How bad are the cheapest monitors these days?

[ricid]

My current monitor is an Acer TN that's nearly 10 years old and was the cheapest available at the time.
Compared to a Dell Ultrasharp from the same era (I use one at work), it's awful. The viewing angles are terrible, the colours are all over the place, it's mildly painful to look at regardless of adjustment and the thing gives off a buzzing noise unless you set brightness to maximum.

So is there a similar gulf between cheap and mid range monitors these days, or has panel and backlight tech got to the point where doing a reasonable job is so inexpensive that you can't really go wrong?

I'm leaning toward a bog standard 1440p60 27" panel, and am wondering whether to get the cheapest IPS with the connections I need, or if there's a benefit in chucking another £50-£100 at a more respectable brand? Frustratingly, professional reviews of budget monitors seem few and far between.

 

[Quartz]

Is this for games or office use?

 

[ricid]

Mostly office. I probably read about games more than I get time to play them these days

 

[Quartz]

Okay, so high refresh rates and fast response rates aren't particularly relevant.

 

[ricid]

No. I really like the idea of HFR, and was seriously thinking abou it, but common sense is keeping my wallet closed at the mo. 95% of the time I'm staring at static text.

The only real criteria are that it is completely silent (so I'm wary of speakers), is VESA mountable, and it doesn't hurt my eyes to use it for extended periods.

Good viewing angles would be a big plus, which is why I'm leaning toward IPS. Oh and no external PSU as it's going on a monitor arm and I don't want to have to tape the thing half way down (when did these start to become a thing? I blame Apple for making thin tech fashionable)

 

[Quartz]

Pay the extra and get a Dell or HP. They're designed for the office environment. Your eyes are worth it.

 

[MartinPrince]

Pay the extra and get a Dell or HP. They're designed for the office environment. Your eyes are worth it.

I definitely agree with this. Even few years old Dells are doing the business. They're just very well made in general.

 

[ricid]

Thanks everyone, if you still get what you pay for I'm happy to do so, just didn't want to spend over the odds for a badge.

 

[leemk]

Just upgraded from a Iiyama Prolite 27" 1080p 144hz TN 1ms panel to a AOC 31.5" 1440p 75hz IPS 5ms panel.
Think the Iiyama cost me £400 3 years ago the AOC is £219 on here ( got lucky and got mine on a lightning spring deal for £163 somewhere else).
Great upgrade cant say i notice the downgrade from 144hz to 75hz , only when scrolling large text documents not so in games.

 

[Holst1981]

I bought a couple of very cheap (£120) AOC ips 27" 1080p screens for the office.

They were great for the money and much nicer than other office TN panels.

Can't see any quite that cheap at the moment but a cheaper ips would be my choice.

 

[NZXT30]

As long as it has an IPS panel you are set. There is no quality control no matter the brand or cost, you're still playing the panel lottery even if you pay massive premium. So just get the cheapest IPS monitor at the size that you prefer.

 

[Undesirable]

If you prefer quality in static images and viewing angles get an IPS; clarity in motion then get a TN. If you prefer contrast ratio above all else, get a VA.

If you want all of the above then you'll have to fork out on an OLED TV and put up with the prospect of burn-in (some OLED users say it isn't that much of a worry).

 

[d_brennen]

Pay the extra and get a Dell or HP. They're designed for the office environment. Your eyes are worth it.

This. I've got three Dell U2412 16:10 monitors on my desk and it made a huge difference to my quality of life coming from some crappy 24" 16:9 TN panels

 

[keylion]

I really like a 16:10 panel for more office based work. I'm currently trialling a Samsung 22" 16:10 TN and Dell U2417H for my new office monitor. Not decided yet, only really used the Dell extensively so far. Going to switch over next week to test the difference.

 

[ricid]

So true to form I changed my mind again and just got a second hand WUXGA Ultrasharp for cheaps. It's nice. Will save my pennies for when proper HDR doesn't cost over a grand and plays nice with windows.