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I originally made a thread asking for someone to point me in the right direction regarding these well priced 27" korean IPS screens, and got little to no help. SO, I put in some seriously hours reading through some threads, and wrote this to help the community!!
Read on.
So after a very long research night(4am), I pulled the trigger on this:
ACHIEVA Shimian QH270-Lite $284.50 w/ shipping
To try and save the community time and sanity, I will go into great detail of how I came to this decision.
The three Korean panel ebay contenders were the Shimian, Crossover, and of course the Catleap monitors. Reading everywhere it appears that none of the Catleap monitors(the only brand that could possibly be 120hz) would be 120hz, because 120hz.net is the sole place where you can get those panels for the near future(they are supposibly getting a shipment in this upcoming week).
120hz panels
After much research about how they are essentially hacking/moding these displays to get that 120hz, I didn't like the idea of the possibly overworked display dieing on me. While a 120hz panel would be great, I didn't feel the risk, wait, and possibility of the seller being gone soon was worth it, especially being that 120hz.net is merely an internet company, that could poof at any moment; not worth the $400+ price tag, to me.
Inputs - (and lag)
It looks like each brand has their own model with varrying inputs, but one thing remained the same, the price was always higher. Inputs would have been nice(the model I got has only a DVI-D input), but the addition of other inputs requires a scaler, which adds input lag(at least some, possibly a TON), not to mention these "higher end" models have OSDs(on screen displays) which ad their own input lag. Being that I'm going to use this monitor mainly/solely for gaming, I wanted the lowest input lag possible, and wasn't going to worry about having other inputs. I also found a graph of some of these monitor's input lag(Link)(actually it appears this is a graph of pixel response...but someone has tested an input lag of 4-8ms...double bonus) and it showed the avg input lag for the QH270-Lite to be only 11.2ms, a very good number. Granted the other brands base models may also have this low of input lag, I couldn't find any hard facts, so while I wasn't going to trust this number, it was nice to see. I had also read 2 very good reviews on the Shimian, by well known tech websites.
Ebay Sellers
So I had made up my mind, the Shimian it was. But I had to decide who to buy from, and that is where most of my time was spent. I read through 40+ pages of the Shimian thread, and after noting everyone's experience with each seller, this is what I found;
Red-cap - One user's monitor died within 3hrs, they sent an RMA form, and the seller paid for return shipping, and shipping of another monitor; fast response. I also like their pixel policy, 1 dead/stuck in the middle and it will be replaced, 5 total is also a replacement. Two users didn't get pixel perfect and had flawless monitors. 2-3 days shipping avg
Bigclothcraft - multiple reports of faulty monitors(power bricks possibly) and the seller not responding to messages. Must pay for replacement brick if defective($50). 2-3 days shipping avg
Dhsummer - only one commentor; 1 stuck pixel, 4 days shipping.
Ta_planet - only one commentor; paid return shipping on defective unit.
Cool-guys - Didn't respond to messages, defective unit, completely SOL
Accessorieswhole - Fast shipping...I lost my notes on them, but something steered me away.
With this info, I liked red-caps pixel guarantee more, and the helpful RMA process was what I was looking for; I was sold.
Pixel Perfect
There were at least 2 reports by commentors in the Shimian thread that they had purchased the "pixel perfect" option, and received panels with stuck or dead pixels, one even had mediocre to bad back light bleeding; that was all I needed to know, I wasn't biting. I also read 2 reviews that DID NOT get the pixel perfect guarantee, and had no stuck/dead pixels. tl:dr DONT GET PIXEL PERFECT, its a hoax; I think they have the noobs looking for pixels...cuz let's face it how hard is that job really...Granted on this display the pixels are incredibly small, people report its very hard to even notice a single dead pixel; unless of course you are looking using a full screen of a single color.
So that's my roundup, I've officially wasted my Saturday morning sleeping in because I was up so late, and writing this. I did consider the Microcenter panels, but they are more expensive, and I'd have a 5+ hour drive to get one...not worth the time/gas$. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I've gathered a ton of info the last few days.
Edit: I didn't consider any American made models, because the cheapest was an HP, at $700.
UPDATE: It arrived yesterday! Ordered Friday night(midnight), arrived Wednesday noon.
Packaging was adequate, literally it was just the monitor's retail box, but the inside was padded well enough around the corners and front/back that I wouldnt be too worried about transportation damage.
Picture wise this thing is awesome; coming from a 27" Asus with AG coating, I can definitely see an improvement in colors/clarity. The negative I have is the black levels, it seems like they are very light, but I think I may need to do adjustments, which I'm waiting to do until I get my gtx 670, to replace my 5830s.
One dead pixel. But as people have said, the pixels are so small it's hard to even notice it, and I never do unless I go looking for it.
Overall very happy with my purchase thus far, let's hope this thing lasts for years to come!!
UPDATE #2: I think the black levels issue I'm having is actually backlight bleed...As it's primarily the bottom corners that have terrible black levels. If someone could help me confirm, I can take pictures, let me know!
Read on.
So after a very long research night(4am), I pulled the trigger on this:
ACHIEVA Shimian QH270-Lite $284.50 w/ shipping
To try and save the community time and sanity, I will go into great detail of how I came to this decision.
The three Korean panel ebay contenders were the Shimian, Crossover, and of course the Catleap monitors. Reading everywhere it appears that none of the Catleap monitors(the only brand that could possibly be 120hz) would be 120hz, because 120hz.net is the sole place where you can get those panels for the near future(they are supposibly getting a shipment in this upcoming week).
120hz panels
After much research about how they are essentially hacking/moding these displays to get that 120hz, I didn't like the idea of the possibly overworked display dieing on me. While a 120hz panel would be great, I didn't feel the risk, wait, and possibility of the seller being gone soon was worth it, especially being that 120hz.net is merely an internet company, that could poof at any moment; not worth the $400+ price tag, to me.
Inputs - (and lag)
It looks like each brand has their own model with varrying inputs, but one thing remained the same, the price was always higher. Inputs would have been nice(the model I got has only a DVI-D input), but the addition of other inputs requires a scaler, which adds input lag(at least some, possibly a TON), not to mention these "higher end" models have OSDs(on screen displays) which ad their own input lag. Being that I'm going to use this monitor mainly/solely for gaming, I wanted the lowest input lag possible, and wasn't going to worry about having other inputs. I also found a graph of some of these monitor's input lag(Link)(actually it appears this is a graph of pixel response...but someone has tested an input lag of 4-8ms...double bonus) and it showed the avg input lag for the QH270-Lite to be only 11.2ms, a very good number. Granted the other brands base models may also have this low of input lag, I couldn't find any hard facts, so while I wasn't going to trust this number, it was nice to see. I had also read 2 very good reviews on the Shimian, by well known tech websites.
Ebay Sellers
So I had made up my mind, the Shimian it was. But I had to decide who to buy from, and that is where most of my time was spent. I read through 40+ pages of the Shimian thread, and after noting everyone's experience with each seller, this is what I found;
Red-cap - One user's monitor died within 3hrs, they sent an RMA form, and the seller paid for return shipping, and shipping of another monitor; fast response. I also like their pixel policy, 1 dead/stuck in the middle and it will be replaced, 5 total is also a replacement. Two users didn't get pixel perfect and had flawless monitors. 2-3 days shipping avg
Bigclothcraft - multiple reports of faulty monitors(power bricks possibly) and the seller not responding to messages. Must pay for replacement brick if defective($50). 2-3 days shipping avg
Dhsummer - only one commentor; 1 stuck pixel, 4 days shipping.
Ta_planet - only one commentor; paid return shipping on defective unit.
Cool-guys - Didn't respond to messages, defective unit, completely SOL
Accessorieswhole - Fast shipping...I lost my notes on them, but something steered me away.
With this info, I liked red-caps pixel guarantee more, and the helpful RMA process was what I was looking for; I was sold.
Pixel Perfect
There were at least 2 reports by commentors in the Shimian thread that they had purchased the "pixel perfect" option, and received panels with stuck or dead pixels, one even had mediocre to bad back light bleeding; that was all I needed to know, I wasn't biting. I also read 2 reviews that DID NOT get the pixel perfect guarantee, and had no stuck/dead pixels. tl:dr DONT GET PIXEL PERFECT, its a hoax; I think they have the noobs looking for pixels...cuz let's face it how hard is that job really...Granted on this display the pixels are incredibly small, people report its very hard to even notice a single dead pixel; unless of course you are looking using a full screen of a single color.
So that's my roundup, I've officially wasted my Saturday morning sleeping in because I was up so late, and writing this. I did consider the Microcenter panels, but they are more expensive, and I'd have a 5+ hour drive to get one...not worth the time/gas$. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I've gathered a ton of info the last few days.
Edit: I didn't consider any American made models, because the cheapest was an HP, at $700.
UPDATE: It arrived yesterday! Ordered Friday night(midnight), arrived Wednesday noon.
Packaging was adequate, literally it was just the monitor's retail box, but the inside was padded well enough around the corners and front/back that I wouldnt be too worried about transportation damage.
Picture wise this thing is awesome; coming from a 27" Asus with AG coating, I can definitely see an improvement in colors/clarity. The negative I have is the black levels, it seems like they are very light, but I think I may need to do adjustments, which I'm waiting to do until I get my gtx 670, to replace my 5830s.
One dead pixel. But as people have said, the pixels are so small it's hard to even notice it, and I never do unless I go looking for it.
Overall very happy with my purchase thus far, let's hope this thing lasts for years to come!!
UPDATE #2: I think the black levels issue I'm having is actually backlight bleed...As it's primarily the bottom corners that have terrible black levels. If someone could help me confirm, I can take pictures, let me know!
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