Dual to single suggestions

[jyi786]

Dear [H] monitor folks,

It's been a long, long time since I've been in this forum. I currently have the following setup.

1. 1 x 30" HP LP3065
2. 1 x 21" Viewsonic VP201b

Both of these monitors are dying. Literally. The VP201b has an inverter that constantly stops having good contact with the panel and causes the screen to constantly static like insane. It goes away after about 5 minutes. The problem is that it's random. The LP3065 has 3 times made a really loud electric buzzing sound and completely shut off on me. I was able to wiggle the power cord on it, and it came back to life after some coaxing.

I've done some research, but I am so far out of the game that I wouldn't know where to look. I was maybe looking to go with a single 40"? Also, both of these current screens are IPS. I use my screens for semi/pro photo reproduction, so accuracy is required, but it doesn't have to be "pro" level. Here are my requirements.

1. Matte. NO GLOSSY SCREENS.
2. Accurate color reproduction.
3. Fast response time for gaming.
4. Little to no backlight bleeding. My current screens are terrible with this, admittedly.
5. No buzzing. My monitors both buzz unless I have them on full brightness. I remedy this by lowering the brigtness via software.
6. Great black point. My current screens are terrible with this, admittedly.

Should I stick with dual monitors or go with a single, larger one? Also, what should I be looking for, 4k or 8k? Also my budget, if I can get away with it, should be under $1k.

Thanks for any suggestions and getting me off on the right foot!

Edit: Sorry, forgot to include that I am running a GTX 980 Ti, so I do have a 4k enabled card.

 

[Bandalo]

I went through several multi-monitor setup over the years. Most recently I had a pair of 30" Dell Ultrasharps.

I recently switched to a single Dell 34" 21:9 (3440x1440) screen, and I couldn't be happier. Plenty of room to run two nearly-full-screen windows side-by-side, awesome color and picture, and amazing for gaming. They're running around $700-800 last time I checked.

The screen has a light curve, but it's not really noticeable when you're actually using it. And you can get great frame rates at that resolution without needing SLI like you do for most 4k games.

 

[jyi786]

I went through several multi-monitor setup over the years. Most recently I had a pair of 30" Dell Ultrasharps.

I recently switched to a single Dell 34" 21:9 (3440x1440) screen, and I couldn't be happier. Plenty of room to run two nearly-full-screen windows side-by-side, awesome color and picture, and amazing for gaming. They're running around $700-800 last time I checked.

The screen has a light curve, but it's not really noticeable when you're actually using it. And you can get great frame rates at that resolution without needing SLI like you do for most 4k games.

Thanks! What's the model # on your Dell monitor?

Also, I'm confused about something. My resolution on my 30" is 2560 x 1600...but I see the rage all these days is 1440. Is that just to match 1440p? I thought a 1600 resolution is going to be more stringent/better. Or is it just to match the ratio (1600 is 16:10)?

Edit: Ok, just checked into it. I'm not going for a 1440. It has to be 1600 or above. It'd look way too much smaller for me if I had a 1440 based display.

 

[af22]

There are very few monitors left at the 16:10 aspect ratio and 95-100 DPI range. The only popular ones left are:

24" 1920x1200 16:10
30" 2560x1440 16:10

The 27" and 34" are at 109 DPI and are 16:9 or 21:9 respectively. You will loose that 160 pixel of vertical, and the font will be 10% smaller. Unfortunately, its 2-3x the price to buy a 30" 2560x1600 16:10 monitor which is why the 16:9 is so popular.

I use 3x24" 1920x1200 monitors since 2006. I bought a 34" 3440x1440 monitor this year but ended up returning it due to quality control issues. It was very good but it wasn't perfect for me. Currently I have a 27" 2560x1440 at the office, and I'm converting my home setup to 3x27" 2560x1440. You will get used to the 10% smaller font, however the loss of 160 pixels is a sacrifice you make for the price. I paid around $800 for my 34" and $400 for my 27". A good price on a 30" is hard to find.

If you have the budget to buy a new 30" monitor for $1k+, you may want to look into buying 2-3 27" for the same price and a lot more screen real estate.

 

[jyi786]

There are very few monitors left at the 16:10 aspect ratio and 95-100 DPI range. The only popular ones left are:

24" 1920x1200 16:10
30" 2560x1440 16:10

The 27" and 34" are at 109 DPI and are 16:9 or 21:9 respectively. You will loose that 160 pixel of vertical, and the font will be 10% smaller. Unfortunately, its 2-3x the price to buy a 30" 2560x1600 16:10 monitor which is why the 16:9 is so popular.

I use 3x24" 1920x1200 monitors since 2006. I bought a 34" 3440x1440 monitor this year but ended up returning it due to quality control issues. It was very good but it wasn't perfect for me. Currently I have a 27" 2560x1440 at the office, and I'm converting my home setup to 3x27" 2560x1440. You will get used to the 10% smaller font, however the loss of 160 pixels is a sacrifice you make for the price. I paid around $800 for my 34" and $400 for my 27". A good price on a 30" is hard to find.

If you have the budget to buy a new 30" monitor for $1k+, you may want to look into buying 2-3 27" for the same price and a lot more screen real estate.

I appreciate the suggestions. However, I will definitely not be doing 3x any screen. I just moved from landscape to portrait style mounting (dual arm to single pole monitor stand) and the space savings was drastic, so I'd like to stick with it.

I've been looking at some 32" screens at 3840 x 2160, so that is acceptable to me. There is a long thread on here about the BenQ BL3201PH, but there seems to be some QA issues with it. Any thoughts on it?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O1B5M9I/?tag=extension-kb-20

 

[af22]

The benq you linked is 16:9 aspect ratio, so you will still be missing the "160 pixels" from 16:10.

Do you game? Do you use windows 10? 4k High DPI is not quite ready for main stream. You will be an early adopter and the experience you have will be based on your expectations.

I would stick with either a 34" 21:9 screen, or dual 27" 2560x1440 screens (in portrait if you need).

But if you enjoy your screens in portrait, you could look at those 48" 4k "tv's".

Either way, with large IPS panels, your going to get back light bleed.

 

[jyi786]

Reviving this thread. My monitors are now truly dying. The 30" shut off for several minutes during a Fallout 4 gaming session, and nothing I could do would coax it back on...for about 5 minutes, then it just turned on by itself out of the blue. I have a feeling I will need to make a decision in the very near future.

Right now on my radar is the BenQ BL3201PH, but I am still worried about the hit or miss QA issues being experienced with the monitor.

Can anyone provide any more suggestions of what will fit my bill?