The truth about 1920x1080 on a 27" display

[Alfie]

Morning all.

There is an ever increasing trend against higher pixel pitch displays with a 1920x1080 resolution. Lots of people are being told they can't possibly go with a 27" monitor at 1920x1080 because the text will be boxy and disgusting to look at, images will lack sharpness and clarity and gaming will look crud. Most threads end up with someone (and I've been guilty in the past) who owns an expensive IPS panel like the U2711 saying "oh no mate, you don't want to go there, you must spend 3 times as much to get 2560x1440". Chances are though that the person that owns a U2711 has not spent much time with a 27" TN panel for comparison.

So. I am the fussiest person you will meet, I have OCD worse than Patrick Bateman. I'm that person that went through five U2410's because of tint, the person that WILL return any monitor with 1 dead pixel.

On that basis, and on the basis that I have a low pixel pitch 23" IPS display (Dell U2311h) and a high pixel pitch 27" TN display (Iiyama B2776HDS) in front of me I wanted to share my thoughts. Both monitors are 1080p.

They are as follows:

1) The text on the 27" is in fact a lot easier to read and looks perfectly sharp, particularly after adjusting the sharpness via the monitors OSD and by adjusting the cleartype settings via the Windows 7 wizard.

2) Gaming is better. I can see everything more clearly as it's bigger. I got a lot better at COD overnight. there is no ghosting and I know my GTX 580 will last another year at 1080p.

3) Image quality is actually pretty good. Some colours don't come through on the TN but I found by boosting the digital vibrance just a little in the Nvidia control panel and by using the SRGB setting on the monitor I can't really tell the difference between the TN and the IPS. I really, honestly can't.

4) I think we should stop giving the wrong advice to people who are not image editors and just want to have fun with their PC without breaking the bank.

*my opinions

 

[cmndr_andi]

I would agree, 27in @ 1080p is fine. I personally use a 1200p 27in Dell (which has a similar pixel pitch) and it looks great - and the extra size is nice.

The only thing I would say is that the downsides of TN panels (narrow viewing angles - especially vertically and colour banding at the extremes) can be a bit more evident on such a large size panel - though it does depend how far away you are sitting from it and what tasks you do on it.

 

[Greenja]

I love my 27" 1080p screen.

I did go to it from a 32" 720p screen though, so no suprise I saw a huge improvement!

 

[Axeia]

Are you sure you're not nearsighted? (Just a question not meant in an offensive way)
Personally I can read text on a 27" 2560x1440 just fine. Could be due to the heavy coating on your u2711 that it becomes (if ever so slightly) harder to read. Did take me some getting used to at the start but now it's easy as it's ever been and I've never had to focus more than I used to.

Although I wont claim things seem 'blocky' on full hd @ 27 I will say that I don't like the display of text at all! With cleartype text isn't all that sharp and I can see a bit of a Halo although you get used to that relatively fast. Turn it off for a hour and back on again and you'll see it for a while again. I mostly simply dislike the huge letters, it's like you're looking at the top letter(s) of an eye test chart.. they're ridiculously big. For the elderly this can be a huge plus, I hear a lot of older people complaining about text always being so small and I would definitely recommend them to buy such a screen.

For gaming they're fine imo, as the image is moving your eyes don't get the time to concentrate on the details too much anyways. Yes, 2560x1440 looks better but 1920x1080 is perfectly acceptable and just as immersive.

NVIDIA's Digital vibrancy gets all colours completely out of whack, it doesn't compare to the colours of an IPS. I imagine the results would be similar to the u2711 without turning the normal gamut emulation on, however, in both cases you end up with over saturated (not very natural) colours. This is something a lot of people however like and probably the reason why NVIDIA added it in the first place.

So 27" @ Full HD.. is it all that bad? No.
Is it for everyone for normal use? Most definitely not, I'd much prefer a 21.5-24" with that resolution.

 

[melmac]

Morning all.

There is an ever increasing trend against higher pixel pitch displays with a 1920x1080 resolution. Lots of people are being told they can't possibly go with a 27" monitor at 1920x1080 because the text will be boxy and disgusting to look at, images will lack sharpness and clarity and gaming will look crud. Most threads end up with someone (and I've been guilty in the past) who owns an expensive IPS panel like the U2711 saying "oh no mate, you don't want to go there, you must spend 3 times as much to get 2560x1440". Chances are though that the person that owns a U2711 has not spent much time with a 27" TN panel for comparison.

So. I am the fussiest person you will meet, I have OCD worse than Patrick Bateman. I'm that person that went through five U2410's because of tint, the person that WILL return any monitor with 1 dead pixel.

On that basis, and on the basis that I have a low pixel pitch 23" IPS display (Dell U2311h) and a high pixel pitch 27" TN display (Iiyama B2776HDS) in front of me I wanted to share my thoughts. Both monitors are 1080p.

They are as follows:

1) The text on the 27" is in fact a lot easier to read and looks perfectly sharp, particularly after adjusting the sharpness via the monitors OSD and by adjusting the cleartype settings via the Windows 7 wizard.

2) Gaming is better. I can see everything more clearly as it's bigger. I got a lot better at COD overnight. there is no ghosting and I know my GTX 580 will last another year at 1080p.

3) Image quality is actually pretty good. Some colours don't come through on the TN but I found by boosting the digital vibrance just a little in the Nvidia control panel and by using the SRGB setting on the monitor I can't really tell the difference between the TN and the IPS. I really, honestly can't.

4) I think we should stop giving the wrong advice to people who are not image editors and just want to have fun with their PC without breaking the bank.

*my opinions

Don't take offence, but, this is your opinion. So why have you titled the thread 'the truth about 1920x1080 on a 27" display' ??

For a start you should remove point number 4, again because this is your opinion. Other people are giving their opinions as well, what makes their opinion wrong and your opinion right that you can turn around and say that we should stop giving people wrong advice. Wrong advice for you might be right advice for someone else.

About the other points you raised.

1. You can do the cleartype and sharpness on smaller monitors too, but I find that it's really down to personal preference, you might like the look of the text on the 27 inch monitor, others might not. It also depends on how close you sit etc.

2. Again, that's your opinion. Gaming might be better for you, but some people 27 inch is too big. It takes too long to look everywhere on the screen for hidden enemies. But again it depends on how close you sit. 27 inch doesnt have anything to do with ghosting it can happen on any size monitor. Both of your monitors are 1080p so I don't really understand why this is an advantage for the 27 inch?

3. If you sit straight in front of a TN monitor then everything will be good. I don't think many people would be able to tell the difference. It's only when you look at an angle that an IPS screen really starts to show the difference.

4. Well I said about 4 already

Also, you purchased one of the best 27 inch monitors out there, well in my opinion. It's super fast response time, nearly no input lag and has amazing colour quality right out of the box.

So good quality monitor = good experience No matter what the size.

 

[IronWarrior]

Isn't how you view text on a screen all controlled through the OS?

I'm currently typing this looking at a 42" HDTV at a 1080p resolution, text and everything is fine.

What's the problem?

 

[old gamer]

I can see where the op is coming from, ive lost count of the times ive read that 27" 1080p was too big and games would look rubbish and i could not disagree more, i bought a samsung s27a750d and find gaming on it very good 2d or 3d

 

[antran]

Personally, I never had monitors that's over 1080p until now. Bought one of those cheap 27" ips monitor from Korean for £215. I wish I can afford a Dell U2711, but this is the closest monitor I can get to a U2711 for a fraction of the price.

All I can say is WOW, more work space and BF3 just looking amazing comparing to my last monitor. The colors on these monitor are just amazing, text are clear and no ghosting while playing BF3.

Oh man, if you can see the different between IPS and TN monitors then you need to get your eyes check out.

 

[Axeia]

Isn't how you view text on a screen all controlled through the OS?

Partly.

You can set the DPI in the OS to be higher which will give you bigger text. Most programs can also upscale text quite well, fonts aren't bitmapped based and can upscale while still looking crisp.

Thing is, with 1920x1080 @ 27" you cannot downscale the text to be same size as with with a 27" 2560x1440 and retain the sharpness, it will become unreadable simply because you don't have enough pixels to form sharp letters at that size.

 

[Alfie]

you can turn around

Too much Jeremy Kyle

Yeah, fair point about the thread title but I can't change it now. You're right about the distance to be fair, my desk is quite wide so 27" 1080p is really comfortable. Hmmmm, all that you say is true.

 

[Random Guy]

2560x1440 and no issues with text. 1080p looks pretty bad for gaming though

 

[as905]

i didn't like my 27" 1080p i honestly think above 24" needs higher res to be acceptable. its no where near as sharp as 1080p on the smaller screens.

 

[aatu]

It's more about everyone's usual viewing distance and eye-sight. If I did the calculations right, 27" 2560x1440 is equal in pixel pitch to 20" 1920x1080.

And in my case, I have a 19" (18" vis.) CRT at 1152x864. To get same pixel pitch with a 2560x1440 resolution, I would have to go all the way to 37". For 1920x1080, 28" is the closest.

You just have to compare your current setup, and from there see what is the best fit. In case someone wants to calculate the matching size for the same pixel pitch in one's own current situation, there's a formula behind the spoiler:

Spoiler

Here's a simple rule-of-thumb formula for calculating a monitor size with a similar pixel pitch as current monitor:
CrntWidth/CrntHRez*NewHRez*1.16

CrntWidth = Current Width in inches (not the diagonal length)
CrntHRez = Current Horizontal Resolution
NewHRez = New Horizontal Resolution

This gives the answer for New Diagonal Size for 16:9 monitors (estimated error is +/- 0.5"). The Current width isn't the diagonal, but the actual width, thus your current aspect ratio doesn't matter. You can check the correct width from here:
http://displaywars.com/

So, in example calculating a similar pixel pitch monitor size for my above mentioned 19" CRT (18" visible) with 1152x864 resolution, when looking to get a 2560x1440 resolution:

14.40 / 1152 * 2560 * 1.16 = 37.12

From this I can reassure myself that I should NOT bother with 2560x1440 resolutions. Or otherwise I will have to sit much closer (atm 50-60cm).

PS. If you want error-free calculation or want to calculate for something else than 16:9, then leave out the 1.16 (in which case the answer gives the New Horizontal Width), and manually check the corresponding diagonal size for your the corresponding width.

 

[craarc]

imo anything at 24" needs to be run at 1930x 1200 minimum at 27 " 2560 x 1440 to get a good high res picture

no way would a 27" at 1080 p look good, thats low def imo..


like watching a 42 - 50 inc tv at 720p


no thx

 

[Alfie]

no way would a 27" at 1080 p look good, thats low def imo..


like watching a 42 - 50 inc tv at 720p


no thx

Thank you for illustrating my point so eloquently.

 

[Alfie]

i didn't like my 27" 1080p i honestly think above 24" needs higher res to be acceptable. its no where near as sharp as 1080p on the smaller screens.

Maybe some of the 27" 1080p screens are no good. Mine is just as sharp, just bigger. But I'm 3' away from it I suppose.

 

[David_VI]

I was considering a 27" but was told similar, so realised it was probably too big.

I've got a BenQ atm, about to DSR for the better BenQ 24". 24" seems big to me but still I think 27" appeals to me. I often find I sit oddly in my chair trying to see the screen.

May I ask, how close do you sit to your 27"? And do you have to move your head or eyes a lot to see things?

 

[FlyingPig]

I disagree with the OP, but then again it all depends on what your eyes are used to. I have always been very happy with my Hanns G 27.5" screen (1920x1200) and used it for gaming, Office work, browsing, etc. I now have a Hazro 27" with a 1440p resolution sat right next to it and it has basically ruined my Hanns G. The image quality of the IPS screen is just so much better and the higher resolution does give you a lot more desktop real estate to play with. If I had known about this I would have never bothered buying the Hanns G and coughed up the extra funds to get myself two Hazros.
Then again, for some people's eyes the higher resolution is just too small, especially for browsing and Word documents etc., so their experience will be different. I'd choose the IPS screen and higher resolution any time, but you have to balance that with previous experience and budget.

 

[chipachap]

imo anything at 24" needs to be run at 1930x 1200 minimum at 27 " 2560 x 1440 to get a good high res picture

no way would a 27" at 1080 p look good, thats low def imo..


like watching a 42 - 50 inc tv at 720p


no thx

The way you're talking you must be a robot to see "low def" at 1080p@27"

Unless you're sitting < 6 inches from the screen there in absolutely minimal difference between 24" and 27" at 1080p, and it's unnoticeable if you're >2 feet away. A 50" at 1080p get's a bit too blocky for me but to say you can see a huge difference with 2-3 inches is ridiculous TBH.

 

[Alz_D]

My opinion for what it's worth

It's all personal preference and there isn't a right answer or a "truth"

That is quite clear from the ongoing discussion.

My own experience was coming from a 50" plasma / PS3 to a 27" 1080p / gaming PC really blew my mind. I have just bought three 23" screens for eyefinity and spent a little bit of time yesterday on just one of the screens. The difference between the 27" and the 23" is noticable. Graphics look a lot more crisp but they will do as it's the same pixel count in a smaller space. Some people prefer a larger screen for games - I now prefer the 23" over my old 27".

And..... I prefer Eyefinity over all of the above. (But I am aware that many people can't stand it!!) But it is my opinion