[SOLVED] Need help choosing display

[alexe277]

So I'm setting up my first desktop computer and was needing some help with choosing what monitor I should go with! I already know what pc, keyboard and mouse to get, but I'm not sure on the monitor, which in my opinion is the most important part! Now to clarify I'll be using this computer to watch shows and videos as well as play games, so I definitely want a good looking panel. I also want to clarify that I am NOT concerned with high refresh rates, free sync, or anything like that. I'm perfectly fine with a standard 60hz panel, I don't play competitively or anything like that, I'm a pretty casual gamer, I'd rather have the panel look good than have a higher refresh rate. Most of the gaming monitors I've looked at have TN panels which are inferior to IPS in most ways, and I'll be using this panel for productivity as well like writing and programming, so I'd prefer IPS. I'm trying to go with a dell monitor as they make good products and I like the simplistic look of them. I found a few that I'm interested in, I'll link them below so you can view the tech specs and give thoughts.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/member/s...9dm/apd/210-anyx/monitors-monitor-accessories

https://www.dell.com/en-us/member/s...9dc/apd/210-aqpv/monitors-monitor-accessories

https://www.dell.com/en-us/member/s...16d/apd/210-aggp/monitors-monitor-accessories

Now the first and second from what I can tell are practically the same, outside of one having a usb-c connection, am I missing something? The first two have HDR, while the second one has 10-bit color and seemingly a higher contrast ratio. Now price isn't really a concern between these as I can afford either, so which should I go with? I'm not sure how relevant HDR, 10-bit, or this seemingly higher contrast ratio are when it comes to monitors. is there enough HDR support in games to justify getting that? I feel like close to none support 10 bit color, but the main thing I was looking at with the last one was the contrast ratio. I will be playing horror games in the dark sometimes, so if this one has much deeper blacks than that may be a very big factor in choosing between them. Does anyone know how deep the blacks would be on that monitor?

I'm sorry for having so many questions but I just want to make sure I make the right choice when choosing one as they aren't cheap! I would GREATLY appreciate any help anyone can give me!!

 

[jeremyj_83]

So I'm setting up my first desktop computer and was needing some help with choosing what monitor I should go with! I already know what pc, keyboard and mouse to get, but I'm not sure on the monitor, which in my opinion is the most important part! Now to clarify I'll be using this computer to watch shows and videos as well as play games, so I definitely want a good looking panel. I also want to clarify that I am NOT concerned with high refresh rates, free sync, or anything like that. I'm perfectly fine with a standard 60hz panel, I don't play competitively or anything like that, I'm a pretty casual gamer, I'd rather have the panel look good than have a higher refresh rate. Most of the gaming monitors I've looked at have TN panels which are inferior to IPS in most ways, and I'll be using this panel for productivity as well like writing and programming, so I'd prefer IPS. I'm trying to go with a dell monitor as they make good products and I like the simplistic look of them. I found a few that I'm interested in, I'll link them below so you can view the tech specs and give thoughts.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/member/s...9dm/apd/210-anyx/monitors-monitor-accessories

https://www.dell.com/en-us/member/s...9dc/apd/210-aqpv/monitors-monitor-accessories

https://www.dell.com/en-us/member/s...16d/apd/210-aggp/monitors-monitor-accessories

Now the first and second from what I can tell are practically the same, outside of one having a usb-c connection, am I missing something? The first two have HDR, while the second one has 10-bit color and seemingly a higher contrast ratio. Now price isn't really a concern between these as I can afford either, so which should I go with? I'm not sure how relevant HDR, 10-bit, or this seemingly higher contrast ratio are when it comes to monitors. is there enough HDR support in games to justify getting that? I feel like close to none support 10 bit color, but the main thing I was looking at with the last one was the contrast ratio. I will be playing horror games in the dark sometimes, so if this one has much deeper blacks than that may be a very big factor in choosing between them. Does anyone know how deep the blacks would be on that monitor?

I'm sorry for having so many questions but I just want to make sure I make the right choice when choosing one as they aren't cheap! I would GREATLY appreciate any help anyone can give me!!

The first 2 are basically the same. Both are IPS with 1000:1 static contrast ratio, 8bit color, and 60Hz. The 2nd one has USB-C, FreeSync, and a little more of the DCI-P3 coverage (90% vs 85%) but both are more than 99% sRGB. Also the 2nd is HDR600 vs HDR400 on the 1st. The 3rd doesn't give much more information than just being a 10bit panel.

You say you are going to be doing productivity and gaming (typically horror games). The monitors with the best contrast are going to be VA panels. Typically they will run in the 2500/3000:1 static contrast ratio vs 1000:1 for IPS panels. You also might want to look into an ultrwide monitor as well. At 3440x1440 resolution it can replace 2 27" 2560x1440 monitors easily. I personally have an ultrawide and will not go back to a standard format display at home. At the office I have a quad 1920x1080 setup and working from home I can make it similar to 3 monitors, just 1146x1440 and not much loss of productivity. Here is a good entry level ulrawide.
PCPartPicker Part List

Monitor: MSI Optix MAG341CQ 34.0" 3440x1440 100 Hz Monitor ($449.99 @ B&H)
Total: $449.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-31 11:59 EDT-0400
Tomshardware did a review on it as well https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/msi-optix-mag341cq-curved-ultra-wide-gaming-monitor,5959.html

 

[alexe277]

The first 2 are basically the same. Both are IPS with 1000:1 static contrast ratio, 8bit color, and 60Hz. The 2nd one has USB-C, FreeSync, and a little more of the DCI-P3 coverage (90% vs 85%) but both are more than 99% sRGB. Also the 2nd is HDR600 vs HDR400 on the 1st. The 3rd doesn't give much more information than just being a 10bit panel.

You say you are going to be doing productivity and gaming (typically horror games). The monitors with the best contrast are going to be VA panels. Typically they will run in the 2500/3000:1 static contrast ratio vs 1000:1 for IPS panels. You also might want to look into an ultrwide monitor as well. At 3440x1440 resolution it can replace 2 27" 2560x1440 monitors easily. I personally have an ultrawide and will not go back to a standard format display at home. At the office I have a quad 1920x1080 setup and working from home I can make it similar to 3 monitors, just 1146x1440 and not much loss of productivity. Here is a good entry level ulrawide.
PCPartPicker Part List

Monitor: MSI Optix MAG341CQ 34.0" 3440x1440 100 Hz Monitor ($449.99 @ B&H)
Total: $449.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-31 11:59 EDT-0400
Tomshardware did a review on it as well https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/msi-optix-mag341cq-curved-ultra-wide-gaming-monitor,5959.html

Thank you so much for the information! With what you said in mind i'd rather get the second than the first, I didn't see that it had freesync. But if it has freesync, better color and better HDR and it's hardly more expensive, I'd say that would be the way to go. With the third one can you tell if there is any better contrast than the first two? I know it mentions having a 2000000:1 contrast ratio in the specs sheet but I didn't know what it was referring to at all.
And are HDR and 10bit even worth paying more for? If i'm going to be playing games mostly, are there games that take advantage of either of those features? Or would I be paying more money for features I wouldn't get to use at all?

 

[jeremyj_83]

Thank you so much for the information! With what you said in mind i'd rather get the second than the first, I didn't see that it had freesync. But if it has freesync, better color and better HDR and it's hardly more expensive, I'd say that would be the way to go. With the third one can you tell if there is any better contrast than the first two? I know it mentions having a 2000000:1 contrast ratio in the specs sheet but I didn't know what it was referring to at all.
And are HDR and 10bit even worth paying more for? If i'm going to be playing games mostly, are there games that take advantage of either of those features? Or would I be paying more money for features I wouldn't get to use at all?

Static contrast is the difference between the brightest and darkest a screen can be at any given moment. Dynamic contrast ratio is the absolute difference it can make between brightest and darkest (ie turned off and turned onto max brightness) but this isn't possible during usage. This means the numbers we care about for contrast are the static ratios. The 3rd one says 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, basically that is a worthless number, probably is again 1000:1 static.

There are some games that support HDR but those are typically AAA titles. For 10bit vs 8bit this is more important for people doing high end video or photo editing.

I know I am going to sound like a broken record, but I highly recommend the Ultrawide Monitors. They make a world of difference in productivity. Not every game supports the wider resolution, but it can still run in 2560x1440 with black bars on the sides. The games that do support the wider resolution give a much bigger field of view.

 

[alexe277]

Static contrast is the difference between the brightest and darkest a screen can be at any given moment. Dynamic contrast ratio is the absolute difference it can make between brightest and darkest (ie turned off and turned onto max brightness) but this isn't possible during usage. This means the numbers we care about for contrast are the static ratios. The 3rd one says 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, basically that is a worthless number, probably is again 1000:1 static.

There are some games that support HDR but those are typically AAA titles. For 10bit vs 8bit this is more important for people doing high end video or photo editing.

I know I am going to sound like a broken record, but I highly recommend the Ultrawide Monitors. They make a world of difference in productivity. Not every game supports the wider resolution, but it can still run in 2560x1440 with black bars on the sides. The games that do support the wider resolution give a much bigger field of view.

I'll definitely consider looking at some ultrawide ones as well, thanks for the suggestion! And that's good to know that it doesn't actually have any better contrast, and i don't video edit or anything like that so it sounds like the third would be worse for me than the first two.

 

[jeremyj_83]

I'll definitely consider looking at some ultrawide ones as well, thanks for the suggestion! And that's good to know that it doesn't actually have any better contrast, and i don't video edit or anything like that so it sounds like the third would be worse for me than the first two.

The MSI ultrawide I linked in my first response is a VA panel. Those have much deeper contrast than IPS panels. The monitor I have is a Samsung C34F791 with a 3000:1 static contrast ratio. I can tell a difference between it and an IPS panel pretty easily. In my opinion I feel that the added contrast adds depth to an image. I'm not the person to ask about the differences in colors though as I'm red/green color blind...lol