Monitors Monitor Died. Please suggest a new one

zero_cool

Forerunner
My monitor from 2014 BenQ XL2411T just refused to turn on suddenly. I will try to revive it as a DIY project but it also had developed a slight burn patch in the centre. Nonetheless, it served me very well. I had shortlisted a few monitors as I did plan to replace it when I the right time or price would come down so here are a few but I am open to recommendations.

My usage includes watching an occasional movie, indie games (Turing Complete, Papers Please) and using it as a secondary display to my laptop. I have a GTX 1060 to drive the display. I don't plan to play the latest games ever but if I do play the likes of Dishonoured 2, Borderlands 2, Skyrim, Pubg, FIFA 23, Company of Heroes 2 or Counter Strike, I just want to know if my current card can run these at 2K or 4K resolution.

Two ProArt Displays as they seem to have good colour reproduction
Edit: More considerations
 
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I would recommend BenQ EW2880U as it comes with 4k res and I personally find benq's built quality is slightly better than Asus but both the monitors have good color accuracy.
 
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Acer XV272U V3 is a great value for money choice under 20k. Its predecessor, XV272U KV was reviewed by rtings.com. This lacks USB hub vs its predecessor, panel might be same.

For light games, your 1060 can render the game at 1440p, else render the game at 1080p. For normal usage & watching videos, a 27" 1440p is a good choice if you can spend, has enough pixel density.
 
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Thank you, @OMEGA44-XT and @NevermoreLove
Is Acer service experience reliable. I could never determine how serious they are with Indian market. Yes, I do plan to render the games at 1080p as the last resort but my game time is so limited that I will play for maybe 4 hours in a month.

I added a few more monitors to the list as I am willing to stretch the budget a for a good monitor.
 
Thank you, @OMEGA44-XT and @NevermoreLove
Is Acer service experience reliable. I could never determine how serious they are with Indian market. Yes, I do plan to render the games at 1080p as the last resort but my game time is so limited that I will play for maybe 4 hours in a month.

I added a few more monitors to the list as I am willing to stretch the budget a for a good monitor.
They have decent after-sales like all other major brands.

I say decent, because after sales of most companies in India are hit or miss based on service centre location. Like one centre might provide a great exp but another centre of the same brand will provide a worse exp, I have experienced the same with Dell & Lenovo for laptops, but it applies to all major brands IMO.

Buying a 30k monitor might not provide a noticeable difference to you vs XV272U V3. 32" 4K might be good if you fancy an even bigger screen. An OLED will provide a noticeably better experience but it is much more expensive.
 
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Acer XV272U V3 is a great value for money choice under 20k. Its predecessor, XV272U KV was reviewed by rtings.com. This lacks USB hub vs its predecessor, panel might be same.

For light games, your 1060 can render the game at 1440p, else render the game at 1080p. For normal usage & watching videos, a 27" 1440p is a good choice if you can spend, has enough pixel density.
+1 for the Acer.

It punches above its weight class, and is an excellent panel.
 
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So folks, I researched a lot today in between the breaks at work. This led to more of an analysis paralysis on the problem. On the bright side, I did manage to rule out a few of the shortlisted monitors, with good reason, but I am still unsure of what will suit me the best in the long run. I even considered the likes of Apple Studio Display but it is a senseless product not only due to its price but also Apple's needless obsession with removing ports and deliberate attempt to be incompatible with Windows.

Here are my findings, so far.
  • All the ProArt monitors are out of consideration. I had shortlisted them for their picture quality but I came to know about colour shift in monitors after 200 hours of usage and therefore the colour range in these would drift apart. If these monitors are't calibrated often, they will be just as any other display.
  • Secondly, I ruled out the Dell 2723Qe as it has terrible backlight bleed based on user reviews that called it cheap shit and also its price seems to be all over the place. Even after the discounts Amazon, it would've been more expensive than purchasing it straight from Prime ABGB. Clearly, it can be had for less and isn't really a good deal apart from its aesthetics.
  • Lastly, I figured my ideal monitor size will be 27 or 28 inches so no 24 inch or 32 inch monitors in consideration therefore BenQ EW3280U and LG 32Un880 are also ruled out.
Having said that and based on the suggestions, Acer does seem to be the VFM brand as its prices are reasonable and its monitors are on par with the likes of LG and Samsung going by the user reviews.

I still cannot make up my mind if I need to go with a 4K monitor or stick to 2K and which one will be the most VFM. Currently, debating between a few BenQ and LG 4K monitors. Anyone who is using a 4K monitor and switched from a 1080p or from 2K, please let me know if it is worth it.

Whats you max budget? You've listed monitors ranging from 27k to 62k.
I somehow missed your response. I don't really have a budget constraint and won't mind going up to ₹60,000 if there is merit. I feel anything about ₹40,000 is a case of diminishing returns. My last monitor lasted me for 10 years and I spent about ₹20,000. That's about ₹2,000 a year. I don't expect to replace the monitor unless there is good reason so I don't mind pay a bit more.
 
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From that bunch I would say the LG 27in is more value for money due to the wider 95% dcip3 colour gamut.

But if you are feeling funky you can take a look at BenQ SW272Q 27-inch 2K. It offers 98% dcip3 coverage and is calman and pantone certified. Comes with a bunch of professional features as well.

If you are truly willing to spend then might as well go for LG Ultragear 27in Oled. Rtings review. The oled is obviously expensive but the difference will be night and day. Especially for media consumption.
 
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I don't really have a budget constraint and won't mind going up to ₹60,000 if there is merit. I feel anything about ₹40,000 is a case of diminishing returns.
If budget is no constraint, then proper HDR monitors/tv should be a big jump. But they are more expensive too.

OLED ones would be best, but there is some burn in risk and people dont recommend them for regular desktop usage, only for gaming/videos.
Next best might be mini leds, but they have some pros and cons so better research.

Another option is to get 2 monitors - 1 simple led like the acer one or a 4k one for work. And a oled gaming one for games/videos.
I almost bought Samsung neo g7(mini led) but then decided to get acer one and oled later and use both, but need space for this.

4k might be a bit too much for 1060, search for your game + 4k + 1060/similar on youtube and you might get benchmarks.
 
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From that bunch I would say the LG 27in is more value for money due to the wider 95% dcip3 colour gamut.

But if you are feeling funky you can take a look at BenQ SW272Q 27-inch 2K. It offers 98% dcip3 coverage and is calman and pantone certified. Comes with a bunch of professional features as well.

If you are truly willing to spend then might as well go for LG Ultragear 27in Oled. Rtings review. The oled is obviously expensive but the difference will be night and day. Especially for media consumption.
Yes, I too feel the LG 27UP850N is value for money and given its popularity, it seems a safe bet. I did also check out OLED options but due to apprehension around burn-in as well as new technology tax makes them expensive. In OLED, I feel this monitor offers good value as it is available for $3,000 in the USA but nearly half the price in India.

If budget is no constraint, then proper HDR monitors/tv should be a big jump. But they are more expensive too.

OLED ones would be best, but there is some burn in risk and people dont recommend them for regular desktop usage, only for gaming/videos.
Next best might be mini leds, but they have some pros and cons so better research.

Another option is to get 2 monitors - 1 simple led like the acer one or a 4k one for work. And a oled gaming one for games/videos.
I almost bought Samsung neo g7(mini led) but then decided to get acer one and oled later and use both, but need space for this.

4k might be a bit too much for 1060, search for your game + 4k + 1060/similar on youtube and you might get benchmarks.
A good HDR monitor is very hard to determine as almost every other monitor has HDR in its spec and that makes it very difficult to determine the best of the lot unless there are many user reviews to corroborate it. I had planned to go for an OLED initially but dropped the idea after realising the high cost is due to the new tech in the monitor space. If I were to buy a TV today, I won't have a hard time getting an OLED panel for a reasonable cost. I would've upgraded my GPU as well but I use a SFF PC so I need to be mindful of what fits my case but in the case of gaming on 4K, I will just have to scale it down to 1080p in case of demanding titles, which aren't any. My graphic card will only need to output video and browsing in 4K, gaming will be at 1080p.
 
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Yes, I too feel the LG 27UP850N is value for money and given its popularity, it seems a safe bet. I did also check out OLED options but due to apprehension around burn-in as well as new technology tax makes them expensive. In OLED, I feel this monitor offers good value as it is available for $3,000 in the USA but nearly half the price in India.


A good HDR monitor is very hard to determine as almost every other monitor has HDR in its spec and that makes it very difficult to determine the best of the lot unless there are many user reviews to corroborate it. I had planned to go for an OLED initially but dropped the idea after realising the high cost is due to the new tech in the monitor space. If I were to buy a TV today, I won't have a hard time getting an OLED panel for a reasonable cost. I would've upgraded my GPU as well but I use a SFF PC so I need to be mindful of what fits my case but in the case of gaming on 4K, I will just have to scale it down to 1080p in case of demanding titles, which aren't any. My graphic card will only need to output video and browsing in 4K, gaming will be at 1080p.
Oled gaming monitors in general are all good for HDR. LCD based ones are not generally, but mini led based ones can do well. But still OLED ones they say are the best because of per pixel control and mini leds have some other issues too like blooming.

I dont think its too hard to find monitors with good HDR as per reviews ( i havent seen HDR irl btw .. )
There is rtings. And there is monitors unboxed.

Just a random article from google from rtings. Reviews of individual monitors can tell you if HDR is good for that monitor. Basically you need good contrast, very high peak brightness, and per pixel/or atleast close to that brightness control + good range of colours. So basically, eveyrthing i guess ..

Indian prices for OLED monitors seem to be shit. Dell esp, 800$ in usa and 1.2L in India i think. LG 27 one has much better price that came to 75 or so during diwali after card discount.
And if large tvs are ok, then they generally seem to have better bang for buck and maybe better warranty.
I am not an expert in this and don't own any of this, so can be wrong.

. In OLED, I feel this monitor offers good value as it is available for $3,000 in the USA but nearly half the price in India.

Unless you need it for professional reasons, ill give it a hard pass. 60Hz + probably does not have freesync/gsync. Also low peak brightness. There was a similar OLED monitor available for 40s few months back

i let it go, don't have space but also for above reasons. Still could have been decent for the price.
For 1L+ better go with gaming OLED monitor or tv ( supposed to have better hardware i have heard as tvs have bigger audience and more space )
 
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Yes, I too feel the LG 27UP850N is value for money and given its popularity, it seems a safe bet. I did also check out OLED options but due to apprehension around burn-in as well as new technology tax makes them expensive. In OLED, I feel this monitor offers good value as it is available for $3,000 in the USA but nearly half the price in India.

Tbh I would just go with the LG 27UP850N for now. It would be more than enough for your daily needs. Proper HDR requires at least 1000nits brightness and that aint happening at this price range or screen size (since you are only considering 27in). And neither is the required contrast ratio with ips screens. I would just spend 33k on this now and get a proper oled/mini led tv later down the line. I would also suggest renting a spyder colorimeter and calibrating the monitor for more accurate colours.