AskMeFi picked out my laptop. Will it point me to a monitor next?

November 2, 2023 10:31 AM

I recently asked a question about laptops and was very satisfied with the Lenovo 7 I purchased from that thread. Sadly, my very beloved Sharp/NEC Multisync PA272W monitor is starting to misbehave and I need to replace it fairly soon.

I haven't shopped for a monitor in ages. I purchased the NEC PA272W primarily for its reputation for having very good color fidelity, fantastic value range, and excellent blacks. Ideally I would like my new monitor to prioritize color accuracy and value depth over, say, the best refresh rates for gaming, since my primary requirement is to use this display for completing digital paintings started on an iPad. I do game but I tend to play stuff that's visually undemanding like Minecraft or various cozy farm sims.

I'm not sure if 4K matters to me. Should it? For size, I'd like to stick around 27 inches. The various lists are telling me to get a BenQ, LG, or ASUS ProArt, but I have no experience with any of these displays and would appreciate any opinions on those or others you've personally used for digital art. I would prefer to spend less than $800.

Thanks in advance.

posted by MagnificentVacuum to Shopping (5 answers total)

So I'm no good on monitor recommendations, but I'd argue that for a 27" screen, 1440p (2k) is the right size for Windows which is still kind of weird about display scaling, while native 4k 100% scaling is too small for my old eyes on a 27" monitor. 1080p (FHD) feels like a waste of space on anything bigger than a 23" or 24" screen, on the other hand.
posted by Kyol at 11:18 AM on November 2, 2023

1440p is the right resolution for 27", imo.
posted by Klipspringer at 11:21 AM on November 2, 2023

In the 27" size, I just picked up a 2nd Dell U2723qe. They are going for about $500 or so on amazon right now for ~$580 on the Dell website. It supports 98% of the DCI-P3 color space and HDR 400, In windows, I typically run it at 150% scaling but can bump that up or down depending on the application I'm in.

This is a "Hub" variant, so the monitor doubles as a basic docking station. It provides 90w USB-C charging, a bunch of USB ports, an ethernet port, and a few other features. But most importantly, the screen is nice and sharp. If your video card supports DSC, you can daisy chain two of them from your laptop for a dual monitor setup.
posted by SegFaultCoreDump at 11:35 AM on November 2, 2023

I'd agree with Kyol and Klipspringer that 4K is not super worth it, and with Kyol that it may be counterproductive because of Windows scaling weirdness. In general I'd just look for an IPS panel and get what's cheap on Newegg (this has served me well getting monitors in the past). Here's a 2K 27" Asus ProArt that looks nice and is going for $300.
posted by implied_otter at 1:43 PM on November 2, 2023

In February, based on a Wirecutter recommendation, I bought a slightly cheaper Dell 4K monitor, the S2722QC. It is a very nice, and still available for $370 (November 2023). I expect to get ten years or more use from it.
posted by seasparrow at 9:25 AM on November 4, 2023