Cheap and decent 4k monitor

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Klee

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Jun 2, 2016
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AOC U2879VF 28" 4K 3840x2160 UHD gaming monitor, 1ms response time, 10-bit panel w/ over 1 billion colors, AMD FreeSync, 20M:1 SmartContrast, DisplayPort/HDMI/DVI/VGA inputs - Newegg.com

28" AOC 4 k monitor on sale at $92 off regular price.

Sale price $257.81 plus shipping.

Cheapest one listed on Newegg.

I just ordered this, needed a new monitor ever since my cheap Korean 1440p monitor crapped out, tired of using a 1080p display on my main pc.

Spur of the moment purchase with zero research. lol

Seems to have ok reviews and its cheap.

And yep I went with the three year protection policy just in case.
 
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samat.io

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Sep 16, 2016
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In the spirit of OK-ish deals… Costco has the Dell U2718Q 27" 4K monitors for $369 AC + $10 S&H + tax.

Costco Wholesale

Just bought 3x myself. If you can spare $120 more over a cheap monitor, you can get one of the best (for desktop usage, at least) ones instead.
 

Evan

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Jan 6, 2016
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But 1080 that size is horrible ! (For me)
The text size on the default 2560x1440 on 27” to be is perfect. The problem is with 4K on screen that does it’s too small or big.
Best solution seems to be 5k @ 27” but that’s more or less Apple only proposition right now and lots of things can’t drive it but it really is a nice combination.
 

Klee

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Jun 2, 2016
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Hope you have your magnifying squints on to read anything on that small TN panel!

I have a big advantage, i'm very nearsighted and prefer tiny little pixels that I can't see since I use a computer without glasses.
 

Klee

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Jun 2, 2016
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But 1080 that size is horrible ! (For me)
The text size on the default 2560x1440 on 27” to be is perfect. The problem is with 4K on screen that does it’s too small or big.
Best solution seems to be 5k @ 27” but that’s more or less Apple only proposition right now and lots of things can’t drive it but it really is a nice combination.

This thing is cheaper than the Korean 1440p moniter, I loved that thing.

It had a Samsung panel, the board died on it and I tried for a month to find a replacement but could not.
 

e97

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Jun 3, 2015
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monoprice has a 32" 4K IPS display for $300 - $350, I had the 28" version and was pretty happy with it.
 

Klee

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Jun 2, 2016
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That is cheap.....but I had to use up some newegg store credit and it was a spur of the moment buy.
 

arglebargle

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monoprice has a 32" 4K IPS display for $300 - $350, I had the 28" version and was pretty happy with it.
I own a couple of 32" QNIX UHD3216R that I bought back in 2016 for ~$340 shipped/ea. They're pretty nice if you're just looking for freesync 60Hz IPS and I highly recommend them at that price. You can mildly overclock these too, I think I was using 75-85Hz daily until I went for a moonshot 120Hz overclock and slightly damaged mine.

I'm not sure which panel the Monoprice 32" 4k IPS monitor uses but that's another great buy when it dips down to ~$330-340 on sale. They have a pixel perfect guarantee too which is really goddamn nice at that price.
 

wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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IMO, 32in best size for 4K resolution. not too big but not too small that you can't use the native font.

when 8K monitor comes out i think the best size would be 36-40 inch...
 

arglebargle

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Jul 15, 2018
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IMO, 32in best size for 4K resolution. not too big but not too small that you can't use the native font.

when 8K monitor comes out i think the best size would be 36-40 inch...
Personally I wouldn't use anything smaller unless you're going to be extremely close to the screen or your OS has exceptionally good scaling. I sit about 2' away from mine and things that don't scale well are already pretty irritating at 32" native res.
 

KC8FLB

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Aug 12, 2018
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Pixel Pitch is the spec we are looking for. Its the ratio of screen size to amount of pixels on the screen. Its an easy way to compare how small or big objects like text or icons will appear on the screen without scaling. Scaling will distort fonts and graphics if not done perfectly.

I had to test and get feedback from many users for monitor deployment sizes in a large corporation. We use 24" 1080p, 32" 2560x1200 and 4K displays.

27" 1080p monitors had text/icons that were too big for most users
28" 4K monitors had text/icons that were too small for most users.
 

arglebargle

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Jul 15, 2018
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Yeah, that observation lines up with my experiences as well. I used a 1440p 27" display for a handful of years before I moved to 32" and the resolution was great for the size. I briefly tried a 16:10 30" 2560x1600 and found things on screen were generally a bit bigger than would have liked. A 27 or 28" 1440p would definitely be my choice under $300 (or a 16:10 2560x1600, i like the more square aspect ratios for work.)
 

wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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Yeah, that reminds me of the IBM T221. i have a couple of those. they are like the only 16:10 4K monitor available. i like the 16:10 too but i don't think we will see that format widely avail anymore...
 

Klee

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Jun 2, 2016
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Just got it in and fired it up, no dead pixels. I'll need to play around with my settings a little but I do like it.

Can't see a single pixel at all, I hate seeing individual pixels.

Need to play around with font sizes in Firefox.

Really great colors, much better than the cheap 1080p monitor.

I'm going to have to install Windows 10 on this pc again and try out some games.
 
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Jordan Innovations

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Mar 25, 2018
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I recently did a little round-up of 27" 4k IPS monitors as I decided to move from my single 34" Dell to 3x 27in (needed some additional virtual desktop space) and figure this is as good a place as any to share. I do CAD and lot of productivity (read: reading/writing) and really, really hate low quality displays, so I've waited a long time for 'good' panels to come down in price.
All powered off top end Radeon Pro card via DisplayPort.

Started with the LG 27UD58 @ $300 - colors were washed out and wouldn't calibrate. Not even close to 100% of sRGB. Decent response time but also ghosted more than the other panels I tested. Took 10bit/color input but displayed 8bit with no apparent advantage to native 8bit signal.

I was actually really impressed with the Monoprice 27in 4k montior @ $300 - reportedly an LG IPS panel, but says AOC in the firmware? Supposedly 99% sRGB but colors were a little over-amped regardless of mode. Very bright though. And super sexy aluminum thin-border screen. In the end, colors weren't accurate enough.

Then came the searching for deals on higher-end panels - B&H had open box Viewsonic VP2780's for $412 and Newegg had refurb'd gaming versions, Viewsonic XG2700-4k's for $320. The Viewsonic's come pre-calibrated and are superb - perfect 10bit color, great gamma, reasonably quick response time and minimal ghosting, especially for an IPS screen. XG2700-4k had the best combo of pic quality and features, so I kept it and ordered two more, returned the rest.

The cutting edge seems to be 144hz 1440p and 4k gaming displays, and the 4k pro-sumer space hasn't moved in the past 2-3yrs, so there are definitely deals to be found here. The deal posted at the top just isn't one of them IMO.

The 27in 4k size definitely works best at ~24in viewing distance - my desk is 30in deep and I used to sit back/slouch behind it with the 34in, and now lean over it (better posture haha). Scaling 100%. Doesn't look like 5k will be a standard, so I'm guessing when the move to 8k happens we'll see the 34-40in single monitor become 'standard'. Hope this helps!