2560x1080 Monitors - Good/Bad?

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[H]ard|Gawd
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Feb 10, 2011
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I have had my 2007FP / 3007WFP-HC / 2007FP monitor setup for a few years now.

At first, it was amazing.. but now, I'm starting to notice the drawbacks.

1.) The borders are fucking huge. Like 2" huge. It's definitely not like having one large monitor.
2.) The 2007's are in portrait mode. This is good for documents or having a bunch of windows open, but it sucks for the one reason I wanted a second monitor in the first place - watching videos.
3.) They're all beautiful, but extremely bulky. The 3007WFP-HC is actually quite difficult to lift up.

I suppose these things didn't bother me before, but now it seems there are so much better options..

Since I HATE borders and can't stand anything larger than a hairline, I think a single monitor with a very wide aspect ratio is the best way to go.

So, lately, I've noticed these 2560x1080 monitors.

Only problem is, they don't seem to have many reviews.. is that because they're new?

If anyone has one, I'd like some feedback.

Thanks.

EDIT: The only thing I don't like about the 2560x1080 monitors is the decrease in digital space. Going back to a measly 1080p vertical pixels seems really shitty after having 1200 and then 1600.. Are there any plans for a higher resolution 16:6.75 monitor?
 
You do realize that the 2560x1080 monitors are 29" and are only about 1.5" wider than your 30"? In other words you can achieve nearly the same results by simply dumping your portrait monitors. What you really want is a 4K monitor in the 40" to 44" range. At 44" it is the same PPI as a 30" 2560x1600 monitor, at 40" it is the same PPI as a 27" 2560x1440. That means we are likely to see panels of that size at some point because in many respects they are already being manufactured and therefore easier to retool the factory.

If bezels bother you that much and you can't wait for 4K, get a couple of projectors, they are the ultimate method of avoiding bezels.
 
Have you considered using the SEIKI 4K HDTV as a desktop monitor? It costs only $1300.
3840x2160 at 50 inches. It has similar DPI as existing 24" monitors.
Only a tad more than double the diagonal size, but has quadruple the pixels, so no DPI compromise!
The only problem is refresh rate, but the TV syncs to these modes:

1920x1080 at 120Hz (great for PC gaming)
2560x1440 at 80Hz
3840x2160 at 30Hz

Make sure you adjust Sharpness to "0" as that's not good for computer use.

It's a bit massive for a desktop monitor, but some people are using it as such. Just slide it to the rear of your desk, use a 3-foot view distance instead of 2-foot, and use slightly larger fonts for everything. Then it's quite a pleasant bezel-free compromise if you're not doing anything motion-sensitive at 4K. (e.g. just typing computer code in Visual Studio, viewing text, keeping an eye on many status/text windows, keeping notes around, etc.)
 
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You do realize that the 2560x1080 monitors are 29" and are only about 1.5" wider than your 30"? In other words you can achieve nearly the same results by simply dumping your portrait monitors.

That doesn't make sense.

You lose 33% vertical space and only gain 5% horizontal space at basically the same size?

It should be around 8 inches wider..


EDIT: According to the specs, you're right. But the hell does that make sense?! :confused:

What you really want is a 4K monitor in the 40" to 44" range. At 44" it is the same PPI as a 30" 2560x1600 monitor, at 40" it is the same PPI as a 27" 2560x1440. That means we are likely to see panels of that size at some point because in many respects they are already being manufactured and therefore easier to retool the factory.

If bezels bother you that much and you can't wait for 4K, get a couple of projectors, they are the ultimate method of avoiding bezels.

A couple? I thought you needed three.

In regards to the 4k monitors, three problems:

1.) They're hella expensive.
2.) They're hella huge - which is one of the reasons I'm dropping my current line-up.
3.) They will never support 120hz.

1920x1080 at 120Hz (great for PC gaming)
2560x1440 at 80Hz
3840x2160 at 30Hz

Woah, no thnx. I can't use my computer at 30hz. :eek:
 
According to my calculations, this is a 27.5" screen, not a 29" screen.



But even so.. I don't understand why it's so small. Is it that horizontal space adds more to diagonal space than vertical?
 
I had three LG 29EA93's, they're 21:9 reso. They're really good for gaming imo. But it's really hard to get over the vertical real estate that is loss. For games, it isn't that bad but for browsing...ect you can tell. The screen itself is very very crisp and only had light AG coating. The LG allows you to do PiP, so let's say you had your xbox hooked up, you could swap between either of them, split screen it, or even have it in a small square off to the side. The refresh rate was fine, I never had any ghosting. In the end I went with a 1440 PLS panel. I would have kept the LGs but each one had a stuck or dead pixels.
 
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3.) They will never support 120hz at 4K for a very long time
Fixed it for ya.
There were posters ten years ago who who didn't think 1080p at 120Hz would ever happen to LCD.
Besides, NHK already demoed 8K at 120Hz.

Plus, you can also still use 120Hz on a 4K display today -- the SEIKI 4K -- just not at full resolution.
 
According to my calculations, this is a 27.5" screen, not a 29" screen.



But even so.. I don't understand why it's so small. Is it that horizontal space adds more to diagonal space than vertical?

Diagonal = ( height ^2 + width ^2) ^.5

So yes, if width is already bigger than height, an equal amount of increase (say 1 inch) in width will increase the diagonal more than one inch increase in height.

But diagonal isn't everything here. After all, it's about panel surface area and pixel density.


As for going from x1600 to x1080: don't do it. You'll regret it. Also, 1080 isn't enough for a horizontal resolution, so won't be able to use them in portrait mode, unlike the x1440 ones; that's more useable horizontal resolution when using in portrait mode.


Those 2007FP - 3007WFP-HC - 2007FP combo's are super. I have one myself since early 2009 (one of the first here) and it's still huge and amazing. (Except for energy consumption)
 
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A couple? I thought you needed three.

Not with projectors because since they literally have no bezels you don't have a bezel in the middle of your field of view which normally occurs with even numbers of monitors.
 
That doesn't make sense.

You lose 33% vertical space and only gain 5% horizontal space at basically the same size?

It should be around 8 inches wider..

EDIT: According to the specs, you're right. But the hell does that make sense?! :confused:

Ask Pythagoras. Since the monitor is no taller than a 23" 1080p monitor the angle of the diagonal measurement (which is how all monitors are measured) is significantly lower than a 30" monitor. The Pythagorean Theorem states that for a right-angled triangle the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the vertical and horizontal legs. The loss of the vertical height in 1080p vs 1600p means that the length of the hypotenuse is not as significantly longer than the horizontal leg.
 
my DELL u2913wm arrived yesterday.

my previous setup was 2x DELL u2412hm, one for gaming/movies, the other as secondary for browsing while playing mmos, etc.

so i put one of them away and replaced it with the ultra wide. so far i have tested diablo3, bf3, borderlands 2, skurim, planetside 2, all work very nicely with 21:9, since the screen will be used 99% for gaming/movies and the 24" for browsing, i don't mind going from 1200 to 1080 vertically. the horizontal gain is huge compared to the 24"

excuse the shitty camera of my phone :)

BOvTsEE.jpg

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Well, They are a nice median between Eyefinity and Single Screen. I feel it's not wide enough for me (because games), but it's a good multi-media display form factor.
 
I'm hugely disappointed.

I thought that the 21:9 screens would take all that vertical space and put it towards its horizontal space.

But in reality, it's basically the equivalent of cutting off the top 1/3 of my 3007WFP-HC..

*sigh*

I just want a thin, LED, 120hz monitor that is around 30 inches horizontally and no less than 15 inches vertically. I don't really care about the resolution as long as it's higher than 1920x1200.

There's nothing like that, is there..?
 
I don't know if they're in production, but a few years ago Alienware branded a curved widescreen monitor. You might be able to find a used one.
 
I'm hugely disappointed.

I thought that the 21:9 screens would take all that vertical space and put it towards its horizontal space.

But in reality, it's basically the equivalent of cutting off the top 1/3 of my 3007WFP-HC..

*sigh*

I just want a thin, LED, 120hz monitor that is around 30 inches horizontally and no less than 15 inches vertically. I don't really care about the resolution as long as it's higher than 1920x1200.

There's nothing like that, is there..?
Qnix makes a 27" 120hz+ IPS 2560x1440 monitor that ~$300.
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1758515
 
I'm hugely disappointed.

I thought that the 21:9 screens would take all that vertical space and put it towards its horizontal space.

But in reality, it's basically the equivalent of cutting off the top 1/3 of my 3007WFP-HC..

*sigh*

I just want a thin, LED, 120hz monitor that is around 30 inches horizontally and no less than 15 inches vertically. I don't really care about the resolution as long as it's higher than 1920x1200.

There's nothing like that, is there..?

Ive said it before and Ill say it again. The first company to release a 2800x1200 21:9 monitor that I can overclock with my titan to 75+hz will get 2 purchases, one for my home computer and one for my work computer. Until then I will make do with what I have.
 
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