Finding the right monitor for me (Help needed please!)

NutterzUK

NutterzUK

NutterzUK

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Joined
18 Feb 2010
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940
Hi,

I've never had much success with monitors, and this time I'd like to ask for some advice before taking the plunge and spending a lot of money. I've spent an awful long time (literally hours and hours) researching, and I feel I'm still missing something. Any help would be really appreciated!

What I've got now:
Predator Z35.
This doesn't work for me for three reasons:
1) I can literally see the pixels on it. have it on the desk so sit maybe 80cm-1m away and can see the pixels. It's 35" and 2560 * 1080
2) I use a MacBook pro at work, and the screen looks amazing. When I get home, my home PC monitor (which I now use for work because of the current situation) looks washed out. The colours just look faded. Like a t-shirt that has been through the wash a few too many times.
3) It has developed a common fault, really tiny horizontal lines. It doesn't stop me using it but it's just a bit annoying.

What I do:
- I'm a software engineer, so a wide screen really helps me out as I regularly have 2/3 things on my screen at once.
- I play games; specifically Rocket League which I think will need a reasonable refresh rate. I'd also like to play Amazon New World when it's out.

My 'must' list:
- 30" or bigger. No more than 38".
- Curved
- A higher resolution
- Higher than 75hz (I tested my monitor on 85Hz and was fine with it, on 60 I could see blurs moving things around). Ideally I'd like 100+.

My 'nice to have' list:
- USB-C or thunderbolt, as I can plug my work MacBook pro in with one cable and charge it
- Picture by picture, so I can have my work laptop and personal PC on at the same time, or easily flick between them at the very least
- A higher brightness, I figure this is why my monitor looks 'washed out'.
- 4k; I quite like the sound of 3840 x 1600, though as I have no access to similar monitors, it's hard for me to imagine that vs my current 2560 * 1080.
- IPS. But, I'm not actually really 'in the know' on this, it's just I know the mac laptop screen is IPS, and my screen is VA. Supposedly the colours are better.
- Speakers so I can get rid of my very old desktop speakers.

Money:
I can pay for anything up to 1.5k, but, I don't want to pay that much (who does?). I can convince myself it's worth it as I sit in front of it for 8+ hours a day.

What I've seen so far:
- 38WN95C - The dream. This has everything. 3840X1600, including thunderbolt, HDR, 4k, picture in picture, curved, 144hz, speakers. It's also £1,349.99. I'll lose sleep over that kind of money, but, it's an option.

- 38WN75C . Very similar, also 3840X1600, but only 75Mhz, without usb-c/thunderbolt and without HDR and lower brightness (300 nits), and without speakers. £749.99 though (Nearly £600 less than the other LG!). Will I regret the lower Hz in rocket league or New World, and will the lower brightness cause it to look like my current predator (washed out)?

- Samsung 34" CH890. USB-C, but again a lower resolution at 3440 x 1440. 100Hz (enough for me). Less brightness (300 nits again). Also 109 pixels per inch. No speakers. About £600. I personally find this monitor a bit ugly with the silver bar across the bottom.

- Samsung 34" LC34J791WTUXEN. USB-C. 3440 x 1440 aqain. 100Hz (enough for me). Less brightness. 109 pixels per inch. Has speakers. £583.20. Seems like a newer model of the Samsung above.

- G34WQC-EK 3440X1440 - No USB-C, VA, but HDR. Has speakers. 144Hz. £415.

- MAG341CQ. 100Hz. 3440 x 1440. No USB-C, but only £409. 100Hz. No HDR and VA (not IPS). No speakers. Seems very similar to the above G34WQC-EK.

What I need help with:
- It looks like a £200 ish leap from the G34 or MAG34 to the Samsung LC34J. It looks I'd only gain USB-C, speakers and picture by picture for that £200; is there anything else (or another competitor I don't know about) around this range?

- If I make that jump to the Samsung LC34J79, and I'm paying £600 ish already, is the 38WN75C worth another £150 + Losing the USB-C and speakers I'd have just essentially said are worth £200 to me by picking this over the cheaper ones, for the extra resolution? Essentially I'm paying £350 above the MAG341CQ for the same but with a higher resolution and it being IPS (In terms of speakers/USB etc they are the same - they don't have it).

- Do you know of any other screens that fit into this that offer really good value, or anything close to the 38WN
 
Last edited:
Well the BenQ EX3501R seems to meet your main requirements. 3440x1440, IPS, curved, 100Hz, USB-C . I find it a bit expensive for the features myself - I normally see it around 600 quid. No speakers though, but I found an USB powered soundbar under a monitor normally looks visually nice and provides better quality than monitor speakers, without the clunkiness of external 2+1 speakers

Instead of PBP have you considered KVM? The Philips 346B1C has a good mix of features for productivity (KVM,USB-C) and gaming (3440x1440,100Hz,curved)
 
TheReflex said:
Well the BenQ EX3501R seems to meet your main requirements. 3440x1440, IPS, curved, 100Hz, USB-C . I find it a bit expensive for the features myself - I normally see it around 600 quid. No speakers though, but I found an USB powered soundbar under a monitor normally looks visually nice and provides better quality than monitor speakers, without the clunkiness of external 2+1 speakers

Instead of PBP have you considered KVM? The Philips 346B1C has a good mix of features for productivity (KVM,USB-C) and gaming (3440x1440,100Hz,curved)
Click to expand...

I really like the look of that BenQ, and hadn't thought of a USB soundbar but that's a great idea too. PBP isn't essential really, as long as I can switch between inputs quickly. I tend to use a separate keyboard and mouse for them (mainly because of the cmd button on the mac).

Thanks for the tips, I hadn't seen either of these monitors and hadn't given a usb soundbar any thought (I didn't even know they existed!).
 
NutterzUK said:
- A higher brightness, I figure this is why my monitor looks 'washed out'.
Click to expand...
This is one thing i would also look for
Am also pretty sure the picture just looked flat, dull & boring on my old 300nit monitor due to it low brightness

What also makes me think this is that i notice the same thing on my old plasma TV vs OLED TV where the plasma picture is much darker
 
NutterzUK said:
I really like the look of that BenQ, and hadn't thought of a USB soundbar but that's a great idea too. PBP isn't essential really, as long as I can switch between inputs quickly. I tend to use a separate keyboard and mouse for them (mainly because of the cmd button on the mac).

Thanks for the tips, I hadn't seen either of these monitors and hadn't given a usb soundbar any thought (I didn't even know they existed!).
Click to expand...

Happy to help! Not really in the scope of this Monitors forum but I bought a Trust Asto soundbar for around 25 quid and was really happy with it. If you then upgrade your monitor to one with speakers, you can always use the soundbar with other things you might have like a TV an Amazon Echo
 
I've got the G34WQC and it's a good monitor for the price. Really brings games like ARMA 3 to life, although now that I'm running 3440X1440 @ 144Hz my long standing i7-3770k is starting to struggle, even when o/c to 4.3 Ghz, so I'm now upgrading.


Pros:
Picture is sharp right to the edges.
There's a nice selection of picture modes which have quick access using the multi function button.
A lot of adjustments available in the OSD menu
Lots of adjustment (height, tilt etc)

Cons
There is very slight light bleed along bits of the top which I can only see on a black screen in a dark room, otherwise I never see it.
I would have liked a dedicated power button instead of a multi function joystick type button which you have to hold down for a few seconds until it powers off
 
The Alienware AW3821DW. 38" ultra wide. IPS. Curved. 3840x1600. 144Hz. G-Sync. Superb build quality and warranty.

Uses the same LG panel but surprisingly is cheaper and more available. You can usually get an extra £100 or so off, bringing it down to about £1200.

Build quality is just stunning.

As far as I know the only place to get it at the moment is the Dell website.
 
I ordered the G34WQC from OcUK then found a thread about stock and people waiting months, so I'm back to the drawing board. There's also the 35WN75C, which is 100mhz and usb-c, but that's also out of stock everywhere.

I'll have a look at the 346B1C and AW3821DW.

I'm not absolutely set on an IPS monitor, I just hear the colours are better. I don't know too much about the difference but my screen looks faded and not very bright, which is why I figured IPS may help.

Searching seems so painful, every time I find something close to what I'm after I find there is no stock or there's something not quite right (lots of 60hz screens that do everything I need other than being good for gaming).
 
TheReflex said:
Well the BenQ EX3501R seems to meet your main requirements. 3440x1440, IPS, curved, 100Hz, USB-C . I find it a bit expensive for the features myself - I normally see it around 600 quid. No speakers though, but I found an USB powered soundbar under a monitor normally looks visually nice and provides better quality than monitor speakers, without the clunkiness of external 2+1 speakers

Instead of PBP have you considered KVM? The Philips 346B1C has a good mix of features for productivity (KVM,USB-C) and gaming (3440x1440,100Hz,curved)
Click to expand...

346B1C looks cracking. Does everything I need it to. It's a shame it isn't higher resolution, but it's higher than what I'm used to (1080p). It has USB-C, isn't super expensive, and it does support PBP (though perhaps switching sources is fine too as there's a button you can assign to switch easily). It also has speakers, and has excellent reviews.

AW3821DW is of course going to be a nice experience to use as it is slightly bigger and with a higher resolution and higher refresh rate as well as more brightness, but the price difference here is between about £1,100 and £470 (and it doesn't have usb-c support). I'd like the higher resolution, but for the price difference, I can't justify it.
I'd love a 4k and slightly wider screen but the Philips looks like the one for me at the moment (Maybe in a few years the 4k screens will be cheaper and the graphics cards to power them). I've just bought a 3070 from the member's market, which is ideal for 1440p rather than 4k.


I'm going to watch a few video reviews, but I've found stock somewhere and think I'll go for the 346B1C unless the reviews throw out anything horific.

Thank you all for your suggestions!
 
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