Which 27" monitor to get?

TDevlin · 3 Dec 2011 at 16:54

So I've decided to treat myself to new monitor, but with so many variables, I could do with a hand in deciding which one will give me the most for my money.

The only things I know for sure is I'd like it to be 2560x1440 and I'll have a maximum of around £500 ish to spend on it, although less would be better as long as it wasn't at the sacrifice of picture quality.

I was thinking something along the lines of the Hazro HZ27WC or is it worth spending a little extra on maybe the Dell UltraSharp U2711.

Also I don't have to buy this right away as it'll be a couple of months til I build a gaming rig capable of making the most of the higher resolution. So if there's any monitors due out that would be better, I could hold off a bit.

_lecro_ · 3 Dec 2011 at 22:53

HZ27WC is a beautiful monitor IMHO
ive had mine a few months now and the picture quality gaming and movies is brilliant

Sacrosanct · 4 Dec 2011 at 11:51

_lecro_ said:
HZ27WC is a beautiful monitor IMHO
ive had mine a few months now and the picture quality gaming and movies is brilliant

Which software are you using to watch movies? They look awful on mine and I can't figure out why. They don't look 720p quality to me, no contrast, fuzzy, low definition. I don't know if it's scaling everything to 2560 x 1440 whatever it is it looks awful.

monkeypants · 4 Dec 2011 at 11:59

I'm also interested in these two monitors (though in looking at the 27WD). I'd be using it mainly for photo editing so colour accuracy is key. Not wanting to hijack the thread but if anyone has any input it'd be good to know which is better and if the hazro's glass reflections would be unbearable.

COYS · 4 Dec 2011 at 12:18

Same dilema.

Wish I'd bought the Hazro at £350 a couple of days ago to at least have a look at it. it's a toss up between that and the Dell U2711 which I've seen quite a bit cheaper elsewhere.

I can't help feeling though if I get the Hazro every time I look at it I'll wonder just what might have been with the Dell.

_lecro_ · 4 Dec 2011 at 12:24

monkeypants said:
I'm also interested in these two monitors (though in looking at the 27WD). I'd be using it mainly for photo editing so colour accuracy is key. Not wanting to hijack the thread but if anyone has any input it'd be good to know which is better and if the hazro's glass reflections would be unbearable.

Brilliant for photoshop.. colours are bright and vibrant
reflection isnt really a problem for me tbh i actually prefer it to the non glass samsung next to it .

Sacrosanct said:
Which software are you using to watch movies? They look awful on mine and I can't figure out why. They don't look 720p quality to me, no contrast, fuzzy, low definition. I don't know if it's scaling everything to 2560 x 1440 whatever it is it looks awful.

Im using VLC media play but movies look amazing using any media player tbh..i dont have any hd discs but have loads of blue ray quality files that all look sharp and great colour depth,
sounds like theres a problem with the media or monitor maybe :confused:

TDevlin · 4 Dec 2011 at 13:21

COYS said:
Same dilema.

Wish I'd bought the Hazro at £350 a couple of days ago to at least have a look at it. it's a toss up between that and the Dell U2711 which I've seen quite a bit cheaper elsewhere.

I can't help feeling though if I get the Hazro every time I look at it I'll wonder just what might have been with the Dell.

I've exactly the same thoughts, as you can get both for around the same price I just cant decide.

The Dell U2711 is generally the more expensive monitor, but if you can get either the Dell or the Hazro for nearly the same price, which one do you get? Does the Dell justify it's higher price tag over the Hazro?

But if I could get the Hazro for £350, that makes the decision much easier.

COYS · 4 Dec 2011 at 14:30

All I know is there have been issues with quality reported with the Hazro, including dust behind the glass. i don't know if they've improved their QC lately so don't want to be seen as bashing them, I read on here that people with a problem free one are very happy indeed.

I've had this Dell 2407WFP for a good 4-5 years and apart from a slightly dodgy power button which has come loose I can't fault it in any way. So am really impressed with their quality.

I'm veering towards the Dell, although am some way off buying as I'd need to go SLI to get the most of it.

Sacrosanct · 4 Dec 2011 at 16:18

_lecro_ said:
Im using VLC media play but movies look amazing using any media player tbh..i dont have any hd discs but have loads of blue ray quality files that all look sharp and great colour depth,
sounds like theres a problem with the media or monitor maybe

Cheers lecro. Okay that's very worrying then. I'm going to start a thread in a while and ask for help. I've only just bought this so if I need to send it back I have to decide soon.

TDevlin · 14 Dec 2011 at 20:54

I had decided the Dell U2711 was for me, but have just realised (don't know how i didn't notice before) that the monitors at work are also made by Dell. The screen looks so dull compared to when I work on home on my glossy sony laptop screen. Would this be the same anti-glare that many people complain about on the U2711?

I think I'd be very disappointed spending all that money for a screen that looked similar to the one at my work. So I've decided on getting the Hazro HZ27WC with the offer that's on at the moment. Could anyone that's got the glass version let me know what they think, good or bad, as that's the one I was thinking of getting. I know it's reflective but is it too much? or if well placed is it not a problem?

Jo... · 14 Dec 2011 at 21:04

TDevlin said:
I had decided the Dell U2711 was for me, but have just realised (don't know how i didn't notice before) that the monitors at work are also made by Dell. The screen looks so dull compared to when I work on home on my glossy sony laptop screen. Would this be the same anti-glare that many people complain about on the U2711?

I think I'd be very disappointed spending all that money for a screen that looked similar to the one at my work. So I've decided on getting the Hazro HZ27WC with the offer that's on at the moment. Could anyone that's got the glass version let me know what they think, good or bad, as that's the one I was thinking of getting. I know it's reflective but is it too much? or if well placed is it not a problem?

It's not a problem to me. And you are used to work with glossy screens, so it shouldn't be a problem. Just don't put the monitor somewhere close to a window.

TDevlin · 14 Dec 2011 at 21:14

Jo... said:
It's not a problem to me. And you are used to work with glossy screens, so it shouldn't be a problem. Just don't put the monitor somewhere close to a window.

That's good to hear, the screen looks amazing. It's just I saw a youtube video from a link on this forum and the screen looked great but way too reflective, but I'm thinking it looked that way because of the window near it.

TDevlin · 14 Dec 2011 at 21:56

One last thing to ask before I go ahead and buy one.

I currently haven't built myself a pc yet and this will be the first part of it, with the rest to follow soon. As far as checking for dead pixels/dust particles what's my best bet. I don't think I could live with either. Will it be easy enough to hook up one of my consoles or my laptop to the monitor to check it over?

Axeia · 15 Dec 2011 at 00:08

TDevlin said:
the monitors at work are also made by Dell. The screen looks so dull compared to when I work on home on my glossy sony laptop screen. Would this be the same anti-glare that many people complain about on the U2711?

Not really, the thing people complain about is the sparkle with light screens. This is something that shows more on the u2711 than any other monitor due to the high pixel density.

I think I'd be very disappointed spending all that money for a screen that looked similar to the one at my work. So I've decided on getting the Hazro HZ27WC with the offer that's on at the moment. Could anyone that's got the glass version let me know what they think, good or bad, as that's the one I was thinking of getting. I know it's reflective but is it too much? or if well placed is it not a problem?

The non-glass one is a lot less reflective. The glass doesn't add anything but reflections so make sure you don't have any light source (including windows) behind you.

COYS · 15 Dec 2011 at 10:35

TDevlin said:
One last thing to ask before I go ahead and buy one.

I currently haven't built myself a pc yet and this will be the first part of it, with the rest to follow soon. As far as checking for dead pixels/dust particles what's my best bet. I don't think I could live with either. Will it be easy enough to hook up one of my consoles or my laptop to the monitor to check it over?

http://udpix.free.fr/index.php?p=dl

This is a small program that cycles through colours at full screen so you can check for any problem pixels in minutes

Vir · 15 Dec 2011 at 14:14

I've got the Hazro HZ27WC and it's a great monitor in every way.
Everyone that visits me is like "Wow this monitor is insanely nice"

Had a random girl pick up some Ikea couch at my home and she wanted to pay via internet, she sat behind the desk and she said "WOW THIS MONITOR IS INSANE..."

(if my girlfriend wasn't around she might have gone for my massive e-peen

)

Anyway... I think you won't regret the monitor, it's very nice but just keep in mind when playing new games at the native resolution with full details you need a pretty good rig

TDevlin · 15 Dec 2011 at 19:32

COYS said:
http://udpix.free.fr/index.php?p=dl

This is a small program that cycles through colours at full screen so you can check for any problem pixels in minutes

Cheers mate that'll come in handy

TDevlin · 15 Dec 2011 at 19:44

Vir said:
I've got the Hazro HZ27WC and it's a great monitor in every way.
Everyone that visits me is like "Wow this monitor is insanely nice" Had a random girl pick up some Ikea couch at my home and she wanted to pay via internet, she sat behind the desk and she said "WOW THIS MONITOR IS INSANE..."
(if my girlfriend wasn't around she might have gone for my massive e-peen )

Anyway... I think you won't regret the monitor, it's very nice but just keep in mind when playing new games at the native resolution with full details you need a pretty good rig

Can't argue with that, a monitor with pulling power, must be one awesome monitor

Can I just ask though, is it the glass version you are talking about? As I'm still torn between the glass and non-glass options?

Also while I'm not able to see either up close which is a shame, I was wondering if the glass version was similar to the Apple Cinema Display in reflectiveness? I reckon it would be easy enough to get a look at one of these in a shop and make it easier to make my mind up.

Axeia · 15 Dec 2011 at 22:53

The glass version doesn't add anything but more reflections, if you're worried about reflections then just get the non-glass version? It's still glossy so the colours will already be as vibrant as they get.

TDevlin · 17 Dec 2011 at 10:20

Axeia said:
The glass version doesn't add anything but more reflections, if you're worried about reflections then just get the non-glass version? It's still glossy so the colours will already be as vibrant as they get.

You're right mate, I will just get the non-glass version. I was just worried it would look better with the glass, but as you say it'll make no difference to the quality. Just need to wait on the non-glass getting on one of overclockers great weekly/daily deals

Wish I'd picked one up when they were £350 a couple weeks back.

New problem now though. I've still got concerns about dead pixels, so would really want to test the HZ27WC as soon as I get it, to make sure I got a good one. Trouble is I've not built my new pc yet, so the only way I've got of testing it is to hook up my laptop or an xbox/playstion to it. I thought it would be easy enough using the hdmi port on the laptop and using a HDMI to DVI-D Dual Link Cable, but as was stated in the main Hazro thread, my laptop would need to support Dual link DVI or display port

So are there any options for this? And does this mean it's impossible to connect a console to the Hazro as well?