Which Monitor Should I Buy - mid 2018?

[Sovon Halder]

I'm a designer / developer from India. I have a 2017 13" MacBook Pro Touchbar and a good Dongle (Juiced System Bizhub). In office I work on a 21.5" iMac but recently I'm having trouble working from home in the 13" laptop screen. Too much scrolling and constant need to forward neck.

I am looking forward to buying big 4K monitor, not sure about what size (24" 27" 32" or higher) should I get; having hard time deciding which one to go for. I would work on design tools (Photoshop, Illustrator) almost all the time and front end web development sometime. And I watch A LOT of movies and youtube, so media consumption is another big priority.

I've been reading reviews for the past couple of days. There is a plethora of posts all over the internet and I'm confused. Please suggest me a monitor for the following use-case and scenario. For the time being I'm looking at LG 27UD88-W because it has a USB-C PD of 60W; almost same as my MBP charger.

I'm sure there are so many other factors like IPS bleeding, pixel issues, general consumer complaints etc. behind every product. I'm far from making any decision. Please help out if you have any suggestion.

 

[wbynum]

Backend software developer here. IMO, 24" or 27" are the sweet spots. While never used one I'd think 32" would be to big for my taste. To much moving my head around instead of just eyes. Any of those you will probably want to run 2x scaled for 1440p. 24" might be to small for you at 1440p. All personal preference. I personally like smaller icons, text, etc.

For me that LG you listed is pricey. I don't see USB-C on a monitor being that useful. Would eliminate one less power brick I guess. Lot of 27" 4k monitors on Slickdeals in the $300 - $400 price range.

Of course I see you said you are a designer so you probably are way more sensitive to colors, back light bleed, etc than I am. If you are using the monitor as your primary display for movies, etc the 32" would probably be the way to go.
[doublepost=1525310639][/doublepost]I did forget the fact that you are in India, so most of the Slickdeal posts probably wouldn't apply unless you can get someone to bring one back for you from the US. I know a lot of the Indian contractors in my office do that.

 

[Sovon Halder]

The shipping and customs would cost an arm & a leg. For example - I'm looking at this item in Amazon. See the price of shipping + Import. LOL

Anyways, it's always like this only and I'm used to it now. You mention about contractors you know; can you please talk to them find out whether it's any better?

And I'm yet to do more in depth research on this monitor topic as to which one to buy. But I'm eying for 32" or 27" if moving it around seems reasonable in my room.

 

[kschendel]

I run a 32 inch BenQ monitor at 2560x1440 for software development and it's great. Good compromise between pixel size and sharpness, for me anyway. I don't have a lot of head movement. I used to have a 24 inch 1920x1200 and the 32 inch provides usefully more screen real estate.

 

[socialwill]

LG has a new TB3 Ultra-wide 34WK95U that is due to be out in the next month. It is a little spendy, $1400, but you are getting a 5k screen in an ultra-wide format. While not retina, it would give you a better and sharper image in the same frame as the 4k was before. Plus it supports Thunderbolt 3 and looks to be a good screen.

Something I am going to be looking at when it comes out

 

[Sovon Halder]

@socialwill Thank you for the replying to the thread.

The model 27UK650 just launched in India, the 850 one is showing 'coming soon'. These models 27UK650, 27UK850 etc. launched in USA in February I believe. I've been waiting for them to be available in India and it took this long to launch here. With a price tag about 17-19% higher than US retail price.

At this point I'm pretty sure I'm going to take one of these LG models (UD88 or the successor UK850) because of their solid reputations everywhere. The problem is I am still so darn confused about the aspect ratio which one I should go for.

I do UI design work mostly. And also watch a lot of movies. Not sure as to what would benefit me better a regular 16:9 or 21:9.

 

[scarab0]

LG has a new TB3 Ultra-wide 34WK95U that is due to be out in the next month. It is a little spendy, $1400, but you are getting a 5k screen in an ultra-wide format. While not retina, it would give you a better and sharper image in the same frame as the 4k was before. Plus it supports Thunderbolt 3 and looks to be a good screen.

Something I am going to be looking at when it comes out

So it's gonna be a 5k monitor but not a retina display? What's the difference? I mean given that the LG 5k Ultrafine costs 1.4k it seems weird for a bigger ultra-wide monitor to cost about the same.

So I assume it won't have the quality the 5k Ultrafine has? That means there is nothing similar to expect in the near future other than an Apple monitor. What a mess if you are looking to get a second screen for a 5k iMac

 

[Ma2k5]

@socialwill Thank you for the replying to the thread.

The model 27UK650 just launched in India, the 850 one is showing 'coming soon'. These models 27UK650, 27UK850 etc. launched in USA in February I believe. I've been waiting for them to be available in India and it took this long to launch here. With a price tag about 17-19% higher than US retail price.

At this point I'm pretty sure I'm going to take one of these LG models (UD88 or the successor UK850) because of their solid reputations everywhere. The problem is I am still so darn confused about the aspect ratio which one I should go for.

I do UI design work mostly. And also watch a lot of movies. Not sure as to what would benefit me better a regular 16:9 or 21:9.

Go regular 16:9 imo.

27UK850 owner here, can't complain - the 650 is the same but without speakers and USB-C I think. The 850 model on the LG site seems to mention "Hardware calibration ready" while not on the 650/600, not sure what that means.

If you want the 32", you should either get the UD99 (which has the newer panels) or wait for the LG 32UK950 (which has Nano IPS technology).
[doublepost=1528367866][/doublepost]

So it's gonna be a 5k monitor but not a retina display? What's the difference? I mean given that the LG 5k Ultrafine costs 1.4k it seems weird for a bigger ultra-wide monitor to cost about the same.

So I assume it won't have the quality the 5k Ultrafine has? That means there is nothing similar to expect in the near future other than an Apple monitor. What a mess if you are looking to get a second screen for a 5k iMac

It's not really a 5k monitor, rather 4.5k (as you get a vertical of 2160 rather than 2880). It only matches the horizontal of 5120. So if you need true 5k, you are stuck with the Ultrafine.

The negative of the ultrafine is the lack of flexibility with ports - and the known issues surrounding it. I think design wise, the newer models also look better than the ultrafine.

I expect the panel of the new model to be better, it also incorporates nano ips tech which the ultrafine does not. It also apparently conforms to HDR 600 (which should mean this panel will have a higher peak brightness to that of the ultrafine) - but to be honest there is a lot to be said whether something is truly HDR if it doesn't have local dimming.

 

[wubsylol]

While the 850 does "conform" to HDR600, it's peak/minimal/average brightness figures do not suggest a monitor anywhere near as bright as the Ultrafine 5K.

 

[socialwill]

So it's gonna be a 5k monitor but not a retina display? What's the difference? I mean given that the LG 5k Ultrafine costs 1.4k it seems weird for a bigger ultra-wide monitor to cost about the same.

So I assume it won't have the quality the 5k Ultrafine has? That means there is nothing similar to expect in the near future other than an Apple monitor. What a mess if you are looking to get a second screen for a 5k iMac

In order to get to the high DPI the 5k Ultrafine has we would have to see 8k Ultrawides I believe? The current higher end ultra wide monitors are around the 4k range, just the DPI is not the same as it is spread out over a larger area. The newer LG 5k version of this bumps up the image quality by a good amount, but falls short of a 5k Ultra-fine because of its wider side.

One I went to an ultra wide, 16x9 screens have felt very small and I really can't go back

 

[Sovon Halder]

Go regular 16:9 imo.

27UK850 owner here, can't complain - the 650 is the same but without speakers and USB-C I think. The 850 model on the LG site seems to mention "Hardware calibration ready" while not on the 650/600, not sure what that means.

If you want the 32", you should either get the UD99 (which has the newer panels) or wait for the LG 32UK950 (which has Nano IPS technology).

Thank you for replying to the thread.

Yeah, I think I'll go with 16:9. It might be better for my work.

The 32" versions are insanely pricey (for me) and it's unavailable in India for the most parts. So 27" it is. I'm waiting for the 27UK850 to launch here.

 

[Sovon Halder]

Can anyone please tell me what typical CPU / GPU usage look like when a 2017 MBP is connected to an external monitor ?
[doublepost=1529994763][/doublepost]

27UK850 owner here

Can you please tell me about your setup? I'm specifically looking for information regarding % CPU usage with external monitors. Since it's driving way more pixels than built in display, are there any slow down or noticeable heat / lag ?

 

[Ma2k5]

Can anyone please tell me what typical CPU / GPU usage look like when a 2017 MBP is connected to an external monitor ?
[doublepost=1529994763][/doublepost]
Can you please tell me about your setup? I'm specifically looking for information regarding % CPU usage with external monitors. Since it's driving way more pixels than built in display, are there any slow down or noticeable heat / lag ?

None, I wouldn’t worry - integrated GPU’s are able to handle triple monitor set ups. If you’re gaming at that resolution, that would be a different matter.

 

[Sovon Halder]

None, I wouldn’t worry - integrated GPU’s are able to handle triple monitor set ups. If you’re gaming at that resolution, that would be a different matter.

Thanks for replying back.

So when the MBP is idle AND if I plug in the 4K monitor (27UK850) but still idle - both the scenario would report same CPU usage?

Might not be applicable to everyone but I've seen many threads in the past couple of days googling about this where people are reporting abnormal CPU spikes as soon as external monitor is connected.

Also gaming at 4K, that too in this MBP 13" TB!! I wish. Haha. I purchased the tomb raider series from the steam sale last week. Playing that at 1440x900 @high Settings. 30+FPS constant, decent enough for me. Even in the external monitor I would play in the same settings too. Do you think there might be a difference in frame rate?

This monitor is going to be available within a week here. As a owner and user, if you could share any tips of tricks or need-to-know thinks beforehand, I would really appreciate it.

 

[Ma2k5]

Thanks for replying back.

So when the MBP is idle AND if I plug in the 4K monitor (27UK850) but still idle - both the scenario would report same CPU usage?

Might not be applicable to everyone but I've seen many threads in the past couple of days googling about this where people are reporting abnormal CPU spikes as soon as external monitor is connected.

Also gaming at 4K, that too in this MBP 13" TB!! I wish. Haha. I purchased the tomb raider series from the steam sale last week. Playing that at 1440x900 @high Settings. 30+FPS constant, decent enough for me. Even in the external monitor I would play in the same settings too. Do you think there might be a difference in frame rate?

This monitor is going to be available within a week here. As a owner and user, if you could share any tips of tricks or need-to-know thinks beforehand, I would really appreciate it.

I am not sure if CPU spikes, or if the iGPU handles it all - but I don't notice any slow downs or otherwise from using the external 4K monitor (which I use a long side the laptop, with both screens on). There is more pixels being pushed so something is working more (be it CPU/iGPU or both), but it is not to a level where I can notice it.

As for issues people have encountered, I don't know if it is down to power management options selected or otherwise.

I wouldn't be able to say how your game will perform on the external monitor - you can only really test it and see how it goes.

Just ensure all drivers are up to date for both the laptop and the monitor (as it may have had updates too).