State of and recommendations for 4K and 1440P monitors at the end of 2015?

[tabascosauz]

Lately I've been getting rather interested in going beyond 1080p. I've never owned a beyond-1080p monitor in my life. In 2005, I bought a Syncmaster T240HD, which I would like to think as being ahead of its time, being 1920x1200 with TV functions and whatnot (and my poor P4 530 HT and whatever graphics controller was on its board couldn't drive 1080p at all). Since then, I've stuck with 1080p.

I've bought a Samsung S24D390HL for home in Canada, LG 22MP55HQ (parents' office), BenQ GL2265 (parents' office) and now an AOC i2369VM for uni in the UK. They're all nice monitors, being IPS and PLS, but I'm starting to feel constricted sometimes by the 23/24" size of the D390 and i2369. I have been eyeing the 1440P monitors, such as the U2515H and U2715H, but I'm not sure what kinds of advantages I can expect from moving to a 25" or 27" 1440P screen. Often times, I will have a chrome window open on the left (for listening to a lecture and watching the slides) while OneNote or Word is open on the right (for taking notes or working on an assignment whilst keeping up with the lecture). This is very unwieldy on the i2369vm, as much as it is a good monitor.

I would not go back to a TN monitor. I have kept my selections limited to IPS and PLS screens (even at the office, where I am given a nice 23.8" VA panel from Samsung to work with during the rare hours when I am there). I enjoy the colour reproduction, mostly for doing photo work in PS CS6. I know that 1440P and 4K screens are cheaper when they are TN, but that's not a sacrifice that I am willing to make unless someone convinces me that there is no appreciable difference at high resolution. I favour Dell because they tend to have great colour reproduction, great build quality and great warranty/support in these expensive monitors, but I recognise that the displays come from LG and other manufacturers have good models too.

Obviously, I would not be buying a monitor here in the UK as I am only a student here and this i2369vm does everything else really well. So I've looked through NCIX which seems to have some of the cheaper prices on these monitors, and the prices have got me scratching my head. The U2715H is barely $50 cheaper than the P2715Q, and that's 27" 1440P IPS vs 27" 4K IPS!! As far as I can tell, they both have the usual perks of Dell high-end monitors, so wouldn't it a no brainer to go for the P2715 at $800?

Because I don't want to confuse you all, here's a list of some of my questions:

1. Are IPS/PLS/VA screens worth the extra money over TN at 1440P and 4K?

2. Is Dell's Adobe RGB coverage really as good as Dell says it is? Is it worth it for amateur (if frequent) photo editing and day-to-day enjoyment in general?

3. I boot Windows 10 and El Capitan. Would 4K be unusable or have horrible DPI scaling in either of these OSes? I know that Win 8.1 wasn't the greatest in scaling even at 4K, but Win 10 seems to be good at it. I also saw somewhere that 4K screens enjoy the benefit of the same OS X scaling afforded to Retina displays? (where instead of scaling down to a 1440p/1080p/720p image, you get the Retina settings that just make things bigger while keeping the 4K resolution)

4. I'm no intense gamer; I wouldn't mind playing whatever games I have (Payday 2, GTA V, PR) on 1080p. Would it be a blurry/bad picture for 1080p res ona 1440p/4K panel?

5. Are Dell monitors worth the premium over the rest? I know I wouldn't buy a U2414H over a i2369VM since it's ridiculous to pay $200+ more for a 1080p monitor that is otherwise the same in display tech and VESA support, but what about these 1440p and 4K IPS panels? I know of a BenQ 27" 1440P IPS panel at NCIX that is significantly cheaper than the U2715H and may even be cheaper than the U2515H. I would like to have good build quality, performance and support to back up my monitor if I paid so much for it, but is the Dell advantage really necessary?

6. Are the U2515H and its equivalent 25" 1440P IPS from Asus good options for someone starting out at 1440P? I've heard from some that the boost in sharpness over 24" 1080P and 27" 1440P is worth it; at the same time, others have said that it doesn't resolve any of the frustrations of multitasking on smaller screens and DPI scaling is an issue. Should I be looking towards 27" for either a 1440P or 4K monitor?

I would prefer not to have to settle for a Korean monitor in the case of 1440p; the weakness of the Canadian dollar, patchy availability and the sketchiness of the brands in general would probably be enough to convince me to stay with more reputable companies. Also, 28" seems a little too big for me and curved screens are not my thing.

Thanks in advance for the advice guys. I'm in no hurry to buy a monitor, and I'm going to need to do a bit of saving up anyways.

 

[bpgt64]

Alot of older panels got super cheap when single panel(vs MST dual panel originals) became available. My personal favorite right now is the Acer 34 Inch Widescreen 3440x1440 IPS Freesync model. I use an Acer 4k TN Gsync panel though, but only for gaming. But I love it to death...If I could trade though I would swap to that 34(but gsync) in a heartbeat.

 

[tabascosauz]

Alot of older panels got super cheap when single panel(vs MST dual panel originals) became available. My personal favorite right now is the Acer 34 Inch Widescreen 3440x1440 IPS Freesync model. I use an Acer 4k TN Gsync panel though, but only for gaming. But I love it to death...If I could trade though I would swap to that 34(but gsync) in a heartbeat.

Thanks for the suggestion, but that panel is over $1200 because of its size and Freesync. I don't need or want Freesync or G-sync driving up the price because I am not a serious gamer.

Most 4K panels in the 27-28in range I see are around $600-800, with IPS panels hanging around the 700-800 mark. I looked that the UD590 that you have in your specs, but it must be an older model or a EU-exclusive because I cannot find it in any Canadian shops.

 

[flmatter]

SyncMaster UHD U28D590 by Samsung is what I just went to from 1080p monitor I had. Very good monitor overall, only draw back is its stand, it shakes very easily. I have weighted mine down to eliminate it.

 

[Jack1n]

I got this for 300$:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VBNQJKU/?tag=tec06d-20
It costs a little more right now but i think its totally worth the price, after going ultrawide any non ultrawide monitor looks like a tiny square, I could never go back from ultrawide now.

 

[rooivalk]

First of all, have you seen 1440p or 4K in real world?
It's sharp and has more extra space, yes. But personally I don't mind working from 1080p monitor even at 27".
I only ask to make sure you know and want the advantages before spending extra.

1. Are IPS/PLS/VA screens worth the extra money over TN at 1440P and 4K?

In my opinion, yes. It's worth it.

2. Is Dell's Adobe RGB coverage really as good as Dell says it is? Is it worth it for amateur (if frequent) photo editing and day-to-day enjoyment in general?

I'm not sure, but I think it's only worth it for real professional work (printing or high quality website production) and it has to be calibrated or it just as messy.

3. I boot Windows 10 and El Capitan. Would 4K be unusable or have horrible DPI scaling in either of these OSes? I know that Win 8.1 wasn't the greatest in scaling even at 4K, but Win 10 seems to be good at it. I also saw somewhere that 4K screens enjoy the benefit of the same OS X scaling afforded to Retina displays? (where instead of scaling down to a 1440p/1080p/720p image, you get the Retina settings that just make things bigger while keeping the 4K resolution)

Haven't tried OSX but in Win10 it's great. There are issues with several softwares like older Photoshop won't scaling the UI but that's not OS issue.

4. I'm no intense gamer; I wouldn't mind playing whatever games I have (Payday 2, GTA V, PR) on 1080p. Would it be a blurry/bad picture for 1080p res ona 1440p/4K panel?

It's still slightly blurry/not sharp, but far better than 720p on 1080p panel. If you're not nitpicking, it's pretty okay.

5. Are Dell monitors worth the premium over the rest? I know I wouldn't buy a U2414H over a i2369VM since it's ridiculous to pay $200+ more for a 1080p monitor that is otherwise the same in display tech and VESA support, but what about these 1440p and 4K IPS panels? I know of a BenQ 27" 1440P IPS panel at NCIX that is significantly cheaper than the U2715H and may even be cheaper than the U2515H. I would like to have good build quality, performance and support to back up my monitor if I paid so much for it, but is the Dell advantage really necessary?

Assuming the same panel used, Dell usually has 3 advantages: warranty, VESA, and solid good quality stand. It's really up to you whether it's worth it or not.

6. Are the U2515H and its equivalent 25" 1440P IPS from Asus good options for someone starting out at 1440P? I've heard from some that the boost in sharpness over 24" 1080P and 27" 1440P is worth it; at the same time, others have said that it doesn't resolve any of the frustrations of multitasking on smaller screens and DPI scaling is an issue. Should I be looking towards 27" for either a 1440P or 4K monitor?

Personally I would prefer 27" for 1440p at normal (100%) scaling. At 25", UI will be about ~10% smaller than 27". Too small for me since at 27" UI is already small.
If you sit pretty close (i.e. 40-50cm away) and has good eyes it's probably okay though.

For 4K you need scaling of course.
At 200%, 4K will be as big as 1080p UI-wise, so 24"-25" will be no problem too use and still retain sharpness of 4K. You need to zoom out yourself per application (such as Office or Photoshop) to maintain its space advantage though.

I would prefer not to have to settle for a Korean monitor in the case of 1440p; the weakness of the Canadian dollar, patchy availability and the sketchiness of the brands in general would probably be enough to convince me to stay with more reputable companies. Also, 28" seems a little too big for me and curved screens are not my thing.

Curved screens only great for big screen anyways.
I'll recommend curved only for 34"+ Ultrawide or 40"+ 16:9 and only if you sit at close range (about 60cm or less).

 

[tabascosauz]

@rooivalk Thanks for the info. My friend recently got a PB278Q (PLS, 27" 1440P) and I'll be sure to check it out once I get back. No experience @ 4K though, only huge TVs.

I've seen 27" 1080p before and I didn't like it. At 27" I think 1440P or above would be a must, but I can see why some gamers might like the extra real estate with a still manageable resolution.

My biggest concern for 1440P screens is the DPI scaling function in OS X. 4K 27" panels like the P2715Q are able to make use of the DPI scaling that is used for Retina displays. Are the U2715H and U2515H able to leverage that feature as well? If not then adjustments to DPI make things bigger but you lose resolution in the process.

I think my main reason for sticking with Dell was the warranty support and VESA compatibility. I have now found that Asus has a nearly identical competitor for many of Dell's 1440P screens.

What would you think of the LG 27MU67-B?