What's the best low end 30" LCD screen?

July 3, 2009 2:49 PM

What's the best current low end 30" LCD screen, and what are the tradeoffs between them?

I'm looking at getting a 30" LCD screen for (Linux) development work (Eclipse, Firefox, terminals as opposed to gaming). As a result, I mostly care about the screen real estate, though I'm going to be looking at it all the time, so brightness and color might matter, and I suppose refresh might be nice (though I can't tell if refresh will substantially matter for my application). I currently use a Samsung SyncMaster 305T in another location, which I'm pretty happy with, but no one seems to sell them any more as far as I can tell.

There seem to be a bunch of "cheap" 30" LCDs in the US$800-1400 range. Dell 3007WFP, Dell 3007WFP-HC, (sort of) Dell 3008WFP, HP LP3065, LG W3000H-Bn, and possibly others. Are any of these just rebadged versions of the others? Are there any substantial tradeoffs between the low end 30" screens I should be aware of?

posted by pbh to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

I have a Dell 3007WFP. I've been rather disappointed in it. It has a single DVI video input (No HDMI), and it has developed bright spots and dark spots that become worse as the monitor gets hotter with prolonged use. Hopefully others have bad a better experience with this monitor. The LG W3000H-BN has the exact same guts as the Dell 3007WFP. HP LP3065 has 3x DVI, and its probably what I'd buy if I were in the market for another cheap 30" monitor. Samsung 305T is probably the best of the bunch at the top end of your price range.
posted by Crotalus at 9:42 PM on July 3, 2009

Oh, BTW . . . our university's engineering department uses Eizo FlexScan SX3031W, and the difference between these and what I have is night and day. If you need your colors to be just right, this is the one you want. Also, the 2 DVI ports can be used to divide the monitor into two independent screens at 1200x1600 to display simultaneous input from two different computers.
posted by Crotalus at 9:49 PM on July 3, 2009

Response by poster: Crotalus: "I have a Dell 3007WFP. I've been rather disappointed in it."

Just to clarify: is this a 3007WFP or 3007WFP-HC? (And also, do you find these to be minor annoyances that you think shouldn't be there at the price point, or do they annoy you all the time?) I've found a few round-ups, like: this and this, and I think I read in at least one that they worked out some of the consistency issues in the WFP-HC. Weirdly, although the SyncMaster 305T used to be $200 cheaper than the 3007WFP, it now looks like the 3007WFP-HC is $200 cheaper than anywhere I can find the SyncMaster (possibly because Dell has a $250 discount at the moment, but who knows). As a result, I'm tempted to go with the Dell, unless there are glaring problems because for my application I'm hoping that the greater consistency of the SyncMaster won't matter too much and I'd save 20%.

Thanks for the answer by the way... it looks like 30 inch screens are pretty rare among mefites, which I guess isn't too surprising.
posted by pbh at 10:38 PM on July 3, 2009

pbh, I don't have a 30", but I have a pair of 24" from HP (HP LP2465's), that are SUPERB. I use them for everything from development to gaming - color is amazingly true (once calibrated), and brightness is nice and even. The stand is extremely flexible, giving 3 axes of rotation (I can pan, tilt, and change orientation from landscape to portrait .. portrait is amazing for coding), and a good gas-spring pedestal (good lord, I sound like an HP shill). The only thing even close to a complaint that I'd have about it is that the stand at least seems heavier than the monitor itself.

Long story short, you may want to look into hp's LP3065. the LPxx65 line has been good to me.
posted by frwagon at 12:16 AM on July 4, 2009

I have the 3007WFP. I bought it when the 30 inch LCDs were released.. It's an original. The problems with the blotching are pretty bad, and they are annoying me even as I type this.
posted by Crotalus at 8:49 AM on July 5, 2009