Exhausted and need input for $4,500 budget for high resolution triple display setup.

pstack

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Apr 12, 2012
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After a year of researching choices, I am at a loss and totally frustrated. I beg fellow [H]ers for their wise guidance and experience to help me find the right match. Much thanks, in advance.

Synopsis:
I've got a $4,500 budget to find the best 2560x1600/2560/1440 triple monitor setup to go with a pair of SLI'd 4GB GTX 670s that'll be used 12+ hours every day of the year for everything from coding, reading, general office work, watching videos, and heavy duty high-end gaming. I want to find something I won't spend the next 5-10 years having buyer's remorse over.

Details:
I've spent more than a year poring over options for high resolution monitors that I wouldn't regret buying and every time I'm ready to pull the trigger, I am discouraged by the lack of options and performance. After the issues with the DELL U3011s, I decided to put off my purchase for another year and now with the DELL U3014s, I feel like the wait wasn't worth it.

To give some background on my monitor usage: I've only used matte Apple Cinema Displays for the last decade, going back to the 23" with the awful (and constantly failing) plastic chassis and kickstand, followed by an older 2560x1600 30" ACD and then a more current one (from 2009, if I recall correctly).

I want something that will look at least as good as these displays have and, preferably, perform even better. The problem is that there is such a dirth of choice when it comes to 30" displays. Especially at 2560x resolutions (and even more pathetic, if you prefer 16:10 to 16:9). I prefer 30" and 2560x1600, but 27" and/or 2560x1440 would also be acceptable if the quality of the monitor makes that compromise worthwhile.

I've spent hours here, on other sites, reading countless articles, and seemingly days at TFT Central. I always walk away feeling that I can't get low input lag and high quality monitors at high resolutions. Period. Something has to give. I don't really want to make any sacrifices, though.

I mostly write and read a lot of code, surf the web, watch videos, and play a lot of demanding games - so I need both low input lag and color/image quality. I'm not doing professional photoshopping for glamour magazines or the National Geographic cover, but I think that I need to stay with IPS over TN panels.

Slimmer bezels are preferable, since these will need to be mounted together. I'll be stuck in front of these for at least 12hrs a day, every day of the year. Because these will be paired with two 4GB GTX 670s in SLI, I believe I'll have to use both DVI and HDMI connections.

The only screen covering I've used on my desktop has been the matte of the ACD. I have seen/heard nightmares about the U3011's anti-glare coating and hear that the U3014 is much lighter. I don't want anything worse than the ACD's matte. Preferably better. Glossy would probably be acceptable, too (though it seems those don't exist at or above 27").

I even considered the very high resolution Eizo last year, but the reputation for reliability and support was discouraging for the high cost. Most recently, I've been considering the DELL U3014. I like the Game Mode that bypasses processing and results in a nearly 0ms input lag, while having a reasonable 16-18ms input lag in standard mode. However, I've heard issues with "IPS glow", issues with backlights, and more concerning, demonstrations of severe pixel transition overshoot, causing massive ghosting (even annoyingly found while using the mouse on the desktop). These seem like major flaws for $1,500 monitors. I was also looking at the ZR30W, last year. It seems to be okay, but nothing particular special. Any thoughts on this as a current choice in 2013?

I'd also appreciate any guidance as to mounting arms and other solutions for various monitors. The options for multiple monitors of these sizes seem very sparse, if not flat out non-existent.

I'm at my wit's end. I just want to buy the right monitors, hand over my cash, get them mounted, and not worry about it again for another 5-10 years. Any guidance and suggestions would be ever so greatly appreciated, my friends.
 
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Im doing three Asus VG248QEs with stripped bezels, removed AG coating & the 2D pure motion lightboost hack. This is the best display setup that I have every owned and I have owned many





Former setups:
2 Overlord OC 1440ps


Double 1080p projectors for true 60hz 1080p 3d per eye


5x1 Sansung S27a750s with stripped bezels


3x1 Samsung S27a750 with stripped bezzels


3x1 PLP with a 2560x1600 30" center
 
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One of the reasons I haven't opted for smaller monitors is that pixel real-estate is pretty important for my services (and is also why I probably won't end up with them set in portrait mode which would make a lot of my coding work a bit awkward, I think).

As much as I'd like to play games across all three monitors, I also suspect I'll often prefer running with full eye-candy enabled at 2560x1600 on one monitor and leave the other two monitors for other activities while playing (presuming they don't significantly impact FPS). Even the most debezzeled setups I've seen would probably drive me a little nuts, as opposed to doing the gaming primarily on a very large center display. I wish it didn't bug me, but it really does. Enough so that I wish I had the patience to wait for good 4k computer monitors. *sigh*

I think warranty issues (on such an investment) will also likely keep me from both debezzeling or stripping display coatings/screens.

How do you like your setup for general use, outside of gaming?
 
I wish I could help you but i can figure this out for myself either.

The benefits of having a non-surround display setup are many IMO (metro apps, maximizing and having supplemental info with a full screen game.

Surround looks great though. It's hard for me to pick as well.

Right now I'm using 2 30" display sand a 24" Light boos asus panel.
 
I am a computer programmer too so I feel your pain. Also, I really hope game-friendly stroboscopic backlights come to IPS LCD displays, because I am a computer programmer too and IPS LCD is much better for doing graphics and programming. I really hope that they come out with an inexpensive glossy LightBoost monitor, so they don't have to be manually de-matted. But when it comes to fast action video games, LightBoost just totally blows away everything else for gaming (explanation, testimonials and media coverage). Truly and honestly, I guarantee no one-size-fits-all display today. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

_____________

Now about input lag, make sure to familiarize yourself with the whole input lag chain:
Anandtech -- Exploring Input Lag Inside And Out

longlag.png


---- VERSUS ----

bestcase.png


Also, remember, input lag goes down at higher framerates. You get a lot less graphics-based input lag at 60fps than 30fps. And a lot less at 120fps@120Hz. You have 75% less GPU input lag at 120fps than at 30fps. But the graphics power to drive three 1440p/1600p displays at sufficient graphics rates, is not doable. But if you didn't mind that, then why are you concerned about the monitor's own input lag?

A higher-input lag monitor running at 60fps@60Hz may very well have less "accumulated" input lag than a slightly lower-input lag monitor running at 30fps@60Hz, since the GPU processing goes up and the monitor goes down in the input lag graph. One shouldn't underestimate framerate's influence on input lag -- if you're running at say, only 30fps, the frames you are getting started getting rendered about 1/30sec ago in the GPU (33ms ago). If you're running at 120fps, the frames that you are getting started getting rendered about 1/120sec ago in the GPU (8ms ago). That difference can massively outweigh the minor input lag difference between two monitors. Now that you're running a triple monitor setup, you're going to be doomed to low framerates. At this stage, one considers when the monitor's input lag is not even the bottleneck (Until maybe when you upgrade to a future, far faster, GPU).

If you don't mind 20fps or 30fps videogaming, then I suggest you ignore minor single-digit input lag differences between monitors since your GPU is the double-digit input lag bottleneck, not the monitor. Therefore, buy the best quality monitor without worrying about a 5ms monitor difference in input lag, knowing you'll be hamstrung by the 33ms-to-50ms GPU input lag of 20-fps-to-30-fps gaming. (1/20sec = 50ms) Surround gaming are never an input lag afficinado's dream, so you're already giving up the input lag dream by wanting to game on 1440p/1600p surround monitors.

BTW -- I hope you're already using a gaming mouse. Even minor things like upgrading from a standard mouse (125Hz) to a gaming mouse (1000Hz) can save you as much as 7ms of input lag (difference between 1/125sec and 1/1000sec). That can outweigh a display's input lag contribution to the input lag chain.

Now having set you straight on the futility of worrying too much about monitor input lag for surround 1440p gaming (since you'll be GPU-lag-bottlenecked), I present you two choices:

1. My "ULTIMATE" recommendation (programmer/designer target), least amount of buyer's remorse: Three 27 inch QNIX Koren PLS 1440p monitors -- $330ea -- $1000 total -- saving you $3500. You want the most kick-ass programming display with the ability to display lots of windows. Visual Studio, Notepad++, Eclipse, Photoshop, terminals, SSH windows, CMD windows, you name it. It's a programmer's heaven. That seems more important to you than games. Try looking at the cheap PLS korean 1440p imports with amazing contrast ratios -- $330 imports -- only $1000 for three monitor setup! Buy 1 or 2 extra, as replacements, just in case one fails out of warranty. Don't spend $4500, spend just ~$1000 (plus extras for quick hot-swap, just in case, for defects or failures), go on a vacation instead or invest in stocks until OLED comes out. They are really good contrast ratio, have wonderful looking colors, and their referesh rates conveniently overclock to 120Hz (even if not as low motion blur as LightBoost). This could be the most 'perfect' display for your need. Cheap, 120Hz overclockability, great colors, great contrast. More inky-blackness in terminal and CMD windows. I just saved you $3000+ on your dream surround display. They still make fine gaming displays, outperforming what you already have. What the heck are you waiting for? Go buy three cheap QNIX 2560x1440p displays now; it's a no-brainer.
NCX said:
PLS panels have less quality control issues
-no nasty tinting: each side tinted either white/green/pink or yellow
-no burn in/IR except on the Qnix (see the overclock thread linked in 1st post)
-no dark, horizontal brightness strips near the bottom of the display (LED back-lit 27" S-IPS issue)
-no grainy matte coatings
-no semi-glossy cross-hatching

2. Secondary "ULTIMATE" recommendation (gamer target): Three LightBoost monitors ($275ea) and two Geforce Titans ($1000+ea) - ~$3000 total: If you are balking on the Korean displays, then that's probably because you understandably worry about the reliablity of the Korean displays (despite PLS good reputation), or you're now wondering if LightBoost is your solution. If that's the case, you're wondering if you're wanting to give up color quality and resolution for ultimate clear-motion gaming instead. I can't answer that for you, it is a matter of preference, but you can see testimonials. If that's true, then $1000 for three VG248QE's (or three VG278H's for better color and contrast) and spend $2000 on dual Titans's to give you low input lag. (Higher frame rate = lower input lag). 120fps@120Hz (or 100fps@100Hz) is especially important to gain maximum benefits from LightBoost motion clarity. This would be the elite video gaming system (ultra crystal clear motion with 12x less motion blur than standard 60Hz LCD's. e.g. where a 60Hz display gets say, 10 pixels of motion blurring trail, you get less than 1 pixel of motion blurring with LightBoost during perfect fps=Hz motion going at the same speed, etc.). However, this is not as good for programming/graphics design (lower resolution, poorer colors) even if you get the CRT-quality motion of the stroboscopic LightBoost backlight. It is a toughie of a decision.

In fact, your $4500 budget is big enough to buy both of the two choices above. :D
 
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pstack have you looked at the ViewSonic VP2770-LED? It has a light coating, pwm free backlight, great factory calibration, and decent input lag for a PLS multi input monitor. It has pretty favorable reviews and none of the issues other 27" monitors have like the Asus (poor factory calibration, PWM backlight) or Dell U2713HM (cross hatching, image retention). I think the ViewSonic has generated less interest due to the higher cost ($200+ more than the Dell when it's on sale) but with your higher budget it's not an issue.
 
I put a lot of thought and research into a triple monitor setup.

I decided it wasn't worth it right now because the graphics cards are not powerful enough to run games at a decent frame rate, especially with 1440p. I also did not want to spend the money for expensive video cards to get a high frame rate. I would need something like a triple 680GTX setup.

Many people did not really think a triple monitor gaming setup was worth it and many games are not optimized for it.

So I decided to put the whole thing on hold and get a good single display 1440p monitor. What I figure is I would wait some more time for video cards to get better. My GTX 580 can barely run a single 1440p monitor fast enough.

Not saying to not go triple monitor and it is probably worth it but I just did not want to spend the money for subpar performance, especially for the games I play which run much better with higher FPS. If you want to run triple monitor gaming then you have to go with 1080p in my opinion, anything higher and the performance will be poor.

I figure I will wait a bit more for this stuff to go more mainstream and just get a 1440p gaming monitor for the time being. Maybe when the video cards get a lot faster and can run 1440p triple monitors at a decent frame rate then I will consider going triple monitor.
 
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Now is not the time to drop that kind of cash into displays. When:

A: Backlight-strobing at 80+Hz becomes mainstream

or

B: LCD goes the way of the dodo

that will be the time.
 
Now is not the time to drop that kind of cash into displays. When:

A: Backlight-strobing at 80+Hz becomes mainstream

or

B: LCD goes the way of the dodo

that will be the time.

I think I would have to agree. Lightboost monitors capable of strobing just entered the market really and I think as it matures we will see even more improvements.

For $4,500 you should probably just get a fantastic single display (whatever is recommended at the moment) and keep the rest for whatever pops up this year or the next.

Not to mention 4k TV's are just starting to trickle into the market , 4k computer monitors in your price range are as well. Just be patient for now.
 
I'm in the exact same boat if you trim off the budget haha :)

Sold my setup when I moved cross-country and have been pining over this forum and prad and tftcentral looking for my next setup after I get settled into my next apartment. Ideally, would be (2) 27" 2560x1440 + my my old 2209WA in portrait. BUT I am so disappointed with the same things OP is concerned with:

1 - No all around good 27" 2560x1440 panels from IPS/PLS. There isn't even any that are solid. Always some kind of con attached as far as BLB or bad GLOW.
2 - Pricing still seems high and varied across these panels. For the price, Dells should NOT have these crazy issues.
3 - VESA mounting should be standard.
4 - Bezels still so big :(

Pay $$$ for mainstream vendors and still have production issues with panel uniformity.
Pay $$$ for Korean panels and worry about production quality and longevity.

Subb'd for answers!
 
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