Big Budget Monitor Advice - Best of the Best?

[talbert]

Currently building a very high end PC. Struggling over Displays. Spent a lot of time reading threads but still can't find the "one". Looking for some help out there from the real Hardware Vets / Experts. Notes below:

Primary Use: Gaming (Both FPS and MMO)
Secondary Use: Surfing The Net / Maybe Blu Ray
Graphics Power: Dual Nvidia 690
Cooling: Cryo-Tec cooled

Budget: none really but lets say <$1500 per monitor
Display size: 24 (if I have to settle), 27 (preferred), 30 (If I can find the right monitor)
Orientation: Superwidescreen Mode and/or Portrait also
Portrait Required: Yes
Number of Panels: 3
Would prefer high pixel density (Example 27" 1440p or 30" 1600p)
Panel Type: IPS if latency is not an issue (settle for a solid TN if needed)
Refresh: Would love to find a 120mhz
Response Time: 5-7ms?

Additional desires:
Micro Bezel (smaller the better)
Buttons on the front of the screen (not the side where they are hard to adjust once the monitors are in place)

Baiscally looking to build a 24-30'' triple monitor panel setup that can go superwide or portrait and make no sacrifices on performance or quality. Really looking for the top 3 choices that fit this profile.

Thanks community!

 

[MauveCloud]

Manufacturer specifications of response time are mostly useless, unless they're listed at 16 ms or higher (or 8 ms for a 120hz panel), in which case you can avoid that monitor.
For 1440p and 1600p the choices that jump to mind are the Dell U2711 and U3011, both of which are available in your stated price range. However, I don't think there are any monitors that can do 120hz at those resolutions.

Edit: I noticed after I posted this that the U2711 and U3011 lack pivot functionality. Here are some possibilities that do:
2560x1440: Samsung S27A850D, NEC PA271W-BK, HP ZR2740W
2560x1600: NEC PA301W-BK (costs around $2500, but might be the only monitor at this resolution that comes with a stand that pivots to portrait orientation)
1920x1080 120hz: I can't find any that I can confirm have pivot in the included stand.
Alternatively, you could get monitors with VESA mounting holes and separate stands or arms to take care of the pivot. Finding ones that support 27-30 inch monitors is more difficult than for smaller monitors, though.

 

[talbert]

So, question..I was also looking at the Dell U2711 and U3011. Is it the stand they come with the limit the Portrait functonality or the panel itself? I was going to use a VESA mount like an Ergotron or Ergotech stands from Mounted Concepts. If it's just the monitor stand limiting them, I can mount them somewhere else.

 

[MauveCloud]

The stands they come with don't support the portrait functionality, but I don't see how the panels could fail to support it - Windows takes care of that part (one drawback is that Windows ClearType doesn't support V-RGB subpixel layout which you end up with when putting an lcd in portrait mode). As long as the monitor has the VESA mounting holes, putting it on a separate stand or arm should work fine. The viewing angles of a TN panel make them a less attractive option for portrait mode, but it's still possible.

 

[ssddx]

just a few things to think about:

remember that if using 2560x1600 monitors you have an effective resolution of 7680x1600 or 4800x2560. that is a huge amount of real estate to power with even the most powerful of graphics solutions. windows itself is not the issue but gaming could very well be a problem.

for comparison if using 1920x1080 monitors you will have an effective resolution of 5760x1080 or 3240x1920.

the viewing angles for tn panels make multipanel setups a pain. in multipanel setups you are more likely to encounter the color shifting phenomenon. i seriously would not suggest the hassle considering your budget. e-ips or preferably 8bit p-ips, h-ips or s-ips are preferred.

only tn panels are capable of 120hz. you will have to settle for 60hz if you want to avoid tn panels. which is absolutely fine.

not sure if ips panels are as low response time as you want but they are well within the boundaries of being good to use.

if the monitors do not support potrait mode just get a vesa mount capable monitor and fix it to aftermarket arms. a little extra monel but worth it.

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the most important thing to decide on first is resolution. look at toms video game graphics card charts, specifically at the fps results on high resolution gaming. look at the huge drops in performance. this is what i would worry about with what you want.

also remember that a graphics card is only capable of displaying a resolution of X by X. look at the numbers i gave you (or calculate your own) and compare it to the specs of your hardware.