Should I upgrade my monitors?

[GeorgeStorm]

Hey,
As above, I'm currently deciding whether I should sell one or both of my current monitors (U2311H in portrait and Hanns.G 28")
And then get a 27/30" IPS panel with a 1440/1600p res.

Been looking at the cheap 27" ones from Korea, which use the same LG panels as all the others as far as I'm aware, just without the fancy stands etc, which isn't too much of an issue.
Main uses for my PC are gaming, watching various media, then just browsing/working

The choices I can think of are:
1) Stay as I am, spend money on other things maybe
2) Sell my Hanns.G then get a 27/30"
3) Sell both and get a 27/30"

Not sure how much I can afford, would depend how much I'd be able to sell my current monitors for etc.

Or ofcourse should I spend my money elsewhere entirely :P
What would people recommend?

[[XC] Oj101]

Going by what you do with a monitor, it sounds as if an IPS monitor something you DON'T want. I'd rather look at a 120 Hz TN monitor.

[GeorgeStorm]

You say that because I game on it etc?
Only issue there is I was thinking of a screen upgrade to get a res boost, which would be nice, aswell as potentially better colours etc.
What are the downsides of an IPS? I've games on my U2311H without issue, don't notice any difference from my current TN panel, the only 'fast paced' game I play is TF2, nothing else I play would benefit from the increased smoothness.

[[XC] Oj101]

Yip. For gaming you really don't need pixel perfect colour reproduction, chances are you won't even notice is something is 20 shades off, never mind six or seven :p: The downside of IPS is it's quite a bit slower than TN, and from what you said in the OP you have absolutely no need for IPS. The increased resolution would be great though.

That being said, two monitors offer slightly more real estate than 2560x1600 but more importantly are really really handy for multitasking. Working between two documents, browsing forums while following a movie or series, etc. It's painful to multitask on one monitor after using two. I'd keep what you have if I were you.

[GeorgeStorm]

Yeah, I know IPS won't bring me any benefit for gaming (apart from the increased resolution I can get with IPS monitors, since TN don't seem to go higher than 1920x1200)
I know they're meant to be slower, but I'm obviously too nooby to notice it on my Dell :P

Mm, there is no doubt having 2 monitors is awesome, only reason I would consider going to a single really nice monitor is for watching TV/films. I only had my DELL with me when I went from over Easter, and I coped with it, although was a little annoying, not the end of the world. My most common use of my 2nd monitor is to have internet/chat stuff open on the DELL in portrait while watching a film/tv episode on the 28".

And so what should I spend me monies on for the computer? :P

[[XC] Oj101]

I don't know what you have other than two monitors :D

[GeorgeStorm]

Haha well, my current specs are:

a8-3870k
msi matx board
8gb RAM
GTX260 1792mb
Xonare Essence ST
C300 128gb
4 x 2tb HDDs

All in a Fractal Arc Mini, cpu is watercooled.

Got a pair of DT770 pros for headphones, currently typing on a KBC Poker, got a CMStorm Sentinel mouse, so covered on those fronts aswell.

The other thing I've been thinking about spending money on is a HP Microserver and a couple of 3tb drives so I can get a backup routine going

[[XC] Oj101]

I'd say upgrade the CPU, board and graphics card, but I don't think you need them. Storage or LN2 :D

[GeorgeStorm]

Won't be upgrading the cpu and board for a while since it's watercooled, and I cba faffing around with that.
GPU I could, recently downgraded from an i7/570 (and before that 580) setup since I wanted to spend money on other things with my computer, rather than it's components (such as speakers, monitor, keyboard, mouse, headphones, things which actually improve my experience)

Storage wise, I don't need anymore in my main PC at the moment, got just over 1tb spare, and haha, I'm out of the benching game for the moment, don't have the time/room in my current room at uni, may consider trying to get back into it a little over the summer, still got my SS and some s775 stuff (easily my favourite platform)

[[XC] Oj101]

It sounds as if you really don't need to spend anything then, invest your money and make it work for you - I'll send you my PayPal details :rofl:

[GeorgeStorm]

Haha, maybe, might just buy more keyboards :D
Been wanting to try a HHKB for a while now.

Got some money set aside for savings type stuff, this money has come directly from selling off various computer related components, hence why I was thinking of buying more with it :P

[Kingcarcas]

I'd get a plasma

[GeorgeStorm]

Don't really have the room for one, only got my desk for my computer, and as I said, I like browsing the internet/talking to people half of the time whilst watching films/tv, not sure how I'd do that if I was watching stuff on a big plasma :/

[GeorgeStorm]

And also, the cost for a decent plasma wouldn't be cheaper than getting a U30! (which I would far prefer)

[itznfb]

I'm not sure why you would want a res higher than 1080p. If you watch a lot of movies and such you would want a monitor that views those movies in it's native resolution. After 10 years I finally upgraded my 20" Dell IPS monitor. While I was home on my lunch break today my U2410 got delivered :D

If I wasn't a photographer by night I wouldn't waste the money on an IPS panel.

[GeorgeStorm]

Well, for general stuff/games the higher res would be cool.

I currently mainly watch 720p content since I either can't get it all 1080p or I just don't have the space yet. (currently got 5.6ishtb of media)

Also, I'm starting to get into photography, so it probably wouldn't do any harm on that front either.

So what would you recommend?

Another reason is that everyone who's ever got a 27"+ IPS panel love it and say they'd never go back kinda thing

[itznfb]

For editing photo's the Dell Ultrasharp U2410, U2711 and U3011 can't be beat for the price. Excellent editing monitors. The U2410 rotates into portrait mode but I don't think the larger ones can. If I had a little extra cash though I probably would have gone with a NEC PA271W-BK. On a budget I'd probably go with a HP ZR2740w. If I had a boatload of cash I'd go with a NEC PA301W-BK.

Oh yeah... if you're going to be editing photos make sure you get a hardware color calibration tool like a Datacolor Spyder4. I'm still using a Datacolor Spyder3Express but I think I'll have to upgrade since the Express version can only calibrate one monitor.

[GeorgeStorm]

I wouldn't say my focus is on photo editing, I mean, I've started doing it, but I can't justify spending money just to benefit it unless I suddenly start making money from it :P

In the end it looks like a U30 would be the best option if I were to upgrade, since while I would get a resolution increase from a 27", I wouldn't get a size increase (get a slight decrease in fact) and would cost me monies, not sure if it's worth it.

Still not sure whether I should sell my current U23 either. Half tempted to keep my Hanns.G, sell my U23 and get a U24 of some description to use instead, since I'd prefer the 16:10 ratio (regardless of whether it's being used in a vertical position)

[itznfb]

You don't have too many options in the 30" range. For the monitors in the 30"/$1000 range they will all provide about the same quality. I know Dell has 0 bad pixel policy which is nice. Not sure if the other manufacturers offer that.

[GeorgeStorm]

Yeah, if i were to go 30", the same question remains as to whether the extra £300 is worth it for a DELL compared to one of the cheap korean screens becoming more popular such as
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-ACHIEVA-Shimian-QH300-IPSBS-30-QHD-2560x1600-16-10-DVI-S-IPS-6ms-Monitor-/110833856212?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA% 252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod% 3D221010982496%26ps%3D54

I know the build quality, stand, warranty etc won't be as good, but if the screen itself is, that's a big saving :/

[itznfb]

No way I would spend that kind of money on a questionable product. I purchased my U2410 directly from Dell because I know that if there is an issue it will be resolved quickly and with little hassle. I've been dealing with Dell for 10+ years and they have always provided excellent customer service. Again if I had the money for the NEC I'd get it from either Amazon, Newegg or B+H for the same reasons. The last thing I want to be stuck with is dealing with a bad monitor or one that was damaged in shipping and then spend months trying to get it resolved and having to pay for shipping and all the associated hassle. After some searching those ACHIEVA monitors seem to come from 2 or 3 sources and 1 or 2 of those sources often suffer from shipping damage. For me it's worth spending the extra money on something I know has a much higher chance of being a successful transaction.

[GeorgeStorm]

I wouldn't consider it a questionable product, merely one of a lower quality compared to the DELL, I've heard that warranty issues, you post back, and if it's faulty they refund postage, so you don't lose out (apart from not having a monitor for a bit)

Only issue is, I don't think I can afford a DELL, simple as, unless I see a 2nd hand one at a nice price.

[Chickenfeed]

I'd honestly stick to your current display. 120HZ TN displays are quick and smooth but you need serious hardware to properly drive them at 1080P, same can be said for the WQHD 27" displays as well. Even your previous 580 wouldn't have been enough in many games for 120Hz at 1080P and 2560x1440 is even more demanding than that. Again this assumes that gaming is the most important factor to you.

If you find your current Dell fine, a TN display would be a downgrade in every possible way appart from motion. IPS and MVA blow TN out of the water if you watch a sinificant amount of media on your system for what its worth and they aren't horrendous for gaming by any strech ( I've used a 120HZ display for the past 2 years prior to my Dell eIPS)