Issues with some display / source / cable combinations; also thinking of getting 4K monitor.

PianoPlayer88Key · August 6, 2020

Hey I'm having some issues with some display / source / cable combinations. I made a spreadsheet of notes from some tests I did recently. (I was originally going to do a lot more tests, hence some blanks in the spreadsheet, but I hope I don't need to do much if any more testing.)

Basically my monoprice HDMI cable works fine with both my mobo's iGPU port and my dGPU, hooked up to my Dell U2414H monitor. However, DisplayPort either works at lower resolution (like 1024x768), or not at all. (It's not mentioned in the spreadsheet, but a week or two ago I had hot-plugged a display port cable after booting from HDMI ... and while DP did still do 1920x1080 resolution, it was quite fuzzy, but HDMI was clear. My mini DP cable used to be fine at 1920x1080 until several months ago or so, though.)

Panasonic FZ1000 with Cam Link works with my laptop if I use a full size HDMI plus a micro HDMI adapter, but not with a separate HDMI to micro HDMI cable.

The monoprice cables were all bought this year, the DP to mini DP cable came with the monitor I bought 5 and a half years ago.

I'd like to be able to use DP with the PC and monitor, and HDMI with the camera and Cam Link 4K.

Also, I've been thinking of getting a 4K monitor. A few years ago I had briefly looked at what was available, and the 10-bit 32" IPS panels with 100% sRGB or better that I thought I would like were around $1000-1300 or so then.

Now though, I'm maybe considering a 27" 4K display, and hoping I can find something decent around $300-450 or so.

I'd definitely like good color accuracy (like 100% sRGB at least, and it'd be nice to have decent Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 if possible), something basically good for content creation. (I haven't been gaming as much recently.)

I'd strongly prefer IPS, and will absolutely *NOT* consider TN! I'm not sure if I'd consider VA or not.

I'd definitely like a fully-adjustable stand for when it's on the (admittedly old style) computer desk (where my laptop is), and be able to easily remove it from the stand for when I want to use it with my desktop PC (at the piano).

I don't want 1440p, I'd like the screen real estate for 4K, and I've had a 4K camera for about 5 years now.

Adaptive sync (either kind) would be nice to have, but not required. (BTW I'm getting some pretty bad tearing on my laptop when watching videos, and that's supposed to have G-Sync. That's a topic for another forum though.)

(Last I had it checked a bit over a year and a half ago or so, I think my vision was somewhere around 20/15 or 20/17 or so. With a little bit of effort, I may have been able to resolve individual pixels on my LG G4 phone I had a while ago (and still have somewhere), which had a 1440p 5.5" screen. Loading a black photo with a single white pixel at a 1:1 ratio on the phone - the 1 pixel stuck out like a sore thumb, I would have thought that if the resolution was too fine for my eye to see the entire screen would have still "looked" black.)

I'd maybe like 32", but I'm not sure it would fit where I would be putting it. Pictures below.

That's the 24" Dell U2414H sitting on the piano. (Also a curved monitor wouldn't work on there, the monitor would need to be no more than about 2" thick, and plugs should be aimed down, not straight out.) And yes that's the chair I'm using with my daily-driver laptop. I'd like to get a better chair, but don't know what to look for (basically full ergonomic adjustment but NOT one that looks like a race car seat, decent quality, etc), but that's a topic for another forum / thread.

I'd like to be able to easily move the monitor back and forth between my desktop and laptop, so I'm thinking about maybe having two each power and display cables. Buying two monitors would be a bit expensive.

Some models I'm maybe considering include:

ASUS VG289Q
Viewsonic VP2768-4K
Dell U2720Q
(maybe) Monoprice #27772

Might one of those be a good choice, or should I consider something else, or continue waiting for some better ones to come down in price or be released?

PianoPlayer88Key · August 12, 2020

Minor update ...

I had unplugged the HDMI from my desktop to use with my camera + cam link a couple days ago, then when I plugged it back into the desktop GPU + monitor, Windows screen resolution was locked at 800x600. Restarting the PC got it back to 1920x1080.

I'd like to be able to use DisplayPort with the PC (dGPU if it's installed, otherwise iGPU, plus monitor), and HDMI with the camera and cam link.

I don't have any extra display drivers installed other than what comes with the Windows 2004 installer. I currently have no network connection to that PC, and have another not-yet-resolved thread on the forum on that topic.

A month or two ago with a previous clean install (and while my network connection was still working), installing the Nvidia drivers (the card is an EVGA GTX 1060 SC 3GB) got me to 1600x900 resolution with DP, IIRC.

Also I'm not in a huge hurry to get a 4K monitor right now. I'd like to, yes, but I'm also having to think of my other priorities as well.