[DrewDM]

Is there a monitor 24″ or smaller in size that is 4K and does more then 60HZ? the P2415Q is a 60hz monitor right?

[PCM2]

No there isn’t. All currently available UHD models are 60Hz and will not reliably run beyond that. The first model to be announced with a higher refresh rate uses DP 1.4, which your system wouldn’t support, and it is not due until later this year for a very high price – https://pcmonitors.info/asus/asus-pg27uq-144hz-4k-monitor-with-g-sync-hdr/. USB-C will also support higher refresh rates, but so far it hasn’t been used on any model for that purpose.

[DrewDM]

I heard about that monitor last week, looks insane! Unfortunately 27″ is too big for my set up…. Oh well…

[BluesFanUK]

At 4K, avoid anything below 32″. I had a 27″ monitor last year and had to scale it to 125%. This can overcome alot of issues, but becomes a problem for older programs or programs which haven’t been updated to the 21st century…

Also, most 4K 27″ IPS panels have a seriously grainy screen effect. Either go 32″ 4K or go for 25″ 1440p till you can afford the money/space for a 32″ screen.

[DrewDM]

It’s not a matter of affording for me, it’s a matter of my set up and my computer desk can only hold a max of 2 -25″ monitors

I get your opinion of 4k but I want to future proof myself which may sound stupid but I dont want to have to upgrade In a couple of years to a 4k monitor so I can watch 4K movies, as I currently use my 1080p monitor for that exact purpose, plus I also use it for gaming (not PC, console)

I saw the Dell U2515 and it looks interesting but really it’s only “2k” right?

[PCM2]

‘2.5K’, although I hate this ‘K’ obsession. ‘2K’ would be 1920 x 1080 using the logic that 3840 x 2160 is ‘4K’. If you understand the constraints of scaling or use programs that play nicely with this, then I wouldn’t really worry too much about a smaller UHD screen.

[DrewDM]

oh, I see, my early 2013″ MacBook Pro in the display settings says the screen is “2880×1880” but “looks like 1920×1200”

I don’t know what the current MacBooks are or future ones will be.

Finding the right monitor is driving me crazy… I don’t know if I should just hold off buying a monitor until I see what Apple might release this year in terms of their refreshed iMacs or potentially new MacBooks and then buy a monitor.

I’m so hesitant and nervous because I bought my MacBook in July of 2013, and that fall Apple released their new MacBooks that year with PCI-SSDs with insane read/write speeds and I missed out because I wasn’t going to sell my current one…Read and write speeds then went from like 400 to 800 and now I think they’re over 1000.

I don’t want to make a similar mistake again with monitors.

[Eon]

I just bumped into this site when looking for a 4k 40″+ screen. I bought the “low cost” philips to use at work, but there is a defect that is annoying me that doesn’t seem to get tested, so maybe this post will give you a reason to include this in your tests.

If you put up a pure technical image of 50% pixel sized checker pattern in a window, the philips starts to bleed out of proportions. The image is totally distorted horizontally! At some other hires patterns, the image may start flickering too!

You may use the tool at dtest.cyviz.com for testing (yes that’s my tool). Click on “checker”, and adjust step to 1. Then play with colors to see if they all look nice.

I assume the Philips issue is due to the way the LCD panel is driven by the electronics. Normally this is not a problem, but I do use a tool [Cadsoft Eagle PCB layout tool] where this effect is clearly visible due to its hires graphics fill styles.

[PCM2]

I assume by “low cost” Philips you’re referring to the BDM4065UC? I did actually observe something similar to this when running some of the calibration with the Spyder. I couldn’t replicate it anywhere else and didn’t feel it would affect most users. A balance needs to be struck between informing users of issues in a review and making sure they aren’t put off by issues that are actually unlikely to affect them. It’s a fine art and it’s something I have refined over the years based on user feedback and reaction to some things I’ve said. Mentioning overshoot or other pixel responsiveness issues is a prime example of where discretion needs to be exercised as a reviewer. Unwanted artifacts related to pixel inversion and voltage control is another.

[Eon]

Thanks for quick answer. Yea that’s the monitor I got at my office (not there when writing). This artifact has been bothering me because I use this specific piece of software, and I will make sure my next one doesn’t have this issue (I want a 4k at home too). I do have some sympathy with what you say, but unfortunately it won’t help me to identify what monitor to buy next.
Anyway, I hope you can find use for the test tool I pointed you to. We do use it for internal testing at cyviz.

[PCM2]

I am greatful for the tool, certainly, as it will help pinpoint issues that could be focused on during other ‘real-world’ testing. The BDM4065UC is actually the only monitor I’ve noticed these particular artifacts on (in my case, when using the Spyder software from Datacolor). The BDM4037UW, for example, had no such issues.

[Eon]

Thanks for that tip. I do however stay away from curved screen because of the 3d reflections artifacts you get. I suspect curved screens will be gone as soon as the marked finds out what 3d reflections does to ones heads 😉

[PCM2]

Do you speak from experience or theory? I’ve a vast amount of experience with curved screens, have a very keen eye and have never come across this ‘3D reflections artifact’ of which you speak. Unless you mean the distorted reflection you see on a glossy curved model like the Philips, because I did notice that but found it no more bothersome than a regular reflection.

[BluesFanUK]

Hey, any info on the Acer BM320?

The specs look pretty impressive:
32″, 4K IPS, 10bit – covers 100% sRGB, 100% AdobeRGB, 100% Rec709 and 90% DCI-P3

I’ve got a serious itch to upgrade to 4K but finding the right monitor is so much more difficult than it was five or six years ago.

[PCM2]

No, or there would be a news piece on our site. 😉 Do you actually need or for that matter want 100% Adobe RGB coverage or such a wide colour gamut? It isn’t an attractive thing for most content, which is designed with sRGB in mind currently. This is designed specifically for content creation within the Adobe RGB and other extended colour spaces, if you seriously do have that upgrade itch I suggest you scratch it with something else. Oh and don’t be mislead by the press shots with super-imposed images hiding the panel border – the bezels aren’t actually that thin.

[BluesFanUK]

Hmmm. Cheers.

Just found out I can get the BenQ BL3201PT for about £570 right now. Noticed on Amazon the BenQ PD3200U is going for £695 though. It appears to be a newer model, I cannot for the life of me tell what the differences are though.

[PCM2]

Yeah, the PD3200U (not quite released yet in the UK) uses an upgraded panel according to BenQ, but it’s not clear how that changes anything. It has a black rather than silver stand neck, a feature called ‘DualView’ and possibly a few other extra features not currently documented plus HDMI 2.0 support (useful for ‘4K’ games consoles perhaps). I guess given the strong performance of the BL3201PT you wouldn’t want it to depart too much in terms of performance anyway. I’d like to take a look at it at some point to confirm, but might not be for a few months depending on what else is available.

[keepah]

Hello there 🙂

I plan to buy a new 4K monitor, but I am hesitating between the Aoc u3277pwqu you tested and the Philips 328P6VJEB

I think both are the exact same panel so not sure which one would be the best. Philips model seems more oriented toward professionnals so maybe better? I’m not sure 🙁

Thanks

[PCM2]

Hi keepah,

I have no experience with the Philips, but it is fair to assume it’s going to be very similar to the AOC U3277PWQU. Not only because it uses the same panel, but because both models are likely manufactured in the same factories by TPV and tweaked by the same engineers. In case you weren’t aware, AOC and Philips are very closely linked to one another.

Being geared more towards professional users is neither here nor there, they can market it as they wish. It doesn’t affect the performance of the product itself.

[keepah]

Thank you for your thorough answer.

[Author]

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