Question Monitor Upgrade - Too Many Good Options!

[Aikouka]

I've been in a bit of analysis paralysis lately. I kind of went the backwards route with a recent upgrade and purchased a video card (4090) that's arguably better than what I need for my current resolution of 2560x1440. That truly depends upon the game and aspects like ray tracing, but in general, I'd argue that's the case. Anyway, while I do tend to upgrade computer hardware fairly often, I don't upgrade my monitors much at all. So, I've been looking around to see what sort of good options there are that would likely work well for me.

I've currently got a setup with two 27" QHD (2560x1440) monitors. The first one is geared toward gaming, and it's an ASUS ROG Swift PG279QZ and the second one is an ASUS PB278Q. While the main monitor is aimed toward gaming, I also do development work on it, and I do enjoy splitting my IDE between both monitors. I usually put the main text entry on one monitor and all the secondary windows (debugging, file browser, etc.) on the other. Being so used to having two monitors has made me lean against going the route of a single large monitor such as an LG OLED or any monitors using their tech such as the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ. I've also been wanting to integrate my Mac into my setup.

These are some monitors that I've found that look interesting, and I've added a bit of thoughts to go with each:

• ASUS ROG Swift PG32UQR
  I've been using ASUS ROG Swift monitors for years, and they've generally been good. This is a 32" 4K, which seems like a decent size overall. (35-36" at 4K might just be slightly better size-wise.) The one downside here is that I'm usually picky about keeping multi-monitor resolution the same. As a result, I would likely need to buy another 4K monitor to replace my PB278Q. Although, like my PB278Q, it does not need to be a fancy gaming monitor. However, given that this monitor is already $1000, adding another ~$300 for a decent 32" 4K raises its cost a decent amount.
• Samsung Odyssey Neo G9
  This is likely the priciest option here, but with some work discounts, it gets a bit more manageable when combined with other discounts (~$1550). I do like that it essentially becomes an all-in-one version of what I'm currently using. Although, I have been looking at remarks from the ultrawide community that the huge 32:9 monitors tend to benefit things like racing games or other simulations a bit more. I know that ultrawide support in games can be a bit hit or miss too. I do think the picture-in-picture features are nifty, and it might benefit Mac integration. I have also seen a good number of complaints about Samsung's quality in regard to their monitors. I don't know if they do have poor QA, or if it's just that the people with problems are far more prominent, but it sounds like folks rattle off a number of potential issues.
• Dell Alienware AW3423DW
  This monitor is likely going to be the nicest look picture-wise of all units (most reviews that I've seen love the picture quality), but it's also the smallest resolution. It does provide one interesting benefit in that since the resolution is an off-shoot of QHD, I can continue to use my QHD monitor as a second panel. The downside is that it's significantly less real-estate compared to the Samsung for nearly as much money (~$1550 vs $1300). I have seen complaints about Dell with this monitor in how their support is supposedly abysmal.
• Gigabyte Aorus FI32U
  This features a built-in KVM, which is a nice touch for using the Mac in addition, which saves a nice $500+ on having to buy a good KVM. According to Level1Techs, it works pretty well too! This would require another monitor, but given its price ($699), it's plausible to be able to buy two instead of just one and have it be about as much as the Odyssey Neo G9 or the Alienware. Although, in regard to the KVM, I'd prefer to switch both monitors instead of just one, which makes it a bit clunky compared to an external KVM.

The hardest part is that I think I could likely be fine with any of the above units, which is what has really made this decision a bit hard. I'm leaning toward the Alienware for the huge benefit in gaming visuals, but I also like the G9 for the huge amount of real estate. If you've tried any one of these or own one, is there anything that you like or don't like about it? Or perhaps even just how you've dealt with switching from 16:9 to 21:9 or 32:9. Also, the video card will likely get to stretch its legs the most with a 4K display given that 4K ~ 8M pixels. The G9 is ~ 7M pixels, and the Alienware is only ~5M pixels. Although, the Alienware and Samsung monitors have a higher refresh rate.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I would just get two of these: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-S3221QS-Ultra-Thin-DisplayPort-Certified/dp/B08G8WMRRP

High refresh for gaming doesn't matter unless you are a competitive online FPS gamer.

 

[Tech Junky]

You could go the projector route and fill a whole wall.

 

[Aikouka]

I would just get two of these: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-S3221QS-Ultra-Thin-DisplayPort-Certified/dp/B08G8WMRRP

High refresh for gaming doesn't matter unless you are a competitive online FPS gamer.

I don't think I would consider myself highly competitive, but I do enjoy playing FPS games (including those that are played competitively). I would've normally talked a bit about the games that I play, but honestly... I play a lot of different types of games. That's one thing that I do like about the Alienware monitor as it has the nicest display of all. So, even if a game doesn't need high refresh rate, it will still look really good. Although, a common remark I see about that monitor is the green fringing due to the triangular RGB pattern.

You could go the projector route and fill a whole wall.

Would I need to get two projectors to keep my multi-monitor setup?

 

[Tech Junky]

Would I need to get two projectors to keep my multi-monitor setup?

Not if you run it in 4K. You have enough real estate to do whatever you want and snap apps into position accordingly.

 

[Aikouka]

Not if you run it in 4K. You have enough real estate to do whatever you want and snap apps into position accordingly.

I thought about large monitors -- like the ASUS OLED that I mentioned -- and just using snapping. Honestly, it's not really something that I've tried, so I'm not sure how I'd feel about it. I've used snapping a little bit on an ultrawide at work, but in regard to development UIs, I still prefer splitting certain parts off to another screen.

 

[Tech Junky]

Well, 4K being 2X 2K it has enough space to spread things out if you drop the zoom level to 100% from the default. I run a 4K screen on my laptop because I like to spread things out and not have things right in my face. I used dual monitors in the past with a work setup and it's fine if you have the patience to deal with Windows. There's pros and cons to either setup though. If you want to spend more on 2 monitors then so be it. At this point though with how tech has progressed and availability of 4K options I would just opt for a large 4K desktop display to keep clutter to a minimum. The other thing to keep in mind is the space they will take up and offset putting them side by side if they'll fit your desktop space and not just drop off the side or back.

 

[igor_kavinski]

How about using this? https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/desktops

 

[Aikouka]

Well, 4K being 2X 2K it has enough space to spread things out if you drop the zoom level to 100% from the default. I run a 4K screen on my laptop because I like to spread things out and not have things right in my face. I used dual monitors in the past with a work setup and it's fine if you have the patience to deal with Windows. There's pros and cons to either setup though. If you want to spend more on 2 monitors then so be it. At this point though with how tech has progressed and availability of 4K options I would just opt for a large 4K desktop display to keep clutter to a minimum. The other thing to keep in mind is the space they will take up and offset putting them side by side if they'll fit your desktop space and not just drop off the side or back.

I am somewhat used to what you describe for normal use. I use an HTPC on my main TV, which is an LG C1. (So, not too different from the ASUS 42"/48" OLED options.) When I started looking for monitor options, my original desire was something like 32"-36" in 4K with the idea of having to buy some cheaper, simpler second panel for basic work.

To be frank, the most "sensible" approach for me would be to just go with two 32" 4K monitors. It's essentially sticking with what I know I like (i.e., two large displays in a side-by-side configuration), but I'd like to say that I'm willing to consider something different. One thing that I do worry about though is that... honestly, I'll never really know whether I'm okay with a huge ultrawide or not unless I try it. I know I like multi-monitor, but it's not the same thing as an ultrawide. It's pretty much the same with a large display (like the 42"/48" ASUS).

How about using this? https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/desktops

I think they have window snapping built into Windows 11, right? I usually see that thing pop-up in the upper-middle of the screen when I'm dragging windows around. I think I hit it once and it showed me a bunch of window snap layout options.

 

[Tech Junky]

My suggestion would be take a laptop and hook it up to the UW ad see how it looks. Go to the store and just test it since it's not a cheap purchase unless they have a good return policy if you change your mind to a dual setup.

 

[Harry_Wild]

I just updated to a 2021 released LG UltraFine 4K 32” monitor after first buy one of the 1st 4K PC monitors back in 2014-2015 for 6X the price of my current LG. HDR feature just makes the image pop, better details in text and video it like wow! Deeper blacks, brighter over viewing experience!

I just upgraded to a LG 32” 4K Ultrafine Ergo Monitor with HDR! Wow!

Question - New 32” LG PC Monitor!

Just got done installing my new LG UltraFine Display Ergo - Model 32UN880! Forgive the mess! Switch to a new surge power outlet! 😁👍

forums.anandtech.com

Here a review:

Hands-On With LG's 32-Inch 4K UltraFine Ergo Display

LG offers 4K and 5K UltraFine monitors designed in partnership with Apple, which can be purchased through the Apple Store as an alternative to...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Muadib]

Consider the Dell QD-OLED monitor. I hate the curve, but you don't.

 

[Aikouka]

My suggestion would be take a laptop and hook it up to the UW ad see how it looks. Go to the store and just test it since it's not a cheap purchase unless they have a good return policy if you change your mind to a dual setup.

Unfortunately, I don't live that close to a place like MicroCenter, which stocks all these sort of crazy displays.

I did pretty much go the route that you're talking about as I purchased three monitors: the 32" ASUS 4K, the 48" Samsung Neo G9, and the 34" Alienware QD-OLED. Out of those three, the Alienware would likely be the biggest pain to return (restocking fees and such), but I didn't really see a better way. Since I'm looking at this as more of a trial run, I'll likely end up doing things like leaving the (transparent) protective films on just to make sure the monitors stay in tip-top shape. (Even though doing so can make the picture look a little weird; I want to make sure any return looks brand new!) Now, to take care of the big, TV-like screen approach, I'll see what it's like using it with my TV in the living room at 100% scale. I use it as a computer often, but usually for a single task and I think it's at 150% or 200% scale.

I just updated to a 2021 released LG UltraFine 4K 32” monitor after first buy one of the 1st 4K PC monitors back in 2014-2015 for 6X the price of my current LG. HDR feature just makes the image pop, better details in text and video it like wow! Deeper blacks, brighter over viewing experience!

I just upgraded to a LG 32” 4K Ultrafine Ergo Monitor with HDR! Wow!

Question - New 32” LG PC Monitor!

Just got done installing my new LG UltraFine Display Ergo - Model 32UN880! Forgive the mess! Switch to a new surge power outlet! 😁👍

forums.anandtech.com

Here a review:

Hands-On With LG's 32-Inch 4K UltraFine Ergo Display

LG offers 4K and 5K UltraFine monitors designed in partnership with Apple, which can be purchased through the Apple Store as an alternative to...

www.macrumors.com

I think the only issue there is that I'd still prefer to have a gaming-oriented monitor as my main monitor, and that's probably a little more than I'd prefer to spend on a secondary display. Although, that depends on how much the primary display was. For example, if I bought the Gigabyte monitor, which is actually about the same price as that LG, then the LG wouldn't really be out of the question. However, with the ASUS, it would just be a little too much... albeit, it's still as much as the Neo G9 costs (with my discount).

 

[Tech Junky]

MicroCenter

I would imagine Best Buy might have one or two. Planning a trial run I would opt for Amazon for the easy returns and no stocking fees. Figure out what you want from testing and then find the best deal.

 

[Aikouka]

I would imagine Best Buy might have one or two. Planning a trial run I would opt for Amazon for the easy returns and no stocking fees. Figure out what you want from testing and then find the best deal.

I took a look at my local Best Buy when I picked up the video card from there, and unfortunately, they mostly had 24" monitors at such. (Apart from peripherals, the PC section is kind of lackluster. They've always been decent in regard to peripherals though.) I'm not sure if you'd find them in stores in larger cities or stores with a Magnolia section. I know Samsung lets you pick up from Best Buy, and I think they said a store about 70 miles from me had them in stock. I'm not sure if that meant that I could return through Best Buy though.

There is a smaller shop around here that has usually had some premium offerings in the past (I recall seeing a 40"+ ASUS monitor there in the past), but when I checked their website, I think the most expensive monitor was only around $500. From talking to the workers there, I know they've been burned a few times by leaning too much into crypto-oriented hardware (e.g., motherboards with lots of 1x PCI-E slots), so I don't know if they're trying to avoid sinking too much money into the expensive, slow-selling items.

Consider the Dell QD-OLED monitor. I hate the curve, but you don't.

That's the thing... I don't know how I feel about it. The only curved monitor that I've used extensively has a 3800R curve, which is way less prominent than the Alienware's 1800R or the Samsung's 1000R.

 

[Harry_Wild]

think the only issue there is that I'd still prefer to have a gaming-oriented monitor as my main monitor,

It looks like the main PC monitors manufacturers are trying gain a presents in the gaming marketplace and have introduce some nice 4K gaming monitors. The one I recall is Samsung and Viewsonic. Gigabyte is try to get into this market too. MSI has several sizes and models. I go with Samsung on Black Friday, CyberMonday if you can wait, otherwise their are many closed out models aka discontinued gaming monitor that are at pretty discounted too! These are flash sales going around too. Looks like PC monitors are going to be discounted more then usual this year!

 

[Harry_Wild]

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hyperx-armada-27-review

Check out new gaming PC monitor only QHD resolution however! I past on it if I were you!

 

[Aikouka]

During AMD's RDNA3 announcement yesterday, they teased a refresh of Samsung's Neo G9 that would effectively change the device from 2xQHD (2x 2560x1440) to 2xUHD (2x 3840x2160). In a way, this better fits with what my original goal was, which was to go from a QHD setup to UHD. Now, of course, it also requires a lot more processing to drive 2xUHD instead of 2xQHD. A rudimentary way to look at that could be halving the framerate of a 4K benchmark. (You'd really be better off looking at 4K and 8K benchmarks, and then using the differences there to interpret where 2xUHD would land since 2xUHD = 2x4K and 8K = 4x4K.) Based upon that simple method, there are plenty of games that would take a hit down to 60 FPS or less without DLSS, but others that would be between 60-120 and some still above 120. (I used the TechPowerUp review of the 4090 FE.)

Although, that won't even be announced until CES in January, and we don't know when that will actually come out or -- maybe more importantly -- how much it will actually cost. Of course, there's also the QC issues that Samsung is awkwardly known for.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hyperx-armada-27-review

Check out new gaming PC monitor only QHD resolution however! I past on it if I were you!

I already have a decent QHD gaming monitor. It's an ROG Swift 165Hz monitor. The only "bad" thing about it is that it sometimes will mess up and display the middle horizontal line at the far edge of the screen. I just power cycle the monitor and it goes away. Outside of that, I've never had an issue with it, but compared to today's monitors, it's almost an ancient relic with its single backlight and "low" refresh rate.

 

[igor_kavinski]

it's almost an ancient relic with its single backlight and "low" refresh rate.

My relic is an LG 120Hz Nvidia 3D Vision monitor that a guy took from me to use temporarily and now won't give it back. I asked him to pay me $85 for it. He laughed it off (using it with his Xbox). He helped me out once in my time of need (I needed a place to sleep ASAP). I guess he thinks a simple thank you isn't enough so he appropriated the monitor

 

[Aikouka]

My relic is an LG 120Hz Nvidia 3D Vision monitor that a guy took from me to use temporarily and now won't give it back. I asked him to pay me $85 for it. He laughed it off (using it with his Xbox). He helped me out once in my time of need (I needed a place to sleep ASAP). I guess he thinks a simple thank you isn't enough so he appropriated the monitor

That's definitely not cool. I have two ASUS ROG Swift QHD monitors, and I think my older one (144Hz not 165Hz) supports 3D Vision. Unfortunately, even though I used to own the 3D Vision glasses, it's pretty much dead unless you're willing to heavily downgrade your drivers. I tried to do a weird mixing of drivers by pulling out the 3D Vision driver, but it wouldn't work.

Back when it actually worked, I only tried it a few times, and it was mostly with the game Trine. It worked fairly well, but honestly, I think the only 3D that had a chance of surviving was passive 3D. That uses polarized filters and polarized glasses (like you get in the theater) to handle the 3D. Unfortunately, I think they came out a lot later in the 3D craze and only LG manufactured the panels. I've got an old LG 48" TV that supports passive 3D, and my old Vizio 70" TV supports it too. (Unfortunately, the latter has a common issue where a horizontal line near the top has inverted colors.)

 

[igor_kavinski]

I've got an old LG 48" TV that supports passive 3D, and my old Vizio 70" TV supports it too. (Unfortunately, the latter has a common issue where a horizontal line near the top has inverted colors.)

I had a 55 inch 4K LG TV that came with passive 3D glasses. Weirdly, I would only see something pop out of the screen but everything else would be kind of double. Couldn't see depth. At least that was better than the 3D vision experience. I don't think I ever saw anything that looked 3D on it. I must be one of those people whose brain cannot be tricked into seeing 3D :S

I saw The Rise of Skywalker on an IMAX 3D screen. Same problem there. I saw the Star Destroyer pop out of the screen. But everything else had double edges.

I may have better luck with seeing 3D movies on PSVR. Copied a few movies to a USB and then forgot to watch them. Someday...

 

[Aikouka]

I had a 55 inch 4K LG TV that came with passive 3D glasses. Weirdly, I would only see something pop out of the screen but everything else would be kind of double. Couldn't see depth. At least that was better than the 3D vision experience. I don't think I ever saw anything that looked 3D on it. I must be one of those people whose brain cannot be tricked into seeing 3D :S

I saw The Rise of Skywalker on an IMAX 3D screen. Same problem there. I saw the Star Destroyer pop out of the screen. But everything else had double edges.

I may have better luck with seeing 3D movies on PSVR. Copied a few movies to a USB and then forgot to watch them. Someday...

I'm kind of like you in that regard. I don't really get the negative depth effect much from 3D, but I do certainly see the positive depth effect. That Star Destroyer popping out was probably my most memorable 3D experience, and I think it really represented what 3D can do to a movie experience. I think it's kind of like the difference between watching a movie in VR and watching a VR experience. A VR experience needs to be tailored with the understanding that the viewer exists in the 3D space, and even if they are expected to have no interaction, something can still be occurring in any position around them. With a 3D movie, the front of the screen can't be an afterthought and also can't serve for cheap gimmicks (e.g., the yo-yo scene in Journey to the Center of the Earth).

I'm not sure if I see double when it comes to negative depth; I might have to check that out sometime when I get the chance. I have a decent chunk of 3D Blu-rays, and it looks like my UHD player (Panasonic DP-UB820) supports 3D... just need to drag the TV out of storage. I've never tried one in VR either. That might be interesting.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I've never tried one in VR either. That might be interesting.

I got the Pimax headset from some German VR fanatic in Dubai. He kept gushing about how much fun watching 3D movies in VR is. Sadly, the Pimax headset somehow caused my RX 580 to blow up my Z77 mobo's PCIe lanes. I don't feel like using it again. My only choice is to hope that one of the different formats of 3D movies in my UFD works in PSVR (the PS4 media player is extremely picky about what kind of files it will play).

 

[The red spirit]

For raw productivity it's not worth going past 22 inches, 24 inches is extra and 27 inches is extra extra. 4k is nice, but 4090 can only do 4k60 with rtx without dlss. It will get worse some years later. 4k 27 inches seems like a sweet spot, not to mention highest PPI that you can get. If you want better motion rending, consider 2k144. 32 inches is too big to be ergonomic and to me is strictly TV category. Anything even bigger is even more pointless. I would rather look for factory calibrated monitor with good sRGB coverage, rather than bigger monitor.

 

[Aikouka]

So, I've gone through and tried out the Samsung and the Alienware monitors, and... I'm not sure if I've gotten more of an answer yet! I can say that both provide such a better picture compared to what I'm used to that both look good to me. One thing that I did notice with the Samsung is that white text on a black background (i.e. Windows rebooting) didn't look great. I don't know if that's the issues that I read about with the screen at 240Hz... I believe it has to do with the backlight strobing or something like that. Now, I haven't delved heavily into gaming as I'm not entirely sure what to try out. I just played a round of Roboquest (came in this month's Humble Choice) on both monitors, and apart from the game not seeming to adjust HUD elements based upon aspect ratio, both monitors were absolutely fine. Of course, Roboquest is also a bit bright, so perhaps a darker game could better show off what the OLED is capable of. I do think that I'll need a second monitor if I go with the Alienware, but the awkward part is that if I try to use something like my old monitor, it will stand out so badly against the nicer OLED panel!

I might need to grab/install a few games with HDR to try those out. I’m thinking about trying God of War and Cyberpunk.

As for the ASUS, I haven’t opened it yet because the box oddly has an Amazon Warehouse sticker on it even though I bought it new. Not sure if that just means it was returned open, or if I was sent a used one.

Oh, and one downside of the Neo G9 is that I’d likely need to get a specific monitor arm for it where my existing one would be fine for the Alienware. The Ergotron one comes highly recommended, but it’s also $380.

EDIT:

So, there is one thing that I forgot to look at with them, and it’s something that I might be more picky about than others… time to wake. I’ve always preferred that a monitor be fast to wake when moving the mouse… especially when I need to do something quickly! For example, my current ASUS ROG Swift is near instant.

I have the Alienware hooked up right now, and it looks like it takes about 5 seconds from moving the mouse to the screen coming back. I’m not sure if it has any settings that can be adjusted to change that (i.e., sleep vs. deep sleep).