NEC MultiSync 27" VS 30"

I'm debating between the NEC Multisync PA271W-BK-SV and the NEC Myltisync PA301W-BK-SV. The 27 inch screen has a 2560 x 1440 resolution and the 30 inch screen has a 2560 x 1600 resolution. Current prices put the 27 inch at 1439.00 delivered and the 30 inch at 2225.00 delivered. The resolution and available screen size difference adds up to 7more lines viewable in an Excel spreadsheet for 780.00 more dollars. The 780.00 can also equal a new Radeon 7970 video card. Always wanted a 30 inch display and really like the NEC line. I will be spending more time doing light photography and home video editing but also game, browse and watch video via computer. I'm interested in the included software bundle for both just to allow calibrating the display and the price difference with or without the calibration software makes the bundle a better buy. I'm moving from a 24 inch 1920 x 1200 display that is moving to one of the kids computers. I can spring for either display but have not been able to compare them myself. I have not yet seen the NEC 30 in person so im looking for opinions, will I miss those extra pixels? Thanks

27" 1440p is a little more dense than 30" 1600p and causes a bit more eye strain. With that said I don't think you'll miss the pixels unless you're already used to using a 30" monitor.

wow.. why is the pricing so significantly more than say a Dell U3011?

For light photography+gaming+movies the NEC's are overkill and poor choices. Photos+movies will appear to be extra noisy/shot with high ISO's due to the grain effect of the anti-glare coating LG puts on their IPS panels. Games will look like they have undefeatable film-grain (similar to those found in L4D and Mass Effect). Matte 27" 1440p IPS are the worst offenders due to the small pixel pitch. All of the current 30" displays use LG IPS panels=grainy AG coating.

The 27" 1440p Samsung (800$ semi-glossy) and Apple Cinema Display (900$+ glossy) are better options and you can purchase an i1 Display Pro colorimeter for around 200$ and still come out with some savings.

I was very interested in the new samsung PLS panels so I waited and planned on purchasing one of the SA850 models when they first arrived. The backlight bleed on some of the screens pictured here on the forum have steered me away from that particular model although some panels seem to be alot better than others in that regard. I recently saw the post concerning there new model PLS 27" Samsung and maybe that will rectify the slim bezel / bleed problems with the current SA850. Its always difficult making a choice and there is always new and better stuff coming . I really liked my old Sony 520P CRT but thats a different story Thanks for the input!

By the way NCX I'm pretty sure I understand what you mean by the grainy appearance. Do you mean like a high quality blue ray picture on a calibrated high quality plasma display where the graininess from the actual film used becomes visible?

Kinda, the movie/photo could have 0 noise/grain but because of the coating it will appear to be very noisy/grainy and the color quality suffers as well.

Plenty of people on [H] including my self have S27A850D's w/o bleed. You take as big a chance when purchasing any IPS panel. Some one on here recently went throw like 5 30" NECs all of which had bleeding and dead pixels. LG's quality control seems worse than Samsung's in the long run because they ship the same panels but they seem to have wildly varying contrast and have been known to have severe tinting issues.

In terms of PA271 versus PA301, unless the "self-calibration" ability is important to you, the PA271 is fine. The 30" is a far bigger screen with bigger pixels allowing you to sit back a bit further than the 27". You'll need it because of the massive 30" size

Self-calibration allows you to connect the Eye One Display 2 or NEC's (GammaComp) Eye One 2 version directly to the screen and have it calibrate itself without computer or software. It's handy but not a must have IMHO.

In terms of capabilities versus the S27A850, the PA series are FAR more advanced monitors. They support multiple color spaces/gamuts, multiple gamma curves, different white color temperatures, different contrast level settings, etc.... all in the screen.

With PA series screens, you calibrate the screen, not your video cards. This also lends itself to allowing you to have a calibrated screen without messing with color profiles and worrying about whether you just played a game and whether that game wiped out the adjustments in your color profile like it would with a "regular" screen like the Samsung. So with the PA series, your color profile only defines the color space and gamma ramp for your screen, not the actual calibration adjustments. With the Samsung the color profile contains all the calibration adjustments, so it it gets "unloaded" you have to re-load it to ensure a calibrated screen.

So if you want to video edit, you can switch the screen to a Rec. 709 color space and gamma ramp and then back to Adobe RGB or sRGB when done and want to play games or edit photos. The best part is, if you switch color spaces, the NEC software will handle switching color profiles to define different gamuts for you auto-magically.

Much of this you cannot do with the Samsung, or do it very quickly.

For example, if you like a brighter screen during the day, and darker during the night, you can create two different profiles, and load them up at will ensuring the screen is adjusted to your liking.

Outside of the smoother anti-glare coating, the Samsung is a far less capable screen, and while it is a nice screen, you still have to get it from a good vendor with return policies that will help you in case of defects, while with the NEC, they will help you.

If it were that you have to have the lighter, smoother anti-glare panel of the Samsung and similar color capabilities of the PA series, the upcoming Samsung S27B970 might be good. It's supposed to be a PLS panel with built-in calibration capabilities, similar, but probably inferior to the PA series.

DuckNWeave said:

I'm debating between the NEC Multisync PA271W-BK-SV and the NEC Myltisync PA301W-BK-SV. The 27 inch screen has a 2560 x 1440 resolution and the 30 inch screen has a 2560 x 1600 resolution. Current prices put the 27 inch at 1439.00 delivered and the 30 inch at 2225.00 delivered. The resolution and available screen size difference adds up to 7more lines viewable in an Excel spreadsheet for 780.00 more dollars. The 780.00 can also equal a new Radeon 7970 video card. Always wanted a 30 inch display and really like the NEC line. I will be spending more time doing light photography and home video editing but also game, browse and watch video via computer. I'm interested in the included software bundle for both just to allow calibrating the display and the price difference with or without the calibration software makes the bundle a better buy. I'm moving from a 24 inch 1920 x 1200 display that is moving to one of the kids computers. I can spring for either display but have not been able to compare them myself. I have not yet seen the NEC 30 in person so im looking for opinions, will I miss those extra pixels? Thanks

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Both SV models are the best monitors available as far as color quality is concerned.
Both are excellent universal entertainment monitors for home use.
Which one of the two?
It's up to you but you need to realize that 30" vs 27" is not just 7 or... lines more.
It's a different league.
It's a different class.
The only minus of both is crystalline effect of the matte coating which is worse on the 27".
It's not a problem at all (photo, video, games) unless you do a great deal of text work/browsing where CE comes into account.
In that case the new Samsung 850-series on PLS(IPS) are monitors of choice.
But that will be a step down in color accuracy as they don't have proper hardware sRGB support.

Once you work with the PLS display, matte IPS displays will disgust you. Then you will realize that there aren't any good choices unless you can get a perfect PLS which may not be possible until March

If you can afford it, definetely go for the PA301W, otherwise the PA271W. They are both amazing displays.

If you can find a refurbished PA301W, you can save a lot of money. I've bought refurbished NEC displays multiple times now, and they come in excellent condition. If there is a problem with your display, NEC's customer support is very good. They paid for shipping both ways and upgraded me to an even better display because my monitor was end of service life (20WMGX2 upgraded to 2090UXi).

Here is a refurbished PA301W, direct from NEC for $1,429.

http://www.necdisplay.com/p/desktop -monitors/pa301w-bk-r

Thanks I checked out the refurbished 30" at NEC's site and the sale price is 1429.00. If I add the the spectraview 2 software and the new SpectraSensorPro calibration sensor that was recently released the total is 1881.00 with tax and shipping. SO the difference adds up to 344.00. The Refurbished screens offer a one year warranty while the non refurbished screens come with a 4 year warranty. That is pretty significant. I have no experience with NEC warranty service but from what I have read on the forum its pretty good. I'm going to order one or the other today and leaning toward the four year warranty. I think the three years extra warranty are worth the 100 per year.