27" IPS Recommendations

[kitkat12012]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for some recommendations for a 27" IPS monitor.

I'm mainly going to use it for Photoshop and programming so color accuracy and sharpness are the priority (hence the IPS criteria). I'm also not going to use it for games so I don't really care about fast response times.

I've read that IPS are the best when it comes to color accuracy, but if there's a comparable TF or something then I'll take these suggestions too.


I also want the screen to be large, 26+ maybe. And preferably something with a resolution higher than 1920x1200 or 1080p or something.



I'm currently considering the Dell Ultrasharp 27" but it's a bit over my budget so I'm looking for alternatives. Budget is around $700 but I can go more if it's really worth it. I might also just go with the Ultrasharp if I can't find any good alternatives.


Thanks

 

[jaguarskx]

Well any IPS panel monitor that's currently available 27" will be 2560 x 1440 resolution and will be out of your budget. You will have to settle for a 1920 x 1200 resolution monitor and something that is no larger than 24".

There are 25.5" (sometimes rounded up to 26") IPS monitors out there at 1920 x 1200 resolution, but even they are out of your price range and most of them are no longer in production; such as the NEC and Planar monitors listed in my specs below.

The best monitor that I can recommend for high color accuracy is the NEC LCD2490WUXi. It is no longer in production, but it can still be purchased new. It will max out your budget when you add shipping costs though.

http://www.compu-america.com/24-wide-screen-lcd-1920x1200-wstd.html

Basically, it is the smaller "brother" of the 25.5" NEC LCD2690WUXi. The biggest difference between the two (other than the size) is the color gamut. The 2490WUXi has normal color gamut of 72% while the 2690WUXi has a wide color gamut of around 92%.

Wide color gamut generally means the color spectrum is a bit skewed towards green hues than normal color gamut which makes colors look a tad bit greenish. But the goal of wide color gamut is to make it easier to print color accurate materials. In the past there were only normal color gamut monitors which made it difficult to properly calibrate the monitor and the printer to print out color accurate materials. The printouts would typical look a little different from the colors on the screen. Nowadays wide color gamut monitors out number normal color gamut monitors. If you never used a wide color gamut monitor, then it might take you a while to get used to the colors it produces like it did for me.

Getting back to the NEC LCD2490WUXi... it is basically geared towards graphics professional and the price has actually come down a lot. When it was in production it had a selling price of over $1,100. What makes it great for color reproduction work are the following:

1. Normal color gamut - This maybe a plus or minus though

2. A-TW polarizer - That's Advanced - True White. It is basically a filter that decreases the white glow effect that is common with IPS monitors. However, sometime you get slightly reddish blacks if looking at your monitor from an angle greater than 60 degrees. But when sitting in front of the monitor you will be fine. White glow basically means a lot of white light is emitted by the monitor, so blacks are not as dark as they can be. Very few IPS monitors have the A-TW polarizer since, it seems to be both difficult and expensive to implement.

3. ColorComp - This feature basically attempts to make colors extremely consistent across the monitor with very little variations. A simple example would be if you wanted your monitor to display a particular shade of blue across the entire monitor display. LCD technology is not perfect so there's going to be a bit of variation to that shade of blue across the screen; there could be patches here and there at could be off. ColorComp minimizes the issues.

Here are two detailed reviews of the monitor:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/nec_2490wuxi.htm

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2009/review-nec-2490wuxi.html

 

[kitkat12012]

Well any IPS panel monitor that's currently available 27" will be 2560 x 1440 resolution and will be out of your budget. You will have to settle for a 1920 x 1200 resolution monitor and something that is no larger than 24".

There are 25.5" (sometimes rounded up to 26") IPS monitors out there at 1920 x 1200 resolution, but even they are out of your price range and most of them are no longer in production; such as the NEC and Planar monitors listed in my specs below.

The best monitor that I can recommend for high color accuracy is the NEC LCD2490WUXi. It is no longer in production, but it can still be purchased new. It will max out your budget when you add shipping costs though.

http://www.compu-america.com/24-wide-screen-lcd-1920x1200-wstd.html

Basically, it is the smaller "brother" of the 25.5" NEC LCD2690WUXi. The biggest difference between the two (other than the size) is the color gamut. The 2490WUXi has normal color gamut of 72% while the 2690WUXi has a wide color gamut of around 92%.

Wide color gamut generally means the color spectrum is a bit skewed towards green hues than normal color gamut which makes colors look a tad bit greenish. But the goal of wide color gamut is to make it easier to print color accurate materials. In the past there were only normal color gamut monitors which made it difficult to properly calibrate the monitor and the printer to print out color accurate materials. The printouts would typical look a little different from the colors on the screen. Nowadays wide color gamut monitors out number normal color gamut monitors. If you never used a wide color gamut monitor, then it might take you a while to get used to the colors it produces like it did for me.

Getting back to the NEC LCD2490WUXi... it is basically geared towards graphics professional and the price has actually come down a lot. When it was in production it had a selling price of over $1,100. What makes it great for color reproduction work are the following:

1. Normal color gamut - This maybe a plus or minus though

2. A-TW polarizer - That's Advanced - True White. It is basically a filter that decreases the white glow effect that is common with IPS monitors. However, sometime you get slightly reddish blacks if looking at your monitor from an angle greater than 60 degrees. But when sitting in front of the monitor you will be fine. White glow basically means a lot of white light is emitted by the monitor, so blacks are not as dark as they can be. Very few IPS monitors have the A-TW polarizer since, it seems to be both difficult and expensive to implement.

3. ColorComp - This feature basically attempts to make colors extremely consistent across the monitor with very little variations. A simple example would be if you wanted your monitor to display a particular shade of blue across the entire monitor display. LCD technology is not perfect so there's going to be a bit of variation to that shade of blue across the screen; there could be patches here and there at could be off. ColorComp minimizes the issues.

Here are two detailed reviews of the monitor:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/nec_2490wuxi.htm

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2009/review-nec-2490wuxi.html

that looks sweet. nice price too.


how about if I increase my budget to around $900? any good contenders for that range? or maybe a non-IPS monitor with still a very good color acuracy?

thanks

 

[jaguarskx]

If you are pushing your budget to $900 then you can buy the Dell U2711 monitor;2560 x 1440 resolution.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2711-27-inch-Widescreen/dp/B0039648BO

It lacks the color correcting electronics of the NEC LCD2490WUXi since it is geared more towards general usage rather than specifically for color accurate photo work. Even so, it should still be able to do the job.

Here's two reviews:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2711.htm
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2010/review-dell-u2711.html

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

I'll also give my recommendation to the U2711. I do photography work and I am loving this monitor. You can find it under 900 new on Amazon.

 

[kitkat12012]

I read some reviews on the 27" Dell Ultrasharp

a lot of people are saying that the anti-glare coating is sparkly and distorts text

any thoughts on this?

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

Nope. No issues on my end nor anyone I know who use it for detailed work.

 

[kong911]

keep in mind those reviews are old...the new production revision should fix all that problem. I have two of the 2410U monitors and mine are Rev. 4 and they're fabulous for photo-editing/graphic application. Planned to get a third one, eventually, for surround-view goodness.