Buy new monitor: dual HD or UHD?

[cuatro]

I'm considering changing my monitor. However, I cannot decide whether it would be better to buy two 25' IPS HD monitors or a single 27/28' IPS UHD. What would you guys recommend?

[cecofuli]

Two monitors!!! Why? Because you will have more space for your software.
In the first monitor, you will open 3ds max, in the second the MEdit, the VFB, maybe Photoshop etc...

[Noah45]

My cheap 4K 32" sucks for a 'tool' work monitor (try seeing through old man eyes), but it's real prutty for VFB. Def Dually! or triples, it all about useful real estate.

[lacilaci]

2, but at least 1440p i would say.

[tomislavn]

Definitely dual display! I am using 2x Dell IPS (U2713HM) which are quite old already but they are perfect to me.

I would even go with 1x high-quality 27/28" IPS for work and 1x cheaper full hd for a "help" display until you can get some money to buy another high-quality one. But trust me on one thing - No matter how big your primary display is, it will never be enough to beat having another one on the side. It's just a must have.

[maru]

There are also those 21:9 monitors, and I think they might be a bit competitive against multi monitor setup, especially that they are getting pretty cheap now, but I still think dual setup is better. But in case anyone would want to buy one, I would advise to get one bigger than 30".
I would say:
<best> Multi-monitor
<good> Ultra wide
<worst> Single hi-res monitor

[lacilaci]

There are also those 21:9 monitors, and I think they might be a bit competitive against multi monitor setup, especially that they are getting pretty cheap now, but I still think dual setup is better. But in case anyone would want to buy one, I would advise to get one bigger than 30".
I would say:
<best> Multi-monitor
<good> Ultra wide
<worst> Single hi-res monitor

Arent all ultrawide monitors curved?

[lolec]

This recommendation is not for everyone, but I've never been happier with a monitor since I got the massive 43" 4k Philips bdm4350uc.

Get it only IF:

-You will run it at 100% scaling, 3840 x 2160 of USABLE space. Can't be matched.

-Your work doesn't depend on 100% color accuracy. It's not bad at all, I do render, video editing, graphic design and product design without issues. But for sensitive (print) work I sometimes double check in another monitor.

- You have good eyesight. To fully take advantage and to see the whole thing you need to have it a little further back. Some people struggle reading text when they work at my desk, although I find it comfortable.

- You are not bothered by slight "burn in" of images that stay on screen for long. I'm usually very bothered about this kind of things, but it is very slight and I've learned to live with it. the burn in disappears after a few seconds when you change the image.

- You are willing to pay $750 - 850 for you monitor.  I saved for a year. worth every cent.

If you can get around those issues and feel constantly constrained by your workspace, get this monitor. I moved from a dual 1440p monitor setup and I'm never going back.

[lacilaci]

This recommendation is not for everyone, but I've never been happier with a monitor since I got the massive 43" 4k Philips bdm4350uc.

Get it only IF:

-You will run it at 100% scaling, 3840 x 2160 of USABLE space. Can't be matched.

-Your work doesn't depend on 100% color accuracy. It's not bad at all, I do render, video editing, graphic design and product design without issues. But for sensitive (print) work I sometimes double check in another monitor.

- You have good eyesight. To fully take advantage and to see the whole thing you need to have it a little further back. Some people struggle reading text when they work at my desk, although I find it comfortable.

- You are not bothered by slight "burn in" of images that stay on screen for long. I'm usually very bothered about this kind of things, but it is very slight and I've learned to live with it. the burn in disappears after a few seconds when you change the image.

- You are willing to pay $750 - 850 for you monitor.  I saved for a year. worth every cent.

If you can get around those issues and feel constantly constrained by your workspace, get this monitor. I moved from a dual 1440p monitor setup and I'm never going back.

It kinda seems cool, but...  Might be a bit pain to use even with large size tablet...

[lolec]

You mean a wacom tablet? I use it with a regular mouse.

The thing is, some stuff is unconfortable to run full screen, like Photoshop. I usually have it scaled down to something a bit bigger than 1440p at the center of the screen, but it's great to be able to use the space around it, or in some cases make the window bigger to fit all the content. 

[4b4]

+1 for lolec's comments.

Just taken delivery of a 32 inch 4k monitor today and it's superb. I trialled a 28 inch 4k monitor for a couple of days but found I had to scale everything to 150% which worked really well in win 10 to be fair but didn't give the full 4k benefits.

With the 32 inch I haven't scaled it all, it's early days but so far so good.

I'll keep my old 1080p monitor for email etc but I plan on carrying out the bulk of my work on the 4k monitor.

C4D and corona are great to use with the extra screen space.

[Jann]

What you probably need is a screen you can use with default 100% scaling, especially since only 3dsmax 2017 supports proper scaling anyway.

For me personally pixel size (Dot Pitch) of around 0.233 is fine. That's about what you get on 27inch 2560x1440, 34inch 3440x1440, 40inch 3840x2160 screens as an example.
I personally find 4k on anything below 32inch useless. The moment you use scaling, you loose effective screen workspace, so all those pixels do is increase sharpness and tax your GPU more.
But I'd still stay away from 40-43inch monitors, as all currently available models suffer from various problems. I myself bought a 4k 40inch korean one, but should have gotten a 34inch ultrawide instead.

Which is what I ultimately suggest - get two 1440p 27inch ips monitors, or a 34+27 ips, or even a single 34inch for now. There are many models with great quality and acceptable pricing. 4k just isn't there yet, as you sacrifice something even when paying a lot.

[Fluss]

The Benq sw2700pt is a good bet. 27" - 1440p - Adobe RGB