25xx by xxxx monitors: Suggestions, Tips?

[chucky2]

I'm starting to look for a monitor for my brother, figured I'd get him something nice for Christmas for once...

Anyone have any suggestions and/or tips they can give on this? I'd rather not spend >$500, more like the $300-possibly $400 range.

Any websites that cover the range of monitors with this resolution?

Thanks for any info in advance!

Chuck

 

[Eureka]

Cheapest you can get reliably is the Auria WQ 2560x1440 monitor from Microcenter. These were panels from batches rejected by the big names, but most people report that their panels were very good or flawless. It comes at the cost of a lower quality stand and less options (in terms of connectors and OSD), but it costs $400 + tax. Most other 1440+p monitors will cost you over $600.

You can get cheaper ones from ebay, but if you're in the US, Microcenter is the most reliable place to get one. If you find that there was something wrong with your panel (dead pixels, etc), you can return it instead of dealing with a costly overseas return from ebay.

 

[chimaxi83]

I have the above mentioned Auria from Microcenter.

My pros
- It looks fantastic to me, zero dead pixels, bright, great colors (after tinkering with settings, though they were good out of the box).
- Glossy IPS screen with very little glare
- The menu isn't half bad, and allows almost all adjustments from what I can see.
- It's got one each of DP, DL-DVI, HDMI, and VGA inputs, along with an audio input.
- I like that I don't have to turn it on and off, it does so on it's own depending on whether it's getting an input or not.
- $399, killer price

My cons
- The stand blows, big time. Easily replaced though if you can't stand it (like I did), standard VESA mounting holes.
- The built in speakers are pretty much the bad tin can quality that most monitors have.
- The DVI connector is right behind the stand, which makes it hard to plug in. Also, the DP connector latch is right up against the monitor body, which makes it hard to unplug.

All in all, very worth the price to me.

 

[chucky2]

Thanks both of you for the info. Is there one better to use, HDMI vs. DisplayPort vs. DVI? We're still using VGA right now so I've never had to look into that.

 

[kevinsbane]

Thanks both of you for the info. Is there one better to use, HDMI vs. DisplayPort vs. DVI? We're still using VGA right now so I've never had to look into that.

DVI and DisplayPort are your best bets. HDMI is technically in spec, but not all HDMI devices and cables can support it. I'd avoid HDMI for using 2560x1440 monitors and above.

 

[chucky2]

Well, he really doesn't need speakers, so DVI would be acceptable. His card has both (6950 2GB), so would one be better than the other? He does some gaming, does one have lower latency or does one support higher bit depth, etc.?

 

[Peter Nixeus]

Well, he really doesn't need speakers, so DVI would be acceptable. His card has both (6950 2GB), so would one be better than the other? He does some gaming, does one have lower latency or does one support higher bit depth, etc.?

If you get a 2560x1440 monitor that has both a Dual Link DVI and DisplayPort input, the Dual Link DVI input would be better for gaming and it has more than enough bandwidth to support the same bit depth as DisplayPort. DisplayPort transmit audio while DVI does not. However, the DVI input does have a bit lower input lag.

 

[chucky2]

Thanks Peter!

 

[slackingoff7]

I will chime in that Monoprice has announced they are preparing to release the same panel under their name. The price might be similar to the Auria and will likely have the same warranty but will probably be released early next year. If you are planning on waiting for a little, just check out what comes out from Monoprice.

 

[chucky2]

Hey thanks for that info! Yeah, I (we) can definitely wait, that's not a problem. I wonder what kind of price drops we'll see on this higher res panels next year...

Chuck

 

[Ferzerp]

You can go cheap like the above suggestions, or go good: U3011 or ZR30w

 

[chucky2]

These cheaper high res monitors are already splurge level for him, going higher in the price range would be overkill. Heck, even these are overkill. I should go get him a decent 24" 1080p and call it a day, but, we generally keep things until they break, so I'm willing to go with something nice for him for once.

Are you saying the more expensive high res monitors are more visually appealing than the less expensive high res monitors?

Chuck

 

[gorobei]

If you get a 2560x1440 monitor that has both a Dual Link DVI and DisplayPort input, the Dual Link DVI input would be better for gaming and it has more than enough bandwidth to support the same bit depth as DisplayPort. DisplayPort transmit audio while DVI does not. However, the DVI input does have a bit lower input lag.

is the reason for dp lag part of the design or a function of having all the other input formats? my understanding was that most tft panels would be native displayport at the signaling level eventually since it is to be the manufacturing standard.

 

[Peter Nixeus]

is the reason for dp lag part of the design or a function of having all the other input formats? my understanding was that most tft panels would be native displayport at the signaling level eventually since it is to be the manufacturing standard.

Chris recent wrote a review for a Multi-input 27" 2560 x 1440:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6460/asus-pb278q-review-an-ips-competitor-emerges/5

Unlike the prior 27” displays that we've tested, the ASUS has a 1:1 pixel mapping mode and a full stretch mode for 1920x1080 content. This finally allows me to test and see if the issue with higher lag on 27” displays is being caused by stretching the 1920x1080 signal to fill a 2560x1440 screen, or if it's the inputs and other hardware causing the issue. The lag numbers for the PB278Q are right about what we’ve been seeing for 27” displays, with 16.7 ms of input lag and 11.5 ms of response time for the pixels. This gives us a total overall delay of 28.2 ms using the DVI input. Switching from Full to 1:1 gives no change in the results at all.
Because of this, it seems that the lag in the 27” displays isn’t caused by running at non-native resolution, at least in this case, but more likely by the electronics that deal with display settings and input switching. So even if you run the ASUS at 2560x1440 instead of 1920x1080, I would guess you will see the same results for lag, which is around 1.5 frames in real-world use.

I ran tests with our own monitors using Dual Link DVI and the other using DisplayPort with both 2560x1440 monitors connected to a GTX 670. Running at full 2560x1440 the end result was that the monitor using DP connection lagged a bit behind the monitor using Dual Link DVI. I'll see if I can post a clearer picture of the monitor tests later on today tomorrow.

 

[KeithP]

I have the above mentioned Auria from Microcenter.

My pros
- It looks fantastic to me, zero dead pixels, bright, great colors (after tinkering with settings, though they were good out of the box).
- Glossy IPS screen with very little glare
- The menu isn't half bad, and allows almost all adjustments from what I can see.
- It's got one each of DP, DL-DVI, HDMI, and VGA inputs, along with an audio input.
- I like that I don't have to turn it on and off, it does so on it's own depending on whether it's getting an input or not.
- $399, killer price

My cons
- The stand blows, big time. Easily replaced though if you can't stand it (like I did), standard VESA mounting holes.
- The built in speakers are pretty much the bad tin can quality that most monitors have.
- The DVI connector is right behind the stand, which makes it hard to plug in. Also, the DP connector latch is right up against the monitor body, which makes it hard to unplug.

All in all, very worth the price to me.

Just got one these myself, had it running about an hour. It is attached to a MacBook Pro 15" (new model but not retina) via displayport using OS X and Bootcamp.

No stuck or dead pixels, a little backlight bleed in the bottom corners but nothing noticeable in normal operation.

The buttons for menu, vol, on/off, etc are on the underside of the monitor and labeled on the front. It is not the greatest system. I have already accidentally hit the power button while reaching for the down button while navigating the OSD menus.

Overall it looks like a beautiful monitor, although since I have only been using it an hour, it is still early. I will calibrate with my Spyder this weekend at some point and report back then.

-KeithP