HP ZR30w

MentatYP said:
What the... ??? No OSD? What is this, 1980?
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No OSD/Scalar is precisely why this monitor is so good. OSD/Scalar would introduce input lag (see Dell 3008).
 
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kache said:
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Ok, I think I'll just stick with the IIyama for the moment, hoping for a 120hz 2560x1600 to be released soon. :(

Thank you very much for the support. ;)
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Not going to happen for a long time. HDMI 1.4 can only do 8.16 Gbits/sec. DVI-D can only do 7.92 Gbit/sec. Displayport 1.2 is the only interface that can do 2560x1600 @ 120Hz because of 17.28 Gbit/sec.

So you need a Displayport 1.2 video card and LCD, not to mention a 30" IPS panel for 120Hz which doesn't exist. Not only does it not exist, they can't (or won't) even get much smaller high volume IPS/PVA panels to 120Hz. All 120Hz screens currently and projected are all TN at either 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 (horrible 16:9).
 
Vega said:
Not going to happen for a long time. HDMI 1.4 can only do 8.16 Gbits/sec. DVI-D can only do 7.92 Gbit/sec. Displayport 1.2 is the only interface that can do 2560x1600 @ 120Hz because of 17.28 Gbit/sec.

So you need a Displayport 1.2 video card and LCD, not to mention a 30" IPS panel for 120Hz which doesn't exist. Not only does it not exist, they can't (or won't) even get much smaller high volume IPS/PVA panels to 120Hz. All 120Hz screens currently and projected are all TN at either 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 (horrible 16:9).
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Most of the Ati 5xxx cards have a DP output. ;)
But, yes, at the moment no 30'' 120hz monitor exists.
I just hope sooner or later we will have one. :D
 
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Don't hold your breath :p

even when it does come out it will cost you $2k+

I am super happy with my zr30w

I recommend not waiting around for technology... if you do you will wait your whole life away.

Just buy what you can now and sell it for the newest later
 
kache said:
Most of the Ati 5xxx cards have a DP output. ;)
But, yes, at the moment no 30'' 120hz monitor exists.
I just hope sooner or later we will have one. :D
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Please don't tell me you didn't see this coming. ATI 5xxx card's use Display port version 1.1a, not 1.2. 1.1a has a max bandwidth of 8.64 Gbits/sec, for all intents and purposes the same as DVI-D and HDMI 1.4.

Card's haven't even been released yet with the new DP 1.2 port standard. Once that hurdle is overcome, then you have to wait for a 120Hz panel at 2560x1600, which also doesn't exist. On top of that, it will be a TN panel which has serious viewing angle issues the larger the screen get's.
 
Vega said:
Please don't tell me you didn't see this coming. ATI 5xxx card's use Display port version 1.1a, not 1.2. 1.1a has a max bandwidth of 8.64 Gbits/sec, for all intents and purposes the same as DVI-D and HDMI 1.4.
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Shit, I forgot. :(
 
Which brings up the point and fact that is it better to run the ZR30w with the D-DVI cable then the Display port cable.
 
Guys, seems like HP has two different models of the HP ZR30W, the VM617A4 (€1,618) and the VM617AT (€1,363). Given the €300 difference in price, anybody knows what the difference between these two models is?

I'm totally confused and the HP site doesn't shed any light on this (the VM617AT page lists the specifications for the VM617A4 model)!

And replying to the previous poster, it's NOT true that it is better to connect via DVI-D instead of DisplayPort. Both are digital, both accomplish 2560x1600 at 60Hz without any problems.
 
Ok, please ignore the above, got an answer from HP itself: both products (ZR30W VM616A4 and VM616AT) are exactly the same, the difference is related to HP's internal organization.
 
kache said:
Wait, what, the is it possibile to do 2560x1600@50hz? :eek:
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ah I totally forget that every time... it will show it in the panel but will not work, thanks for reminding me... the display port cable will not even show the options for 50hz... so...

Maybe a driver issue... I have been on 10.6 for a long time. I just updated to 10.8 last night.

Will do more testing and get back to you after work.
 
Nickbaldwin86 said:
ah I totally forget that every time... it will show it in the panel but will not work, thanks for reminding me... the display port cable will not even show the options for 50hz... so...

Maybe a driver issue... I have been on 10.6 for a long time. I just updated to 10.8 last night.

Will do more testing and get back to you after work.
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Thank you. Testing regarding this important feature is more than welcome. ;)
 
changes the res to 1920x1080... then turns off and start flashing. Have to hit ESC key to get it to return to 2560x1600@60hz

Sorry but for the life of me I can not get it to go to 50hz.

you want to research it and find a way, be glad to test it.
 
Why would you want 50Hz, video editing? I have a ZR30W arriving tomorrow and I will compare it against my current LG W3000H 30".
 
Vega said:
Why would you want 50Hz, video editing? I have a ZR30W arriving tomorrow and I will compare it against my current LG W3000H 30".
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I would think you'd want 48hz for video editing, not 50... ;)
 
have to look back through the thread but I am pretty sure he wanted to do 50hz for video editing...:confused:

Either way I was not able to get it stick... maybe Vega will have better luck or a different video card that will do it
 
After a few hours playing with my new ZR30W, the results are in!

I've tested images and gaming of the ZR30W versus the other monitors on my desk; the LG W3000H 30", BenQ G2400W 24" and Viewsonic's VX2265WM 120Hz 22". I have not yet color calibrated the screen with my Spyder 3 Elite.

First impressions:
The ZR30W came in a real nice thick quality well packed shipping box.
The Bezel around the screen is just a tad thicker than I was imagining in my head, just a few millimeters shorter than the LG W3000H. One positive to the HP bezel though is it's the same width on all four sides which is helpful if you ever want to do portrait multi-display.
The stand is nice and wide with a decent heft. Just plain matte black plastic, the LG's is a little fancier and has a piano black gloss base.
There is not as much vertical adjustment on the HP as I would have wanted. Especially for us taller people, it's nice to have a screen that can raise pretty high. The LG stand allows another inch or two height here, so the LG wins the stand department. Neither can do portrait mode, you would need a much beefier stand design to reach that tall.
The HP has a nice aluminum strip around the entire edge of the display , adding a nice quality touch. These 30" panels are very deep though, for multi-display gaming overlapping the displays bezels will be a bit tougher. I have removed the LG's bezel before and there was significant space savings to be had with the bezel removed for surround gaming. I haven't done this yet to the HP as to make sure I have a long term fully functioning display before voiding any warranties. Although if removed properly, i don't think the manufacturers could notice that the bezel was removed.

The HP has just 4 buttons out front, on/off, source and dim/bright buttons. That's all I need. The LG has a LED on/off toggle for the power indicator and a way to turn off the beeping sound as you make bright/dim adjustments. The Hp doesn't make any menu noise, it let's you know you have reached the min/max in brightness by simply blinking the power LED. The HP's power LED also goes off after a few seconds which I like.

On connectivity, the HP has the LG beat. The LG has a single DVI-D connector, while the HP has DVI-D and Display port. While I think DVI-D isn't going anywhere soon, it's nice to know you have the option for Display port if those future graphics cards are DP only. Both monitors have two under monitor mounted USB ports and two on the side.

My HP arrived with zero dead/stuck pixels just like my LG. It appears the quality control on these higher end panels is much more stringent over the cheaper panels. I've read a few reports of early ZR30W's exhibiting some sort of audible buzzing noise from the power supply when brightness was reduced. My HPZR30W is silent at any brightness setting. Either I got lucky, or more likely HP resolved the issue that a few early monitors had. The build date of my HP is May 2010.

Now for picture quality:

The instant I turned the ZR30W right next to my LG I could see there was an improvement in image quality. The LG uses the LG LM300WQ5 panel, but I believe the HP uses a newer revision of the basic LM300WQ5. I have not taken the monitor apart yet to confirm this. The largest difference that I can see appear to be the back lighting. The ZR30W exhibits much purer whites. You can really tell that there are some high-end wide color gamut CCFL's in the HP. The LG look's to have a greenish/tan tint to it compared to the HP. I cannot stress it enough how good the whites look on the HP.

For color reproduction in standard sRGB color-space, both are very similar. The HP might have a tinge more saturation or "pop" to the colors over the LG, which in itself looks very good. The TN panels next to the IPS look just dreadful in comparison.

Contrast ratio's are still very good, very similar between the LG and HP. Although, with the HP's purer white's, the contrast seem's more crisp in the transition from white to black. Pixel response times appear to be identical using test images. Ghosting to my naked eye appears to be identical to the LG, which never had a huge ghosting problem to begin with. These are quite fast IPS panels and to my subjective eye don't ghost any more than the Viewsonic 120Hz TN panel using the same test image.

Input lag appears to be imperceptible, just like on the LG. This is thanks to the lack of a scalar which I find a very good feature. I only run 2560x1600 resolution so I need no extra electronics that would add input lag. you would neither want the LG nor the HP for PS3/Xbox 360, but that's not what it's designed for. You would need a good test setup to accurately gauge input lag that is below one frame. Moving minimized windows quickly across the desktop cannot match the fluidity of the 120Hz panel, but that is expected. You can't win all the categories! (Hello OLED?)

Both the HP and LG can only do exactly 60Hz, sorry movie editing guru's. I've adjusting both manually and at different resolutions, but they both just go signal blank when fed a 50Hz signal.

In conclusion, I thought it was going to be hard to beat the LG W3000H in image quality. The ZR30W has surpassed my expectations. The pure whites, excellent colors, limited ghosting and very low input lag make this the best display I have ever used. The LG is off to Ebay and my order for two more HP ZR30W's has been placed for nVidia Surround. The unfortunate side effect of going 7680x1600 3x 30" is that I realized I need a larger desk. ;) After viewing quality displays like these, you do realize just how poor the image quality of TN panels are and both of mine will also be off to Ebay.

Please let me know if you have any questions.
 
Thank you for the review, and for the refresh rate tests. ;)
I am wondering: can you link your ebay account, please? I am curious to see how much will you ask for the w3000h. :D
 
Thanks for the review Vega. Where are you ordering your monitors and are you paying full retail?
 
Could you please comment on the AG coating situation compared to other 30" IPS panels (like your LG)? Also, is there any noticable white glow in the corners of the screen when viewing dark images?

Thanks.
 
szobanov said:
Could you please comment on the AG coating situation compared to other 30" IPS panels (like your LG)? Also, is there any noticable white glow in the corners of the screen when viewing dark images?

Thanks.
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Just from my purely subjective analysis: the AG coating is very similar to the LG's, maybe just a tad less "sparkle" while viewing white images. I really only notice the sparkle effect while very close to the screen. At typical 2-3 feet, it doesn't bother me at all. Of course, individual mileage may vary.

There is a slight white glow in the corners while viewing solid black screens. It is slightly more pronounced on the LG. I think it's a limitation of IPS in general. It is definitely not severe and to me imperceptible unless the screen is completely black and I am looking for it. I guess the only way it would bother me is if I was watching a lot of dark movies on it. Which I don't.
 
Well I am glad I am not the only one that is completely satisfied with this monitor.

I think the only thing I would trade it for is a 120hz 30" with 2560x1600 and two 5970s :p
 
Nickbaldwin86 said:
Well I am glad I am not the only one that is completely satisfied with this monitor.

I think the only thing I would trade it for is a 120hz 30" with 2560x1600 and two 5970s :p
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Don't hold your breath. I think you will be with your ZR30W for quite some time. ;)
 
most reliable place to buy from ?
was going to order from ncix.com as they usually have no dead pixel gurantee but not for monitor this size.
 
cleve said:
most reliable place to buy from ?
was going to order from ncix.com as they usually have no dead pixel gurantee but not for monitor this size.
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I went with: https://wwws.nextwarehouse.com/item/?966010

It's a cheap price and they have a hot-swap warranty for $130 that I purchased for all three of my ZR30W's. It's pretty much a no-hassle return within 45 days with free shipping or within a year if you pay shipping if there is anything wrong with the monitor. It let's you bypass the large hassle and time it would take for HP to turn around your monitor.
 
I don't think the hardware is quite there yet to power 3x2560x1600. Maybe the 6000 series will surprise us. Who knows. But since those monitors don't have display port native input, you'll need to buy the $100 dual link active adapter. But with the kind of cash you'd be throwing down, I suppose that will be just a drop in the bucket. :)

PS I'd still like to see what the Dell U3011 and the NEC PA301W are like before I'd consider the HP ZR30W the winner of the 30" crown.
 
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Have you even read the spec's of the ZR30W? It has Displayport.

The reason the gaming 'verdict' is already pretty much in is that while all three monitors use the same new billion color P-IPS panels (ZR30W, U3011, PA301W), is that the ZR30W is the only one without input lag introducing scalar/electronics.

It's the same thing that made the 3007 and LG previous generation 30" displays better for gaming versus the 3008 and others like NEC. There's no way the U3011 or PA301W can be "better" than the ZR30W for gaming. They could only hope to match it's low input lag with some sort of bypass or "thru" mode of the input lag causing electronics.
 
Would buying this monitor for gaming be a waste if I only have an 8800 GTX? Would this monitor be too much for my GPU to handle?
 
I guess it depends on what games you play. It might be able to handle something like WoW but definitely not a modern FPS like Bad Company 2 or Metro2033.
 
I do play a lot of shooters, do you think it would be fine if I ran them in lower resolutions until I build a new computer, probably in 6 months to a year?
 
Yes, you can run a 30" 2560x1600 monitor at exactly half the resolution of 1280x800 and it won't be blurry or stretched. Just pixels will be two times as big.
 
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