Are today's common budget monitors as effective as 2006 pro monitors?

[Under S.]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask this, but y'all have been so helpful in the past that I thought I'd risk it.

When my Dell 2407WFP-HC died on me almost a decade ago, a close friend happened to be upgrading his own set-up and was kind enough to gift me his pair of regular (non-HC) Dell 2407WFP's; so that's what I've been designing on ever since. According to the specs on the back, these were manufactured in 2006, suggesting 18-year-old technology.

One of them just made a ZAP sound, shut off, and I can smell a slight burning scent coming from the top; right in the middle of working. It's dead. I still have its twin, but can't work with just a 24" screen so I'll need a quick replacement. And unfortunately, this is happening at the worst possible time, as I just spent a fortune on more pressing needs; so budget is a huge concern.

On the bright side, I've just been informed that even the cheapest of today's monitors might actually be better than the older ones I was using. And by cheap, I mean something like this Samsung (LS27C330G) which Best Buy is selling for $150 in Canada.

In this scenario, I'd be going from 24" to 27", and from 60Hz to 100Hz; which are both improvements (I always felt 27" would be the sweet spot for a dual-monitor set-up, despite having only experienced 24"). On the downside, the brightness would be dropping from 400 to 250 cd/m² but I'm not too worried about that since I work in the dark (and always lower the brightness + saturation levels of my screens for work). The resolution would also be taking a small hit, from 1920 x 1200 to 1920 x 1080 (Dells sure loved the WUXGA 16:10 aspect ratio back then).

You'll notice the one thing I haven't mentioned is the number of colors, which is pretty important for design work; but I'm having the hardest time finding that info for the older Dells. However, according to displayspecifications.com, the budget 2023 Samsung I quoted above can do 16,777,216 (24 bit). So I assume this is the baseline for today's monitors. Number of colors isn't something I feel too crazy about downgrading from what I've been used to.

So my first question is : how naive would it be of me to think that an average $150 Samsung screen released in 2023 could be just as effective for today's graphic design work as a $600+ Dell screen released in 2006?

As for the type of design work, it's mostly digital (website images, PDF, some video, etc.) with the occasional print job (posters, book covers, expo booths, etc.). Things like 4K, lower response times and even higher refresh rates would be nice-to-haves (since I also own an Xbox Series X) but gaming is a very secondary concern. Work is more important. I can get a 3rd gaming screen later.

Monitor recommendations are also welcome, as long as they have my (unfortunately) tight budget in mind. I can go about $250 (CDN) max right now. Brick & mortars like Costco & Best Buy would be ideal locations, but I'll order online if it's worth it.

Thanks!

[davescm]

Wider gamut was not dismissed, but what was stated was that with that wider range of colours you must use an accurate monitor profile otherwise the colour management system has no idea of what colours are being displayed when sending numbers to the screen.

It is actually good practice to have an accurate profile, i.e. one made with a calibration tool,  for any monitor (even one restricted to the sRGB gamut) but it becomes essential with a monitor that extends beyond that. You were indicating that you were on a tight budget, hence the advice not to prioritise wider gamut unless you can also factor the calibration hardware into your purchase .

Dave

[D Fosse]

The whole thing here is that you have a very limited budget.

I'm trying to point you towards a decent monitor at that price limitation. If you had a higher budget, my advice would be very different. I would normally say that good monitors for photographic work start at $800-900.

[Under S.]

But I never once mentioned photography. There's a lot more to graphic design than photography. In fact, print work is only a small percentage of what I do. Either way, I'm a lot more informed now than I was going into this thread, so thanks to everyone who chimed in.

PS: Turns out the M27Q-P is indeed an IPS panel, I'm not sure where I got the idea it's VA (from the non-Pro version, probably). Also, the 92% DCI-P3 / 140% sRGB (1.07 billion colors) that reviews keep touting is obtained via subpixel layout (8bit + FRC). I won't pretend to understand how it achieves this (since it's still an 8bit panel) but like I said, I have 15 days to return it (and this store is great with returns, it's why I prefer buying there than anywhere else).

[Trevor.Dennis]

But I never once mentioned photography. There's a lot more to graphic design than photography.

By @Under S.

Sounds like you might enjoy our fortnightly 'Something For The Weekend' threads.  Every second Friday, a starter image is uploaded, and we get to do what we like with it and share the results.  They are a lot of fun, and I have learned some new tricks in the years we have been doing it.  We are currently on SFTW 2014.  There's an index of previous SFTW threads HERE.   Everyone is welcome.

[Under S.]

That genuinely sounds like a lot of fun! I have some work to catch up on (as well as decide if I'm holding on to this M27Q-P or not), but I've made a note to return to your msg (and the threads it points to) when things calm down a bit. Thanks for the heads-up.

[Trevor.Dennis]

Are 4K screens usable with Photoshop?  If I set my UI to 200% with Font set to Large on my 2160 X 1440 screen and restart, nothing changes, but I have seen videos where they demonstrate changing UI scaling, and you can see that it upscales the UI.   After discovering that my screen is past its best from reading this thread, I am currently looking at the Asus ProArt 32" 4K screen, and I need to know I can see the UI before buying.

If you see this and use a 32" 4K screen, can you tell me if the UI is usable and not too small?  What would be really helpful would be a full res, full screen shot of a 4K Photoshop UI.  

Dag, is that Asus ProArt screen OK for someone not obsessive about colours, but wants a good user experience? You are the person whose opinion I most respect with this stuff.

https://www.asus.com/displays-desktops/monitors/proart/proart-display-pa329cv/

[Under S.]

That is one sweet-looking monitor. And I agree, there are plenty far better than the M27Q-P at that $900+ price point (which is what Best Buy Canada sells it for, just looked it up) but my budget is $300 CAD, unfortunately. Again, this is an emergency budget-level replacement for one of my two very old 24" 1080p Dells. While I plan to go 4K at some point, now just isn't the right time for me.

[Trevor.Dennis]

Something else that has just occurred to me are the old plugins from people like Flaming Pear and Factalius, because their UIs don't scale, and they are barely big enough on a 2K screen.  They could be problematic on 4K screen.

[Under S.]

When I do go 4K, it probably won't be to work on. Until one of them blew out last week, I was working on two older 24" 1080p Dell screens, with a 3rd "entertainment/console" monitor. This 3rd screen is a Samsung 32" 1080p unit that's just as old as the two Dells (and what will eventually be replaced by a 4K screen).

A dual-monitor 27" 1440p set-up feels like the sweet spot to me, when it comes to work. And the first step toward that goal is replacing the burned-out Dell with a 27" 1440p Gigabyte M27Q-P. When the 2nd (older) Dell screen eventually dies (or I have more disposable income, whichever comes first) it will also get similarly replaced with a 27" 1440p screen... which will leave only the 3rd entertainment/console screen to upgrade to 4K. Until then, I'll probably only be using it for superfluous stuff like YouTube, and have the new M27Q-P double as my console monitor.

That's the medium-term plan right now, anyway. But who knows what the future holds. 🙂

[Trevor.Dennis]

I had a Dell UltraSharp before the BenQ, and that failed with pixels at the top od the screen.  I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was apparently a common issue.  You could affect it by putting pressure on the screen and back cover.  It was something to do with a ribbon connector at the top of the screen IIRC.

There's a lot to be said for using multiple screens with Photoshop.  Having the major panels always open is a joy, and it definitely speeds up your workflow.  Things like Ctrl clicking a path to load it as a selection, for instance.  

This is my default workspace.  I had both peripheral screens in portrait mode for many years, but I had to change the left screen to landscape for a Prem Pro project earlier this year, and decided I liked it better with with Photoshop.  One thing I'd advise if setting up for multiple screens with Photoshop, is to try and find 16:10 monitors.  Mine are both 24" 1920 X 1200, (as opposed to the much more common 16:9 1920 X 1080).  The extra pixels make all the difference with setting up a Photoshop workspace.   This 5680 X 1920 (it lost a couple of pixels when I grabbed it)

What I am forever saying on this forum, is to do with saving shortcuts and toolbars with Custom Workspaces, and to switch between them with Actions triggered by unmodified Function keys.  It never gets old hitting F5 and seeing a messed up workspace tidied up two seconds later.

BTW  I ordered an Asus ProArt 32" PA329CRV this morning.  The PA32DC auto calibration version is twice the price of the CRV version, and I really don't need, or care about, that degree of colour accuracy.  I also had a bit of a panic when I found that all of my regular suppliers had no stock, but the people who built my current system (Compulsion Tech) had one. I can thoroughly recommend them to Kiwi's looking for computer related tech.

[Under S.]

The ProArts look great overall, but are way out of my budget right now. I got the M27Q-P today, just calibrated the colors how I like them. We'll see how it goes. If I end up returning it, it will probably be to replace it with another $300 (or less) screen, however. Those pro screens are still out of my price range.

Now that I've seen what 1440p and 1080p both look like on a 27" monitor, I think all the fearmongering about the pixel density of 1080p across 27" was a bit overblown. Sure, 1440p is slightly sharper, but 1080p isn't anywhere near as blurry (or "staircasey") as I was led to believe it would be. I feel this is something we have to experience for ourselves, though, so I don't regret bringing it home to fiddle with. But I'm starting to wonder if I'd be better off with two 27" 1080p (95% sRGB) monitors for the same price as one 27" 1440p (135% sRGB). The return policy is 15 days so that's how long I have to finalize the decision.

[Trevor.Dennis]

FYI  I later got an email from Compulsion Tech to say sorry, but they'd just sold their last PA329CRV, and hadn't updated the website.  I am inclined to believe them, and after another good look round, no one has stock in NZ, so I have to wait.  Oh well.  As bad as the glitch is on my screen, I hadn't noticed it till Dag put that test up, so it is what it is.

@Under S.  Let us know what you decide, and how you like what you end up with.

[Under S.]

@Trevor.Dennis   Purchased the Gigabyte M27Q-Pro last week, and no issues so far. For a $300 27" 1440p IPS panel, I'm not seeing much reason to return it. I would if I had $200-300 more to spend, since that would probably get me better color accuracy than this. But it's difficult for me to complain about the bang-for-buck ratio here.

The only annoying thing about it so far is the positioning of the menu joystick. This screen was not created to be on the left side of a multi-monitor set-up, because there are no buttons on the front or sides. There's only a menu joystick, and it's located in the back. When you're seated in front of the monitor, the joystick can't be reached from the bottom, only the right side... but there's usually a 2nd monitor there blocking the way. Wish it auto-switched when it senses a new input is active (like it does when an input turns off) but it doesn't, so I've had to relent and put the screen on the right side, where I can more easily access the menu joystick behind the monitor (to switch inputs to my gaming console, for example). Simply lowering the joystick a bit would've made it accessible from UNDER the monitor, instead of the right side of it, and made it easy to access regardless what might be blocking the sides (ie, other monitors).

This has been my only gripe so far. Otherwise, I kinda like the joystick. Didn't take long to figure out the menus. It's just positioned too high to reach from underneath the monitor. You really have to re@ch around the right side of it. (Yes, I had to censor "re@ch around" for the site to let me post this.)