General purpose 27" or 30"

[BeholderX]

I'm looking to replace my Dell u2410 with a 27" or preferably a 30" monitor. My budget is $1500, but i wouldn't mind spending another $200, if that would make a huge difference in quality. This is intended primarily for Office applications (Word, Excel) and browsing, and secondary for movies. No gaming at all. The monitor is solely attached to a Lenovo x201.

Don't buy matte IPS or LG panels, they all use the same grainy coating (eye strain).

I'm quite happy with my Dell u2410 (haven't noticed any problems), would NOT want something worse quality wise, but i could live with the same performance on a 27" or 30" monitor. Should be looking for 120Hz monitors instead, to further reduce eye strain ? I dont know if i'm sensitive to PWM or not, and whether u2410 uses PWM. In general, i'm not sensitive eye-wise in general, just playing it safe.

Originally i was targeting Dell 3014 or 2713HM, however, reading the various posts here, i'm at a dilemma whether I should be buying one of these or be looking for something else. Quoting:

There aren't any good 30" monitors.
1.) 30" with light anti-glare= Dell 3014 which is wide gamut and has mediocre motion performance (lots of overshoot)
2.) 30" with very grainy anti-glare, wide gamut colors, poor/no sRGB mode and poor black levels = the rest
3.) 30" from NEC/Eizo with very grainy anti-glare, good sRGB mode but poor black levels and very high price tags
4.) 30" with tempered glass from ebay (Yamakasi Sparta)=wide gamut, poor black levels, no OSD, lack of a real warranty

I've also checked Prad's review of my old u2410, they award a "satisfactory" rating.
By comparison, Dell 2713HM received a "very good" rating, and i have been waiting for their 3014 review. Also read TFTcentral review.

IMO it is the best choice out of the Dell U2713HM (bleeding, anti-glare cross hatching, burn-in, higher input lag), Asus PB278Q (bleeding, PWM flicker, higher input lag) and Samsung S27A850D (bleeding, high default gamma, higher input lag) and is worth the extra money.

Gave also some thought to ViewSonic VP2770 as well, which although the good comments here, receives a "good" rating at Prad's.

It seems most people here are heavily interested in gaming. I don't know if the ghosting/overshooting problems i have been reading about are obvious when scrolling the browser or Word pages, or if they are noticeable when gaming.

Would appreciate your thoughts, thanks.

 

[Supersnake]

TFT Central is always good for thorough reviews.
I'll always include Amazon.com purchaser reviews in my screening too.
Some purchasers there are reporting moderate to heavy, yellow colored backlight bleeding on the lower left side of the U2713HM screen:

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-U2713HM-...?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&showViewpoints=0

 

[Tyler-Durden]

Another 30" worth considering is the HP ZR30w. It's HP's counter to the Dell U3011 and uses the same panel. It even has scored some better reviews. The ZR30w doesn't have a scalar like the 3011, so input lag is less. It also doesn't have all the extra inputs of the 3011. Still, if you want a good 30", take a look at the ZR30w.

I respect NCX and his work, but disagree with his conclusion that there aren't any good 30"ers. I've been very pleased with my Dell 3008WFP over the 4+ years I've had it. Games are excellent and the screen real estate has to be seen to be appreciated. I'm getting that HP to pair with my 3008, in May. Can't wait.

 

[socialjazz]

you are not going to notice alot of size difference between the 24 and 27 inch. 27" only appears to be wider. You can do a size comparison at http://www.displaywars.com
30" is considerably bigger than 24" and this means that it is less likely you will be WOW by a 27 inch. I used to own a U2410 like you and made a switch to U3014. IMO, there are issues which is worse on the u3014 like more IPS glow at the edges due to its big size and more motion blur (ghosting). Picture quality wise I find it similar to u2410. So far I have not seen any banding on the u3014 but I did see some on u2410, but then the u3014 only arrived yesterday and I did not do too much testing on it. However I guess that for all problem you are going to see on the 30" screen, you will also find them on the 27" variant. Since you said that it is only for word, surfing and movie, I will suggest to get the u3014 instead of the smaller 27 inch. 16:10 feels very good for all rounded monitor.

 

[NCX]

The ZR30W is wide gamut=inaccurate and over-saturated colors for movies.

Movies: avoid ALL 30" monitors. Yes one could buy a 30" NEC PA30 for around 1500$ and use the sRGB hardware calibration (assuming one also buys the spectraview kit), but they would be left with a <600:1 contrast ratio and grainy AG

The 3014's sRGB mode has locked color settings, the hardware calibration does not work properly and it has way more ghosting than the U2410. Best to avoid all wide gamut monitors for movie watching. The overshoot on all of Dell's new monitors except for the U2713HM occurs during regular use: text scrolling, movie windows around, during games and in games and movies.

 

[BeholderX]

Thank you all for your replies.
I'd prefer a 30" instead of a 27", if there is a good choice.

The overshoot on all of Dell's new monitors except for the U2713HM occurs during regular use: text scrolling, movie windows around, during games and in games and movies.

Hmmm... given that the primary use and my real concern is for Office applications & surfing, what would you suggest as an acceptable 30" choice ? Is there one ? or should i restrict my choice to 27" due to the various problems of the larger ones, although i'd prefer the larger area. Would prefer something with smooth motion, no overshoot/ghosting. Movies are secondary, can definitely sacrifice color quality there.

 

[NCX]

Is there one ?.

No. If you want proper colors for movies, good black levels, good response times and a grain free matte coating ALL 30" monitors are eliminated by at least 2/4 of those categories.

If you are ok with having over-saturated and inaccurate colors, grainy matte coatings like the U2410's and the inability change the colors save some money and get a ZR30W or a cheap Yamakasi/CrossOver from ebay since they are basically just 30" U2410's.

The Dell U2713HM has the best movie play back capabilities of all the name brand 1440p monitors and just as good colors and black levels as the PB278Q and VP2770. If you don't mind likely having to exchange it, get one along with a colorimeter (i1 display pro or spyder 4 elite) and enjoy.

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2012/review-dell-u2713hm-part9.html#DVD

 

[austinpike]

you are not going to notice alot of size difference between the 24 and 27 inch. 27" only appears to be wider.

There may not much of an absolute size difference, but the difference in screen real estate going from 1920x1200 to 2560x1440 is -huge-.

Yes a 30" is impressive, but the wide gamut thing just leads to jacked up colors. I don't quite get why people put up with it - either they don't notice, or OmG 30"!! - they don't care. I would save yourself $1000 and try to get the 27" monoprice multi input that will be coming out soon, if not the Dell HM.

 

[SD45]

Should be looking for 120Hz monitors instead, to further reduce eye strain ? I dont know if i'm sensitive to PWM or not, and whether u2410 uses PWM. In general, i'm not sensitive eye-wise in general, just playing it safe.

Since you appear to be thinking about eyestrain, are you aiming to retain 1920x1200 resolution or step up to a greater resolution? Because "more real estate" may mean smaller text. OTOH, trying to use 1920x1200 with a larger display will result in a coarse dot pitch. As a heavy text and spreadsheet user myself, I have stayed with 24-inch 1920x1200 displays because they offer the best dot pitch, but I am tempted to try a 26 or 27 inch display anyway. I love the fact that a 24-inch 16:10 display will let me put two Word docs side by side at actual (8.5 x 11) size, but with main text at 12pt and footnotes at 9pt, I do have to squint sometimes.

A related issue is that the corners of a 24-inch display are about as far off-center as I want to go. I no longer start in the upper right corner when creating a new spreadsheet. That issue would only be worse with a larger display.

 

[eallan]

I'm pretty happy with my Monoprice 30"

The build quality is excellent, it has a warranty from a solid store. It's CCFL however and gets a bit warm, but I love 16:10.

 

[BeholderX]

No. If you want proper colors for movies, good black levels, good response times and a grain free matte coating ALL 30" monitors are eliminated by at least 2/4 of those categories.

If you are ok with having over-saturated and inaccurate colors, grainy matte coatings like the U2410's and the inability change the colors save some money and get a ZR30W or a cheap Yamakasi/CrossOver from ebay since they are basically just 30" U2410's.

The Dell U2713HM has the best movie play back capabilities of all the name brand 1440p monitors and just as good colors and black levels as the PB278Q and VP2770. If you don't mind likely having to exchange it, get one along with a colorimeter (i1 display pro or spyder 4 elite) and enjoy.

I'd prefer a 30", but having read about the various problems, i'd need to wait probably for 1-2 revisions to get a 3014, which would probably take a year or so.

So, trying to save some money, i've narrowed it down to two choices:
i can get either Dell 2713HM (414 euros) or ViewSonic vx2770 (300 euros) (prices are correct, all things considered, have to do with amazon.de, my tax returns, postal cost, etc)
Yes, they are different monitors (resolution), but i'm trying to upgrade while saving some money, and possibly get a 30" in a year or two (if they get them right in future revisions).

Given the small difference between the above two, is it worth giving the extra 115 euros for the Dell 2713HM ? Or should i go for vx2770 ?

NCX, any final thoughts please ?

 

[NCX]

The U2713HM is definitely the better monitor, unless you made a typo since the VX2770 is 1080p

 

[BeholderX]

I've delayed my choice, hoping that Dell would release a new revision for both monitors.
However, Viewsonic VP2770 just became available in my area for 535 euros.

If i may ask again, if the criterion would be just one, ie browsing/MSoffice/coding/etc, which is supposed to be the best for the eyes (viewsonic vp2770, Dell 2713hm or Dell 3014 ?)

 

[Sycraft]

Well I'm gonna recommend what I got, and what I always tend to: An NEC PA301W. It's expensive, no doubt, but it is extremely high quality. About $1800 shipped from B&H. For that you get a 30" monitor that has all the pro features. The big things I like:

1) Good backlight regulation. It either doesn't use PWM, or if it does it is exceedingly high frequency.

2) Adjustable colour space. It is a wide gamut display, but you can adjust the colour space it uses, extremely accurately, to anything you like within its gamut including sRGB.

3) Hardware calibration of everything, including gamma, so you can use advanced gamma curves like L* and sRGB. I am a big L* fanboy in particular. It keeps low level shadow detail without blowing out the highs. Extremely uniform and easy on the eyes IMO.

4) Uniformity compensation to keep the display at a more uniform brightness overall.

5) A light sensor to balance brightness vs room light. That sacrifices colour accuracy, but can be nice in terms of making sure things are not too bright or dim in changing light conditions.

6) Fully adjustable stand in all directions, including the ability to go portrait if you want a stupidly tall display.

I love mine. Money well spent and the monitor I use 99% of the time. The only time I switch to a 120Hz (BenQ 2420 in this case) is for high speed FPS games. Otherwise, it is all NEC all the time. I'll switch it to Rec.790 colour primaries and gamma for watching movies and then go for L* and full gamut for most games.

If you ware willing to spend the money, I think it is worth it but yes you do pay a ton for it.

 

[NCX]

I've delayed my choice, hoping that Dell would release a new revision for both monitors.
However, Viewsonic VP2770 just became available in my area for 535 euros.

If i may ask again, if the criterion would be just one, ie browsing/MSoffice/coding/etc, which is supposed to be the best for the eyes (viewsonic vp2770, Dell 2713hm or Dell 3014 ?)

The VP2770 is still the best...if you can live without a real warranty take a look at the new Qnix & X-Star PLS panels from ebay.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1759502&highlight=

lol@ the giant grainy space heater suggestion (NEC PA301W)