Advice: 3 Asus 27" LED or 1 HP ZR30W?

D

DReborn

Limp Gawd
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Aug 11, 2004
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So...I recently sold my Dell 3007-WFP HC (old setup: http://coolslice.com/2007/08/when-30-is-just-not-big-enough/) and I was going to upgrade to the HP ZR30W after the good reviews and solid price but then I saw that I could get 3 Asus VE278Q (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236103) for pretty much the same price (actually a bit cheaper).

I know the ZR30W has the famous IPS panels but is it really worth that much? Have I just been spoiled with my Dell for so many years so I don't know what non ips panels are like?

I mostly game, office applications, internet browse, etc. Some small photo editing but nothing serious. I run a real estate development company so i like to have numerous spreadsheets open, etc.

thanks for any advice!
 
IMO, 1920x1080 is too low of a resolution for a 27" panel. I'm running 1920x1200 on my 25.5" Samsung right now and that seems perfect. At my local BB the 28" Hannspree @ 1920x1200 looked like it needed a higher resolution, so I can only imagine how stretched a 1080p resolution would look on a 27" monitor.

IMO, you're better off buying 3x Dell U2311H monitors if you just want screen real estate. At the same resolution, technically you won't be losing any space, everything will just be smaller. Plus, 3x of those should cost $750 shipped (Dell has them on sale for $250 shipped regularly), and they're IPS panels.
 
hmm...I hear you knocking.

I wish those darn U2710 would come down in price. insane to charge that much for a 27" but I suppose it has that high resolution
 
There is a reason why you can get three cheap 1080p 27" TN panels for the price of the ZR30w. It's because 1080p 27" TN panels royally suck in comparison!
 
I've read alot of good reviews for the Samsung 27" so idk if they royally suck, maybe relatively speaking (3x price) but they suffice and would probably be top of the line if it weren't for the new expensive display tech with these other types of panels.

I mean, two years ago if I said I had a 27" LCD monitor for under $400 with a 1ms response time and a decent contrast and viewing angle, I think people would go nuts over them!
 
JAGX said:
decent contrast and viewing angle
Click to expand...

That is the problem they do not have decent contrast and viewing angles.

IPS is not new, my first LCD was a Sony IPS panel and it was dam good in it's time.

When you talk about 27" displays, it is really important to state 16:10 verses 16:9, because there is a huge difference. A 27" 16:9 is not much bigger than a 24" 16:10.

If all you care about is gaming then TN might make sense, because of it's low cost and low imput lag. The problem is that when you want to work with photos or graphics then you are SOL.

Dave
 
JAGX said:
I've read alot of good reviews for the Samsung 27" so idk if they royally suck, maybe relatively speaking (3x price) but they suffice and would probably be top of the line if it weren't for the new expensive display tech with these other types of panels.

I mean, two years ago if I said I had a 27" LCD monitor for under $400 with a 1ms response time and a decent contrast and viewing angle, I think people would go nuts over them!
Click to expand...

Have you ever viewed a 30" 2560x1600 IPS versus a 27" 1080P TN? You would know instantly why the 30" is 3x the price. ;)
 
I have a 25.5" Asus TN - in the closet. Can't imagine three 27" versions would look any better - except in a bigger closet.

+1 For the ZR30W
 
I'll add my plug for the fight against large monitors in 1920x1080. I didn't think those extra lines of resolution would really make that big of a difference, but when I stacked a hannspree hf255 25.5" (1920x1080) up against my samsung 2443bwt 24" (1920x1200), the loss of screen real-estate was huge. everything is so crunched up to me on the hannspree (although, I will say, for TN panels, these hannsprees have amazing colors after calibration)

That being said, I tend to lean towards separate monitors over 1 large screen; makes it easier to keep reference material up during games, or full screen drafting, etc etc. but that's me.
 
Only you can decide in the end, but it's definitely a very bad idea to go from IPS to TN if you have no firsthand idea of the differences. Surely you've seen TN panels in stores and stuff and you're familiar with the color shifting and limited viewing angles? If that doesn't matter to you, then that's fine. Just be prepared.

Not sure how moving from one IPS 30" to another is really going to be that much of an "upgrade" in the first place, but moving to three 24" panels would give you an opportunity to try Eyefinity, which is nice. It's also more real estate in terms of raw MP.

Personally, I'm just about to make the opposite switch - going from 3x25.5 panels to a single 30" ZR30W - but I'm likely to keep one of the 25.5 panels till I eventually buy the Dell 20" IPS refurbs to flank the 30" in portrait mode.

In other words, unless you really want to experience Eyefinity, get the best of both worlds: an amazing quality panel and a secondary display for convenience's sake. I'd been using Surround for a few months, and while it's quite nice when *everything* lines up (proper FOV, no fisheye, proper aspect ratio, proper HUD placement, etc., etc.), for many games the stars don't line up, and I often just find myself wishing for a single glorious display.
 
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DReborn,

First off, avoid buying screens from newegg. Their dead pixel policy is not good. You always want to buy screens from places that make it easy to return them. With Newegg the only way you can somewhat easily return the screen is some other issue or design flaw.

Second, a 27" TN screen is going to massively amplify the "dark top third, light bottom third" issue, which if you are used to IPS, you are going to notice fairly quickly. And 27" is a bit big for such a low resolution.

I would stick with the ZR30W, and maybe get a smaller *VA or IPS screen later on for secondary material like JamesE mentioned. I've done that and it worked pretty well in the past prior to getting my 3008WFP.

Then you can try a TN screen.
 
10e said:
DReborn,

First off, avoid buying screens from newegg. Their dead pixel policy is not good. You always want to buy screens from places that make it easy to return them. With Newegg the only way you can somewhat easily return the screen is some other issue or design flaw.

Second, a 27" TN screen is going to massively amplify the "dark top third, light bottom third" issue, which if you are used to IPS, you are going to notice fairly quickly. And 27" is a bit big for such a low resolution.

I would stick with the ZR30W, and maybe get a smaller *VA or IPS screen later on for secondary material like JamesE mentioned. I've done that and it worked pretty well in the past prior to getting my 3008WFP.

Then you can try a TN screen.
Click to expand...

I agree. Don't buy any monitors from Newegg, there are sellers on Ebay with better return policies than them. I sold my 3007 a few months back and regretted it when I bought three Dell P2210H TN monitors. I never got consistent color on all three monitors and portrait mode was out of the question. I went to three Dell U2211H IPS monitors and my experience improved greatly but too small for Eyefinity overall. I sold those and now I have a U2711 and I'm much happier than ever before. I'll try and get two more next year for Nvidia Surround. I wouldn't buy anything less than a IPS panel. A Dell/HP 24" IPS panel is the minimum for a three monitor setup.
Protrait mode is unusable with TN panels and some games like Borderlands, BioShock2, NBA 2K11 etc. can only run in that mode. LCD>LED at cheaper price points
 
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