Monitor upgrade suggestions please!

Discussion in 'Graphics Cards & Displays' started by Adrian Wong, May 6, 2014.

  1. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    I thought of upgrading my monitor, and I'm kind of partial to Dell monitors but they seem to quite pricey these days. Dell don't display many of the monitor prices these days and I got "sticker shock" when they told me their prices. LOL...

    UltraSharp U2713H
    This is the king of the hill, but look at the price tag! OMG.... sticker shock!

    27" AH IPS panel
    2560 x 1440 resolution
    120% colour gamut
    Connectivity options : Dual-link DVI, DisplayPort 1.2, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI
    Price : RM 2879 (~US$ 913)

    UltraSharp U2713HM
    Believe it or not, this is the lower-end version of the U2713H. The biggest problem is the HDMI resolution limit of 1920x1080. It seems to be intentional because HDMI can already support 2560 x 1440 since HDMI 1.3!

    27" IPS panel
    2560 x 1440 resolution
    82% colour gamut
    Connectivity options : Dual-link DVI, DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI (limited to 1920x1080!!!), VGA (limited to 2048x1152!!!)
    Price : RM 1775 (~US$ 563)

    Since I'm stuck with either HDMI or VGA on my notebook, it looks like these 27" monitors are out of the picture... :(

    UltraSharp U2413
    This is the 24" version of the U2713H above. Needless to say, it's extravagantly expensive. Seriously, it costs almost as much as the 27" U2713HM!!!! :wall: :wall:

    24" AH IPS panel
    1920 x 1200 resolution
    120% colour gamut
    Connectivity options : Dual-link DVI, DisplayPort 1.2, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI
    Price : RM 1679 (~US$ 533)

    So I guess the only "reasonable" option is the UltraSharp U2414H...

    UltraSharp 2414H
    This is actually a 23.8" monitor... which is why it appears in the 23" section but not the 24" section. :nuts:

    23.8" IPS panel
    1920 x 1080 resolution
    Connectivity options : DisplayPort 1.2, two HDMI ports but NO DVI ports!!!
    Price : RM 859 (~US$ 273)

    The only problems I have with this monitor is that it has the same resolution as a 23" monitor (1920 x 1080, not 1920 x 1200) and it doesn't come with any DVI ports... The lack of DVI is not a problem now but it could be a problem in the future... :think:

    ------------------------------------------

    Do you guys have any other suggestions? Dell UltraSharp monitors are great but they seem to be rather pricey these days. :think:
     
  2. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    I don't think it is intentional. More likely it is due to a cheaper chipset used.

    Why you did not consider Dell U2412M or the newer UP2414Q? :haha: But seriously, is HDMI a must? Why not consider DVI to HDMI cable? Unless you need sound...

    I'm using the U2412M and can't be any happier. In fact, I actually preferred the lower gamut version for easier color calibration. Even the factory color calibration is not as good as a 3rd party tool.
     
  3. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Yeah, most likely a cheaper chipset. But the thing is why bother with the cheaper chipset since support for higher resolutions have been around since 2006? Their older and smaller-sized monitors are able to support higher than 1920x1080 resolutions so it's not like they couldn't relegate it to the smaller monitors.

    Oh, the U2412M is good too, just that I would prefer the monitor to come with a USB 3.0 hub instead of the USB 2.0 hub.

    HDMI is a necessity because it will be hooked up to a notebook. LOL! I'm stuck with either HDMI or VGA, and VGA is being phased out, or in the U2713HM's case, it's limited to 2048x1152.
     
  4. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Well, like I said, why not a HDMI to DVI cable?

    HDMI is common for outputting to TV, I have never had the need to use more than 1080p.

    USB hub is nice, but you are paying a lot more for something that you can buy separately.
     
    1 person likes this.
  5. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Hmm.. That's a good workaround. It can actually work although there's no way to be sure unless I give it a try! :D

    Yeah, well, there's no need for higher resolutions on normal HDTVs. The problem only happens with high-resolution monitors, or the newer 4K TVs.
     
  6. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    I just found out that the HDMI-to-DVI workaround won't work because practically all HDMI-to-DVI adaptors will output to a single-link DVI port, even if the connector is a dual-link DVI connector. Therefore, it won't support any higher resolution than 1920x1200.

    I found dual-link DVI adaptors, but they only work in reverse - they receive dual-link DVI input and output to HDMI. :(
     
  7. PowerSlide

    PowerSlide Just Started

    wow the prices for a new unit!!! :shock:

    im using U2312HM only..even this i bought a ARB unit cost half the price of a new unit..the only way i can afford dell monitor :shifty:
     
  8. atwl77

    atwl77 Just Started

    Crazy price... my U2711 was never that high.
     
  9. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Dell monitors are definitely expensive these days... :(
     
  10. sg50

    sg50 Newbie

    try other brand like samsung/viewsonic?
     
  11. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Somehow I still prefer Dell monitors, if only for their warranty... :D
     
  12. belikethat

    belikethat Just Started

    why do you need such a big monitor ? How far will you be sitting away from monitor ?
     
  13. zy

    zy zynine.com Staff Member

    I'm still using my Dell ST2220T but not the touch screen feature. It's nice to have a big monitor provided it has high resolution.
     
  14. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    BTW, guys, please remember that the prices are higher these days because of the weak ringgit. It's down by over 20% versus the USD? :(
     
  15. PowerSlide

    PowerSlide Just Started

  16. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

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