4k/UHD Monitor Recommendations

[atelieryork]

Is anyone using a 4k/UHD monitor? I'm looking for some recommendations. Obviously the usual things are important. Must be 10-bit True Wide-Gamut, accurate colour (SRGB), reliable etc.

It seems that the top end Samsung has quality/build/reliability issues. The top end Dell looks to be a good option. The top end Eizos are crazy expensive, so probably not a feasible option.

Anyone running a Del UP3216Q? This seems to be a good option so far.

I'm aware that windows scaling is not yet working with 3ds max but I've had an informal confirmation that it will be supported for max 2017. I'm also aware that scaling isn't really needed at all when the monitor is large enough, and 30+" should be fine.

Anyone running one for daily use, any issues/thoughts?

Cheers,

[Juraj]

It seems that the top end Samsung has quality/build/reliability issues.

Goes for Dell too sadly, for years people were hoping to get the latest iteration of the same panel or kept returning them until they had the latest factory model.
But the care that goes into factory calibration and the quality control alike is indeed a notch better than other mainstream brands (Asus, BenQ, LG, Samsung,etc..).

I don't think any of these monitors will differ much, they probably use the same IGZO panel again like the older 3214Q, which was already impressive enough, and mostly had system issues (like being recognized as "MultiDisplay" to correctly show 4k).
Only possible drawback (and only to very few) is that 3216Q is up to 300cd/m2 while some competitors from both cheap and high-end spectrum go up to 350cd/m2. But I wouldn't really care much about that.

The monitor came last month, haven't seen any review yet. But if indeed ADesk comes with scaling, I will go with this one as well next year.

I'm also aware that scaling isn't really needed at all when the monitor is large enough, and 30+" should be fine.

I wouldn't really say this. I presume you use currently 30" 2560x1600 (16:10) like me, which is mere 100 PPI or 27" 2560x1440, which is far more common and is 108 PPI and looks incredibly sharper and smaller. 3840x2160 @ 31.5" is 140 PPI, very sharp, very small without scaling.

[atelieryork]

I'm also aware that scaling isn't really needed at all when the monitor is large enough, and 30+" should be fine.

I wouldn't really say this. I presume you use currently 30" 2560x1600 (16:10) like me, which is mere 100 PPI or 27" 2560x1440, which is far more common and is 108 PPI and looks incredibly sharper and smaller. 3840x2160 @ 31.5" is 140 PPI, very sharp, very small without scaling.

Hi ;)

What I meant by that was that windows UI scaling (to 200% for example) shouldn't be needed on a 30+" 4k monitor, since the panel is large enough for the icons and text to be readable. I fully understand about PPI and that's my main reason for wanting to move to 4k, for the density and sharpness. Sorry if that was confusing in my wording.

As for the new Dell panel, they are due in stock in the UK tomorrow and are really, really cheap. £750+VAT... I am wondering if these new ones are still multistream or single... I believe this should be single stream but I'm not sure. I would be surprised if it's not single by now, since it's the next "generation" monitor for this line. I need to try to find out, because on paper this monitor is perfect...

[Juraj]

It's 100perc. single display.

Expect some updates and improvements including the screen being recognised as a single display (SST)

The price is indeed good, it's 990 euros without Vat here as well. You will still be a bit of pioneer if you buy it tomorrow but there probably isn't much to fear.

[atelieryork]

It's 100perc. single display.

Expect some updates and improvements including the screen being recognised as a single display (SST)

The price is indeed good, it's 990 euros without Vat here as well. You will still be a bit of pioneer if you buy it tomorrow but there probably isn't much to fear.

Yeh it's almost too good not to go for... but I'm probably going to wait for at least one solid review to come out to confirm these things.

Is there anyone on this board who uses a 4k monitor daily?

[Jann]

I've been looking at either 34 ultrawide, or 32+ 4k monitors. Sadly, there are still many problems.
From the smaller but more professional 4k monitors LG 31MU97 seems like the best deal, reviewed by many as an excellent choice. But even they have had some serious problems. (I'm hoping it's just the first batches like with the 34UM95)
What I'm most interested in are 40-43' 4k monitors, and there are some models currently from Korean manufacturers. No scaling problems, as the pixel size is close to that of a 27inch 2560x1440 monitor. But you're playing a lottery ordering one, and they don't offer any advanced features like 10bit colors etc. Still, most who have gotten one, describe them as lifechanging :)
34 ultrawides are mostly better (the 34UM95 seems to be solid, even having hardware calibration), but have mostly switched to curved panels. As immersive as they might be, the curvature might mess with your perception of straight horizontal lines.

So as of right now, unless you absolutely must, I'd wait a few more months for more major manufacturers introducing better/bigger 4k displays.
All this is just my personal research, currently working on a 27inch 2560x1440 + smaller 1080 monitor.

[atelieryork]

I've been looking at either 34 ultrawide, or 32+ 4k monitors. Sadly, there are still many problems.
From the smaller but more professional 4k monitors LG 31MU97 seems like the best deal, reviewed by many as an excellent choice. But even they have had some serious problems. (I'm hoping it's just the first batches like with the 34UM95)
What I'm most interested in are 40-43' 4k monitors, and there are some models currently from Korean manufacturers. No scaling problems, as the pixel size is close to that of a 27inch 2560x1440 monitor. But you're playing a lottery ordering one, and they don't offer any advanced features like 10bit colors etc. Still, most who have gotten one, describe them as lifechanging :)
34 ultrawides are mostly better (the 34UM95 seems to be solid, even having hardware calibration), but have mostly switched to curved panels. As immersive as they might be, the curvature might mess with your perception of straight horizontal lines.

So as of right now, unless you absolutely must, I'd wait a few more months for more major manufacturers introducing better/bigger 4k displays.
All this is just my personal research, currently working on a 27inch 2560x1440 + smaller 1080 monitor.

Yes that LG31MU97 seems like a good choice. 10-bit colour, calibrated and good warranty. But apparently some of them have bad bleeding issues and LG's support is apparently terrible. Dell, on the other hand, have amazing support (found that out first-hand when I had a monitor replaced), so their new UP3216Q seems like a very good option. So far, for the price, those 2 are head-to-head. The offering from Eizo is crazy expensive for what it is. Double the price.

I'm very intrigued about the Dell... I hope it's going to be the best value for money and best screen, but there's almost no info on it out there yet including no info on the panel (if it's an IGZO or not) and no reviews...

The Korean monitors are not on my list due to lack of 10-bit support, pot-luck with quality and probably zero support. We're also likely to move on to Quadros soon. We just demoed an M4000 and an M5000 and they're very good for 10-bit and multiple 4k support. But for now our GTX970/Titan Black should work just fine.

I'm likely to wait until the new year. Prices might also have come down a bit by then.

[Juraj]

I am also interested in at least trying some of those 3440px 34" 21:9 monitors :- ). Would love curved but yeah, the verticals...doesn't help I already see them like that due to my astigmatism : /

I would gladly give up second display if they offered 21:9 with the height of 31.5" 16:9, so something like I don't know, 36-38" ? And 4k or 5k.

Those 40" "displays" are basically TVs, I already have 70" 4k TV so I don't see much appeal of that on my table..

[atelieryork]

So I got impatient and decided to buy the Dell UP3216Q... ;)

So far so good! The sharpness is amazing.... lots of clarity compared to the U3011 for images zoomed out. It's a bit more like looking at images on a retina iPad.

I am in Win 8.1 so scaling is basic, but with a small scaling boost everything is basically fine. Max UI is fine, no issues at all, although at the optimim scaling level it's too blurry to use, so max 2017 will fix this (so I'm told).

The monitor itself is very nice. Light and looks good, but the bezel is big, for sure.

Colours and accuracy etc. all seem fine. Compared to other monitors in the office it's fine.

One drawback (kind of) of 4k is that your usual test renders at 1600/2000 are too small on the screen to see properly, so you end up needing to zoom into them. They still look ok when you do that, but it's not actually ideal. I guess the solution will be to work at higher resolution for tests, something more like 2k>2.5k, which will add to rendertimes, and is not ideal. It's an interesting connundrum, actually...

The Dell calibration system with my i1 Pro was a NIGHTMARE and crashed all the time, BSOD etc. Unusable. I think it might be related to my GTX970 somehow. I ended up using a Spyder Pro 4, which worked fine. The calibrated result was exactly the same as the factory SRGB preset! So I'm pretty confident it's all good to go right out of the box, which is very nice.

Price is really, really attractive too. £750+VAT. Bargain, I think!

I'll post more thoughts later. I can't compare it against any other 4k monitors, but so far, so good :)

[ihabkal]

you're doing a great service to us with this review thanks

[atelieryork]

My pleasure.