I'm buying a monitor. Is 27 inch too big for 1920 x 1200 resolution?

Sacrosanct

Sacrosanct

Sacrosanct

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Hi everyone. I've never had a monitor that big and wondered what games look like at that resolution on a 27 inch monitor. I can't really afford a monitor that does super high resolution so 1920 x 1200 it is.

I would quite like an IPS or VA panel can anyone recommend a good one if 27 inch is okay for games? I am okay with 25 inch too. 120hz isn't really an issue I don't know if my hardware is good enough to get the framerate needed for that kind of monitor.

Any suggestions or insights very welcome thanks for reading :)
 
Just to clear a few things up, there is no current 1920x1200 27" monitor (just a few outdated models and they're silly expensive).
There are a bunch of 1920x1080 monitors however, but none of them are IPS (All 27" IPS monitors are 2560x1440). There is a 25" 1920x1200 IPS panel in the Lacie 526 but it's mad expensive (over £1200).

So that leaves you with 27" 1920x1080 VA monitors unless you want to spend tons.
The AOC E2795VH is nice and cheap. AOC is a bit of a budget brand though so if you're not comfortable with that you may want to consider the BenQ EW2730V. OC UK doesn't sell it, but it's fair bit more expensive and comes with a much better looking casing.
 
I would avoid 1080p on a 27" monitor. I bought the AOC mentioned above, and while having excellent contrast levels, it's colours were nowhere near as good as my new Hazro screen (they looked really washed out in comparison). But the biggest sacrifice is for office/web browsing/general use as text looks way too big and blocky.
At 27" 1440p is the only way to go, in my opinion. I suggest buying a well reviewed 24" screen if ~£400 for a Hazro is over your budget :)
 
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Guess I forgot the answer the main question ;)
For gaming 1080p is quite fine. For anything but gaming it doesn't look to good, I think it has about the lowest pixel density of any current monitor size/resolution combination. Above poster must have it twice as bad as 2560x1440 @ 27" monitors have the highest pixel density of any current monitor size/resolution combo.. so that's comparing the two extremes.
 
Sorry to hijack this thread but I have a similar need and it may assist others as well

I am looking for a 27" monitor, mainly because I want something substantial but from what I have heard, 27" could be too large for gaming and getting a 24" is as good and sometimes better because you can get more for your £££


I budgeted for the £190 AOC suggested further above.
Its 27", it should do good enough but thankfully my design has come up with money to spare and from my £1300 budget I have around £250 to spare

I have a good CPU, i5 2500k
I have a good GPU, Power Color Radeon 6970
I dont think I want to skimp on the monitor - after all whats the point in seeing sharp images if your monitor throws you a dull looking translation of it

So the question is... for a good gaming monitor with in principal £450 to spend, what are my options?

Is 27 inch too big?
If I go 27 inch, do I need to beef up the quality of the monitor and if so what do I look for (apart from a good ms under 5)?
Should I instead go for 24 inch? and if so considering that 1920 x 1080 for gaming is all I am looking for, what is a good option for me?

The fact is, if I go over £250 total, this will be the largest budgeted item in my build (GPU was about £250) so whilst I appreciate it is important, how important is it?

I mean if you look at build sigs in forums, people rarely tell you what Monitor they have and considering it could be the most expensive piece of equipment in their build I am unsure why!

Please, help needed so I can finally pen my design into a working shopping list
 
Axeia said:
Just to clear a few things up, there is no current 1920x1200 27" monitor (just a few outdated models and they're silly expensive).
There are a bunch of 1920x1080 monitors however, but none of them are IPS (All 27" IPS monitors are 2560x1440). There is a 25" 1920x1200 IPS panel in the Lacie 526 but it's mad expensive (over £1200).

So that leaves you with 27" 1920x1080 VA monitors unless you want to spend tons.
The AOC E2795VH is nice and cheap. AOC is a bit of a budget brand though so if you're not comfortable with that you may want to consider the BenQ EW2730V. OC UK doesn't sell it, but it's fair bit more expensive and comes with a much better looking casing.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the info Axeia. What's the quality difference between VA and IPS? I'm kind of veering towards a 24 inch IPS though I like the sound of the Benq you linked it got good reviews. I just bought a load of upgrades for my PC from OCUK I'd like to get the monitor from them too if possible I like having just one place to go if any of my parts go wrong.

mamboboy said:
I would avoid 1080p on a 27" monitor. I bought the AOC mentioned above, and while having excellent contrast levels, it's colours were nowhere near as good as my new Hazro screen (they looked really washed out in comparison). But the biggest sacrifice is for office/web browsing/general use as text looks way too big and blocky.
At 27" 1440p is the only way to go, in my opinion. I suggest buying a well reviewed 24" screen if ~£400 for a Hazro is over your budget :)
Click to expand...

Thanks mamboboy I was very tempted by the Hazro C when it was on offer here for £350 but I read too many horror stories on the Hazro thread about dead pixels and dust caught behind the screen etc. I'm really not into hoping I 'get lucky' when I buy something brand new :)

billysielu said:
24" 1920x1200 IPS go go go
Click to expand...

Thanks billysielu can you recommend a good one?
 
I tried a 27" 1080p monitor recently and couldn't get on with it at all, the fonts/text were far too blocky for any office/web based work - but for playing games/movies it was absolutely fine.

All depends what you are going to use it for I suppose.
 
Spudgun said:
I tried a 27" 1080p monitor recently and couldn't get on with it at all, the fonts/text were far too blocky for any office/web based work - but for playing games/movies it was absolutely fine.

All depends what you are going to use it for I suppose.
Click to expand...

Hi Spudgun thanks for the reply. This is the weird thing... I'm currently using a Samsung 22 inch monitor running in 1680 x 1050 and font/text size is just fine for me. I was thinking going up to a 27 inch with a higher resolution the font/text size would be similar and kind of even out but I guess that's not the case?
 
Sacrosanct said:
Hi Spudgun thanks for the reply. This is the weird thing... I'm currently using a Samsung 22 inch monitor running in 1680 x 1050 and font/text size is just fine for me. I was thinking going up to a 27 inch with a higher resolution the font/text size would be similar and kind of even out but I guess that's not the case?
Click to expand...

I tried to go from a 20" 1680x1050 to 27" 1080P and the text was awful - was like writing in lego blocks! - these things are purely subjective, however, and some people may prefer a larger size.

Best thing to do would be to go and try out a few monitors at a local store and see what works for you
 
Spook187 said:
I have this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-001-HS&groupid=17&catid=1120&subcat=

Never had any problems,great price,i could never go any smaller than a 27" screen now,yes a higher resolution would be better with a screen of this size,but untill my wallet allows i am very happy at this res:)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have the Hanns G too. So yes, 1900 x 1200 on a 27" does exist, contrary to what people say on here.

I was very happy with this monitor, until I bought a 23" IPS screen, 1080p resolution. I have to say that the text looks much sharper on the smaller screen, but the extra space on the Hanns G is still worth it, imo. It just depends on how you get used to things and how your eyes deal with it. I use both screens next to each other for office work and compared to the 23" IPS screen the Hanns G looks a bit washed out and "blown out". However, on its own I never ever noticed anything like it, hence my comment on it all depends on what you are used to. I would imagine, as someone else said here, that 1900 x 1200 on a 24" would be ideal for office work. For gaming the extra surface makes it all a bit more immersive.

If I could do it all over again I would probably have taken a punt on the Hazro as you just can't beat extra resolution and an IPS screen.
 
Spook187 said:
I have this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-001-HS&groupid=17&catid=1120&subcat=

Never had any problems,great price,i could never go any smaller than a 27" screen now,yes a higher resolution would be better with a screen of this size,but untill my wallet allows i am very happy at this res:)
Click to expand...

Thanks Spook I'll shortlist that one :)

Spudgun said:
I tried to go from a 20" 1680x1050 to 27" 1080P and the text was awful - was like writing in lego blocks! - these things are purely subjective, however, and some people may prefer a larger size.

Best thing to do would be to go and try out a few monitors at a local store and see what works for you
Click to expand...

Yep I know what you mean but I suppose it depends what you're used to as well. Going from a 20 inch to 27 is quite a leap it may not be as much a culture shock for me going from a 22. I'd love to be able to go to a store with a good selection of displays to take a look at but I've never found one maybe I'm looking in the wrong places though.
 
Not to be pedantic but that's actually a 27.5" screen and often classified as 28" due to Ye Olde marketing (hence '28' in the model name). :p It is quite subjective as to how you will find the 1920 x 1080 (or 1920 x 1200) resolution on a 27-28" screen. The pixel pitch is indeed relatively large but some it also depends on other factors such as screen surface. VA panel monitors of this size and resolution tend to have a light antiglare surface which improves the overall image clarity and even more so on a glossy TN panel monitor - but you will never get the kind of real-estate and definition that you get from a 27" 2560 x 1440 model. This is particularly true for those with glossy screens such as the Hazro and Apple Cinema Display which are pretty much unrivalled in this department really.
 
Hi PCM2 I've seen you posting a lot about monitors I know you review them too so can I ask you a question while you're here please. I just checked a couple of review for the HannsG and they said the picture quality was a bit washed out. Can you recommend a 25 or 27 inch with good picture quality mostly for games? Would I need to get a VA panel for example? I had a look at some reviews for the Benq and they said the picture quality was excellent but OCUK don't sell it.
 
From my experience and the feedback I have gathered I wouldn't recommend a VA panel for gaming. I have done so in the past as they do offer exceptional contrast and a really nice image if you aren't particularly sensitive to the responsiveness. I have had too many disappointed gamers come back to me saying that they are having to return their VA panel monitor (which they are otherwise really pleased with) because they can't stand the trailing during high contrast scenes in particular. I even commented against using the Apple Cinema Display in a post today on this thread, but compared to even the best VA panel monitors the responsiveness is much better in reality. ;)

Overall there are really two monitors I consider to be the 'top of the game' when it comes to 27" 60Hz monitors - the Samsung S27A350H which I reviewed earlier this year and the VE278H which I recently added to a 'top 10 monitors for 2012' list. Actually there is a third, the HP 2711x but that isn't available in the UK so that recommendation isn't much good. HP are about the only manufacture who go for the 25" screen size (others would be 24") and make the very good HP 2511x which is again not available here. Both the Samsung and ASUS are very good when set up correctly and offer excellent responsivenss and good overall image quality. I would say that the ASUS is actually a little easier to set up and has configurable overdrive so you can find your own sweet spot depending on the games and applications you play or use. It also has an 'AI light' feature which adjusts the monitor brightness according to ambient lighting which can be a nice feature. The Samsung has better OSD options which allows it to output a slightly better image than the ASUS if you can set it up correctly but most people would find the ASUS easier to set up and the image it produces very pleasing. I know this makes it a confusing choice and if I had tested more than one of each unit I could tell you about possible variability and make a better recommendation but really you should be very happy with either of these. The ASUS is just a touch cheaper, too, if that makes a difference and comes with a DVI port which will again mean less tweaking if you have an Nvidia GPU.
 
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Thanks PCM2 for the detailed answer. I've just been looking at the ASUS screens and can't see the model number you mentioned at least not here on OCUK. They have 3, the VE276Q, the VE278Q which is out of stock and the other is a VG278H which is a 3D monitor and a bit out of my price range. I'm guessing it was a typo did you mean one of these?
 
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