NEC PA302W 30-inch 16:10 Professional Monitor Review
For users lamenting the scarcity of 16:10 screens, NEC is supporting the format with its excellent new 30-inch PA302W. This premium display has a gorgeous wide-gamut IPS panel and a factory-certified calibration for both Adobe RGB and sRGB gamuts.
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Packaging, Physical Layout And Accessories
The PA302W and its substantial carton weigh over 52lbs so you might need a friend to help you get it through the door! Seriously, the box is so large and thick it seems impervious to all but the most brutal shipping abuse. Opening the top reveals a fully assembled display wrapped in a heavy plastic bag. Once you have it free of the packing foam, reach around back and flick the lever to allow full extension of the upright’s height adjustment.
The power supply is internal, and NEC has included cords for four different regions along with USB, DisplayPort and DVI cables. NEC includes the expected individual calibration data sheet. A CD contains the user manual and a few calibration patterns. If you’re looking for SpectraView software, it does ship with special versions of the PA302W but was not included with our sample.
Product 360
The monitor is large from every angle, and you will need to devote a fair amount of desk space to it. The base is more than beefy enough to support its 37.5lbs. In fact, once installed, the panel feels much lighter thanks to the stand’s firm and precise movements. Styling is NEC all the way, with a heavy industrial look. The chassis material is high-quality plastic with a matte finish. That’s just a shell however. Underneath, the stand and panel structure are all-metal.
The anti-glare layer absorbs all but the brightest light, letting you employ the PA302W just about anywhere. There is sufficient image brightness for outdoor use if you work in a tent. Image clarity is top-notch with no hint of grain or other artifacts.
NEC has chosen mechanical buttons for the front bezel controls and they click with a satisfying feel. The labels are very small, but when you operate them, small icons appear on the screen so you know their functions. Menu navigation is very intuitive with this system.
Adjustments include 45 degrees swivel to either side, almost six inches of height and 30 degrees tilt. In a 16:10 aspect ratio, portrait mode becomes even more useful for editing documents or web pages. A monitor like this would also be fantastic for musicians and composers. It’s possible to view a full orchestral score at larger-than-print sizes.
The PA302W is not slim. The internal components are heavily shielded and ventilated. The grill work you see above wraps around all four sides. Electrical interference and heat are non-issues.
Two grab handles are molded into the upper back of the monitor. This helps greatly when moving it around. As you can see, the panel can be lowered all the way to the base while still retaining its tilt feature. The VESA mount hides under the upright and can accommodate 100x100mm and 100x200mm brackets.
The input panel faces down and offers two DisplayPorts (one mini) plus one each of HDMI and DVI. No analog support is included, although it’s hard to imagine anyone needing VGA with a high-end screen like this. USB ports total two upstream and three downstream (of the version 2.0 variety).
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Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.
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Nuckles_56 That is a very impressive monitor, especially with the colour uniformity numbers, they are crazyReply -
beetlejuicegr 30 inch and 2560x1600, couldn't it be 2160p? The resolution seems low for 30 inch monitor.Reply -
fordry06 I think to do what this monitor does, making it a 4k monitor would be incredibly expensive.Reply -
Tom Griffin I wish my 27" 16:10 ASUS monitor was still alive. This monitor not only being cost prohibitive along with the previous NEC monitor review for consumers. But TBH, once you have used a NEC monitor for awhile you never EVER want to go back.Reply -
beshonk Where are all the 1440p 144hz IPS gaming monitors? there's only two on the market with horrible quality issues >.<Reply -
kittle
Actually you can probably game on this monitor just fine.18154240 said:Where are all the 1440p 144hz IPS gaming monitors? there's only two on the market with horrible quality issues >.<
I have the 27" version of this one (PA270W). I play a lot of games and watch quite a bit of netflix with no issues. The color accuracy makes the games and movies look great -- exactly the way the designers and filmmakers intended them to look.
The only issue is it puts out a LOT of heat. Im guessing the 30" one will produce a bit more. -
bit_user
60 Hz != 144 Hz.18170301 said:
Actually you can probably game on this monitor just fine.18154240 said:Where are all the 1440p 144hz IPS gaming monitors? -
kittle
True there. my NEC only runs at 60hz. but gaming and movies work just fine18171250 said:
60 Hz != 144 Hz.18170301 said:
Actually you can probably game on this monitor just fine.18154240 said:Where are all the 1440p 144hz IPS gaming monitors?