Replacement for NEC 20WMGX2

[beatle]

I've had an NEC 20WMGX2 for the better part of 6 or 7 years. It has been great and still has an excellent picture. That said, 20" is now pretty small. I'd like to go for a 24" with similar quality. I play games occasionally, but I'm not competitive, so I think input lag is mostly a non-issue as long as it's not as bad as the Dell 2001FP I had back in 2004.

Contrast is one of the most important things to me. Accurate color is nice, but I'm colorblind anyway so it's not that big of a deal. Looking to keep my budget around $500 (or less.) The Eizo FG2421 looks promising, even though I don't need the gaming features. I remember EIZO from my CRT days. Any others I should consider?

 

[beatle]

No takers, huh?

I saw that Monoprice has an inexpensive 27" which is currently $300 on ebay w/free shipping. Reviews are mostly positive with most of the complaints stemming from the lousy OSD, stand, cable routing, and thick bezel. I only set up the monitor once with the OSD, I have a VESA mount for my desk, and my desk is against the wall so I don't see the cables anyway. I guess having a slimmer bezel would let it sit next to my existing monitor more easily, but other than that it's not an issue.

I was also considering a 1920x1200 monitor as a way to stretch a little more life out of my HD7850. As I mentioned, I don't really game that much, but I do pull out some old favorites now and then (currently replaying Borderlands 2) and the high res on the Monoprice might be a bit much for my current card.

I didn't think I'd be considering a Monoprice monitor, but it seems to have a very good screen which is the most important thing to me. Thoughts?

 

[biostud]

You can get the BenQ GW2765HT for ~$440 at amazon.

 

[beatle]

Resurrecting my own thread.

I never did upgrade my monitor. I've upped my budget though as I use my monitor far more than I watch TV. I could see myself spending $750-$800 for the right display since I clearly don't upgrade very often. Trying to figure out 1440p vs 4k. I'm about 3 feet away from my monitor if that's any consideration. The charts I've seen show 4K starting to show a benefit right around that distance for a 27" display. I would likely game in 1080p if I had a 4K display. Planning on a R9 390 to drive the new monitor, FWIW.

Anything new in 2015 that I should look into or older top-tier monitors that are now in my reach?

 

[deanx0r]

I am on the fence when it comes to 4k. Everyone boast about it, but I dont believe it is ready for prime time.

I see little visual improvements in games at 4k over 1080p. Comparing still shots is dandy and all, but when everything is fast paced or in motion, I cant really tell the difference between the two beside the massive performance hit you are getting.

4k has scaling issues under windows. At 100% scaling, text is way to tny and hard to read to be usable. At 200% scaling, text is not aliased and tend to look blurry (although that might be fixed now), you also end up having the same usable work space of a regular1080p monitor at that scaling. 5k is probably the way to go if you want everything scaled up and have the real estate of a 1440p monitor (as seen in the 27' iMac retina).

I am in the same boat as far as picking up my next monitor. I tend to keep them for 5+ years and I am ok with spending a bit extra if the features are worth it. Here are some of my upgrade criterias (coming from a 1440p Apple cinema display):

-1440p (for the reasons mentioned above).
-27in to 30in
-Freesync because I cannot stand screen tearing and driving 1440p at a constant 60fps is extremely demanding.
-IPS/PLS type panel
-Extra inputs beside display port (at least HDMI for the occasional times I want to plug in a console).

I have my eyes on the Eizo Foris FS2735 if they can price it competitively.
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/news_archive/34.htm#eizo_fs2735

 

[biostud]

You could get the new HP 32" 1440p VA display with freesync.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/hp-envy-32-media-display,30265.html

 

[ViRGE]

If you're colorblind, have you considered cheaper TN monitors? Since color accuracy isn't as paramount, it may give you a few more options to work with.

https://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/PB287Q/

Alternatively there's the IPS based P2715Q

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dell-p2715q-monitor

 

[supaidaaman]

Dude i have the same monitor and I love it, but its just too small for what i do. I just bought a dell ultrasharp as a second monitor to ease myself into. I dont game on it, but plan to in the future. Its more for photo and video work. Going from the 20wmgx2 to a 4k set is going to be rough on your eyes. Its super hard to get used to such a big monitor. I use a 4k at work and its a nightmare...I'll probably downgrade so my eyes don't melt.

 

[RussianSensation]

Contrast is one of the most important things to me. Accurate color is nice, but I'm colorblind anyway so it's not that big of a deal. Looking to keep my budget around $500 (or less.)

Looks like you did your research. I'd suggest another monitor too. Since contrast is one of your top priorities, maybe consider higher real estate screen as it's close to your budget -- $550 BenQ BL3200PT.

Review

2560x1440 and 32" size with top-notch contrast, imo way better overall monitor for games + productivity, etc. than a 23.5" 1080P Eizo FG2421. But it's up to you if you want the 32" 2560x1440 monitor or the much smaller 23.5" 1080p one. I prefer the former by far and I cannot imagine using a 23.5" desktop monitor in 2015 for the next 5-6 years.

Depends on how much gaming performance matters, you may want to look into GSync/FreeSync monitors.

There is also an 4K FreeSync LG Electronics MU67 27MU67 27" Screen LED-Lit Monitor for a surprisingly affordable $527. But it seems this monitor isn't as stellar as it sounds on paper when it comes to brightness and contrast ratio.

 

[biostud]

Looks like you did your research. I'd suggest another monitor too. Since contrast is one of your top priorities, maybe consider higher real estate screen as it's close to your budget -- $550 BenQ BL3200PT.

Review

2560x1440 and 32" size with top-notch contrast, imo way better overall monitor for games + productivity, etc. than a 23.5" 1080P Eizo FG2421. But it's up to you if you want the 32" 2560x1440 monitor or the much smaller 23.5" 1080p one. I prefer the former by far and I cannot imagine using a 23.5" desktop monitor in 2015 for the next 5-6 years.

The new hp 32 envy uses same type of panel and includes freesync for $499.

 

[beatle]

I agree, I've moved on from 24" displays. I think a 27-28" 1440p is where it's at.

What about the Asus MG279Q? http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asus-mg279q-27-inch-freesync-monitor,4262.html It has one of the lowest minimum usable black levels and a calibrated contrast ratio that's over 1100.

I have a Microcenter near me and I was able to see the G-Sync demo on one of their displays. I have to say, even though I don't game, the pendulum did look pretty impressive, and FreeSync led me to the Asus.

Newegg has an open box for $500. Normally I don't care about open box items, but is an open box monitor too risky?

Edit: Just read the review for the BenQ. Dang, that looks promising as well, though it does not have FreeSync. I find it difficult to compare contrast and black levels across reviews. The review of the BenQ has a calibrated contrast ratio of over 2400:1 and a black level of 0.05 which blows away the Asus. That seems too good to be true.

 

[beatle]

Doing a little more digging. I'm actually considering 4K now as I see how much even modern graphics cards get brutalized at 1440p. A 4K display would allow me to run 1080p without interpolation. Selection doesn't seem to be as good as 1440p, however. Or is gaming in 1080p on a 1440p display not the blurry mess I think it will be?

 

[ViRGE]

Doing a little more digging. I'm actually considering 4K now as I see how much even modern graphics cards get brutalized at 1440p. A 4K display would allow me to run 1080p without interpolation. Selection doesn't seem to be as good as 1440p, however. Or is gaming in 1080p on a 1440p display not the blurry mess I think it will be?

You're still going to get interpolation on a 4K monitor. However I find that it's not as bad as on a 1440p monitor since you have a greater pixel density to work with, which allows for more precise interpolation and cuts down on the extreme blurring and other artifacts.

 

[beatle]

There won't be any interpolation running 1080p on a 4K monitor as four pixels on the monitor will render one of the content.

 

[ViRGE]

There won't be any interpolation running 1080p on a 4K monitor as four pixels on the monitor will render one of the content.

Yeah, unfortunately it doesn't work that way. They still interpolate.

 

[beatle]

I've read people arguing that fact on other boards, but I've never seen an explanation that makes sense. What is there to interpolate? It's a perfect 4:1 ratio.

 

[ViRGE]

I've read people arguing that fact on other boards, but I've never seen an explanation that makes sense. What is there to interpolate? It's a perfect 4:1 ratio.

They're sampling multiple pixels over a wider area to ensure consistent transitions, similar to a Gaussian blur. It's a generic one size fits all algorithm.