Monitors - is 1440p worth the extra over 1080p?

[enroh]

I love my Asus PB278Q which replaced my 1920x1080 monitor. I considered going with dual 1080P monitors but my desk is rather narrow at home and while it would barely fit I do find that dualies can be annoying with moving windows about - windows remembering which screen an app launches to, not to mention the bezel thing so I decide to go with one 27" and couldn't be happier. Its powered by a Radeon 5770 on an i7-3770 (not a K or S) with 32GB RAM and runs like a peach :)

*note I dont game* but do a lot of photography and video editing and love the real estate. Not to mention watching video in one corner and working in the other :p

 

https://www.asus.com/Monitors_Projectors/PB278Q/ (link to product added)

Edited September 12, 2013 by enroh

[SMELTN]

if you want a great IPS panel you need to look at Monoprice. 

 

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=114&cp_id=11401&cs_id=1130704&p_id=10509&seq=1&format=2

 

That thing is CRAZY good for the price!!

[max22]

if you want a great IPS panel you need to look at Monoprice. 

 

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=114&cp_id=11401&cs_id=1130704&p_id=10509&seq=1&format=2

 

That thing is CRAZY good for the price!!

 

 

Wow I just ordered two Ethernet cables from them too for $6 and something. That is including shipping!

 

There a certain way to get cheap shipping with cables.

[SMELTN]

tell ya what.. I bought the headphones from them first and WOW those things sound as good as Beats.. 

[max22]

tell ya what.. I bought the headphones from them first and WOW those things sound as good as Beats.. 

 

I prefer buying headphones from a store that directly deals with them.

[McKay]

Ok.

 

Is there any higher?

 

If you get a 16:10 aspect ratio Monitor, it goes to 2560x1600.

[Draconian Guppy]

 ( have too much on my plate to do so) 

yeah like a $3k sound system :whistle: :P 

[moeburn]

 

2560x1440 40" the ppi on that is 73.43 thats horrible and op you should go 27" 1440p IPS/PLS...The size/panel color quality/resolution is worth it over 1080p everything looks sharper/crisp

 

PPI/DPI doesn't really make a difference to me, either.  I mean of course if you took two screens that were equally sized, the one with a higher resolution and DPI would look better.  But that being said, a 1080p video on a 1440 monitor looks worse than a 1080p video on a 1080p monitor, because I tend to notice the blockiness of interpolation, but I don't tend to notice the blockiness of a low DPI.

And could someone explain to me what IPS/PLS is?

[greenwizard88]

I got my last monitor in 2006, I tend to keep them for a long time. My next monitor will definitely be 1440p, or higher.

[max22]

I got my last monitor in 2006, I tend to keep them for a long time. My next monitor will definitely be 1440p, or higher.

 

Same here. How big and what resolution is your current one?

[The Evil Overlord]

yeah like a $3k sound system :whistle: :P

My amps?

[Draconian Guppy]

My amps?

:P

[enroh]

if you want a great IPS panel you need to look at Monoprice. 

 

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=114&cp_id=11401&cs_id=1130704&p_id=10509&seq=1&format=2

 

That thing is CRAZY good for the price!!

No HDMI or DP inputs would put me off. Just my opinion though and would have to see it in action before I bought it to judge the image. But based on specs alone its a good deal for sure.

[Shadrack]

For 27" and above I wouldn't buy anything less than a 2560x1440 display for a computer display.  Now for movies or w/e that resolution is overkill.  I own a 27" 2560x1440 display and at the normal desktop viewing distance you can still make out pixels... I wouldn't mind a HiDPI version of my 27" display because HiDPI mode currently makes the UI elements a little too big.

[moeburn]

Well I'll just say this, I own a BenQ v2200, it's 21.5 diagonal inches of pure value.  I got it when they were brand new, about 5 years ago I think, for $180.  Now there newer bigger models are like $100.  It's a great monitor, it has two inputs, an HDMI and a VGA, and you can toggle between them if you need to, say, switch between your Xbox and your computer because you only have one display.  

One choice you'll need to make is whether or not you want matte or glossy.  When I was shopping 5 years ago, most screens were glossy, and very few were matte.  Glossy is ultimately better in a dark room, because it lets more light through, so the screen is brighter.  Matte screens slightly darken the image (although they do not make it blurrier, and glossy is not sharper, like it would seem), but they also blur out surface reflections.  So if your monitor is going to be in a room with big windows, say you were facing your monitor, and the sun was shining through a window behind you.  A glossy monitor would reflect that sunlight as one really bright spot in your vision, making it hard to see anything else.  A matte screen would blur and diffuse that reflection, so that it might not look great, but at least you can still see the stuff on the screen.

Because I have my room set up the way I do, I actually have a window facing my monitor like in the above example.  So I chose matte, because reflections were always an issue on my old CRT.  Even if you get glossy, I'd still recommend you get a matte bezel (the plastic edges around the screen) and base, because even if you don't have to worry about reflections, you'll still have to worry about fingerprints.  It's very had to leave a visible fingerprint on a matte surface.

My monitor isn't perfect though; I'll just let this amazon reviewer sum up the packaging:

 

It informs you with a giant green leaf that the giant green leaf has been printed with soy ink.

It has "Keep the Earth lookin' good" embossed on the base.
It has a portion of cardboard packaging that can be removed so you can add a thumb mark to it in soy ink to seal your promise to the environment.

Around the time they decided to add the little circular plant pot to it, I can only speculate that this was some sort of giant BenQ in-joke... that they'd gather around in the board rooms giggling like school boys.

 

[primexx]

tell ya what.. I bought the headphones from them first and WOW those things sound as good as Beats.. 

 

so.. like crap.

 

PPI/DPI doesn't really make a difference to me, either.  I mean of course if you took two screens that were equally sized, the one with a higher resolution and DPI would look better.  But that being said, a 1080p video on a 1440 monitor looks worse than a 1080p video on a 1080p monitor, because I tend to notice the blockiness of interpolation, but I don't tend to notice the blockiness of a low DPI.

And could someone explain to me what IPS/PLS is?

 

A type (out of many) of technology used in LCD panels to make the colours. IPS is one of the oldest and has among the best colour reproduction, it's also the most widely adopted type at the moment (except the cheap junk that uses TN panels which make up the vast majority of monitor LCDs in existence), making it the standard to which all others are compared to (if it's as good or better than IPS, it's good). There are many versions of the basic IPS technology itself. PLS is one of the most recent iterations that improves upon on it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPS_panel

 

Well I'll just say this, I own a BenQ v2200, it's 21.5 diagonal inches of pure value.  I got it when they were brand new, about 5 years ago I think, for $180.  Now there newer bigger models are like $100.  It's a great monitor, it has two inputs, an HDMI and a VGA, and you can toggle between them if you need to, say, switch between your Xbox and your computer because you only have one display.  

One choice you'll need to make is whether or not you want matte or glossy.  When I was shopping 5 years ago, most screens were glossy, and very few were matte.  Glossy is ultimately better in a dark room, because it lets more light through, so the screen is brighter.  Matte screens slightly darken the image (although they do not make it blurrier, and glossy is not sharper, like it would seem), but they also blur out surface reflections.  So if your monitor is going to be in a room with big windows, say you were facing your monitor, and the sun was shining through a window behind you.  A glossy monitor would reflect that sunlight as one really bright spot in your vision, making it hard to see anything else.  A matte screen would blur and diffuse that reflection, so that it might not look great, but at least you can still see the stuff on the screen.

Because I have my room set up the way I do, I actually have a window facing my monitor like in the above example.  So I chose matte, because reflections were always an issue on my old CRT.  Even if you get glossy, I'd still recommend you get a matte bezel (the plastic edges around the screen) and base, because even if you don't have to worry about reflections, you'll still have to worry about fingerprints.  It's very had to leave a visible fingerprint on a matte surface.

My monitor isn't perfect though; I'll just let this amazon reviewer sum up the packaging:

 

 

This is a TN panel making it next to worthless.

[moeburn]

This is a TN panel making it next to worthless.

I'm sure that, had I known that, I probably would have looked at it and said "man this monitor is crap!  I need one of those fancy IPS screens!".  But I've seen a lot of different LCD screens, some new and expensive, some cheap and mass-produced like mine, and I've even used my specific computer on many of them, and I honestly can't tell the difference.  Maybe they were crappy IPS screens.  Or maybe I have a really good TN screen.  But either way, without someone pointing it out to me, I wouldn't have noticed.

I certainly wouldn't call it next to worthless though.  It's been a great screen for me for the past few years.  Great brightness and color reproduction and color consistency between other screens and clarity and sharpness and fluidity and motion.  What more could I possibly ask for, other than more size and pixels?

[primexx]

I'm sure that, had I known that, I probably would have looked at it and said "man this monitor is crap!  I need one of those fancy IPS screens!".  But I've seen a lot of different LCD screens, some new and expensive, some cheap and mass-produced like mine, and I've even used my specific computer on many of them, and I honestly can't tell the difference.  Maybe they were crappy IPS screens.  Or maybe I have a really good TN screen.  But either way, without someone pointing it out to me, I wouldn't have noticed.

I certainly wouldn't call it next to worthless though.  It's been a great screen for me for the past few years.  Great brightness and color reproduction and color consistency between other screens and clarity and sharpness and fluidity and motion.  What more could I possibly ask for, other than more size and pixels?

 

yup. everyone says that until they see a properly calibrated IPS monitor (granted, this is very rare). But an obvious thing you can do right now is to look at your monitor from the side, then do the same with your phone (or tablet). You'll notice that as you move toward the edge the monitor's color goes ape**** while your phone (likely an IPS variant or OLED variant) displays consistent colour at all angles. Your phone probably also looks far better (note though that glossy screens are quite deceptive, they make things look more vivid, which is certainly not the same as actual quality reproduction)

[moeburn]

yup. everyone says that until they see a properly calibrated IPS monitor (granted, this is very rare). But an obvious thing you can do right now is to look at your monitor from the side, then do the same with your phone (or tablet). You'll notice that as you move toward the edge the monitor's color goes ape**** while your phone (likely an IPS variant or OLED variant) displays consistent colour at all angles. Your phone probably also looks far better (note though that glossy screens are quite deceptive, they make things look more vivid, which is certainly not the same as actual quality reproduction)

 

I know the effect you describe, where the colors go all purple and inverted and such when you view the LCD at an angle. I've been using LCD screens on laptops since they only came in black and white, and they were a huge sufferer of that effect, I didn't realise it was the limitations of TN, and that IPS fixed it.  But that effect does not happen on this monitor.

I used this image as a color sample:

http://stampprincess.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/color-sample-ring.jpg

 

I used both my Motorola Atrix MB860 phone (LCD, not OLED), and my BenQ V2200 LCD screen.  The only difference was that on the BenQ, everything got a little darker when viewed at an angle, while on the Atrix phone, everything remained pretty much the same brightness.  The colors did not change whatsoever.  And I think the reason it was a little darker at an angle on the BenQ, was because the BenQ uses a matte screen, while the Atrix uses glossy, like you mentioned.

 

Now that I think about it, I vaguely recall reading a review of this monitor, before I bought it, that mentioned how it was a very good implementation of the lesser, cheaper LCD technologies, that did not appear to have the limitations of that type, I think they were talking about TN, but I can't really remember...

 

[blizeH]

1440p is better for games because if you set 1/4 of the resolution (1280x720) you play without artifacts. Neat, right?

 

This sounds great, thanks... so I can use 1440p on my desktop, and 720p gaming without any problems at all?

 

 

if you want a great IPS panel you need to look at Monoprice. 

 

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=114&cp_id=11401&cs_id=1130704&p_id=10509&seq=1&format=2

 

That thing is CRAZY good for the price!!

 

This looks perfect, but unforutnately I'm in the UK - even the cheapest 1440p monitors are around double the price of this one :(

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

This sounds great, thanks... so I can use 1440p on my desktop, and 720p gaming without any problems at all?

 

 

 

This looks perfect, but unforutnately I'm in the UK - even the cheapest 1440p monitors are around double the price of this one :(

you're thinking too much like a television instead of a monitor. you dont have to do 720p gaming. this is a tv-like standard.

 

the industry has done a good job of confusing people about standards relating them to only 720p or 1080p.

 

just play your games at whatever resolution your card can handle.

[moeburn]

you're thinking too much like a television instead of a monitor. you dont have to do 720p gaming. this is a tv-like standard.

 

the industry has done a good job of confusing people about standards relating them to only 720p or 1080p.

 

just play your games at whatever resolution your card can handle.

Talking about interpolation here.  If you have to use a resolution that's smaller than your monitor's native res, then its better to use one that's a fraction of the native res.

[primexx]

I know the effect you describe, where the colors go all purple and inverted and such when you view the LCD at an angle. I've been using LCD screens on laptops since they only came in black and white, and they were a huge sufferer of that effect, I didn't realise it was the limitations of TN, and that IPS fixed it.  But that effect does not happen on this monitor.

I used this image as a color sample:

http://stampprincess.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/color-sample-ring.jpg

 

I used both my Motorola Atrix MB860 phone (LCD, not OLED), and my BenQ V2200 LCD screen.  The only difference was that on the BenQ, everything got a little darker when viewed at an angle, while on the Atrix phone, everything remained pretty much the same brightness.  The colors did not change whatsoever.  And I think the reason it was a little darker at an angle on the BenQ, was because the BenQ uses a matte screen, while the Atrix uses glossy, like you mentioned.

 

Now that I think about it, I vaguely recall reading a review of this monitor, before I bought it, that mentioned how it was a very good implementation of the lesser, cheaper LCD technologies, that did not appear to have the limitations of that type, I think they were talking about TN, but I can't really remember...

 

 

there happened to be a thread on reddit on this exact topic, and apparently the tint is only evident from one of the edges. I haven't used a TN monitor in years but I had thought that I saw it from the top edge rather than the bottom that the thread says. They're probably right though.

[moeburn]

there happened to be a thread on reddit on this exact topic, and apparently the tint is only evident from one of the edges. I haven't used a TN monitor in years but I had thought that I saw it from the top edge rather than the bottom that the thread says. They're probably right though.

Okay, yup, you're right.  I originally only tried the left edge.  This time I tried all four edges, and if I view the monitor from the bottom edge at a sharp angle, the colors do indeed get all inverted and fubarred.  

 

But it took a forum member researching another thread on another website to inform me that if I crawl underneath my monitor on my hands and knees and look up at it at a very sharp angle, the colors get messed up.  I would have never noticed it otherwise.   In the 5 years I've owned it and used it for hours a day every day, I've never noticed it. 

I mean sure, if your choice is a $100 TN monitor, or a $120 I.P.Freely monitor, then go for the IPFreely.  But if you can't afford the extra $20, your monitor won't be "next to worthless" as you said, just because it is a TN monitor.  Unless you're trying to sell it to snobby Neowin forum members.  Then it would be next to worthless. :p

[francescob]

This sounds great, thanks... so I can use 1440p on my desktop, and 720p gaming without any problems at all?

 

The only annoyances you would get would be related to alt-tabbing since changing resolutions takes a while but if the game supports 1280x720 you shouldn't have any other problem.