30" IPS Differences

[jlfirehawk]

I am looking to upgrade from my 2 Dell U2711 IPS screens to 2 30" screens, and I am looking between the HP ZR30W or the Dell U3011, I am leaning to towards the HP monitors as I dont need any other connectivity options besides the dual link dvi. Is there a downside to either or another option out there that I should be looking at for the same price around 1200?

 

[exar333]

I am looking to upgrade from my 2 Dell U2711 IPS screens to 2 30" screens, and I am looking between the HP ZR30W or the Dell U3011, I am leaning to towards the HP monitors as I dont need any other connectivity options besides the dual link dvi. Is there a downside to either or another option out there that I should be looking at for the same price around 1200?

As much as I like Dells monitors, the edge has to go to the HP here. They both use the same panel, but the HP is reviewed to have less input lag. Both are great monitors, but if input lag is important to you, the HP is better. On the other hand, the Dell has much better connection options available that could make it more valuable down the road (DP, HDMI, DVI, USB hub, media card reader). Those features are nice too IMHO.

 

[Grooveriding]

I like Dell because their 30" panels are high quality and you get a solid 3 year warranty. First 30 days, no questions for a brand new replacement, after that for the rest of the 3 years; no hassle RMA for a refurb replacement.

That being said, I've had mine for close to three years and have not run into any issues at all. It was nice for the warranty to be there though and I assume since I've made it three years, I'll likely make it quite a few more with my current panel.

If HP has the same level of service and warranty quality, it comes down to contrasting unique features of either model. You may not need the additional U3011 features/connectivity, but it doesn't hurt to have them. At the time I bought mine the 3008 was available, but I went 3007 for less input lag due to it not having any built in image processing/scaler/OSD.

I'd like a U3011, but I am so satisfied with my 30"er, I'm not upgrading it till it dies. 30" 1600P monitors are such a great investment, high quality IPS panel, largest resolution available and great durability equals hardly any need to ever upgrade. :thumbsup:

Bring on the 4K panels though. :awe:

 

[lavaheadache]

yes, bring on 4k panels. I feel like the need for AA will be gone on 24 inchers

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Dunno aboot HP but the dell takes forever and a half to power on.
And switching inputs is a pita.

 

[Baasha]

I am looking to upgrade from my 2 Dell U2711 IPS screens to 2 30" screens, and I am looking between the HP ZR30W or the Dell U3011, I am leaning to towards the HP monitors as I dont need any other connectivity options besides the dual link dvi. Is there a downside to either or another option out there that I should be looking at for the same price around 1200?

well, my opinion is a bit slanted

 

[Zebo]

NEC is the best. Rest are cheaper grade consumer monitors with worse electronics and controls but I'd choose dell from that list. Otherwise NEC for life.

 

[Zebo]

yes, bring on 4k panels. I feel like the need for AA will be gone on 24 inchers

I'll take 120hz 30's with no scaler any day before 4k. Pixel pitch is fine now, motion isnt. Oh yeah and A-TW filter. If you don't know what I'm talking about check this.

http://nec2490.blogspot.com/

 

[exar333]

I'll take 120hz 30's with no scaler any day before 4k. Pixel pitch is fine now, motion isnt. Oh yeah and A-TW filter. If you don't know what I'm talking about check this.

http://nec2490.blogspot.com/

They removed the A-TW filter from current NEC models. As great as these are, most folks are not going to pay professional prices for displays unless they need that quality for their livelihood.

I agree about 120hz and no scaler, for sure. I would a 27 or 30 120hz IPS with little or no input lag in a heartbeat, if it was <$2000. I would be fine with 2k becoming the standard for 20-24'' monitors because that probably trickle-up to 4k on 27-30+ displays. Imagine the horsepower needed for new games on a 4K display running 120hz. That's insane...

Edit: We probably need 2k on TVs first, to push consoles into the ability to drive them first. Maybe Apple's push for higher PPI on their laptops and displays will help this as well.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

NEC is the best. Rest are cheaper grade consumer monitors with worse electronics and controls but I'd choose dell from that list. Otherwise NEC for life.

+1 if you can afford nec

 

[abaez]

I have the U3011. Love it. Use it as a TV and monitor. The extra inputs are great. Card reader and usb hub built in is nice too.

 

[mrbrout]

I own both an hpzr30 and an NEC 27" spectraview pa27...

The NECspectraview are the best for color critical and uniformity which I use for graphic design.

The HPzr30 is hands down the most serious 30" monitor for gamming as it has virtualy zero input lag, is incredibly vibrant, has a wide color gamut (wider then anything else), and also is 10bit compatable... Keep in mind however that to achieve the extra wide color gamut the hpzr30 uses fluorescent backlighting and gives off a significant amount of heat.. But I am sure dell does as well.. For me it was a choice between the dell and the hp- I went with the hp for the amount of gaming I do.
The monitor is simply breathtaking.. trust me.

 

[Ferzerp]

Dunno aboot HP but the dell takes forever and a half to power on.
And switching inputs is a pita.

And the creepy blue light that lights up when you get near the lower right hand corner is a downside too. There is magic in my monitor! It has eyes!

Actually, my house has one of both monitors, and I think anyone would be satisfied with either. Mine is the Dell due to pricing and warranty I got with it, but the HP is supposedly faster.

 

[AdamK47]

NEC is the best. Rest are cheaper grade consumer monitors with worse electronics and controls but I'd choose dell from that list. Otherwise NEC for life.

The electronics in the NEC monitors are geared towards the high end video professional who need subtle tweaks here and there for video/photo editing. The NEC electronics driving the H-IPS panel will only induce input lag for those looking to game on it.

 

[jlfirehawk]

I went ahead and ordered the HP ZR30Ws, the came in huge boxes, I have never seen monitors come in this big of a box before. They are odd not having a OSD on them at all but once I got the drivers installed (without the drivers the one had some wierd interference going on with random green pixels) on my Nvidia 580 they look really good. The lack of adjustment is odd as it only has brightness adjustments so we will see if it works out or not.

 

[Ferzerp]

I went ahead and ordered the HP ZR30Ws, the came in huge boxes, I have never seen monitors come in this big of a box before. They are odd not having a OSD on them at all but once I got the drivers installed (without the drivers the one had some wierd interference going on with random green pixels) on my Nvidia 580 they look really good. The lack of adjustment is odd as it only has brightness adjustments so we will see if it works out or not.

Technically, with DVI, displayport, etc, the adjustment is supposed to be accomplished by the source and not the destination anyway (i.e. the PC should change the signal instead of the monitor not displaying eactly what it's told).

 

[jlfirehawk]

Im still having this wierd issue of green pixels showing up like interference on the left monitor but only on my Nvidia 580 GTX card, I have a KVM with dual ports setup and it doesnt happen with my other machine with a 560ti so I dont know what is going on. I updated drivers for the card and lcd panels and I thought it cleared up but then shows up at random times mainly if I look at videos or large pictures. Any ideas?

 

[Ferzerp]

Try a different cable or bypass the KVM entirely and test.

 

[Shmee]

I am very happy with my HP, and fyi it has a DP as well as DL DVI. I use it primarily for gaming.

 

[jlfirehawk]

Yeah these have DP and DL DVI, I changed out the DVI cable and it worked fine now, weird how I never had that issue with the 2 Dell U2711 that I upgraded from, you would think that there wouldn't be much of a difference. Overall I am pretty happy now and don't think if I went with the Dell option it would change anything. I am sure I wish I could afford the NEC stuff but that is too rich for me, these were enough.

 

[tweakboy]

It is going to be 8ms latency if not more.

vsync on,,,,,,,, it wont be smooth like crt... gl

 

[blackened23]

I feel bad for anyone still using a CRT these days, might be good for gaming but look like total garbage for general use, and I do mean look like garbage......especially compared to an IPS panel.

Anyway, I vote for dell. Better warranty, and the HP ZR30W has big issues with calibration - you can only adjust the contrast and brightness if it is anything like the ZR2710W. Pretty ridiculous - the dell is far more functional in this respect with full OSD features. Also, the 3011 is fine for gaming. You won't have any issues with input lag unless you've been using a 120hz panel for months, its pretty identical subjectively to other TN panels in terms of input lag.