Which 27" 4K QD-OLED Monitor?

silvagti

silvagti

silvagti

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I'm planning on making the jump from 1440p IPS to 4K OLED and wondered which monitor would be the best option? There seem to be a variety of models (Asus, Alienware/Dell, Gigabyte, MSI, etc) ranging from ~£700-900.

I believe all of them use the same glossy QD-OLED panel at 240Hz so presumably which is best willl just come down to features and pricing? I'm planning on connecting my gaming PC, Macbook Air (so USB-C/Displayport would be handy) and my Nintendo Switch to the monitor. So I'd also need it to have audio output of somekind. Unfortuantely most 27" OLED monitors don't seem to come with speakers so I'd need something connected to the 3.5mm out or possibly an e-arc soundbar?

Any recommendations or models to avoid based on my requirements?

MSI 27" MPG 272URX QD-OLED 3840x2160 240Hz
 
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The top link is a 1440P monitor btw. Not 4k. Its also a WOLED not the QD-OLED you mentioned.
 
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N0ddie said:
The top link is a 1440P monitor btw. Not 4k. Its also a WOLED not the QD-OLED you mentioned.
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Just realised my mistake, I clicked on the wrong monitor as the products names are so similar.

It's the 4k OLED versions I'm trying to decide between!
 
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Do you really need 4k in a 27" size?

I took delivery of the Asus X27 something (27" 1440p 360Hz QD-OLED) yesterday. The screen blows my mind how good it looks.
 
N0ddie said:
Do you really need 4k in a 27" size?

I took delivery of the Asus X27 something (27" 1440p 360Hz QD-OLED) yesterday. The screen blows my mind how good it looks.
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Yeah, I’m pretty much set on going 4k as the font scaling at 1440p on my current monitor looks pretty bad in MacOS plus it’s not ideal for connecting my games consoles which are generally intended for either 1080p (which scales cleanly on a 4k panel) or 4k.
 
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All use the same panel, but with some slight differences in calibration/performance , ASUS has a sensor that turns off the display etc when you walk away, and has best picture quality according to most reviews.

Can't go wrong with any choice but go with whatever is cheapest at the time of purchase :)
 
Might be better to buy two montors

1440 for gaming, and get better fps out of it.
4K for text and windows/photos/videos etc

Maybe work out?

Also for "audio out" ideally you want digital audio out, that typically means a TV.
 
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silvagti said:
Could be an option for some but I just want a single display and the games I play on PC are older and will all run happily at 4K on my current PC.
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Still the issue of audio out, I needed that too, as my PC was displayport to montor then needing monitor-> AVR. That is the only way I could get lossless to AVR

Most monitors have "headphone" out...not optical, coaxial, or HDMI ARC/E-ARC
 
hornetstinger said:
Still the issue of audio out, I needed that too, as my PC was displayport to montor then needing monitor-> AVR. That is the only way I could get lossless to AVR

Most monitors have "headphone" out...not optical, coaxial, or HDMI ARC/E-ARC
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Yeah, I’ll probably have to go with a headphone out option to connect a pair of stereo speakers using a 3.5mm jack.

There is a 27” Alienware 4k OLED with e-arc over HDMI. I’m not confident in the quality of Alienware monitors/hardware though as I’ve had bad experiences with them in the past. Seem to be a lot of folk grumbling about that model in several Reddit threads which is a concern.

It is the cheapest 27” OLED 4k monitor though so maybe worth a try?

Does anyone on this forum have experience with any of the 27” 4K OLED monitors?
 
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oh headphone out to speakers will probably have noise/distortion, sound bad (going through monitor analogue)

Best to bypass the monitor for audio tbh, unless you can use digital audio through it. I now do PC to monitor for DP, then PC to AVR via optical audio.
 
hornetstinger said:
oh headphone out to speakers will probably have noise/distortion, sound bad (going through monitor analogue)

Best to bypass the monitor for audio tbh, unless you can use digital audio through it. I now do PC to monitor for DP, then PC to AVR via optical audio.
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The problem I’d then have is then how to get audio from my MacBook and consoles if I don’t connect speakers through the monitor?

It would be awkward if my audio didn’t automatically change with my monitors display output. Presumably it wouldn’t sound overly bad putting audio through a set of stereo speakers over 3.5mm?
 
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silvagti said:
The problem I’d then have is then how to get audio from my MacBook and consoles if I don’t connect speakers through the monitor?

It would be awkward if my audio didn’t automatically change with my monitors display output. Presumably it wouldn’t sound overly bad putting audio through a set of stereo speakers over 3.5mm?
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yeah you'd need some kind of audio switch. Or for each device send audio & video seperatly. On a case by case basis. I use a AVR, so I'd change input on AVR and on the monitor. 1080p devices can go through the AVR, but anything above that, has to go direct from source to monitor for video, then figuring out how to send auudio from that device to the AVR. AVR's don't support all PC resolutions so I can't use that for PC ie 144hz 2560x1440. With HDMI sources that aren't typical resolution/refresh supported by AVR, ideally each source would have dual out, ie like Panasonic BD820.

If a Displayport/HDMI multiplexor/digital audio extractor box existed you could do that but need to ensure it supports 240hz, 500hz, 4K, etc etc all the features of a PC gaming monitor, not just the standard 4K 120hz of TV's

A TV would probably be the simplest as those have multiple inputs and ARC/optical output, if your device has those inputs..

But TV's have own issues, like you need to use the remove, smallest oled is 48" etc.

Or get a monitor that routes all audio from incoming back out to optical/coaxial/ARC-EARC.

Last time I use analogue out from TV I was getting noise, luckily I switched to digital out so got around that, but if you're stuck with that you are totally stuck.
 
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Personality+ said:

If you need built in speakers, but they're nothing special quality wise, but at least you get sound if that's what you need, I can't even remember if the 272URX had any as I never used them when I owned the display.

2 HDMI and DP 2.1 input for the above display but doesn't come with a DP/HDMI cable or at least didn't for me.
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That AOC monitor might be a good option given it has built in speakers. I didn’t realise AOC made a 27” 4k OLED actually. I’m not really an audiophile so would be happy with built in 5w stereo speakers.

Samsung do a 27” QD-OLED 4k display (27” odyssey G81sf) with speakers but it has a matte screen coating and I’d prefer to stick with a glossy coating which most OLED displays have.

So I’d decided against the Samsung because of that.
 
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silvagti said:
That AOC monitor might be a good option given it has built in speakers. I didn’t realise AOC made a 27” 4k OLED actually. I’m not really an audiophile so would be happy with built in 5w stereo speakers.

Samsung do a 27” QD-OLED 4k display (27” odyssey G81sf) with speakers but it has a matte screen coating and I’d prefer to stick with a glossy coating which most OLED displays have.

So I’d decided against the Samsung because of that.
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Monitor speakers are lousy. Doesn't mean you have to spend hundred on speakers but the speakers are a afterthought

Plus if you accept monitor speakers not allowing you option of upgrading sound later (because it lacks digital out routing) you're stuck.

Maybe look at that nad small class d amp with speakers that has usb in , speakers level out couple of inputs
 
hornetstinger said:
Monitor speakers are lousy. Doesn't mean you have to spend hundred on speakers but the speakers are a afterthought
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I do have a set of dedicated 5.1 speakers I could use with my gaming PC if needed.

However, I’d still need audio output of some variety (even if it’s basic stereo desktop or built-in) for my MacBook/laptop/games consoles as switching audio via an amp/headset/etc for every display input would be too much of a faff.
 
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A USB switch is surely the easiest solution for using 1 set of speakers across multiple devices? For a time I used one for the audio from my PC and when I wanted to, also my PS5. No switching USBs around etc. Just the press of a button.

Was just a cheapo USB switch from the rainforest place.
 
N0ddie said:
A USB switch is surely the easiest solution for using 1 set of speakers across multiple devices? For a time I used one for the audio from my PC and when I wanted to, also my PS5. No switching USBs around etc. Just the press of a button.

Was just a cheapo USB switch from the rainforest place.
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I feel that just plugging the audio into the monitor and having it switch with the display device would be an easier and cleaner option?

Is there a better solution to the above if I want to simultaneously connect a Pc, laptop (usb-c display/ power delivery) and a consoles via HDMI to a monitor?

If OCUK don’t sell an appropriate usb switch could you post a description/model number of the device you’re suggesting as I’m maybe not understanding what you mean?
 
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silvagti said:
I feel that just plugging the audio into the monitor and having it switch with the display device would be an easier and cleaner option?

A USB switch seems like it would need awkward if I have a laptop over usb-c, displayport, a pc over displayport and a console over HDMI?

Is there a cleaner option to the above if I want to simultaneously connect a Pc, laptop (usb-c display/ power delivery) and a couple of consoles over HDMI?
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Its would be 1 USB from PC to USB switch, 1 USB from laptop to USB switch, 1 USB from console to USB switch and 1 USB cable from switch to speakers.

Position the switch behind the monitor in an easy to reach place and bosh! Problem solved.
 
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