ok ill go for it. now cam amazon notify me when it is on sale like Best Buy can do?of not we can get it at Best Buy because I have the best buy total membership and I get a warranty. from my understanding is on amazon you have to buy it separately from the monitor right?
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Monitor recommendations
- Thread starter pspman71
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Lots of good commentary already. I suggest
1) Consider display quality/price as primary to determine value. Things like good speaker quality and additional ports can usually be better provided by external speakers, hubs, docks, etc.
2) Stick with ~32" size if that is what he likes. It certainly is my sweet spot for external display sizing.
3) I have been well served by Viewsonic VP3268-4K displays for years. A modern less expensive ~$500 version in your price range [not tested by me] is 31.5" Viewsonic, also via Amazon, 4.4 rating.
My father is passed now, but we talked ostensibly about computer issues almost daily when he was alive. Today I value all those chats.
1) Consider display quality/price as primary to determine value. Things like good speaker quality and additional ports can usually be better provided by external speakers, hubs, docks, etc.
2) Stick with ~32" size if that is what he likes. It certainly is my sweet spot for external display sizing.
3) I have been well served by Viewsonic VP3268-4K displays for years. A modern less expensive ~$500 version in your price range [not tested by me] is 31.5" Viewsonic, also via Amazon, 4.4 rating.
My father is passed now, but we talked ostensibly about computer issues almost daily when he was alive. Today I value all those chats.
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If you are pragmatic and realize how far even cheap displays have come in the last 20 years, even an entry level 32" 4k monitor will be a great choice. Three years ago, I got an M1 mini a couple weeks before the M2 launched. I went with an LG 32UL500. It's a great monitor and serves me well. I run at full 3820x2160 resolution and find that the pixel density is a great balance. I can tweak the settings in text-heavy apps to make reading easy on the eyes at my normal viewing distance ~24"-30". It looks pretty good at scaled resolutions down to 2560x1440. Full pixel doubled 1920x1080 looks awful at my distance, even though it is the 'magical hidpi resolution.' The only quibble I have with the monitor is that I wish it were IPS rather than VA, although I hardly notice slight color shift in my peripheral vision after years of use. Its speakers are comparable to an inexpensive TV and are serviceable, but sine I use the machine at work, I usually opt for headphones for audio. It goes for ~$300, but would look at a more current model if shopping today.
Over time I added a nice new old stock monitor arm from HP that is a rebranded Ergotron LX. It was about $80 at the time (Ergotron ~$200+). I also picked up a Thunderbolt 3 hub from Monoprice for about $80 to meet my needs for extra ports. The bonus is neither my screen adjustability nor port hub are tied to the monitor.
For additional context, I use the machine next to my work-issued 13" M1 MBP, have a 2019 27" iMac at home and plenty of other retina screens around. Yes 32" 4k is not as nice as an Apple display, but it certainly won't make your eyes bleed either. Text clarity is just fine unless you are pressing your nose to the screen and counting pixels. I'm quite happy with my purchase decisions.
Also for what it's worth, there's nothing magical about 5k and the Mac. The machine processes and scales images the same way regardless of the resolution. The only difference is that at 27" the number of pixels in a 5120x2880 display panel uses twice as many horizontal and vertical pixels as a 27" 2560x1440 display panel allowing the size of the screen elements to remain exactly the same size, yet be sharper in appearance.
You've been pointed toward some nice monitors. I just wanted to share my experience and satisfaction of shopping at the lower end of your father's budget.
Over time I added a nice new old stock monitor arm from HP that is a rebranded Ergotron LX. It was about $80 at the time (Ergotron ~$200+). I also picked up a Thunderbolt 3 hub from Monoprice for about $80 to meet my needs for extra ports. The bonus is neither my screen adjustability nor port hub are tied to the monitor.
For additional context, I use the machine next to my work-issued 13" M1 MBP, have a 2019 27" iMac at home and plenty of other retina screens around. Yes 32" 4k is not as nice as an Apple display, but it certainly won't make your eyes bleed either. Text clarity is just fine unless you are pressing your nose to the screen and counting pixels. I'm quite happy with my purchase decisions.
Also for what it's worth, there's nothing magical about 5k and the Mac. The machine processes and scales images the same way regardless of the resolution. The only difference is that at 27" the number of pixels in a 5120x2880 display panel uses twice as many horizontal and vertical pixels as a 27" 2560x1440 display panel allowing the size of the screen elements to remain exactly the same size, yet be sharper in appearance.
You've been pointed toward some nice monitors. I just wanted to share my experience and satisfaction of shopping at the lower end of your father's budget.
Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to any of those questions. I do know that my local computer store (Memory Express - I'm in Canada, Microcenter would be the closest thing to its equivalent in the US) tends to stock some of the higher-end monitors and has plenty on display (often there are a lot of ultrawide gaming monitors on display, since that seems to be the largest crowd going into those stores).
I haven't been to a Best Buy in a long time so don't know their warranty policy, but if it is like other extended warranties, you may be able to buy the monitor from one retailer (ie, Amazon) and still buy extended warranty from the other (Best Buy). Electronics stores love to sell their extended warranties to pretty much anyone they can.
100%!
I just got 2 of the 31.5" ones on Black Friday and love them. They're very clear, even being 4k @ 31.5". I would highly recommend them, at least for workflows if you don't need more than 60Hz.
I don't play games or need more than 60Hz, but for my needs these are excellent monitors. Great color, nice blacks and plenty of brightness. They have some HDR support, but I haven't really explored that yet so I can't comment on that part.
But I did spend months looking and deciding tirelessly for a monitor and finally pulled the trigger on 1 of these. After using it for 3 days, I ordered the second one. I now have them next to each other and could not be happier.
Whichever way you go, hope you find what you're looking for and that fits your needs.
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I forgot to mention:
- These do not have built in speakers, but I'd just recommend using some good external ones, there are even some <$30 pairs that sound pretty good. I actually bought a set of those Pebble v3 speakers from Creative for a family member at Christmas for some simple stereo sound. They actually sound pretty good for the price, which I got on sale but aren't too expensive (https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Minimalistic*************Bluetooth-Converter/dp/B08F57GSJ7). I use a 5.1 system for myself, and can't really compare those Pebble speakers to other good products out there, but just for a real world product that I've actually heard, they sound pretty good and fit on a desk nicely.
- Text clarity is very good on these, again - even with them being so big and only 4k. I am very happy with the clarity and do mostly programming type work all day long.
- These have multiple inputs, HDMI and DP if needed. Or you can run using USB-C (not Thunderbolt, but you you could use a TB cable if you wanted to, although it wouldn't provide any benefit).
These are my first 4k monitors, so I can't really compare. But I do also have an iMac with a 5K display, and while it's definitely nice and sharp, these are definitely still extremely sharp.
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You can put the monitor in your cart at Amazon and they'll notify you when there is a price drop. I do that regularly.
I just got the BenQ MA32. Love it.. I've got to scale it to see it (bad eyes) I do run it at native occasionally and it looks gorgeous in any view. Speakers are fine also. I went back and forth between the 27 and 32 and don't regret getting the 32.
32" UHD HDR Monitor - 32UN550-W | LG USA
Discover the 32" UHD HDR Monitor that features FreeSync™ and DCI-P3 90% Color Gamut with HDR10. Find reviews, specs, and more for 32UN550-W.
Great monitor for the price