[swartzy.baby]

I’m not sure this forum is the best place to start a discussion about computer monitors (just because I didn’t see much in my search), but in the hope that LCDs are LCDs I’m going to try

I am looking for a new PC monitor, which could also be used for gaming on my Series X. 1440p is my target, so I’m not concerned with HDMI 2.1, I would like a refresh rate of at least 120hz, and image quality is important. I have an OLED for my TV, so I’m unfortunately used to very nice contrast, color, and black levels.

I currently have a (mass)drop VAST, which I’ve never been fully satisfied with for the following reasons:

• Black uniformity is really pretty bad
• Backlight bleed is pretty bad (same thing as above?)
• Ghosting in motion against darker backdrops
• Possibly related to ghosting or uniformity, but everything has always felt a little “washed out” to me
• Refresh rate - I have it “overclocked” to 120hz in Windows and that’s been fine, but it won’t do 1440/120hz over HDMI for my Series X
• Brightness/HDR - Doesn’t get very bright, has no capability for HDR - not necessarily a deal breaker, if it had none of the other issues I wouldn’t start looking for a new monitor just because of this.

Trying to navigate the ins and outs of various monitor types, their benefits, and what I actually like is driving me crazy. For instance - my favorite monitor to date, from an image quality standpoint, is still the old Apple Thunderbolt Display I’m using for work. Everything looks vibrant without being overblown, blacks look fantastic (but it’s IPS, shouldn’t my VAST do better here as it’s a VA with higher contrast??), and build quality is just great. I also am a fan of being able to plug in my mouse, keyboard, Ethernet, and having it pass all of that to my work machine. If it had a higher refresh rate and wasn’t questionably able to hook up to my PC (I have not tried), I would be using it and not look back.

So I’m trying to find something new. I pre-ordered the Eve Spectrum what feels like a year ago, and am now having doubts about when it will be delivered, and if it will even deliver what I’m looking for. I‘ve done what feels like a lot of research the past week, but only have more questions. I love the look and purported image quality, speed, and design of the Samsung G7 (I love curved displays), but I’m seeing a lot of reports on backlight bleed. I love the G9 even more, but it’s a little more than I want to spend, and rtings didn’t have great things to say about it either (is this just a case of panel lottery??). I just saw a bunch on the newish Alienware 27” that looks great, but similarly I’m seeing reviews (Amazon, which I should take with a grain of salt) about backlight bleed. LG has a couple of newer models I’m also interested in, at least one of which uses the same panel that the Spectrum would be using, and those are also appealing somewhat, but I’m not a huge fan of their design, and then I read about the differences of VA vs IPS and am questioning whether the lower contrast ratio of IPS panels will leave me feeling unsatisfied after using the VAST for several years. But then I look at my IPS Thunderbolt display and think maybe 1000:1 is all I need?

This all just feels very confusing. I wish I could just go out and try them out all side by side, but that’s not possible. Should I just pull the trigger on something from Amazon and plan to take advantage of their return policy if it underwhelms? Given that I genuinely love the picture of the older Apple Thunderbolt display, does that help anybody who has experience with any or all of these monitors get a better grasp on what actually would look good to me?

 

[swartzy.baby]

I just found a website that lets you fill your entire screen with a solid black, intention is to test backlight bleed. I just did this side-by-side on my Vast and the Apple display, two things became apparent:

• The VAST does indeed have better contrast. The screen looked more like a black screen, vs the somewhat grayer display from the Apple.
• The Apple also has at least as much backlight bleed as the Vast, specifically in the corners.

Clearly, then, contrast is not the issue, and neither is the backlight. IPS panels are supposed to do color better, is it possible that’s what my preference is showing? Regarding the “washed out” complaint about the Vast - I wonder if this has to do with the anti-reflective layer, if there is one. I’ve noticed that there are reflections, but they come across as washed-out areas in the screen instead, and I can only tell they’re reflecting something when paying closer attention.

 

[wpwj40e]

I’m not sure this forum is the best place to start a discussion about computer monitors (just because I didn’t see much in my search), but in the hope that LCDs are LCDs I’m going to try

I am looking for a new PC monitor, which could also be used for gaming on my Series X. 1440p is my target, so I’m not concerned with HDMI 2.1, I would like a refresh rate of at least 120hz, and image quality is important. I have an OLED for my TV, so I’m unfortunately used to very nice contrast, color, and black levels.

I currently have a (mass)drop VAST, which I’ve never been fully satisfied with for the following reasons:

• Black uniformity is really pretty bad
• Backlight bleed is pretty bad (same thing as above?)
• Ghosting in motion against darker backdrops
• Possibly related to ghosting or uniformity, but everything has always felt a little “washed out” to me
• Refresh rate - I have it “overclocked” to 120hz in Windows and that’s been fine, but it won’t do 1440/120hz over HDMI for my Series X
• Brightness/HDR - Doesn’t get very bright, has no capability for HDR - not necessarily a deal breaker, if it had none of the other issues I wouldn’t start looking for a new monitor just because of this.

Trying to navigate the ins and outs of various monitor types, their benefits, and what I actually like is driving me crazy. For instance - my favorite monitor to date, from an image quality standpoint, is still the old Apple Thunderbolt Display I’m using for work. Everything looks vibrant without being overblown, blacks look fantastic (but it’s IPS, shouldn’t my VAST do better here as it’s a VA with higher contrast??), and build quality is just great. I also am a fan of being able to plug in my mouse, keyboard, Ethernet, and having it pass all of that to my work machine. If it had a higher refresh rate and wasn’t questionably able to hook up to my PC (I have not tried), I would be using it and not look back.

So I’m trying to find something new. I pre-ordered the Eve Spectrum what feels like a year ago, and am now having doubts about when it will be delivered, and if it will even deliver what I’m looking for. I‘ve done what feels like a lot of research the past week, but only have more questions. I love the look and purported image quality, speed, and design of the Samsung G7 (I love curved displays), but I’m seeing a lot of reports on backlight bleed. I love the G9 even more, but it’s a little more than I want to spend, and rtings didn’t have great things to say about it either (is this just a case of panel lottery??). I just saw a bunch on the newish Alienware 27” that looks great, but similarly I’m seeing reviews (Amazon, which I should take with a grain of salt) about backlight bleed. LG has a couple of newer models I’m also interested in, at least one of which uses the same panel that the Spectrum would be using, and those are also appealing somewhat, but I’m not a huge fan of their design, and then I read about the differences of VA vs IPS and am questioning whether the lower contrast ratio of IPS panels will leave me feeling unsatisfied after using the VAST for several years. But then I look at my IPS Thunderbolt display and think maybe 1000:1 is all I need?

This all just feels very confusing. I wish I could just go out and try them out all side by side, but that’s not possible. Should I just pull the trigger on something from Amazon and plan to take advantage of their return policy if it underwhelms? Given that I genuinely love the picture of the older Apple Thunderbolt display, does that help anybody who has experience with any or all of these monitors get a better grasp on what actually would look good to me?

Went through the same dilemma with a monitor for my son. He has a 77 oled and is spoiled by it!! Bought 3 monitors and returned them. The following was the winner. In a dark roomwith an all lack screen there is a really tiny bit of light bleed. But that is the only con. He loves this monitor and it looks like it checks all your boxes. It is on amazon although can be found for about a $100cheaper if you do some searching. We bought it from amazon due to the return policy.

ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQ 27” HDR DSC Gaming Monitor, 4K (3840 x 2160), 144Hz, IPS, 1ms, Adaptive Sync, DisplayHDR 400, DCI-P3 90%, Eye Care, HDMI DisplayPort USB, Aura Sync, BLACK

feel free to ask any questions. Having gone through the search myself for a decent monitor ( I am into photography) this one Fits the bill!

regards
terry

 

[smoothbutter]

Unless you're going with a 1080p 360hz monitor where having the top end cpu actually does make a reasonable difference compared to 1440p and higher resolutions, I would just get a 120hz tv.. Buying a 1440p/4k 144hz monitor is foolish for the money if you ask me. I wouldn't go for 240hz either, just straight to 360, or don't bother...

 

[swartzy.baby]

I’m not necessarily married to 240hz like the G7 or new Alienware go up to, I‘m probably lucky if I can hit 120 on modern games with the eye candy that I enjoy so much. It just seemed that if I wanted an attractive design, plus a refresh rate with plenty of headroom, plus some semblance of HDR capability (HDR600 isn’t exactly HDR, I know, but it’s better than what I have right now for a monitor), then those are two of the main options. The G7 seems to get a lot of love from reviewers, but I’m a little concerned about how much I’ve read about scan lines and backlight bleed.

I think I finally can speak to exactly what has bothered me about the Vast all this time. I’m not sure what the technical term is, but I have never been able to achieve any kind of calibration where it properly separates the little variances of grays and whites. I was editing some thing in Google Sheets last night, and it hit me how poorly it separates the white main square color with the slightly gray borders, depending on where I’m looking at it from. It’s better directly on center, but as I look further out to the sides of the monitor that separation becomes more vague, and this is where I was coming up with the “washed out” feeling. If I move my head to adjust, that separation starts to come more into “focus”. It’s not just limited to spreadsheets obviously, but this is perhaps one of the cases where it’s most apparent. Is this a viewing angle thing? A poor gradient performance thing? An ultrawide thing? I’m not quite sure what to look for in a new monitor, specs-wise, that would point directly at this not being a problem.

Here’s a snippet from an Amazon review of a different monitor, but one that I think uses the same panel as the Vast, and applies to how I feel about the grey color representation:

”Biggest surprise is the amount of gradient in the black/greyscale depending on the angle you are looking at the screen. I did some research and it looks like this is caused by the nature of large backlit screens. So basically, blacks are greyer than I’d prefer, and blacks have a gradient to them, lighter in some places, darker in others (again depending on viewing angle).”

A big reason I love the Thunderbolt display so much is because it nails those little gradient transitions in the whites/grays/dark grays, pretty much regardless of whether my eyes are centered directly or not. On the Vast, I’ve found myself moving my head around to get the most “focused” representation of colors, depending on where I have something on screen.

So I guess my current question is whether this is something just inherent to VA panels (or Ultrawide VA panels specifically?), and is what folks talk about when they bring up poor viewing angles? I assumed that had more to do with, I don’t know, somebody standing beside you, and not necessarily with poor viewing angles across the monitor while you’re sitting centered on the monitor.

 

[VinnieB]

I’m not necessarily married to 240hz like the G7 or new Alienware go up to, I‘m probably lucky if I can hit 120 on modern games with the eye candy that I enjoy so much. It just seemed that if I wanted an attractive design, plus a refresh rate with plenty of headroom, plus some semblance of HDR capability (HDR600 isn’t exactly HDR, I know, but it’s better than what I have right now for a monitor), then those are two of the main options. The G7 seems to get a lot of love from reviewers, but I’m a little concerned about how much I’ve read about scan lines and backlight bleed.

I think I finally can speak to exactly what has bothered me about the Vast all this time. I’m not sure what the technical term is, but I have never been able to achieve any kind of calibration where it properly separates the little variances of grays and whites. I was editing some thing in Google Sheets last night, and it hit me how poorly it separates the white main square color with the slightly gray borders, depending on where I’m looking at it from. It’s better directly on center, but as I look further out to the sides of the monitor that separation becomes more vague, and this is where I was coming up with the “washed out” feeling. If I move my head to adjust, that separation starts to come more into “focus”. It’s not just limited to spreadsheets obviously, but this is perhaps one of the cases where it’s most apparent. Is this a viewing angle thing? A poor gradient performance thing? An ultrawide thing? I’m not quite sure what to look for in a new monitor, specs-wise, that would point directly at this not being a problem.

Here’s a snippet from an Amazon review of a different monitor, but one that I think uses the same panel as the Vast, and applies to how I feel about the grey color representation:

”Biggest surprise is the amount of gradient in the black/greyscale depending on the angle you are looking at the screen. I did some research and it looks like this is caused by the nature of large backlit screens. So basically, blacks are greyer than I’d prefer, and blacks have a gradient to them, lighter in some places, darker in others (again depending on viewing angle).”

A big reason I love the Thunderbolt display so much is because it nails those little gradient transitions in the whites/grays/dark grays, pretty much regardless of whether my eyes are centered directly or not. On the Vast, I’ve found myself moving my head around to get the most “focused” representation of colors, depending on where I have something on screen.

So I guess my current question is whether this is something just inherent to VA panels (or Ultrawide VA panels specifically?), and is what folks talk about when they bring up poor viewing angles? I assumed that had more to do with, I don’t know, somebody standing beside you, and not necessarily with poor viewing angles across the monitor while you’re sitting centered on the monitor.

I currently use the Samsung 27" CHG70 for my Series X (I don't game on PC). I'm really happy with it and a few others I know have bought it and are more than happy. It checks off most things, just sucks that Xbox won't do HDR outside of 4K. It is HDR600, and it does do a decent job at it. I actually prefer games that are 60fps HDR to play them that way. For 120fps games, I just uncheck allow 4k.

I do personally know one guy who got the G7 for his Xbox and he loves it. A few years ago, he asked me what the best 4k gaming monitor he could get, I told him the Asus PG27UQ and he bought it, $2,000 monitor. Fast forward and he started looking into freesync and then tried to find my monitor, but they're hard to find with the release of the G7. So I told him to get the G7 because it replaces mine. So he did and he said the picture is a lot better than his Asus. There are some issues with the G7 which don't make sense to me, you can't have Freesync and HDR via HDMI, it's either one of the other. With the CHG70 you can run both, but with the CHG70 Freesync is only supported up to 100Hz via HDMI, on the G7 Freesync is supported upto 120Hz via HDMI.

So if you don't really care about HDR and you're mainly playing 120fps games on Xbox then you should be happy with the G7.

Personally, I would wait. LG and Asus have announced their HDMI 2.1 monitor lineup, which are all IPS. I haven't heard anything from Samsung yet, but I'm sure they'll be launching the first HDMI 2.1 VA panel.