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New 4K Monitor Advice

K

krell100

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 7, 2007
473
732
Melbourne, Australia
Hi All,

My trusty old 27" Apple LCD screen has bitten the dust after nearly 15 years of service. I'm now only using the single Apple 27" Thunderbolt Display and struggling with only the one.

So; I'm looking for a new monitor but with no Apple display available it's time to look at the murky world of non-Apple monitors.

I'm looking at 31.5" or 32" which seem to be relatively common and 4K, which is now accessible price-wise.

I use it for graphic design, audio production, normal media consumption etc. I like the idea that I could just have the one big 4K screen instead of 2 'normal' monitors. I could have InDesign open and also email, spreadsheet etc too all at the same time.

Running a MacPro 6,1 with dual Firepro D300 and High Sierra setup. I have plenty of space on my desk bridge.

Do you have experience with a good solution? Problems, issues? Is there anything I haven't considered?

I was looking at the BenQ PD3200U 32" 4K which seemed reasonable then read there were issues, any other users of this who can comment?

It's a minefield out there so any advice or recommendations would be very welcome.

Thanks!
 
IF you are going to run the display in "HiDPI" mode, get a 27" 4k display.
Otherwise, the type and images will seem "too big" in HiDPI mode.

IF you want FULL 4k resolution ("pixel for pixel"), I don't think a 32" display will be "big enough", because the text and images will then be too small.
If I wanted 4k pixel-for-pixel, I'd be looking at displays in the 40-43" range.

A good place to start browsing is this list:
Comprehensive List of S-IPS/H-IPS/e-IPS and other IPS Based LCD Monitors
 
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krell100 said:
I'm looking at 31.5" or 32" which seem to be relatively common and 4K, which is now accessible price-wise.

I use it for graphic design, audio production, normal media consumption etc. I like the idea that I could just have the one big 4K screen instead of 2 'normal' monitors. I could have InDesign open and also email, spreadsheet etc too all at the same time.
Click to expand...

I just returned from the NAB Show, and one of the award-winning displays just announced by HP may not fit your needs, but is worth a mention for others. It was the new HP DreamColor Z27xG2. Aside from having all the same tech as its $4,000 4K bigger brother (Z31x), this $2,000 10-bit QHD display has a built-in KVM, which is very cool and handy for professionals running dual systems.
 
I was in the same boat. My old Thunderbolt display was starting to show its age so I went on the hunt for a new one. I also wanted to go dual display. I wound up picking up 2 x Dell U2718Q and they've been working well for the past month. The only annoying thing is that to update the firmware, you need a Windows machine. There was a recent update that fixed some issues with color accuracy and HDR and I had to load up Windows 10 just to get it installed.
 
Fishrrman said:
IF you want FULL 4k resolution ("pixel for pixel"), I don't think a 32" display will be "big enough", because the text and images will then be too small.
If I wanted 4k pixel-for-pixel, I'd be looking at displays in the 40-43" range.
Click to expand...
I wanted a 4K3D display, and the smallest I could find was a 40" TV.

I finally got a good deal on a curved 48", I was planning to get a curved 4K3D 43" (no 40" were available with all these characteristics).

Text wise it is ideal (4x 24" FullHD), but it is a bit too big, especially with macOS, so I think 46" would be better (I had a 23" FullHD 3D monitor before and it was fine). But there are no such 4K3D TVs.

Maybe text on a 43" is not too small (I would prefer it then). I am less confident about 40".
If you can't try text on these, try 21.5" and 20" FullHD monitors.

I think curved is a must with 46" and up. Maybe flat is not too bad with 40".

I will upgrade to retina when there's a 16:9 8K3D 10-bit 4:4:4 120Hz FreeSync Smart "TV" (I don't care about tuners) no bigger than 48".
 
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Thanks for all the replies!

40" would be better for text size etc but thats a huge screen! 32" does seem more... manageable, but 40 might be better with 4K.. hmm.

It was so much easier just to get an Apple screen, such a pity they pulled out of that market.
 
krell100 said:
It was so much easier just to get an Apple screen, such a pity they pulled out of that market.
Click to expand...
Apple monitors were limited to 27", smaller than your 40".
They will be back to the market, not anytime soon, though (maybe in 2019).
You have the LG alternative, both in 4K (21,5") and 5K flavours (27"), but not as big as you're looking.
 
One of the problems with TVs is that there are none relatively current with DisplayPort (there are some old Panasonics with 1.2, which would be enough for 4K 60Hz 4:4:4 10-bit unlike HDMI 2.0).

But I think those Panasonics only have an 8-bit panel.

48" seemed huge at the beginning, but I don't think I would feel that way about 40" anymore.

40" might be good for text only at zoom somewhat higher than 125 percent. I see why Windows recommends this value for 48" 4K (setting a non-preset value requires logoff, really?). Retina seems to be needed.
 
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In the same way that the industry wrongly went from 16:10 to 16:9, now they are pushing for stupid ultrawide monitors (OK, 16:9 is enough from 46", but I don't want anything less than 2160 vertical pixels, in the same way I did not want less than 1200 before).

Although 2048 vertical pixels is not quite enough. I would go for another 16:9 or 16:10 48" with a bit more density (4K+). I guess the agreed resolution would be 3840x2400. Although 4096x2400 would be ideal.
 
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Miguel Cunha said:
Apple monitors were limited to 27",
Click to expand...

They did have the 30" cinema display(port) with maximum resolution of 2560 x 1600. Mine's still running fine after all these years, but will regrettably have to sell it when my new iMac Pro arrives next week.
 
There's a 31.5" 10-bit FreeSync 4K from Samsung, but they fail to mention the HDCP, HDMI, DisplayPort, and FreeSync versions.

I saw a similar Acer with HDR10, but it seems it is not bright enough.

They are VA. These are around 400-500 euro. Asus has an IPS for less than 600.

Of course none are 3D. The only such monitors one can still find are G Sync, which I think are useless for non-PC 3D sources.
 
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I wish there were many options...

There's a 32" Acer IPS that is 100% Adobe RGB, 90% DCI-P3 and costs only 700 euro. No adaptive sync.

A step above that is a 27" Dell IPS with HDR10 and 97.7% DCI-P3 for 1500 euro.

There' s also a 31" LG IPS with 100% sRGB, 99% Adobe RGB, and 97% DCI-P3 for 700 euro.

99% DCI-P3 costs 4000 euro.
 
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It's funny how intimidating it is looking outside of the Apple ecosystem for hardware. Everything do do with my computer has been Apple for over twenty years, even 3rd party has been bought through the Apple store.

Reading reviews on Amazon et al makes my head spin, a mixture of good and bad, one persons reliable is anothers' nightmare.

So we fall back on the community like this one to sort the good from the appalling.

Thanks everyone!

The hunt for the non Apple monitor continues...
 
I suggest looking at a serious site like prad.de for technicalities.

If you're concerned about reliability, I would choose a professional monitor brand with proper support (pick up and replace).
 
Wait on the OLED 4k monitors that are coming or just buy a $250 Dell until they do. Nothing better period!


krell100 said:
Hi All,

My trusty old 27" Apple LCD screen has bitten the dust after nearly 15 years of service. I'm now only using the single Apple 27" Thunderbolt Display and struggling with only the one.

So; I'm looking for a new monitor but with no Apple display available it's time to look at the murky world of non-Apple monitors.

I'm looking at 31.5" or 32" which seem to be relatively common and 4K, which is now accessible price-wise.

I use it for graphic design, audio production, normal media consumption etc. I like the idea that I could just have the one big 4K screen instead of 2 'normal' monitors. I could have InDesign open and also email, spreadsheet etc too all at the same time.

Running a MacPro 6,1 with dual Firepro D300 and High Sierra setup. I have plenty of space on my desk bridge.

Do you have experience with a good solution? Problems, issues? Is there anything I haven't considered?

I was looking at the BenQ PD3200U 32" 4K which seemed reasonable then read there were issues, any other users of this who can comment?

It's a minefield out there so any advice or recommendations would be very welcome.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
I wanted OLED before, but now I am worried about burn-in, especially for computer use.

You can get quantum dot HDR monitors since 2016 (TVs since 2014).
 
Last edited:
kirkj1s said:
Wait on the OLED 4k monitors that are coming or just buy a $250 Dell until they do
Click to expand...

During the Black Friday sale last year the cheapest LG 55" OLED was $1499, down from $2299. It's now $1599 on sale at Best Buy. So prices are dropping significantly, but OLED will be much more expensive than the Dell, likely by a factor of 2-5 times. Since no OLED computer monitor was announced at CES 2018, an OLED computer monitor is not likely to happen until the middle of 2019, or later.

cube said:
I wanted OLED before, but now I am worried about burn-in, especially for computer use.
Click to expand...

See https://www.rtings.com/tv/learn/real-life-oled-burn-in-test

Static images, such as the finder bar or the dock, certainly pose potential problems if you switch to a full screen video. Maybe that's why we haven't seen any.
 
Miguel Cunha said:
Apple monitors were limited to 27", smaller than your 40".
They will be back to the market, not anytime soon, though (maybe in 2019).
You have the LG alternative, both in 4K (21,5") and 5K flavours (27"), but not as big as you're looking.
Click to expand...

LG's 24" 4K monitor, the UD58-B, is available for US$249 on Amazon.com these days.
 
HDFan said:
During the Black Friday sale last year the cheapest LG 55" OLED was $1499, down from $2299. It's now $1599 on sale at Best Buy. So prices are dropping significantly, but OLED will be much more expensive than the Dell, likely by a factor of 2-5 times. Since no OLED computer monitor was announced at CES 2018, an OLED computer monitor is not likely to happen until the middle of 2019, or later.



See https://www.rtings.com/tv/learn/real-life-oled-burn-in-test

Static images, such as the finder bar or the dock, certainly pose potential problems if you switch to a full screen video. Maybe that's why we haven't seen any.
Click to expand...

There was the Asus ProArt PQ22UC OLED monitor announced at CES 2018. It is due this spring, although the price has not yet been announced. It is 4K, but too small for the OP at 22".

Dell had the short lived UP3017Q OLED monitor. It is 4K and 30", so OK for the OP, but availability is unlikely as it seems Dell may not have actually sold any before removing it from sale, and was expensive at $5K.

I think it may be best to keep the second screen, no matter how big you go with the first. You will likely end up expanding your main app to fill the screen, and a second one is useful to keep going for reference information, email, etc.
 
This is a market niche desperately waiting to be filled.
Whatever company brings out a 40 inch 4k display that has RGB pixel layout, no burn in issues with display port will be selling them like hotcakes.
As far as I know there are no such monitors available at this point that don't have drawbacks or issues.
 
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