New Monitor Suggestions?
Blando Calrissian
Posts: 566
in The Commons
So, my monitor is old. Really old. Not quite CRT old. It's now paired with a desktop and a GPU that far outpace it.
I've got some cash saved up, and I should probably spend it before I blow it all on March Madeness deals. 
Any tips? Should I buy a gaming monitor for the graphics capabilities, or are there more specialized "art monitors" out there as well?
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The next time I need to replace either of the monitors I have now, I want to replace them with a super ultrawide monitor. They look so nice, and it's the same screen space as two 27 inch monitors side by side with no bezel between them. I'd get one with 1440 vertical resolution, though, since the 1080 versions look pixelated at that size. Most people I've ask who have them really like them.
I know this isn't the normal thing folks do, and I completely understand why people get an actual monitor, but I'm using a 43 inch 1080p TV as my monitor. I got it at Best Buy over a year ago for 125 bucks and a 27 inch computer monitor at the time was something like 350 bucks (I can't remember if it was 1080 or 4K). I honestly don't think I could go back to a monitor anymore. I have my Roku hooked up to it and use it as my TV. The Daz/Blender/Maya viewports are huge, and when I'm animating I can divide the screen up and have my reference photos on the right hand side and my 3D program open on the other 3/4 of the screen. I have a 3 way HDMI splitter so I have both of my computers hooked up to it so I can toggle between them, as well as my PS4 on the same splitter for when I need to kill a few minutes while something is rendering. TVs are pretty cheap now for a good size, so it might be something to look into.
Ever since the "HD" standard came out, I was banging my head to the wall as I was used to 1200px vertical resolution and held on to CRT's as long as 1920x1200 monitors came out.
Currently using three 1920x1200px 24" monitors.
It depends on your main use. If you are really striving to be a graphical artist, using Daz and such, you probably want to get a 30" 4k true art monitor.
What's your budget though? IMO choice depends on how much you are willing o burn and your main use.
If you say art, that includes photgraphy and thus color accuracy/fidelity. For that you want to look into IPS monitors.
If you want gaming, some people like high refreshment rate so 120Hz or higher. a common choice for this is 1440p 120Hz
If you want lots of pixels so you can see more, then a 4k, but IMO if you go 4k don't buy anything smaller than 32 inches.
So, set your budget and narrow down what's more important to you.
I just picked up a Samsung Odyssey G9, 49 inch curved, 5120x1440, 240Hz monitor to replace two side by side monitors. Most locations were having a $400 off sale, which pushed me to making the purchase.
Much easier on my neck and the curve is deeper than my work monitor (making for less "dead space").
My only complaint is the number of ports, 2x DP and 1x HDMI.
PIP is very handy, but I haven't used the PBP yet.
There were still 1,920 by 1,200 displays when I last looked, a year or so back, but I am not looking forward to having to replace this unit (which is over ten years old now).
A couple things...
Mentally make a list of what you wanna do. IF you play games 40% of the time, Daz 15%, Facebook 40% etc... then your needs will be much different than a major gamer or a content creator.
That being said.
Bigger is better... for me. I decided on 2 -2K (QHD = 2560 x 1440) 32" IPS monitors. For me that was the sweet spot. I don't do much gaming (10%) but spend most of my home computer time in Daz/Collecting Daz and Other Content Creation.
I was really tempted to get a 4K monitor, but 4K (UHD = 3840 x 2160) monitors have more pixels, which at the end of the day, get more on the screen but are smaller. Daz Studio doesn't scale well (if at all) so the menu and tip screens, are very small... so you might need to up-scale the screen if your eyes are over 40, which kind of defeats the purpose.
If you game, and go with 4K, you really need a Graphics Card that can push those pixels in order have your experience be a decent one. I have an older GTX card with 6GB memory which would have been put to the test on running 4K at any decent speed.
The Panels themselves are VA or IPS.... each has advantages and disadvantages...
Lastly, my personal taste like 2 32s over the ultra wide ones... but everybody is different (that is why there is Chocolate, Vanilla, and Rum Raisin). Curved/Flat, is all up to personal taste I guess.
I like having three separate monitors because it gives me clear frames to organize different parts (panes) of the program and run those parts in full screen on their dedicated monitors.
FYI, both my home monitor and my work monitor (both wide screens, different manufacturers) will allow me to subdivide the screen and define which windows go where.
I also have the text and apps set at 150% which works very well with DS and allows me to easily see the smaller fonts with no issues.
I upgraded from a 16 year old 24" FHD Acer LED display to a 27" Sceptre LED FHD display and at $120 it was worth it. Since the upgrade the monitor prices have went up though. Even though I still have my 16 year old monitor in the 2nd half of this year I will be adding a 27" 4K LED display for my dual display needs. Those start at about $275 for the cheapest so I'm not in a hurry.
DS was a big reason for why I swapped to the wide screen.
DS was just about unusable on two screens unless the screens matched. The aspect ratio needed to be the same or goofy things would happen.
DS would routinely "forget" about the two screens, forcing me to redo the windows. This would happen even after having a saved workspace layout that I could restore.
The most irritating of all was DS having intermittent issues with the size / placement of the undocked windows. Windows would refuse to expand further than a certain point, the mouse would go all flickery. The windows would insist on being placed at one are only...
People's milage will vary, of course. And some of my issues might have been Windows or they might be the specific combination of monitors I was using. It just got to a point where it was too distracting to continue.
I now have two monitors but one is a 21 inch, 1080p, XP-Pen screen which allows me to use a digital pen. The pen is not much use for DAZ Studio but good for postwork and, when I get into it more, sculpting in Blender. My main screen is a 6 year old, 25 inch Dell with a resolution of 2560 x 1440. That seems to suit me just fine as I wear reading glasses and can't sit too far back from one of those big screens.The quality of the Dell image is still very good - at least as good as the new 4K monitor my son has, IMO.
It depends on so much-especially your budget, and what you find important. If you want good color, I would go for an IPS monitor. The colours are richer, just make sure to download the colour profile from the official website.
For gaming, I wouldn't go for less than about 70hz. (determines frames per second) 144hz monitor will be better of course, but it depends on your budget. Games are so buttery smooth at 120 frames
If you are going to play games, I would look at a freesync monitor, which will help sync up the frames in a game to the refresh rate of the monitor so that you don't experience tearing. Freesync will work with nvidia and AMD cards
If you are going for a large monitor, just be careful of choosing a lower resolution display. Sometimes if you have a 27"+ and are running it at 1080p, you may notice that the text looks a little blurred. For some people, it's not that noticeable (at 27"), but it's worth looking at a demo model first. anything above 27". I would go for a 2k display at least.
Curved displays are pretty cool for gaming, but they can distort graphics.
You an Ultrasharp man? Loved those things. My last one died and I moved up to a 4K display.
I have two systems on my desk, a render box and a game box. My render box has a 4K dsiplay that is a bit slow on the frame rate and grey-to-grey color updates, but has great color and brightness settings. My gaming monitor is a high-speed 1440P display, with much higher refrwsh rates, but is not as good color management. I also have a Spyder color calibrator. My setup is a bit overkill, but I find that I really like to be able to play games while my renders are cooking.
If you are going to be doing a lot of content creation I would recommend getting a Spyder. The manufacturer's color profile is okay, but I find being able to calibrate for your local light environment to be very helpful. I can not recommend using a TV as a monitor if you are going to be doing a lot of rendering. They usually have lower color management options. However, if you already have a 4K TV it would be useful if you are on a budget.
These are my opinions, but your situation may dictate different options. And that's okay.
I've got three primary monitors in my "U" shaped workarea. A 24" 1080 on my left a 27" 1440 in the middle and another 24" 1080 on the right (all 16x9), but I rarely use them as extensions. They're primarily for three different computers but I do have enough KVM switches & cables & adapters to permit any of the three computers to use the 1440 and also extend onto one of the 1080s within seconds.
My favorite monitor? The 1440, just the right size for my Video, Photoshop, and DAZ work. Don't laugh but I'm very happy with my "HP X27i" monitor. Check it out.
You might want to see what your card is capable first. If the monitor was that old, the vid card's probably not for behind.
Yes, it's an UltraSharp - though I've only bought the one (this is actually a warranty repalcement for that, the original developed a loose connection - producing a dead bar on the screen - in its last month under warranty).
Given that I am a gamer, I love the look of ultrawide monitors. So cinematic. I have this and couldn't be happier with it -
ASUS ROG Strix 34" 3440 x 1440 Curved Ultrawide
Great quality for gaming, and it also has the color accuracy requirements I need for postwork.
I use 3 x 2560x1440, have done for about five years now.
Thought about upgrading to an ultra HD, but this format and layout suits me
1080p just isn't good enough for anything but a phone imo
Always good advice! The vid card is a 2021 model (3060) and so is the rest of the computer. The only things I saved from the old box were the monitor, mouse, and keyboard. Now I'm down the just the monitor, an Acer X193 from 2011 or thereabouts. I think I had a 560ti driving it, way back in the day.
Great advice, everyone. Here's hoping for some holiday sales later in the month!
The Retina Display on my MacBook Pro is dazzling to look at. (not the Retina display on the iPad though). The problem with the Retina display is that it's so sensational you could never come close to matching a print to the screen, and you have to take into account that everyone looking at your images on other monitors are seeing an image that looks too dark - so you compensate and make your render brighter in Photoshop before posting it or printing it.
I did the series of seminars by Adobe onliine a couple of months ago. This is a worldwide Zoom audience of professional image makers, and hobbiests. The experts seem to agree that the best bet for a reasonably priced monitor used for creating art is a brand called BENQ - which are sold online at Amazon and other dealers.They come in a range of sizes, qualities, and prices. And you need a color calibrator for the monitor, because, without you ever being conscious of it, the colors on your monitor shift from month to month, and the brightness changes. This world expert in color for ADOBE recommended 3 calibrators: Datacolor: Spydeer X ($160-250); the X-Rite i1 Display Pro ($200); and the X-Rite: i1 Pro 2 ($1500-$3000).
If you are not doing professional images or have critical criteria for printing or display, then pick a monitor that is the most fun to use and inexpensive and big.
Fully agree with you. I tried my 4K TV before, it works very well, cheaper and bigger than traditional monitor. The only problem is, it is so big that I have to rotate my head always from on angle to another if I sitting close to it. However, I didn't keeping use it because it is in the dinning room, too far to my desktop PC in the reading room, no desk and chair.