Monitor Upgrade

[Mike McCall]

My wife is an amateur photographer and I do her post-processing. Neither of us are great at it but we enjoy ourselves. She's entered a few county & State Fairs, and has won a contest with her pictures. We're both in our 50's (I'm 58), so our eyes aren't likely to pick up every last detail, nor are we that serious about this. However, it's time to upgrade from my current 20" monitor to a better one. This monitor has, and will continue to serve as my main work monitor as well as photo post-processing.

Current:

http://www.lg.com/ca_en/desktop-monitors/lg-L206WTQ-BF-lcd-monitor
http://www.lg.com/ca_en/desktop-monitors/lg-L206WTQ-BF-lcd-monitor
This monitor has served us well for many years, but it's a TN not an IPS, and just doesn't have the real estate my aging eyes need. It's 16x10 aspect ratio at 1680x1050 is non-standard. Being a TN, it's color accuracy is off significantly which shows when we have her pictures printed.

What I'm looking at:

https://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/MX259H/
https://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/MX259H/
This 25" AH-IPS LED monitor looks to be a reasonable replacement. It is an IPS LED screen, has more real estate, 16x9 aspect ratio, and is 1920x1080. It appears to be a substantial upgrade from my current monitor in every way.

Over the top:

https://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/MX279H/
https://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/MX279H/
This is the 27" version of the one above. I understand there's a loss of resolution stretching 1920x1080 to 27", and that the pixel pitch is larger (.311mm for the 27" vs .288mm for the 25"), but will it really be that big a deal considering what I currently have and my aging eyesight? I like the idea of greater screen area and imagine that even with the comparative resolution loss from the 25", the 27" will be a big enough improvement over what I have that it may not really matter.

So, given where I'm currently what would you recommend?

 

[phaZed]

I can't speak highly enough of the Dell Ultrasharp monitors. I'm running 3x 1920x1200 24" side by side. Awesome monitors and great color reproduction, etc.

 

[Mike McCall]

I can't speak highly enough of the Dell Ultrasharp monitors. I'm running 3x 1920x1200 24" side by side. Awesome monitors and great color reproduction, etc.

Yeah, I should have included that we're on a budget of about $200. I could stretch it a bit but not that much.

 

[phaZed]

I hear ya...

Check this out though,

35% Off any Dell Outlet Monitor

• w/ code C35%monitors

Dell Ultrasharp 24 Monitor - U2412M for $199 (Take 35% off with the code)
http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...69bd67ec35a5303010INT&ven3=670903027822091368

 

[TAPtech]

Believe it or not I run two 27" 1920x1080 monitors for SolidWorks (CAD) use. I have no issues with the "stretch" at that size, and it allows me to keep my face far enough away from the screens. They're LG and were rather inexpensive. Not sure if I would use them for graphics work but I don't think my eyes would know the difference.

 

[Mike McCall]

I hear ya...

Check this out though,

35% Off any Dell Outlet Monitor

• w/ code C35%monitors

Dell Ultrasharp 24 Monitor - U2412M for $199 (Take 35% off with the code)
http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...69bd67ec35a5303010INT&ven3=670903027822091368

The price is right and it appears to be a nice monitor. I have no problem with a Dell monitor, and it seems to offer some advantages over the ASUS (16x10, ability to rotate, .27mm pixel pitch). Unfortunately it only has DVI-D & VGA inputs and a relatively slow response time of 8ms. I will be running 2 devices into the monitor - a PC & a Mac Mini via HDMI. My only other concern is the 90-day warranty vs 3-year warranty.

 

[Mike McCall]

Believe it or not I run two 27" 1920x1080 monitors for SolidWorks (CAD) use. I have no issues with the "stretch" at that size, and it allows me to keep my face far enough away from the screens. They're LG and were rather inexpensive. Not sure if I would use them for graphics work but I don't think my eyes would know the difference.

I used to do some limited CAD work in another life so I can relate to the reference. I have room on my desk to move the monitor closer or farther away as needed. On my current monitor I find that I'm always leaning into it, so being able to sit back may be a good thing. I want the IPS panel for the better color accuracy which I'll get either way. Some have cautioned about reading text on a 27" at 1920x1080, but I don't have a reference for the difference. I tend to think that my current monitor is low resolution enough that the 27" will blow it away. Your LG's are likely TN panels which are good at many things, but color accuracy isn't one of them. If you're doing CAD work & reading text on a 27" without any noticeable problems it makes me think I won't have any problems either.

 

[aldin]

I do love my Dell Ultra Sharp Monitors

 

[aldin]

You could try browsing this list:
http://thedigitalcamera.net

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

I hear ya...

Check this out though,

35% Off any Dell Outlet Monitor

• w/ code C35%monitors

Dell Ultrasharp 24 Monitor - U2412M for $199 (Take 35% off with the code)
http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...69bd67ec35a5303010INT&ven3=670903027822091368

Phazed is correct, with a budget of 200 dollars you aren't likely to find a better choice.

 

[Mike McCall]

Sorry, I've been distracted and neglected this thread.

I ended up purchasing the ASUS MX279H, and it's great for me. I currently have my main office PC (HDMI), Mac Mini (DVI adapter to HDMI), and my office OpenSUSE (VGA) connected to it. Using an Iogear 4x4 USB peripheral sharing switch I can share a single keyboard, mouse, & monitor between all 3 machines. It works well for me. The bigger monitor was the right choice for me and my old eyes.