New Dell Monitors: Should I buy one, or something else?

[mt123]

Hello there!

 

So I'm a new college student and I'd really like to get a monitor for my dorm, where I can connect my laptop to it, and make full use of a high refresh rate screen. My requirements are the following:

• High refresh rate
  • 120 or 144 Hz or more
• Good color accuracy and contrast ratio
  • Not going to be doing color accurate work, but I want something to please my eyes
• Preferably widescreen or ultra-widescreen 

I'm essentially asking for a no-compromises monitor, especially because I have the money to spend on computer hardware. 

 

Here's a review from the ShortCurciut channel on the new monitors: 

 

The 34 inch wide-screen/ ultrawide-screen doesn't seem to be the most color accurate (90% DCI-P3 color coverage) and only emits 400 nits of brightness, so it might not be the most visually appealing, but it certainly does not seem far from the worst. 

 

I've posted about monitors in the past, and folks seem to really recommend LG monitors because they seem to fit the bill, but I still want to broaden my options. 

 

I should also mention my intended use and what specs I have in my laptop: I have a 2020 Dell XPS 17 equipped with an i9-10885H (8 cores, 16 threads, boost to 5.3 GHz), 32 GB memory, NVIDIA RTX 2060 Max-Q, 1 TB SSD, and the base 1920*1200p, 60 Hz display. I know this really isn't a gaming laptop, though I'd like to run AAA games on a bigger screen and at 1440p, and then I'd like to play lighter games like Minecraft at a high refresh rate. Plus, I've been thinking about getting an external GPU for my dorm setup, too, so that can also help with performance (and please don't remind me about cooling issues , I plan on getting a cooling stand, too, and it's my last resort to keep my Laptop at at least somewhat healthy speeds when under pressure, lol).

 

If you folks could first give me an opinion on these Dell monitors, great, and if you guys could also give me some recommendations to consider, even better. Cheers!

[Stahlmann]

4 hours ago, mt123 said:

The 34 inch wide-screen/ ultrawide-screen doesn't seem to be the most color accurate (90% DCI-P3 color coverage) and only emits 400 nits of brightness, so it might not be the most visually appealing, but it certainly does not seem far from the worst. 

First off, gamut coverage (which this number is) doesn't have anything to do with color accuracity. For standard desktop use and SDR gaming you won't need anything higher than 100% sRGB. Anything higher will oversaturate the image. Some people like the oversaturated colors, but it isn't accurate.

 

So for anyone seeking an accurate SDR monitor, DCI-P3 and AdobeRGB specs don't matter at all.

 

DCI-P3 is used for HDR (which none of these monitors is capable of anyways).

 

AdobeRGB is normally used for professional Photo editing.

 

So unless you're doing either of these two things, you don't need a monitor with wide gamut support.

 

4 hours ago, mt123 said:

I've posted about monitors in the past, and folks seem to really recommend LG monitors because they seem to fit the bill, but I still want to broaden my options. 

That's because LG generally have good option for each price point. But what exact monitor depends on your budget.

 

4 hours ago, mt123 said:

If you folks could first give me an opinion on these Dell monitors, great, and if you guys could also give me some recommendations to consider, even better. Cheers!

My opinion: They aren't that great. I'd go for a 27" 1440p IPS monitor for what you describe the monitor is going to be used at. And in this monitor lineup there is no panel that meets these specs.

 

I'd go for a LG 27GP850 or Dell SG2721DGF for a more "non-compromise" experience.

 

If you need a more "budget" option, the Gigabyte M27Q is a great one. But this comes with the compromise of being a BGR-panel. This can result in blurry text because the subpixels are aligned in a non-standard way and Windows doesn't properly adress the pixels. But this will only affect text, not general image quality.

 

 

Also, don't go to short cicuit for monitor reviews. While james does a good job summarizing the specs, these videos should not be used as a "buying guide". There are much better sources for monitor reviews like "Hardware Unboxed" if you want them as a video or "Rtings.com" if you want written reviews.

[mt123]

7 hours ago, Stahlmann said:

My opinion: They aren't that great. I'd go for a 27" 1440p IPS monitor for what you describe the monitor is going to be used at. And in this monitor lineup there is no panel that meets these specs.

 

I'd go for a LG 27GP850 or Dell SG2721DGF for a more "non-compromise" experience.

 

If you need a more "budget" option, the Gigabyte M27Q is a great one. But this comes with the compromise of being a BGR-panel. This can result in blurry text because the subpixels are aligned in a non-standard way and Windows doesn't properly adress the pixels. But this will only affect text, not general image quality.

Sounds good. Any recommendations for ultrawide-screen monitors, because I'd say my budget is seemingly endless. I imagine I could even drop $1,000 for a monitor, especially because I'd like my tech to last me throughout all my four years of undergrad.

[Stahlmann]

14 minutes ago, mt123 said:

Sounds good. Any recommendations for ultrawide-screen monitors, because I'd say my budget is seemingly endless. I imagine I could even drop $1,000 for a monitor, especially because I'd like my tech to last me throughout all my four years of undergrad.

Ooooh don't say "seemingly endless". Monitors can go way over $1000 depending on what you're looking for

 

Best overall 34" ultrawide currently is the LG 34 GP83A-B. (Or if you can't find it the 34GN850-B. It's the older but almost identical version)

But don't expect any noteworthy HDR from that. This should be around $1000.

 

If you want HDR to "future proof" (as much as i hate that word, it makes sense for monitors) you'll want something with HDR. In that case the Asus PG35VQ or the Acer Predator X35 are what you're looking for. They're slightly slower than the LG monitor but have exceptional HDR performance and are still very fast monitors. Expect more around $2000-$2500 for one of these.

[mt123]

23 hours ago, Stahlmann said:

Ooooh don't say "seemingly endless". Monitors can go way over $1000 depending on what you're looking for

LMAO 

 

I guess I meant that considering I'm a college student, lol. I assume most people would be penny pinching on accessories like an external display for a laptop.