Monitor thoughts for home office

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timmmay

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#302226 8-Nov-2022 14:14

Note: I've purchased a new monitor now. See this post in the thread for details.

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I'm thinking of replacing my decade old 22" Dell monitor, which works fine but flickers occasionally and given the age I don't really want to risk it too long.

I don't like large monitors, 24" is probably my limit. We have huge curved 4K monitors at work, I find them annoying and usually use a single window in the center of the screen. I don't tend to use dual monitors either.

What I'm after:

About 24"
HDMI and DisplayPort
Resolution higher than 1080p - 4K would be nice but not sure you get much in this range
Easy on the eyes for long periods
No need for gaming / fast response / smart features

The HP E24q G4 24" QHD Business Monitor looks pretty good, made for home office. It's not the newest, no USB-C (which I don't need) but looks like it has good features to reduce eye strain. It's slightly higher resolution than 1080p 2560x1440 vs 1920 x 1080.

I get good prices on Samsung gear, but all their 24" monitors (example) seem to be 1080p. You have to go to 28" (example) to get higher res.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

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#2993520 8-Nov-2022 15:44

I got a Samsung 27" 1080p screen late last year, love it. Upgraded from a 24".

Anything bigger tho, would be overkill for me...... I dont need 4k

XPD / Gavin

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martyyn

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#2993527 8-Nov-2022 16:11

IMO you can't go wrong with a 27" Dell Ultrasharp at 2K.

I've used multiple versions over the years (and still have a couple in the garage if you're in Wellington and want to try one) and they have always been excellent.

At home I have a Samsung 32" 4k which I like but the size and shape does take some getting used to and I have a 49" 5K at the office which I absolutely love. It just suits how I work but you need the desk space for it.

Shindig

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#2993532 8-Nov-2022 16:30

I use a 4k monitor with a MacBook Pro, and for screen real estate while my eyes are still pilot eyes, I can fit 2-4 windows that I'm working on easily.

I looked at the apple monitor in PBTech and quickly walked out...

The little things make the biggest difference.

timmmay

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#2993536 8-Nov-2022 16:35

I don't like turning my head to see larger or multiple monitors, and I only need to see one window at a time. The Dell has been great but I'd like better resolution without much more size. Not sure how large the work monitors are but they're massive.

Do people with 24" monitors feel they want better than 1080p? xpd seems ok with it.

richms

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#2993541 8-Nov-2022 16:49

27 with 1080 has too visible pixels IME. Needs 1440p at that size and ideally at 24 as well, which is very very hard to find. 1080 is ok on a 22 or so at arms length.

Richard rich.ms

timmmay

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#2993588 8-Nov-2022 16:53

I think I agree rich, which is why the HP seems like a pretty good option. 3.5MP is better than 2MP. Not massively better, but better.

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jarledb

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#2993592 8-Nov-2022 17:12

So, I don't get the aversion for larger than 24", but that's me.

I looked around, and LG make a 24" 4K monitor that I think is pretty good. Here it is at Dick Smith

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toejam316

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#2993593 8-Nov-2022 17:13

From personal experience, 4K is too dense on a 27" display, let alone a 24" display. A 1440p 27" is the sweet spot.

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#2993628 8-Nov-2022 18:35

(looking for pixels)

Gotta be damn picky to see them.... anything bigger, yeah, but 27" I think is a nice size vs res.

XPD / Gavin

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timmmay

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#2993642 8-Nov-2022 19:24

jarledb:

So, I don't get the aversion for larger than 24", but that's me.

I looked around, and LG make a 24" 4K monitor that I think is pretty good. Here it is at Dick Smith

Not so much an aversion, just personal preference. The LG looks interesting, but probably too expensive. The HP QHD at $450 is fine, the Samsungs are about $300 for 1080p. Thanks for the thought :) I will consider 27" but I think 24 is fine. I'm 100% fine with my 22" screen, a decade ago I upgraded from 19" to 22" and found the 22" big!

I have plenty of desk space.

xpd:

(looking for pixels)

Gotta be damn picky to see them.... anything bigger, yeah, but 27" I think is a nice size vs res.

Not so much seeing pixels, as having potential eyestrain reduction with smoother fonts and higher resolution.

everettpsycho

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#2993645 8-Nov-2022 19:53

I really don't notice the pixels at 1080p on 24 inch monitors, I think it's the limit and if you go up to 27 you'd want to go for a 1440p monitor.

Depending on your use case a 29 inch ultrawide is pretty much a 24 inch monitor with 30% more width so could be a single monitor option if you do work involving spreadsheets or cluttered UI like cad or adobe. I've ended up with one of those as my primary monitor and it's really useful to get those extra few columns or tool panels that can't be undocked on to one monitor and still have space to work. I don't find that I need to move my head to see the edges at all.

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timmmay

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#2993649 8-Nov-2022 20:24

It's not really about noticing pixels, it's more about having better quality text. I spend my time in MS Word, Web Browser, and IDEs, I don't really need width, but thanks for the thought EP.

richms

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#2993654 8-Nov-2022 20:46

Its the screen door effect that is annoying and distracting. Same reason that a bigger tv didnt make sense in the era of 1080 ones. Despite that stupid grey chart with triangles that people pop out all the time to try to show that you dont need more pixels you actually do to not get annoyed by them.

Richard rich.ms

mattwnz

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#2993671 8-Nov-2022 23:20

timmmay: I don't like turning my head to see larger or multiple monitors, and I only need to see one window at a time. The Dell has been great but I'd like better resolution without much more size. Not sure how large the work monitors are but they're massive.

Do people with 24" monitors feel they want better than 1080p? xpd seems ok with it.

My Dell Ultrasharp is 24 inch but 1920x1200 which I find to be a far better resolution than 1080. I like the 24 inch size. I picked up an IPS 24 inch LG 1980x1200 screen a month ago for just $50 from a Wellington tech company that was closing down. So there are some good deals around for such screen size, as there are a lot of ex-lease ones around, but most however are 1920x1080. But all depends on your budget.

mattwnz

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#2993672 8-Nov-2022 23:24

richms:

27 with 1080 has too visible pixels IME. Needs 1440p at that size and ideally at 24 as well, which is very very hard to find. 1080 is ok on a 22 or so at arms length.

I agree, although for some it may depends on ho good their eyesight is and how far away they site from the monitor. But the more pixels the better in some ways as you can always increase the scale in windows, as long as the computer is capable of driving it and is not too old.

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