New monitor - 27” 4K or 34” HD

OU812

I’m in the market for a new monitor.

this will primarily be for my work (W10) laptop, but I’ll probably use it with my Mac laptop also.

I currently have an old 24” with a terrible max 1080 resolution.

I was going to go for a 27” (32” at a push if I wait a couple of months) 4K one, but then spotted an extra wide HD 34” that has a res of 1440.

the extra space on the screen would be handy for some of the massive spreadsheets I deal with or having multiple “full screen” windows open side by side, but I feel like the 3k may be a better option for future proofing down the line.

anyone any thoughts?

I have a max budget right now of about €350 so it’s not going to be a top of the line one. My company is too stingy to buy us any equipment for WFH, when I asked they said no because “the laptop has a screen already”.

Domicio

I don't think you will notice any difference between 4k and 2k in a such small screen, specifically if it is for work. The 34'' sounds the best deal to me.

Padre_Pio

Do the extra wide monitors function as two screens? As in I can "dock" four windows in a double wide, same as I can dock a window to the left and right of a standard monitor to get a split screen view

SuperBowserWorld

4k creates tiny text, for me, on a small monitor, you might have to switch to 1440p depending on your eyesight or screen size. But it's nice to have the option and more future proof.

I've got an lg 27 inch IPS monitor and leave it in 1440p for work and 4k for movies/games. Although I mostly now us a 48 inch 4k TV for games/movies.

Also you'll need a recent OS to do font scaling correctly. So check that your windows or Mac version does that.

Headshot

I would recommend this

Gigabyte Aorus M32U

https://www.caseking.de/en/Gigabyte-M32U-31-5-Zoll-80-cm-4K-UHD-144Hz-FreeSync-Premium-Pro-HDR-400-SS-IPS-DP-HDMI-2.-TFGB-027.html?tplview=desktop

Been absolutely delighted with it

OU812

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118463691#Comment_118463691

Nice but totally out of budget

OU812

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118463634#Comment_118463634

That’s what I was thinking. I’m sitting quite close to it as is & wear glasses, I was just considering down the line if I wanted to use it as a TV by attaching a smart box to it

lawred2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118463691#Comment_118463691

Only 250% of budget

OU812

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118463662#Comment_118463662

Some of them have built in software management to do this (& more depending on what you want to do)

Others allow you to run two separate computers or inputs on the same screen (split) so I could theoretically plug in an Apple TV to one hdmi and have that going on the left while I have teams open and going on the right (probably not recommended) :)

OU812

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118463678#Comment_118463678

I’ve never noticed that problem before, but it’s worth considering I suppose.

Royale with Cheese

I've three 27" monitors here, two of them 4K and one 1440p. I'd definitely go 4K if it's in budget. I have the two 4K ones setup as dual monitors in a home office but my crappy work laptop can only handle outputting one of them at 4K, it looks much nicer/crisper and absolutely no issues with text size when using scaling for both windows and MacOS. In fact MacOS struggles more with scaling on the 1440p monitor.

Both 4K monitors are LG and I've been pretty happy with them, I have an older version of this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088M5S7NH/ref%3Dcm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_ZFZ1S8EC96XM85K8VGGN

Looks like that might be in your budget if it ever went on sale. The usb-c connectivity is a must for me, I can plug my laptop into the monitor with one cable and it will charge the laptop at the same time. Any peripherals I have are plugged into the monitor so it's easy to swap between laptops without having to unplug a load of different items each time.

JoyPad

If the font is too small, you need to apply Scaling (see Scale and Layout under Display Settings). In fact, this is a must if you use two monitors with different size or different resolutions: you should tweak the settings for them until the fonts look identical on both screens.

Also, if you have a lot of screen real estate (e.g. ultrawide), you should no longer use maximized windows, but rather Win+(left) and Win+(right), which move windows to left/right of the monitor. For really big screens, you should install the PowerToys and play with FancyZones.

OU812

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118464105#Comment_118464105

Great monitor. There’s a 32” in the warehouse for less than that but unfortunately doesn’t have USB C

Do you find it really useful to have?

SuperBowserWorld

USB C hub adds a lot, maybe, to the price but I agree that it'll save a lot of hassle and clutter if you switch laptops a lot or take your laptop away from the desk a lot. I use a cheap USB A -> USB C hub for mouse + keyboard to laptop + separate connection for power and to monitor -> so a lot of cables and not so neat.

I got this from Amazon de. It's an older model now I guess. COVID seems to have stopped these dropping in price so much. But they do go up/down in price regularly. Never found any local supplier to match Amazon UK or Germany. Also, Amazon France/Spain has big deductions now and again. Note: you'll need get a 15 quid power adapter to convert from euro to uk/ireland plug if you get something from france/germany/spain. Plus I'm not sure how expensive a return might be or if they'd cover it. Your milage may vary !! as they say.

IPS is definitely, for me, way nicer, but a little bit more expensive than the other display types at this price.

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07QS5DBBH/

Royale with Cheese

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118466714#Comment_118466714

I find it extremely useful, switching between my work and personal laptop is seamless. I can even plug my iPad in and use that with the mouse and keyboard, I have a usb sound module plugged into the monitor that you can plug guitars into which means I can play guitar through my PC speakers via garageband on iPad fairly easily. Not having to unplug the laptop charger each time you take your laptop away with you is probably the best bit about it though, I can just leave it in my bag and never have to faff around under the desk plugging it in.

I bought a third monitor when covid hit and we needed a second workspace downstairs. I didn't want to spend too much so prioritised usb-c over 4K so either of us could easily switch between the two desks, so I went with a 1440p usb-c monitor. My 4K usb-c monitor was around €650-700 four years ago so they've come down in price a lot.

I would also say get something with an adjustable height stand. My 1440p monitor has a fixed height stand which I found too low for me and the only option I had to raise it up was to have it standing on a book which isn't great.

SuperBowserWorld

Yep, adjustable height is very useful, also tilt if possible. Maybe even portrait mode too ...

You can also get a monitor arm later if the monitor you do get does not have these ... these features will add to the price. Just make sure the monitor supports vesa mounts.

OU812

I have this in my basket

LG 32UN88A 32-inch Monitor-IPS 4K 3840x2160, HDR10, DCI-P3 Ergonomic Stannd, USB-C [Amazon Exclusive] https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088LVN3TW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_1S245799M5SBKMKT8F6E?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

have a €200 gift card balance which will really take the sting out of it.

any thoughts? I want to get the best I can get

also, anyone know if I can connect my Mac & w10 laptops to this at the same time? Mac through USBC & Win10 through hdmi?

also, does usbc carry audio and well as video & power?

thanks

Royale with Cheese

Yes usb-c does audio. There should be an audio out port on the monitor, you can plug speakers into this and then select the monitor as the audio output device in Windows or MacOS.

OU812

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118488251#Comment_118488251

Any opinion on that monitor?

Royale with Cheese

Looks alright to me. 32" probably a bit big for me personally but I've two 27' LG monitors and have no complaints with either of them.

SuperBowserWorld

That's coming up as "used" for me.

Seems expensive if so.

OU812

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118489978#Comment_118489978

It is used, but as new. Doesn’t seem to be available new at the moment

OU812

Update.

monitor arrived earlier and I have it set up. It’s honestly absolutely beautiful. Extremely crisp & clear, my only reservation is that it may be too big. I didn’t think that would be possible but it seems that way. Teams meeting earlier was like watching several tennis games at once with my eyes darting round to look at who was talking 😁

I’m also able to split the screen in many ways including giving myself the “illusion” of extra wide (5:9)

Skerries

you quickly get used to the bigger monitors

kala85

The monitor seems to be out of stock.

What’s the refresh rate on the one you bought.

What's it like for TV

OU812

60Htz refresh rate.

I had something from Disney plus on it earlier & it's a stunning picture.

I feel like I may have got the bargain of the year on amazon for this. It arrived new from Amazon warehouse for £600 (I had £200 in credit on the account that I was given) & the 27" is listed at £1500