Question Trying To Decide Best Value 4K Monitor 30-34in - $1200.00 or Less - Your Expertise Appreciated

[Slapshot1]

I am buying my first 4k monitor and need a good one. It will be used for surfing the internet, and occasional youtube video, and 4k gaming, most notably Diablo 4 when it arrives on Jine 1. It will normally never be used to watch movies.
My budget is a max of $1200.00, though lower is better, assuming the display is of high quality and performance. 30-34 inch is preferable, but if I cannot get a top display above 28-30 in, I could probably live with that.

Based on the review by Tom's, last November, my leading choice was the Alienware AW3423DWF. However, that monitor hasn't made either of their most current best 4k monitor list, published 21 days ago. They instead recommend a Dell G323Q as their number one pick, followed by a Samsund Odyssey G8, and other various monitors. No mention at all of the Alienware. . All of which leaves me confused.

The monitor is for a new pc that I am building around an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and an AMD 6950 XT GPU. High level 4k gaming is very important. But general software work and surfing on the PC are equally so.

Any clarifications, recommendations and assistance would be immensely appreciated.

 

[Eximo]

I usually start here:

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/by-resolution/4k-ultra-hd-uhd

I believe the top choices are out of your price range.

This one catches my eye a little:

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/lg/32gq950-b

Just shy of $1K.

But some of the ones you listed aren't 4K, they are 1440p ultrawides, so if you want that, that is a whole different class of monitors.

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/by-features/ultrawide and your Alienware is still top of the list.

 

[Slapshot1]

I usually start here:

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/by-resolution/4k-ultra-hd-uhd

I believe the top choices are out of your price range.

This one catches my eye a little:

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/lg/32gq950-b

Just shy of $1K.

But some of the ones you listed aren't 4K, they are 1440p ultrawides, so if you want that, that is a whole different class of monitors.

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/by-features/ultrawide and your Alienware is still top of the list.

I must have mistaken something, as I thought I was only looking at 4k monitors. That's clearly what I need. Thanks for the" rtings" site recommendation, I had forgotten about them, but know that they definitely know their stuff.

 

[Slapshot1]

No other thoughts on this?

 

[Eximo]

Back when there were only like two dozen high performance monitors, they were pretty easy to keep track of.

Now there are new models coming out every few days. People don't buy a lot of monitors. Pretty much rely on reviews to give advice on the subject.

If they don't have what you want, just start looking around at your price point and seeing if they or other reviewers have taken a crack at it.

Myself, waiting for the QD-OLED and OLED prices to come down a little before replacing my PG279Q.

 

[geofelt]

A 4k monitor will have very small text.
A larger unit makes 4k resolution more usable.
I now use the 48" LG C1 with a stunning oled image.
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/lg/48-cx-oled
But, today, not needing the TV function, I would opt for the gaming version:
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/lg/48gq900-b
The price will be about $1100.

 

[Slapshot1]

A 4k monitor will have very small text.
A larger unit makes 4k resolution more usable.
I now use the 48" LG C1 with a stunning oled image.
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/lg/48-cx-oled
But, today, not needing the TV function, I would opt for the gaming version:
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/lg/48gq900-b
The price will be about $1100.

Thanks for the information that a 4K monitor will have very small text. Thats going to make it difficultfor me, as 2/3rds of it's use will not be gaming related, and will involve text. Now I am really not sure what to do, as I do not have room for anything above 34 inches max. As good a deal as the 48in LG that you linked to me appears to be, I simply can't make that size work.

Now, it appears that I am at a crossroads. I was building the new pc to provide quality 4k gaming (as well as using it for software work, internet research involving many articles, reviews and forums, and other things. Now it appears that a 4k monitor will make reading hours of text each day impossible.

 

[Eximo]

Desktop scaling is a thing, not like you have to run your desktop at 100%, you can opt for 150/200% or more. The high pixel density lets you get away with this.

 

[geofelt]

Tell me more about your space restrictions.
A photo of your workspace is worth a thousand words.
If you can use a wall mount, there are many added good options.

A 34" monitor is measured diagonally,
The actual width of the monitor will be around 30"
The actual width of a 48" monitor is more like 42"

As another option, a 48" monitor can be mounted vertically.
The resulting width will be 24"
Probably not you want for games, but very good for just text.
You get the idea.

 

[Slapshot1]

Tell me more about your space restrictions.
A photo of your workspace is worth a thousand words.
If you can use a wall mount, there are many added good options.

A 34" monitor is measured diagonally,
The actual width of the monitor will be around 30"
The actual width of a 48" monitor is more like 42"

As another option, a 48" monitor can be mounted vertically.
The resulting width will be 24"
Probably not you want for games, but very good for just text.
You get the idea.

I appreciate the thoughts on this. I'm unable to wall mount in my office, and it would be too far away, if I could for working with text. 34in is the absolute maximum given the distance of my chair to the monitor (which is also limited.

 

[Slapshot1]

Desktop scaling is a thing, not like you have to run your desktop at 100%, you can opt for 150/200% or more. The high pixel density lets you get away with this.

Thanks for pointing that out. I thought that the other comment was indicating that even with desktop scaling, 4k monitors still had text that was very small.

 

[geofelt]

The native 4k text is very small, but there are all sorts of ways to change either the windows text size or the size of text in a window. FWIW, I am comfortable sitting in front of a 48"4k monitor at about a distance of 24"
My deskspace is wide enough to also have a 27" 4k monitor mounted vertically.
Perhaps a cardboard mock up would make you feel more comfortable about choices.

Do not feel restricted to whatever stand a monitor comes with.
They all will have the possibility of a VESA mount.
To see what mount options are possible, visit ergotron:

Monitor Mounts, Computer Carts, Sit to Stand Desks | Ergotron

Ergotron uses human-centered design to build kinetic workspaces. Our products promote wellness and productivity by moving technology to where you need it most.

www.ergotron.com

They are top quality but also expensive.
You can get mounts that will raise/lower,tilt up/down,adjust distance to your eye.
A mount will clear up deskspace.

 

[Slapshot1]

A 4k monitor will have very small text.
A larger unit makes 4k resolution more usable.
I now use the 48" LG C1 with a stunning oled image.
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/lg/48-cx-oled
But, today, not needing the TV function, I would opt for the gaming version:
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/lg/48gq900-b
The price will be about $1100.

Re-reading this got me thinking. I read reviews of some top rated 43" TV's, when used as a monitor. The prices were also surprisingly affordable for quality 4k at that size.
I was really starting to think that I might well have found the best option for my needs.

However, I created a cardboard mock up of the actual size of the top rated model and while it technically can fit in my space, it simply looked borderline ridiculous, due to its size, in that space. It also completely blocked the view of the two windows in my office, which is hardly what I would want. I think that something like a 37 inch would be workable but no one manufacturers anything of sufficient quality at that size. 43" is essentially the smallest size out there.

 

[Slapshot1]

I keep seeing comments to stay away from the Samsung Neo G8 and G7 monitors because of firmware update issues they have never resolved. Can anyone fill me in on what exactly the firmware issues are and what impact they have one the performance of the monitors?