Ultra Wide For Office Use (spreadsheet/database)

Bint Box · 17 Mar 2017 at 10:12

Hi,

Can anyone please advise me what my best ultra wide monitor options would be for office use with spreadsheets and databases? I am currently using a 24" 16:10 monitor and hope to avoid some of the repetitive scrolling left and right when working with lots of columns in spreadsheets and databases.

The monitor would not be used for gaming so I assume I do not need some of the top end features that are favoured by gamers. I think the option of 3440 x 1440 resolution would be good with a 34" ultra wide monitor. Another factor is the monitor stand footprint, I need something without a very large stand footprint. The monitor would probably be used with either a GTX780Ti or GTX980Ti card.

As regards budget, anything up to £750 or thereabouts will be OK. Good build quality and image quality are more important than the budget so I can increase the budget if required. However, for non gaming use I would hope there is an option within budget.

Thx
Bintos

Daniel - LG · 17 Mar 2017 at 10:19

Hi,

from an impartial point of view, if you are only using it for spreadsheet and database work you might not need the 3440x1440 resolution, I find for such work a 2560x1080 res holds up just fine - this also means you can save a lot of money

now for the impartial bit, if the above would be true, I would suggest this - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lg-3...escreen-super-wide-led-monitor-mo-145-lg.html

comes in way under budget and you get the full 34" goodness

james.miller · 17 Mar 2017 at 10:20

The cheapest one, probably. I've had a 34um95 at work for quite a while now and it's served me very well. typical use is split between excel, SSMS and visual studio. I still find the resolution limiting in some cases, especially if i'm working with two apps side-by-side. I want to replace it with a 4k panel ideally, but i think i'd stuggle day to day with a higher dpi so it would have to be 35"+ i'd imagine. But still, but the 34" UW still does very well.

Hi,

from an impartial point of view, if you are only using it for spreadsheet and database work you might not need the 3440x1440 resolution, I find for such work a 2560x1080 res holds up just fine - this also means you can save a lot of money

Funnily enough i have a 3440X1440 Panel at work and a 2560x1080 panel at home (both LG you'll be pleased to know

) and i really notice the difference in desktop space. Spreadsheets are ok if that's all i'm doing but i'm usually not - i'm nearly always doing two things at once

Also if i was buying a 2560x1080 panel i wouldnt bother with a 34" - the DPI is too low, personally, and they look too soft as result. You're also paying extra for that privilege over a 29" 2560x1080 panel. Unless you've got issues with your eyesight i couldnt recommend a 34" 2560x1080 panel over a 29".

Bint Box · 17 Mar 2017 at 10:29

Daniel, James,

Thank you for your replies and suggestions.

I am currently running my 24" monitor at 1900 x 1200 resolution so I would prefer not to have to go down from 1200 to 1080 for height. Apart from the large increase in width resolution I hope to get, it would be nice to get a little more height or at the very least, not lose any height resolution.

Thx
Bintos

hornetstinger · 17 Mar 2017 at 10:33

Bint Box said:
Daniel, James,

Thank you for your replies and suggestions.

I am currently running my 24" monitor at 1900 x 1200 resolution so I would prefer not to have to go down from 1200 to 1080 for height. Apart from the large increase in width resolution I hope to get, it would be nice to get a little more height or at the very least, not lose any height resolution.

Thx
Bintos

Yup that's the same size and res I'm using now (24" 16:10, 1920x1200) 95 PPI. Really you're looking to keep it the same PPI as you have now, then looking at 29" 2560x1080 or 34" 3440x1440 if you want to keep the PPI as high, or higher than what you have now.

34" 2560x1080 seems better for gaming at the moment, and compromise for text quality in Windows desktop

Daniel - LG · 17 Mar 2017 at 11:43

Hi Bint,

if the 3440x1440 is a must then I would suggest this - this is a special price and once sold will go up nearly £100

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lg-3...escreen-super-wide-led-monitor-mo-146-lg.html

dan

Bint Box · 17 Mar 2017 at 13:07

Daniel - LG said:
Hi Bint,

if the 3440x1440 is a must then I would suggest this - this is a special price and once sold will go up nearly £100

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lg-3...escreen-super-wide-led-monitor-mo-146-lg.html

dan

Daniel,

Thx for the link. The only reservation I have about that monitor is the stand footprint. I hope to place the monitor on top of a laptop docking station that has a width of 14 inches. It looks like I would have quite a bit of the stand overhanging the docking station. The docking station is the type where there is a platform on top to accept a monitor. It was a point I referred to in my original post. Other than that, the monitor loks good for my needs.

Thx
Bintos

hornetstinger · 17 Mar 2017 at 13:28

Buy a Vesa that clamps onto the desk edge?

nashathedog · 17 Mar 2017 at 15:10

For working rather than anything else the 38" models offer the ultimate real estate with a higher than 3440x1440 res (I forget the exact numbers), but they cost a lot of money.

However if it's also going to be used for adaptive sync gaming I would avoid LG's Freesync ultrawides, They really need to up there game and give us better working ranges and LFC support (Sorry Daniel).

hornetstinger · 17 Mar 2017 at 15:11

nashathedog said:
For working rather than anything else the 38" models offer the ultimate real estate with a higher than 3440x1440 res (I forget the exact numbers), but they cost a lot of money.

However if it's also going to be used for adaptive sync gaming I would avoid LG's Freesync ultrawides, They really need to up there game and give us better working ranges and LFC support (Sorry Daniel).

The 34" 2560x1080 has a wide range though. So you either choose high PPI but 50-75hz, or lower PPI and wide range 50-144hz.

nashathedog · 17 Mar 2017 at 15:50

hornetstinger said:
The 34" 2560x1080 has a wide range though. So you either choose high PPI but 50-75hz, or lower PPI and wide range 50-144hz.

I just read his op properly and it's not for gaming plus there's a size limit on the stand so he might be best served going for one of these.

Dell
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/dell...een-led-monitor-midnight-black-mo-081-de.html

Phillips
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/phil...led-monitor-black-5yr-warranty-mo-028-ph.html

AOC
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-...escreen-super-wide-led-monitor-mo-026-ao.html

Daniel - LG · 17 Mar 2017 at 16:13

nashathedog said:
For working rather than anything else the 38" models offer the ultimate real estate with a higher than 3440x1440 res (I forget the exact numbers), but they cost a lot of money.

However if it's also going to be used for adaptive sync gaming I would avoid LG's Freesync ultrawides, They really need to up there game and give us better working ranges and LFC support (Sorry Daniel).

its ok - albeit the 34UC79G is 144Hz, Freesync, is that not enough??

Bint Box · 17 Mar 2017 at 16:31

nashathedog said:
I just read his op properly and it's not for gaming plus there's a size limit on the stand so he might be best served going for one of these.
Dell
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/dell...een-led-monitor-midnight-black-mo-081-de.html
Phillips
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/phil...led-monitor-black-5yr-warranty-mo-028-ph.html
AOC
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-...escreen-super-wide-led-monitor-mo-026-ao.html

Thx for the reply with the links, they all look to be good options and the stand footprint is in keping with my office space needs. I will have a read up on those three models.

Thx
Bintos

nashathedog · 17 Mar 2017 at 20:50

Bint Box said:
Thx for the reply with the links, they all look to be good options and the stand footprint is in keping with my office space needs. I will have a read up on those three models.

Thx
Bintos

They all look pretty good, but there's some differences in the specs (varying contrast ratio's) which means nothing to me, Presumably it depends on the workload. I think both the Dell and Philips stand out though. I hope you find exactly what you need.

Daniel - LG said:
its ok - albeit the 34UC79G is 144Hz, Freesync, is that not enough??

If it had the 3440x1440 resolution it would be but I had the 2560x1080 144hz Acer which I disliked the res of and moved up to uw 1440,
It's good to see that it supports LFC though, If LG can get the minimum working range down and support LFC on future 38" models I'll definitely go for one.

Bint Box · 18 Mar 2017 at 11:37

Thank you all for your replies, they have been very helpful. After thinking I had found a couple of good candidates, I realised that there was another factor that might actually sink the ship?

I use an StarView 8 port VGA/USB type KVM switch to allow me to have multiple PC's sharing the same keyboard/mouse/monitor. I know for sure that the KVM will not support the higher resolution of 3440 x 1440. Is there any way I can use one ultra wide monitor with one keyboard and mouse with 5 PC's and toggle between the PC's? I am not sure about the functionality of the USB ports on some of the ultra wide monitors, is there any chance they could act as some type of hub to a USB switch for the mouse and keyboard?

Thx
Bintos

hornetstinger · 18 Mar 2017 at 11:41

I think you can have split screen with UW, one PC is one one side, another PC is the other side.

james.miller · 18 Mar 2017 at 12:32

Bint Box said:
Thank you all for your replies, they have been very helpful. After thinking I had found a couple of good candidates, I realised that there was another factor that might actually sink the ship?

I use an StarView 8 port VGA/USB type KVM switch to allow me to have multiple PC's sharing the same keyboard/mouse/monitor. I know for sure that the KVM will not support the higher resolution of 3440 x 1440. Is there any way I can use one ultra wide monitor with one keyboard and mouse with 5 PC's and toggle between the PC's? I am not sure about the functionality of the USB ports on some of the ultra wide monitors, is there any chance they could act as some type of hub to a USB switch for the mouse and keyboard?

Thx
Bintos

What KVM is it? i'd double check that it even supports 3440x1440/60hz because you need hdmi2.0 for that (if you're using hdmi)

Yes, the the monitor acts as a hub. you would have that upstream of the kvm so all the ports on the monitor are available to whatever input is set on the kvm.

I think you can have split screen with UW, one PC is one one side, another PC is the other side.

You can but it's trash. You're stuck with a 50/50 split which means if you want 1:1 pixel mapping (and you do if you want to retain any sharpness) then you need to run both inputs at 1720x1440 otherwise everything ends up either squished or cropped. It's ok if you're using two pc inputs which'll let you run at custom resolutions but if 1 of them is a a cable box or a media player or console, something like that, then it's pretty awful!

Bint Box · 18 Mar 2017 at 14:14

james.miller said:
What KVM is it? i'd double check that it even supports 3440x1440/60hz because you need hdmi2.0 for that (if you're using hdmi)

James.

Thx for your reply and feedback.

I stated above that I know for sure that the KVM will not support 3440 x 1440. The KVM would become obsolete, that is why I was asking about other options for 5 PC's with one ultra wide monitor and one keyboard/mouse.

Thx
Bintos