Monitors have got to be the hardest thing to buy

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After weeks of research and reading reviews... I am no closer to a decision. There is no such thing as a perfect monitor or even anything particularly close. So many compromises: size, resolution, cost, panel type, build quality, longevity. Any time you find something that looks promising at least one it those factors let it down.

Aside from the GPU I spec'd the rest of my new build fairly easily. The choice of monitor is causing me to lose the will to build it.

/Rant

Monitors are seriously the biggest minefield though!
 
They certainly don't help with the 50 character long product codes.

"So that one is xxavbxxa and that one is xxavbxxa' and you spend half a day trying to find out the difference which turns out to be something like one was packed by Gary and the other by Susan.

Then, as you say, you find out it falls short in an area.

It's one of the reasons I've still not upgraded, I can't be arsed :cry:
 
haha yup! There's no perfect, everything is full of compromises. I'm in the same boat, having read countless reviews. I'm now stuck on size but... 28 is too small, 32 is too big! argh!
 
Stop being so fussy! You could end up finding the best monitor and then it arrive with several dead pixels in the middle of the screen.

Just get the best you can for your budget and after a few weeks of using it you'll think it's the best monitor for you regardless.
 
"So that one is xxavbxxa and that one is xxavbxxa' and you spend half a day trying to find out the difference

LG are guilty of this. The product PDFs will have different table formats for the specification making it difficult to do a comparison.

I decided by panel type, size and connectivity options. Monitor was for productivity so refresh rate and resolution weren't a priority.

The monitor was mounted on an arm so didn't care what the included stand looked like.
 
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Yeah I can never remember the model number, I have to keep searching the store, and then copying and pasting into Google with review after lol.

AW2723DF, Dell S3422DWG, LG 27GP850P-B, LG 34GN850P-B, and the Gigabyte M32UC are the finalists (believe it or not) after reading probably 100+ reviews. All have their pros and cons.
 
I decided by panel type, size and connectivity options.
Ah, don't remind me. I remember some time ago looking at one monitor and thinking "that's the one for me" only to find out they weren't necessarily shipped with that panel, it may be one from another factory that's not as good.

Pfft monitors. :cry:
 
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Yeah completely agree, it's so difficult. I completed my new build a couple of months ago but still not decided on a monitor (apart from briefly getting a LG27GP850 which I returned)..

At least with all the other parts I could pretty much work out the best options within my budget, but their are pros and cons to any monitor. It also doesn't help that choices are narrowed due to stock shortages.
 
Yeah completely agree, it's so difficult. I completed my new build a couple of months ago but still not decided on a monitor (apart from briefly getting a LG27GP850 which I returned)..

At least with all the other parts I could pretty much work out the best options within my budget, but their are pros and cons to any monitor. It also doesn't help that choices are narrowed due to stock shortages.
Why did you return it? I was considering the LG27GP850-B.
 
Stop being so fussy! You could end up finding the best monitor and then it arrive with several dead pixels in the middle of the screen.

Just get the best you can for your budget and after a few weeks of using it you'll think it's the best monitor for you regardless.

This actually makes no sense - in the context of the OP there often isn't a clear "best" monitor for a budget (which is part of why the thread even exists) and sometimes if there is a highest rated one at a budget point it isn't necessarily the "best" monitor depending on what features are important to you, etc.

There is rarely a perfect monitor so you have to narrow it down by what you can/can't live with really but even that is easier said than done until you've seen one in the flesh i.e. back in the day I bought a BenQ XL2420T which at the time was the "best" monitor in the budget point and despite ticking all the boxes I hated it - the backlight gave the screen a icy blue hue like staring into an ultrabright LED which was just fatiguing on the eyes.
 
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Yeah I think monitors are actually harder than TVs. Try to buy one and enjoy it is my advice. I've had no regrets with my Samsung Odysey G9 49 inch curved beast. The productivity alone over the last year or so has probably paid for itself in my work output from home. But read reviews and you will be put off. Loads of issues, people obsessing over perfect panels etc etc. Mine has - admittedly very luckily - been A1 perfect from day 1.
 
VA has some downsides when it comes to motion if you do any kind of faster paced gaming - though there are a small number of VA panels where it isn't a problem most sooner or later you'll notice there is smearing or graininess in certain colour transitions in movement.
 
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Easy - OLED :cool:

What's your use and budget?

What environment do you use it in and what usage? VA can have glossy screens which can affect things. The Dell IPS ones are nice.

VA has some downsides when it comes to motion if you do any kind of faster paced gaming - though there are a small number of VA panels where it isn't a problem most sooner or later you'll notice there is smearing or graininess in certain colour transitions in movement.

Budget £500 but could stretch. OLED is no good due to burn on, I WFH so by day it'll be an office monitor. Gaming at night. Average brightness room with no direct sun.

Games with include Cyberpunk, RDR2, Starfield when it comes out, Mass Effect, Bioshock, Xcom, GalCiv. GTA6 eventually.
 
I'm not sure what the latest model is called but you could have a look at whatever the equivalent Dell S2721DGFA is these days. Bought one about a year or so ago and these are IPS Quad HD monitors @ 165hz. The colour vibrancy is really good. Matte screen. Good I/O and stand. I'd rate them high.
 
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