I am often helping others (or think I am) with buying advice with Macs, but my display knowledge is lacking, and need help making a decision about a monitor to use for my specific use case.
On my main Mac (M2 Pro MM), I am currently using a Sceptre 30-inch Curved Gaming Monitor 21:9 2560x1080 Ultra Wide (C305B-200UN1), and have been using it for the last four years on various older Macs. It looks okay, but never as good as my older 27" iMacs with 2560x1440. I thought I would like the ultra wide more for the occasional gaming I do, but for most games I play, it doesn't really improve the experience.
I also use the monitor for my work Windows laptop. The ultra wide experience was nice with it at first, as in the office I have two 24" monitors, and the ultra wide allowed me to mimic the experience, without needing the space of two monitors, which was limited at the time.
But, as I started working from home more and more, and MS Teams started to be more widely used in my office, the ultra wide started to become a problem. When I shared my screen on Teams, people often had issues viewing what I was sharing due to the black bars on the top and bottom of their screens.
Now to the problem. My daughter's Late 2012 iMac has been having booting issues in the passed month, so I decided yesterday to give her an M1 Mac Mini that I currently use headless and use the iMac as a parts machine for my other iMacs. I am going to give her my Sceptre monitor that I use on my Main Mac and Windows laptop for work, and now I have to buy another. Hoping to make a decision soon to take advantage of holiday deals. I just really don't know anything about modern monitors, and specifically, how they would prefer with the Mac scaling issues, so I am reaching out for help.
Must haves:
2 video inputs, HDMIs, or HDMI and DP
At least 1440p
at least 27", preferably less than 32", but maybe up to 34"
Nice to have:
4K
OLED
glossy screen
curved
HDR
144hz
2ms or less
What I do with my main Mac:
Web browsing, email, messages, audio calls, text messaging, etc.
Screen share to all my other Macs of varying resolutions and most headless
Some games (WC3, WoW, maybe more in the future)
Video encoding
Very light video and photo editing
What I do with my work laptop:
MS Office, mainly outlook, Excel
Web based databases
Web browsing
Teams
Remote Desktop
Where I will be using the display:
In a basement, no sunlight, and dimly lit
Large corner desk, but it has a shelf which limits the space for two monitors
Space be enough for maybe a single 34"
How much can I pay for the new monitor:
It depends, maybe $600-$800 US
I would like to pay less than $1k, but I am willing to pay more if I feel it is worth it
I am used to older Macs with pre-retina displays, so when I started research yesterday, I went down a rabbit hole of 1440p vs 4k, and when OLED was thrown in the mix, I have no idea what to get now.
I was hoping to find a 27" curved OLED 4K display with HDR, less than 2ms response time, and 144hz, with a glossy screen. I don't think this option exists yet.
Now, I am leaning towards the following:
Samsung - Odyssey Neo G7 32" LS32BG752NNXGO
www.bestbuy.com
Acer - Predator XB323QK NV 31.5
www.bestbuy.com
Alienware - AW3423DWF 34"
www.bestbuy.com
CORSAIR - XENEON 27" OLED CM-9030002-NA
www.bestbuy.com
Some things I notices when using Best Buy to search for a monitor to fit what I am looking for:
There isn't one that fits everything that I am looking for, but if I settle for 1440p, I can find a lot more options.
There are no 4K OLED monitors that I can find in less than 42".
There are no 1440p OLED monitors that are curved under 34", they are all ultra wide.
There isn't an option to filter for glossy.
I am leaning towards the Acer - Predator XB323QK or Samsung - Odyssey Neo G7 32" LS32BG752NNXGO.
Any assistance would be appreciated, thanks.
On my main Mac (M2 Pro MM), I am currently using a Sceptre 30-inch Curved Gaming Monitor 21:9 2560x1080 Ultra Wide (C305B-200UN1), and have been using it for the last four years on various older Macs. It looks okay, but never as good as my older 27" iMacs with 2560x1440. I thought I would like the ultra wide more for the occasional gaming I do, but for most games I play, it doesn't really improve the experience.
I also use the monitor for my work Windows laptop. The ultra wide experience was nice with it at first, as in the office I have two 24" monitors, and the ultra wide allowed me to mimic the experience, without needing the space of two monitors, which was limited at the time.
But, as I started working from home more and more, and MS Teams started to be more widely used in my office, the ultra wide started to become a problem. When I shared my screen on Teams, people often had issues viewing what I was sharing due to the black bars on the top and bottom of their screens.
Now to the problem. My daughter's Late 2012 iMac has been having booting issues in the passed month, so I decided yesterday to give her an M1 Mac Mini that I currently use headless and use the iMac as a parts machine for my other iMacs. I am going to give her my Sceptre monitor that I use on my Main Mac and Windows laptop for work, and now I have to buy another. Hoping to make a decision soon to take advantage of holiday deals. I just really don't know anything about modern monitors, and specifically, how they would prefer with the Mac scaling issues, so I am reaching out for help.
Must haves:
2 video inputs, HDMIs, or HDMI and DP
At least 1440p
at least 27", preferably less than 32", but maybe up to 34"
Nice to have:
4K
OLED
glossy screen
curved
HDR
144hz
2ms or less
What I do with my main Mac:
Web browsing, email, messages, audio calls, text messaging, etc.
Screen share to all my other Macs of varying resolutions and most headless
Some games (WC3, WoW, maybe more in the future)
Video encoding
Very light video and photo editing
What I do with my work laptop:
MS Office, mainly outlook, Excel
Web based databases
Web browsing
Teams
Remote Desktop
Where I will be using the display:
In a basement, no sunlight, and dimly lit
Large corner desk, but it has a shelf which limits the space for two monitors
Space be enough for maybe a single 34"
How much can I pay for the new monitor:
It depends, maybe $600-$800 US
I would like to pay less than $1k, but I am willing to pay more if I feel it is worth it
I am used to older Macs with pre-retina displays, so when I started research yesterday, I went down a rabbit hole of 1440p vs 4k, and when OLED was thrown in the mix, I have no idea what to get now.
I was hoping to find a 27" curved OLED 4K display with HDR, less than 2ms response time, and 144hz, with a glossy screen. I don't think this option exists yet.
Now, I am leaning towards the following:
Samsung - Odyssey Neo G7 32" LS32BG752NNXGO
Best Buy: Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 32" Curved 4K UHD FreeSync Premium Pro & G-Sync Compatible HDR2K 165Hz 1ms Gaming Monitor Black LS32BG752NNXGO
Shop Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 32" Curved 4K UHD FreeSync Premium Pro & G-Sync Compatible HDR2K 165Hz 1ms Gaming Monitor Black at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Price Match Guarantee.
Acer - Predator XB323QK NV 31.5
Best Buy: Acer Predator XB323QK NV 31.5 IPS LED UHD Agile Splendor-G-SYNC Compatible Gaming Monitor–144Hz–Up to 0.5ms–1xDP–2xHDMI 2.1 Black XB323QK NV
Shop Acer Predator XB323QK NV 31.5 IPS LED UHD Agile Splendor-G-SYNC Compatible Gaming Monitor–144Hz–Up to 0.5ms–1xDP–2xHDMI 2.1 Black at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Price Match Guarantee.
Alienware - AW3423DWF 34"
Alienware AW3423DWF 34" Quantum Dot OLED Curved Ultrawide Gaming Monitor 165Hz AMD FreeSync Premium Pro VESA HDMI,USB Dark Side of the Moon AW3423DWF - Best Buy
Shop Alienware AW3423DWF 34" Quantum Dot OLED Curved Ultrawide Gaming Monitor 165Hz AMD FreeSync Premium Pro VESA HDMI,USB Dark Side of the Moon at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Price Match Guarantee.
CORSAIR - XENEON 27" OLED CM-9030002-NA
CORSAIR XENEON 27" OLED QHD FreeSync Premium and G-SYNC Compatible Gaming Monitor with HDR (HDMI, USB, DisplayPort) Black CM-9030002-NA - Best Buy
Shop CORSAIR XENEON 27" OLED QHD FreeSync Premium and G-SYNC Compatible Gaming Monitor with HDR (HDMI, USB, DisplayPort) Black at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Price Match Guarantee.
Some things I notices when using Best Buy to search for a monitor to fit what I am looking for:
There isn't one that fits everything that I am looking for, but if I settle for 1440p, I can find a lot more options.
There are no 4K OLED monitors that I can find in less than 42".
There are no 1440p OLED monitors that are curved under 34", they are all ultra wide.
There isn't an option to filter for glossy.
I am leaning towards the Acer - Predator XB323QK or Samsung - Odyssey Neo G7 32" LS32BG752NNXGO.
Any assistance would be appreciated, thanks.
Last edited: