The upgrade bug: zr30w or Dell u2711 + next gen videocard

[biostud]

So basically my computer runs all the games I play fine, and I can't really find any reason to upgrade.......but I like to upgrade, so I was wondering what my "weakest" link was, and maybe some more monitor real estate, ie. higher resolution and size.

I live in a room in apartment, and therefore have limited space. So a LCD tv is not really something I'm interested in, and there's no room for multiple monitors, and I wouldn't like the bezels.

When I use my computer 90% of the time I'm ~2 ft. from the monitor, but I also use it as a TV where I'm 8-10 ft. away. So my question is what would you do go for a zr30w or Dell 2711? I'm wondering if the upgrade for the u2711 will be "enough" or 30" is the way to go. I use my computer for office, casual gaming and movies.

And now to show the prices for these monitors in Denmark:

Dell u2711: ~$830
HP zr30w: ~$1510 (the u3011 is similar priced)

 

[nitromullet]

I would not get a HP zr30w. It's basically a wide gamut screen with no ability to adjust the colors. For me an sRGB mode is must for any wide gamut screen because I (like most people) don't use color managed apps. The Dells (both 27" and 30") do have rRGB modes, so they are a better option IMO.

 

[biostud]

I was just wondering about the input lag, but is that of no concern to a casual gamer?

So being able to adjust sRGB is better for casual use? I'll take that into consideration, since it's not going to be used with any pro software.

still wondering if the extra 3" are worth ~$700

 

[Snowshredder102]

$1,500 is MSRP basically you can usually find it cheaper if you look around and wait for sales. Sears has the ZR30W for just under $1,300 shipped and tax included. I bought a U3011 off of the Dell website when it was on sale for $1,200, but I didn't stop there I called and negotiated a cheaper price and they ended up bringing my U3011 down to $1,150. I would highly suggest getting a 30", especially if you're considering using it as a TV.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM1946531901P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1#desc

 

[blackened23]

I used a u3011 and hated it because the antiglare coating is WAY thicker than what is on most monitors. It is so thick that anything with a white background will appear "dirty" or "grainy". I can't emphasize enough how thick the AG is on it, it really does suck. And the ZR30 uses the same panel so the AG is equally as bad.

I ended up getting the samsung S27A850D pls monitor (same as IPS), it has a 2560x1440 resolution and looks way, way better. Whites are also milky white, colors are great as are viewing angles.

I tried to like the u3011. It is in every way a step back from the older Dell WFP3008W, whcih was a great IPS pane (with only a light AG coating, not the super thick ridiculous coating)

 

[biostud]

$1,500 is MSRP basically you can usually find it cheaper if you look around and wait for sales. Sears has the ZR30W for just under $1,300 shipped and tax included. I bought a U3011 off of the Dell website when it was on sale for $1,200, but I didn't stop there I called and negotiated a cheaper price and they ended up bringing my U3011 down to $1,150. I would highly suggest getting a 30", especially if you're considering using it as a TV.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM1946531901P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1#desc

uhm, I live in Denmark, so US shops are not really applicable.

 

[biostud]

I used a u3011 and hated it because the antiglare coating is WAY thicker than what is on most monitors. It is so thick that anything with a white background will appear "dirty" or "grainy". I can't emphasize enough how thick the AG is on it, it really does suck. And the ZR30 uses the same panel so the AG is equally as bad.

I ended up getting the samsung S27A850D pls monitor (same as IPS), it has a 2560x1440 resolution and looks way, way better. Whites are also milky white, colors are great as are viewing angles.

I tried to like the u3011. It is in every way a step back from the older Dell WFP3008W, whcih was a great IPS pane (with only a light AG coating, not the super thick ridiculous coating)

Thanks for the advice, it's roughly the same cost as the u2711, and might seem to fit better to my needs

 

[nitromullet]

I was just wondering about the input lag, but is that of no concern to a casual gamer?

The lack of an OSD on the HP does reduce input lag, but IMO it's not worth the trade off for not being able to adjust the colors on the monitor at all.

So being able to adjust sRGB is better for casual use? I'll take that into consideration, since it's not going to be used with any pro software.

Wide gamut by default causes the monitor to display colors beyond what is available with a standard RGB monitor. The end result is that your colors are all extremely over saturated. My NEC is also a wide gamut display (same LG panel as the Dell U2711), and if it didn't have a good sRGB mode the colors would be atrocious. Then again, some people don't care.

still wondering if the extra 3" are worth ~$700

That is a legit question, and one that only you can answer. If losing those extra few inches will keep you up at night, then it might be worth it. I knew I wanted either an EIZO or NEC screen the last time I upgraded, so a 30" was out the question.

I did do quite a but of research on the Dells though, and the general consensus was that between the U2711 and U3011 the 27" generally has slightly better image quality. Of course, the 30" is bigger...

Of course this is all just IMO, and you'll want other opinions. FWIW, HardOCP forum tends to have better LCD threads than AT, it might be worth your while to swing by there. I'm sure there are huge threads dedicated to each of your three choices.

edit: oh yeah, as blackened23 said the anti-glare coating on the LG panels bothers some people. I see it on mine when I look for it, but it doesn't bother me.

 

[biostud]

Since it's going to be used for movie watching as well, then too heavy AG would probably be a little annoying. So it does seem to point towards the Samsung SA850D. I wouldn't mind saving $700 compared to a 30", and if they have heavy AG coating it might be a deal breaker to me.

 

[Snowshredder102]

uhm, I live in Denmark, so US shops are not really applicable.

Bah sorry you're totally right. Sadly I would not give $700 for the extra 3 inches, although I feel they're very satisfying as compared to a 27". I do agree there is heavy AG on the panel, which noticed when the color white is present. This doesn't really bother me since most pages have numerous colors and I actually have learned not to pay any attention to it. In games you cannot see it at all. In the end it's what you're willing to pay for a display.

 

[biostud]

Bah sorry you're totally right. Sadly I would not give $700 for the extra 3 inches, although I feel they're very satisfying as compared to a 27". I do agree there is heavy AG on the panel, which noticed when the color white is present. This doesn't really bother me since most pages have numerous colors and I actually have learned not to pay any attention to it. In games you cannot see it at all. In the end it's what you're willing to pay for a display.

I've actually never bought a TV and I've never had a monitor larger than 22" so anything larger is an increase.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Ugh, I wouldn't nightmare of dropping $1500 bucks on a monitor. I'd say grab a nice 27" LED 3D monitor from Samsung for around $600 and call it a day.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001472

 

[gramboh]

Keep in mind that you are going to be gaming at a much higher resolution:

1440p (27") = 97% more pixels than 1080p
1600p (30") = 80% more pixels than 1080p

So you might have to upgrade your video card or lower details significantly.

 

[max347]

I got my refurb'd U3011 for 900

 

[biostud]

Keep in mind that you are going to be gaming at a much higher resolution:

1440p (27") = 97% more pixels than 1080p
1600p (30") = 80% more pixels than 1080p

So you might have to upgrade your video card or lower details significantly.

...my current monitor is 1680x1050, and the title of this thread is a 30" or 27" + next gen video card.

I'll decide on video card once nvidia releases GTX 670/680. So for the 27" it's actually 109% more pixels and 132% more for the 30"

Ugh, I wouldn't nightmare of dropping $1500 bucks on a monitor. I'd say grab a nice 27" LED 3D monitor from Samsung for around $600 and call it a day.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001472

But I would rather have a higher resolution, than 120Hz and 3D. Also the price for that monitor is $750 in Denmark

I got my refurb'd U3011 for 900

Unfortunately refurb'd, does not exists in Denmark.

 

[Grooveriding]

Since your monitor is what you look at all the time and represents to you what you are doing with your computer, it is the most important part of your system imo.

It is also the one part that you can upgrade once and never again if you go big. Get the 30" IPS and never look back, it's as good as it gets and has been for years and years and years.

As long as you are willing to buy enough GPU power to run games on it you will be g2g. With the new 28nm cards out, it looks like we have gone from needing 3 to only needing 2 cards to max out every game out there on a 30" screen and if you are willing to compromise on some settings, a single 7970 can run anything on 30" as well.

I would look at a Dell or a refurbed NEC with at least a year of warranty on it.

 

[RavenSEAL]

But I would rather have a higher resolution, than 120Hz and 3D. Also the price for that monitor is $750 in Denmark

Just be aware that your GPU will single-handedly choke playing any game at that resolution.

 

[AdamK47]

I went with a DoubleSight 30".

Reasons:
1. I hate Dell.
2. I hate backlight bleed.

 

[mosox]

If you don't need to be able to watch the TV from any corner of your room (you have a couch or something) you can get a cheap 27". For the video card I would wait 2-3 weeks for the HD 7870 (~$300 in the US, ~$400 in Europe) that card will be very powerful and very good bang for the buck.

http://www.edbpriser.dk/Product/Details.aspx?pid=4381489

http://www.edbpriser.dk/Product/Details.aspx?pid=4381488


You have a "compare these items" feature at the bottom of this link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236101

 

[Shmee]

for gaming, I would go for the HPZR30W, I have had mine for a while now and love it.

 

[james1701]

I love my U3011. I had an LG monitor before this one, so I was used to the coating, its not that bad. There is a person over on the [H]forum in the U3011 thread, that just called Dell SB and told them he was wanting information on the U3011 to compare against the HP. They offered him 1139.00, and free shipping, give or take a few bucks. Not a bad deal at all. They are up the revision A06 now, and still shipping A05's too.

The U3011 works well for gaming, but your fps is going to take a hit. My two 5870's can only play on high on BF3 at this res. BR movies look fantastic too. I love all the extra connections, and outputs.

 

[adairusmc]

$1,500 is MSRP basically you can usually find it cheaper if you look around and wait for sales. Sears has the ZR30W for just under $1,300 shipped and tax included. I bought a U3011 off of the Dell website when it was on sale for $1,200, but I didn't stop there I called and negotiated a cheaper price and they ended up bringing my U3011 down to $1,150. I would highly suggest getting a 30", especially if you're considering using it as a TV.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM1946531901P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1#desc

I was able to do the same with Dell, getting my U3011 for under $1,100. It took a while, but I got them down to $1099, with free overnight shipping and a 5 year warranty. Just had to really work them for a good half hour at least.

I really love the U3011 though, even more than the Samsung 305T+ that it replaced.

I am using crossfired 6970's to game on it, Everything seems to run great so far.

 

[Snowshredder102]

I was able to do the same with Dell, getting my U3011 for under $1,100. It took a while, but I got them down to $1099, with free overnight shipping and a 5 year warranty. Just had to really work them for a good half hour at least.

I really love the U3011 though, even more than the Samsung 305T+ that it replaced.

I am using crossfired 6970's to game on it, Everything seems to run great so far.

Wow you really worked them, I only got the standard 3 year warranty although I did extend that by 1 year with my Amex card. I love the monitor too and I am as well using CF 6970's although I can't run everything on maxed, but it still works great. I think my GPU's are bottled necked by my aging i7 920 :/.

 

[Grooveriding]

Chiming in on what others have said about Dell and getting a deal, never pay the full retail MSRP for their 30" monitors. There are always sales and deals to be gotten if you speak with them, the markup must be huge on these monitors.

I got mine about 3 years ago and I paid $1000 even for it when the MSRP at the time was $1350.

 

[blackened23]

Since your monitor is what you look at all the time and represents to you what you are doing with your computer, it is the most important part of your system imo.

It is also the one part that you can upgrade once and never again if you go big. Get the 30" IPS and never look back, it's as good as it gets and has been for years and years and years.

As long as you are willing to buy enough GPU power to run games on it you will be g2g. With the new 28nm cards out, it looks like we have gone from needing 3 to only needing 2 cards to max out every game out there on a 30" screen and if you are willing to compromise on some settings, a single 7970 can run anything on 30" as well.

I would look at a Dell or a refurbed NEC with at least a year of warranty on it.

You are lucky to own the 3008WFP. That is an *excellent* IPS panel , sadly the u3011 is NOT as good. The u3011 has an AG coating that is 2-3 times thicker than the one found on most monitors (and the 3008wfp), it really is mind boggling. So thick that it affects text clarity and sharpness (on white backgroundS)

I wish Dell still produced their older IPS panels, IMO they are better than the current batch.