Ideas for a sub $250 out-of-the-box color accurate IPS monitor (1080p is fine)?

[DaveBetTech]

Budget (including currency): $250 USD

Country: US

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Illustrator & other color accurate design work (she's an artist)

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 1080p is fine. They have a PC already.

 

They don't have the budget for a good spyder or other color calibration tool. During a recent move, her monitor broke and they're looking for a color accurate monitor "out of the box". That's a tough ask and was having a hard time finding reviews to this end.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions are supremely appreciated. Even a few models would punt me in the right direction. Thanks!

 

(( note: looked over first 4 pages and didn't see a similar topic, sorry if this is a bad place for this ))

 

[adarw]

theres a subfourm called displays if you were wondering. i cant help you on the actual question sorry

[Action_Johnson]

For $250... yikes. 

 

Look for old, used NEC's, Dell's, Apple Cinema Display's, or monitors from studio's doing sell-off's on FB or CL. She'll need something at minimum with 100% sRGB and see if you can swing $100 for an Xrite. Might need a DVI converter.

 

Otherwise you're just pissin' in the wind...

[DaveBetTech]

Thanks @Action_Johnson for the reply. I've told her that she eventually needs to buy a good color calibrator, but she's broke. She makes ~10-11/hr and works 2-3 days per week.  She's getting most of the money from her fiance (my nephew) to buy it 

 

I know Hardware Unboxed Tim does a good job covering Out of the Box color calibration for the monitors he tests. I looked at a lot of his reviews, but most were for gaming monitors. I remember a select few that were 'good' out of the box, but don't remember which ones those were or the price.

 

I appreciate the reply sir.

[DaveBetTech]

@adarw Thank you for your response. I went to that subforum first, but figured that a question would be best suited here. Wasn't a 100% sure.

[DaveBetTech]

NOTE: I found this monitor that looks like a solid choice for a budget accurate display:

 

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ProArt-Display-PA248QV-WUXGA/dp/B088BC5HKF

 

It's a "ASUS ProArt Display" with a resolution of 1900x1200, which is pretty nice. I'm leaning towards that for a recommendation.

[Action_Johnson]

15 hours ago, DaveBetTech said:

She makes ~10-11/hr and works 2-3 days per week.  She's getting most of the money from her fiance (my nephew) to buy it 

I know everyone's different, but here's my opinion: If I were in your shoes I'd step back from it immediately.

Why's she only working 2 or 3 days a week? What's the fiancé do? Why is step-uncle stepping up to the plate instead of her fiancé? Also, once that knot is tied, it's not his money or her money, it's their money. This is probably a better thing for the soon to be married couple to solve and get on the same page/budget, vs step-uncle coming in to save the day. How does your nephew feel about that?

 

That said, I'd go with that Asus monitor.