scaling.

You can also set it to 21:9 to emulate the new ultrawides when gaming or use the whole screen.

You'll have to check reviews for colour info., depends how picky you are. I've heard some people saying it's good enough for them once calibrated, some people say if it's super important you should go for something else.

 

[Paul B]

Hmm, so you didn't change your desktop resolution in windows (to 1920x1080) but you ran an app that runs fullscreen at 1920x1080 and it works just fine edge to edge?

Yes.

The ratio is the same for 2560:1440 and 1920:1080 so there is no stretching or cropping.

 

[EQnoble]

Yes.

The ratio is the same for 2560:1440 and 1920:1080 so there is no stretching or cropping.

Heh, wasn't trying to sound stupid...but the monitor I tried out does not scale back to 1920x1080 without cropping things up off the edges of the panel, a good inch too. The max resolution of the monitor I had tried being 3840 x 2160 (also a 16:9) I just couldn't understand why the need to crop at 1080 when it is exactly double.

I feel like something is bootleg with this.

 

[Nebulous]

I need a new monitor myself. This one is about 5 years old and has a few scratches.

 

[Avensen]

If you expirience headaches, I strongly advise you to buy a flicker free (PWM flicker free) LCD monitor, one from this database http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/flicker_free_database.htm

Google PWM flicker LCD monitors, see youtube videos for more information about the PWM flicker issue.

Another issue is strong blue light in LED backlight. Google blue light LED backlight. Get a monitor in which you can reduce blue light by selecting a ready mode from menu or by reducing blue color individually from menu. This will reduce your eye strain significantly.

Personally, I bought EIZO CS240 , and it's awesome. No PWM flicker, easy to switch modes, great colors. No headaches after many hours of work, http://www.eizoglobal.com/products/coloredge/cs240/index.html

If your budget is good, get this 4K (4096 x 2160) 31.1" beast: http://www.eizoglobal.com/products/coloredge/cg318-4k/index.html

 

[EQnoble]

If you expirience headaches, I strongly advise you to buy a flicker free (PWM flicker free) LCD monitor, one from this database http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/flicker_free_database.htm

Google PWM flicker LCD monitors, see youtube videos for more information about the PWM flicker issue.

Another issue is strong blue light in LED backlight. Google blue light LED backlight. Get a monitor in which you can reduce blue light by selecting a ready mode from menu or by reducing blue color individually from menu. This will reduce your eye strain significantly.

Personally, I bought EIZO CS240 , and it's awesome. No PWM flicker, easy to switch modes, great colors. No neadaches after many hours of work, http://www.eizoglobal.com/products/coloredge/cs240/index.html

Nice...yeah most of the monitors I have considered are actually on that list.

The main reason I get headaches is because of a couple of really nasty head injuries (accidents, blunt force attack etc), the thing about my monitor that accentuated those headaches was the fact that I was using a 40" screen that maxed out at at 1920x1080...forcing me to use the most of the screen while coding and such which is what really causes the strain on my eyes (the lighting and the color isn't the main problem and after using a 40" 10 year old tv from 20" away for like 6 years as a monitor, almost all monitors strain my eyes less and have substantially less flicker).

If the same screen I have now was 4k (and had true color reproduction) I wouldn't consider another monitor because in reality I could just setup my editor to be half width and full height and I would be all set.

Now experimenting and going from a 40" to trying out the 28" which I grabbed and was disappointed with before starting this thread I find that it is too small. I really need something in between like 30, 32 or 35" but other than the first I just don't think they exist yet unfortunately.

I also want to point out that almost every actual computer monitor I have ever tried out in past couple of years...had a blatant lie where should have been the actual viewing angle, which is another problem I have when shopping around....things would be so much easier if I could shop locally and actually see how a computer looks plugged into different models but to give you an idea of the situation out here...I spent 3 hours yesterday on the phone and driving and could not find a SINGLE place to buy a displayport cable, I even went into a computer store and told the guy what I needed (dp cable) and he said 'what is the cable for...what does that look like' :-/ (had to explain to the owner of a computer shop what a dp cable is), he then sent me over to a store around these parts, one that ONLY sells cables adapters and connectors....and the bonehead tried to tell me that display port is on the way out and I should just stick with HDMI :-/ , what I got out of yesterdays adventure is that to run a business you don't need to know anything and you only need to BS your way into sales, at least that is how business works out here.



The monitor you showed looks pretty good specwise(your monitor) but at $800+ for a 24 inch, i just can't do it based on dollars to donuts though if I made a living doing photography as a profession it would be a different story.

 

[RickM]

I took a chance and bought one of the South Korea imports. It's the same 27" panel Apple uses on their Thunderbolt Display, but a HUGE amount cheaper.

I got the Crossover 2720MDP which has a display port option in addition to the usual HDMI, VGA, etc. It's an amazing screen, way better than any of the crappy ones in the UK that I could find for the same price at the time.

Total cost after import duty was just under £300. Not bad considering it's sold by Apple and Dell for well over £700. It also came with the 'pixel perfect' option which is a guarantee of no dead pixels. 2 years later and it's been flawless.

 

[Marcus]

So what is your monitor setup and recommendation now ? Yesterday night I destroyed my 32 inch QHD monitor so I need a new one. 32 4k I found that was obviously very sharp but I had to make elements larger in Windows. I had a 43 inch 4k monitor before that was far too large (and bright).

Maybe I try even 32 FHD. For watching videos - most is in that resolution anyway and netflix 4k does show up on TV not always on a monitor.

Monitors are mostly flicker free today (even market that) which is a huge improvement for lots of users.

I plan to use a monitor arm again, with that my monitor yesterday would have survived.

 

[eva2000]

13.3" 1920x1080 laptop, 14" XPIRCD 2560x1600 portable, 27" Dell U2723QE 4K and 24" Dell U2410 1920X1200

Originally had 3x 24" Dell U2410 for 14+ yrs, one died this year and another was moved to another setup where a Asus 27" monitor also died.

Dell 27" bought 6 months ago my first 4k monitor - so much more workspace - I could fit 3-4x times the work on it compared to 24"

Dell monitors are on old Atdec Levitate monitor arms which have been with me for 10+ yrs IIRC