Help me pick a monitor

Cris.py · March 23, 2022

Hello,

I got a budget for home office upgrade and I've decided to go for a monitor. Currently using an old but decent 24" 1080p NT monitor but I just got a 6700XT so I aim at 1440p.

Some information: I need it both for work (a lot of text files, spreadsheets etc) and gaming (aiming at some good eye candy and colors more than speed etc). I never use it in complete dark so I assume IPS would be better choice. However, I need few things I have no idea how to answer:

- How do you know a monitor is decently calibrated? I don't have access to any tools or anything so decent factory calibration is a big bonus

- How do you pick a size? I have quite a small desk and I sit quite close I think so 27" vs 32" and no idea how to pick without long term test

- Curved vs Flat? Again, looking it for few min in a store doesn't show any real difference.

- What to pick? I went to a store and all monitors look great there. I'm looking for something around 500eur.

Also, there is an open box ASUS ROG STRIX XG27WQ for 25% off so would that just be a good pick and call it a day?

Thank you for any help.

Stahlmann · March 23, 2022

2 hours ago, Cris.py said:

- How do you know a monitor is decently calibrated? I don't have access to any tools or anything so decent factory calibration is a big bonus

You can look at reviews to get a general idea, but monitor calibration varies from unit to unit. Yours might be worse or better. If you're really concerned about accuracity get yourself the calibration hardware and you don't have to worry about factory calibration ever again. A great option is the Calibrite ColorChecker Display Pro.

2 hours ago, Cris.py said:

- How do you pick a size? I have quite a small desk and I sit quite close I think so 27" vs 32" and no idea how to pick without long term test

27" is the sweet spot for a standard desk imo. If you're going for 32" you might have to consider 4K to retain image sharpness at that size, which will increase the budget you need.

2 hours ago, Cris.py said:

- Curved vs Flat? Again, looking it for few min in a store doesn't show any real difference.

Unless you're looking at 21:9 ultrawide monitors i'd always go for flat monitors. Curves bring more drawbacks than advantages to the table for a 32" and smaller 16:9 monitor imo.

2 hours ago, Cris.py said:

- What to pick? I went to a store and all monitors look great there. I'm looking for something around 500eur.

The best you can get for your budget is the MSI MAG274QRF-QD for around 450€. It doesn't get much better than this one unless you spend significantly more and go for 4K 144Hz or 1440p 240Hz.

Currently the LG 27GP850-B can also be had for around 360-380€ in germany, which makes it an awesome deal imo. It's slightly worse than the MSI one in color gamut and contrast though, otherwise performance is also good.

Cris.py · March 23, 2022

31 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

You can look at reviews to get a general idea, but monitor calibration varies from unit to unit. Yours might be worse or better. If you're really concerned about accuracity get yourself the calibration hardware and you don't have to worry about factory calibration ever again. A great option is the Calibrite ColorChecker Display Pro.

27" is the sweet spot for a standard desk imo. If you're going for 32" you might have to consider 4K to retain image sharpness at that size, which will increase the budget you need.

Unless you're looking at 21:9 ultrawide monitors i'd always go for flat monitors. Curves bring more drawbacks than advantages to the table for a 32" and smaller 16:9 monitor imo.

The best you can get for your budget is the MSI MAG274QRF-QD for around 450€. It doesn't get much better than this one unless you spend significantly more and go for 4K 144Hz or 1440p 240Hz.

Currently the LG 27GP850-B can also be had for around 360-380€ in germany, which makes it an awesome deal imo. It's slightly worse than the MSI one in color gamut and contrast though, otherwise performance is also good.

Thank you very much, this was really helpful. I guess I'll look for flat 16:9 27" 1440p 144+Hz then, 4k will not work due to GPU limitation for now

I'll look at MSI one if I can get it locally. It makes no sense for me to spend less so I'd skip LG option for now. Thank you very much for the input.

varrys · March 23, 2022

Stahlmann's recommendation of the MSI MAG is a good one. For what it's worth, I have a cousin to the Asus ROG Swift you list, the xg27aq. The one you're indicating is a VA panel, whereas mine is IPS and no curve. I've had great luck with Asus monitors in general. Do a bit of research into VA vs. IPS, and curved vs. flat, and if the 25% off is a great deal compared to the MSI, you may not mind it.

The big factor is that curve, which affects viewing angles. If it's only you using it, not a big deal. If you plan to watch/play things with others, it could be harder for them to get a good view.