30" Monitor for Gaming

[beltzy]

I'm doing a little research on solid 30" monitors for gaming under $1,300.

So far it looks like a couple of the most popular ones around are:

- Dell 3007WFP (a bit older but still very popular)
- HP ZR30W (pretty new model, fantastic color range, designed for professional use but most reviews indicate it does quite well with gaming)
- Dell U3011 (goes for a bit more than the other two, but seems to have better selection of inputs, better color range, etc).

Most search results for comparative discussion come back with 2007/2008 articles/threads. Any comprehensive guides out there that cover the big players in the 30" market today? I know you can't really go wrong with any of these three products, but I'd like to get a better idea of the trade-offs. Thanks.

**Would use the 30" as primary display at 2560x1600 with my 28" hanns-g as a secondary display at 1920x1200.

 

[cjl]

Well, I have a U3011, and a friend has the 3007, and I have to say, I'd definitely go for the 11 between the two. It seems to have a bit less input lag and ghosting (though both are quite good in this area), and it also has better colors and more inputs. I haven't ever seen a ZR30W though, so I don't know how it stacks up by comparison.

 

[jaguarskx]

I suppose the problem I have with the HP ZR30W is the lack of the OSD which limits you to just adjusting brightness and contrast.

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

Theres nothing really to adjust other than brightness and contrast unless you have an intergrated LUT which you can then adjust RGB values.

Actually I prefer monitors with no scaler so it means virtually no input lag. Then again the lack of connection options is inconveinent.

If you get a IPS panel, you have to get the newer H-IPS panels, they have much better black levels over the older S-IPS panels. This is a direct comparison between my monitors, it is very noticable.

 

[beltzy]

It seems like there are going to be tradeoff with most models (at least anything under $2,000).

Some lack a lot of inputs (which is ok for me, as I'll be using it for PC's only- 1 DVI and 1 Display Port should be fine).

Some lack scalers, which again is fine (for me) because graphics cards cover this function when using a PC. Really seems to only comes into play when using other devices like consoles, etc.

Some have a lower color display range (16.7M colors instead of around 1 Billion on other).

Some don't have an OSD, which again seems to be more important if you aren't using a computer, which can alter the colors.

Some are S-IPS or TFT rather than H-IPS.

Some have a lot of input lag.

Based on this, I'm leaning towards the HP ZR30W, available for $1,150 from newegg. Fantastic color representation, input lag is very reasonable, the limited inputs aren't a big concern for me, and it's S-IPS. I can see from some research that H-IPS seems to provide better pixel arrangement at micro-zoom levels, but it doesn't seem like there are any very solid 30" monitors that are H-IPS at a reasonable price point (some Doublesight products are H-IPS but they seem very weak on other features and are very "bare bones" for a 30" monitor around $1k). Additionally, it doesn't seem that H-IPS makes a tremendous difference when viewing a monitor (based on what I've seen). If anyone has any good references of photos of the difference (not at a micro-zoom level) that would be very helpful. Thanks for the inputs!

 

[cjl]

I believe the U3011 uses an LG H-IPS panel. I'm not positive though.

 

[beltzy]

Best answer selected by beltzy.

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

The newer H-IPS panels that boast 1.07 billion colors are using FRC. The same method TN panels emply to reach 16.7 million.

Most things are not rendered in deep color so its pretty much useless. You may have seen some blu-ray palyers or graphics cards that support "deep color". Only their HDMI port supports deep color but the actual product can't process it. Doesn't really matter since blu-ray isn't rendered in deep color in the first place. Only work station graphics cards have deep color support.