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repiv
Aug 13, 2009

change my name posted:

Alienware has announced the next version of it's 34" OLED monitor with better specs for $1,099: https://dell.alienwarearena.com/alienware-upgrades-flagship-desktop-reveals-tenkeyless-keyboard-and-new-qd-oled-display/

This version has a Freesync controller instead of the Gsync module, I wonder if that means the fan is gone

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Ihmemies
Oct 6, 2012

Funny they release a new one, while the AW3423DW has been vaporware in Europe with near zero availability. One reason I bought an LG C2 was the availability.

repiv
Aug 13, 2009

Oh apparently the old version has two fans, one on the Gsync module and one to push air over the panel when it gets bright

There's probably still at least one fan then

Rexxed
May 1, 2010

Dis is amazing!
I gotta try dis!

Alctel posted:

Kind of a niche question here, but I live on a boat and looking for the most energy efficient monitor from 21" - 27" (probably towards the lower end)

If it comes with the AC-DC adapter as part of the cable instead of being built into the monitor that would be important, as I can then hook it directly into my board DC system without having to run an inverter to use.

Will be used for IT work and the odd bit of movie watching etc

I don't think you'll find a massive difference in power usage from a modern monitor compared to any other in the same category. They pretty much all now have LED backlights and tend to use 30 to 60 Watts or so, at least in that size range. The main thing to consider for DC power is the voltage input. I've got monitors that use 24V, 20V, 18V, and 12V power adapters and there doesn't seem to be a consistent theme among them since they all just use boost converters inside to run the LED backlighting (I replaced a backlight recently and the power board had 12-30V input). I'd say more of the newer monitors I have are using 12V and the older ones used 20-24V, but that's not a rule or anything. I'd shop for a smaller one with a 60 or 75hz refresh rate as increased refresh rate does seem to correlate with slightly higher power draw, as does a larger screen. So unless you need it for twitch gaming don't get 144+ Hz refresh rate. If you really want 27" it's not going to be a huge amount more power than 24" but it will be some.

My personal preference is usually a 22-24", 1080p, IPS monitor if I'm not going for a 27" 1440p one. The monoprice one I have (24", 1080p, 75hz, IPS) uses a 5A 12V power brick but it may not need all that power. The 27" 1440p one that can overclock to 96hz (korean) also uses a 12V 5A power brick but it was hot all the time and the transformer finally died after 5 years or so of use. I replaced it with a 6A one because you can't really trust the current ratings on generic power bricks and it always felt pretty hot. I have a 27" 1080p LG that had its original power brick die and it's using a generic 18-20V one rated for up to 54 Watts. Another thing that's not a rule but something that's been somewhat consistent between my monitors is that more of the major PC manufacturers have integrated power and take mains voltage IEC plugs (like Dell and HP). More of the monitor makers and korean or chinese displays use power bricks (monoprice, pixio, qnix, LG). You'll definitely need to shop specifically for one with a power brick, though, since it's not a rule but just something I've noticed as something of a trend in a small sample size. It can be hard to find the specifics about power input since it's not usually a category that shoppers consider.

You should also think about number and type of inputs. Most equipment uses HDMI these days, with higher end monitors adding Displayport, and some smaller monitors still often come with VGA ports but a lot of monitors can do dual input if you wanted to hook up more than one thing. There's still a few in the 24" range that have DVI in but those are becoming more scarce. Also, since you're putting it on a boat you may want to look into VESA mounts so you could attach it to a wall or something. I'd imagine the best input diversity would be 2 HDMI if you can get it but you'll have to see what your computer is using. Also do you want integrated speakers? They're usually bad but if you need to save on space and you want them, that could be another category to consider.

For specific recs/examples:
This 24" IPS 1080p LG uses 19V DC input based on the debossing visible on the back of the case but there's no guarantee it will be exactly the same when you get it. It's got VESA mounting holes and two HDMI inputs:
https://smile.amazon.com/LG-24MK600M-B-Monitor-Radeon-FreeSync/dp/B07JGL19WK/

This 24" IPS 1080p Viewsonic uses DC but I can't tell what voltage it is. Could be anything from 12 to 24V, really. You might be able to email them and ask. It's got USB-C and audio out if you wanted it.
https://smile.amazon.com/ViewSonic-VX2485-MHU-1080p-Frameless-Monitor/dp/B07ZQQ493B/

This 23.8" IPS 1080p ASUS uses DC but again, can't tell what voltage. VESA mount is kind of low on the back on this one, if you were planning to use it.
https://smile.amazon.com/ASUS-VL249HE-Adaptive-Sync-Frameless-Mountable/dp/B08LCPNPNG/

So that's a quick look and as you can tell it's a challenge to get specifics for some of those. I had a look at replacement power supplies for some but I often found that there'd be listings for a transformer that just said it was compatible with like 50 monitors from a brand and who knows if that's true at that point.

Alctel
Jan 16, 2004

I love snails


Rexxed posted:

Awesome stuff

This is a lot of great info, thanks! Yeah would be looking for a 12V one ideally - will check out the links and think about the info you gave me

Dr. Video Games 0031
Jul 17, 2004

Anti-Hero posted:

Sounds like it includes HDMI 2.1 for consoles. Seems odd to market that for a screen not supported natively.

Nope, it just has 2.0 still. Some people want 2.1 with their 1440p screens because then they can take a 4k signal and downscale it to 1440p since some devices can't natively output to 1440p, like the PS5 up until recently. Though the PS5 still can't do VRR through 1440p for some baffling reason. So if you want to do 120hz with VRR, you need HDMI 2.1, otherwise you're stuck with upscaling 1080p which looks far worse.

Anti-Hero
Feb 26, 2004

Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:

Nope, it just has 2.0 still. Some people want 2.1 with their 1440p screens because then they can take a 4k signal and downscale it to 1440p since some devices can't natively output to 1440p, like the PS5 up until recently. Though the PS5 still can't do VRR through 1440p for some baffling reason. So if you want to do 120hz with VRR, you need HDMI 2.1, otherwise you're stuck with upscaling 1080p which looks far worse.

Does the display do 1:1 pixel scaling and display black bars for the 16:9 signal?

Dr. Video Games 0031
Jul 17, 2004

Anti-Hero posted:

Does the display do 1:1 pixel scaling and display black bars for the 16:9 signal?

Yeah, it maintains aspect ratio so you'll have black bars on the sides. Thankfully since its OLED these will actually look black.

a dingus
Mar 22, 2008

Rhetorical questions only
Fun Shoe
Did they lower the refresh rate of the Alienware qd-oled? I have the first version and it's got 175hz refresh. I wonder if it's because of the freesync module?

Anti-Hero
Feb 26, 2004

Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:

Yeah, it maintains aspect ratio so you'll have black bars on the sides. Thankfully since its OLED these will actually look black.

Something to consider, then. I've been considering a new display that will handle both consoles and PC well, and I've been spoiled by OLED on the big TV. LG C2/Asus PG42UQ are just too large for me. Hopefully we'll get a standard 16:9 32" OLED PC display in the not too distant future.

Rexxed
May 1, 2010

Dis is amazing!
I gotta try dis!

Alctel posted:

This is a lot of great info, thanks! Yeah would be looking for a 12V one ideally - will check out the links and think about the info you gave me

There's always the opportunity to just setup a boost converter for some of them, but that adds parts and complexity. Unfortunately a quick search didn't find me have specific examples of 12V only panels so I only know specifically about the ones I own. The Monoprice one is discontinued or it'd be a recommended one, and the others are 27", but at least you have some ideas of what to look for.

silence_kit
Jul 14, 2011

by the sex ghost
Does it make sense for me to upgrade my computer setup from 2 24" 1080p monitors to a 32" 4k monitor? I might keep one of my old monitors as a secondary monitor, and rotate it to a portrait orientation, if I have enough desk space. I'm thinking about buying a Gigabyte M32U.

Here are things I like about the idea:

- 4k would permit a higher pixel density for desktop use, and for games, I'm hoping I could use the integer scaling feature to play at 1080p. I only have a GTX 1660 Super, and don't want to immediately buy a new video card.
- I like the KVM feature with the USB-C connection, and would use it occasionally with my M1 MacBook and/or work laptop. I occasionally work from home.
- It gives me the option to later upgrade my video card on my PC to something powerful enough to take advantage of the capabilities of the display.
- It will give me more desk space when compared to 2 landscape 24" 1080p monitors, even the hypothetical 32" landscape + portrait 1080p setup

Here are things I don't like about the idea:

- I kind of don’t need it. It might make more sense to wait for prices to drop. $680 seems like a lot of money to spend on a display.
- I am reducing the pixel density of my main monitor when playing PC games.
- I've read that 32" 4k is not a great format for Mac.

silence_kit fucked around with this message at 14:18 on Sep 28, 2022

Sad Panda
Sep 22, 2004

I'm a Sad Panda.
If you have a Mac, avoid Dell is my advice.

I got a https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/dell-32-4k-uhd-monitor-se3223q/apd/210-begy/monitors-monitor-accessories and was all excited. Then I got it. macOS Monterey + Dell with variable refresh rate is a bad choice. This thing is a flickery mess. Trying to watch videos is bad, but it's not flickery even when I load up a dark mode page. So frustrating.

Back to looking for a 32" 4k.

infraboy
Aug 15, 2002

Phungshwei!!!!!!1123
I've got the Aorus FI32U, same panel as that M32U, personally loving it playing games at 4k with an RTX 3080. I don't really notice a huge difference in reading text compared to my 32'' 1440p VA monitor but games do you very sharp. I guess it doesn't have the best HDR but it performs well for me in every game and they all look very good.

I got mine off the Amazon warehouse and haven't had any issues with it for just over 500$ if you're looking to spend less. If there is an issue Amazon returns are pretty easy.

There aren't really that many 32'' IPS 4k high refresh monitors, there is an LG that is about 2x expensive and a very expensive Asus from what I could find.

DrDork
Dec 29, 2003
commanding officer of the Army of Dorkness

a dingus posted:

Did they lower the refresh rate of the Alienware qd-oled? I have the first version and it's got 175hz refresh. I wonder if it's because of the freesync module?

Yes. The original (AW3423DW) is 175Hz while the newer one (AW3423DWF) is 165Hz. This is not terribly unusual: there've been a bunch of cases where the same panel has been able to be driven slightly harder by the GSync module than the Freesync one.

Whether $200 + GSync fan is worth it for 10Hz is another question.

xgalaxy
Jan 27, 2004
i write code

DrDork posted:

Yes. The original (AW3423DW) is 175Hz while the newer one (AW3423DWF) is 165Hz. This is not terribly unusual: there've been a bunch of cases where the same panel has been able to be driven slightly harder by the GSync module than the Freesync one.

Whether $200 + GSync fan is worth it for 10Hz is another question.

The newer model is IMO superior to the old and at a reduced price.
- no stupid gsync module and noisy fan to go along with it
- dual display ports instead of one
- better body color

You miss out on 10hz. Whoopty dooo.

a dingus
Mar 22, 2008

Rhetorical questions only
Fun Shoe
I overlooked the price drop, definitely worth giving away 10hz for. That said I've noticed the fan running exactly once on my original model and I'm not even sure that's what I was hearing.

Quaint Quail Quilt
Jun 19, 2006


Ask me about that time I told people mixing bleach and vinegar is okay

xgalaxy posted:

The newer model is IMO superior to the old and at a reduced price.
- no stupid gsync module and noisy fan to go along with it
- dual display ports instead of one
- better body color

You miss out on 10hz. Whoopty dooo.
My 3080FE would have a hard time maxing out either of their frame rates in any modern graphic intensive game. The new GPUs may do it.

I held off on the old Alienware because of the pixel refresh pop up, so hopefully the new model has gotten a bit more sane. I'd hate for it to pop up middle screen during a ranked competitive match

It probably wouldn't have even been an issue, because turning the screen off works too and I have a habit of doing that when I leave my computer for more time than just grabbing a beer or water.

change my name
Aug 27, 2007

Legends die but anime is forever.

RIP The Lost Otakus.

NZXT has already dropped the base price of its 27" 1440p 165Hz Canvas 27Q to $250 for the panel by itself ($290 with stand): https://nzxt.com/product/canvas-27q-panel-only

That's a pretty good deal, it's gotten good-to-decent reviews

Rinkles
Oct 24, 2010

What I'm getting at is...
Do you feel the same way?
Is there anything special about it?

change my name
Aug 27, 2007

Legends die but anime is forever.

RIP The Lost Otakus.

Rinkles posted:

Is there anything special about it?

No, it's just pretty cheap, like $20 less than the Gigabyte M27Q if you're getting the panel by itself

Rinkles
Oct 24, 2010

What I'm getting at is...
Do you feel the same way?
yeah, didn't mean it that way, just thought NZXT might have done something fancy

lordfrikk
Mar 11, 2010

Oh, say it ain't fuckin' so,
you stupid fuck!
Anyone grabbed the PG42UQ yet? Or is it still not for sale? In any case it looks like the ideal monitor for me: OLED, 4K, no curve, no weird subpixel layout (AFAIK?).

Elem7
Apr 12, 2003
der
Dinosaur Gum
It sounds like outside the US it may have been released but I'm not sure anyone here actually has one yet. I don't usually like pre-ordering anything but since reviews have already been out for weeks I went ahead and put in a pre-order on Amazon and NewEgg both a week ago, I'll cancel whichever one doesn't ship first.

NewEgg sent me an email yesterday claiming it'll ship within 48 hours so maybe they're about to start going out.

Edit: Just got the tracking number from NewEgg, looks like it hasn't been picked up by UPS yet so I'm guessing Monday delivery.

Elem7 fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Sep 29, 2022

Ihmemies
Oct 6, 2012

My LG C2 dimmed the image to nothing while coding. After a minute it just turns the brightness way down. I use pixel brightness 55 but it still does that.

So I programmed in_start to my Harmony remote and disabled ASBL (tpc= off). We'll see what kind of burn-in I get.

My Dell msa-14 monitor arm wasn't powerful enough, so I bought some Chinese monitor stand.







Works way better, and quality and design seem better than Dell's.

Ihmemies fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Sep 29, 2022

infraboy
Aug 15, 2002

Phungshwei!!!!!!1123
S95B attempt #2 came yesterday, different seller put it in an extra box for better protection, I checked the screen right away before setting up the stand and all seemed well. Hurray! The prices have really come down where it's pretty much the same price as an LG C2 and cheaper than the G2.

Pros: Picture is really great, noticeably brighter than my LG BX OLED, the reds, yellows, and greens really stand out, haven't watched much content with big HDR highlights yet. It does seem very very slightly grey when it's off compared to my LG but it's very black when it's running things.

Cons: The reviews weren't joking when they said Tizen was slow and laggy, interface and remote have significant a learning curve. The cable management guides and covers on the back are mostly useless if you use more than 3 cables

Camera phone of course doesn't capture the screen that well but happy with the purchase.







Dr. Video Games 0031
Jul 17, 2004

Ihmemies posted:

My LG C2 dimmed the image to nothing while coding. After a minute it just turns the brightness way down. I use pixel brightness 55 but it still does that.

So I programmed in_start to my Harmony remote and disabled ASBL (tpc= off). We'll see what kind of burn-in I get.

You are definitely playing with fire. These TVs are not burn-in proof, and it sounds like you're fast-tracking yourself to guaranteed burn-in.

shrike82
Jun 11, 2005

infraboy posted:


Cons: The reviews weren't joking when they said Tizen was slow and laggy, interface and remote have significant a learning curve

yeah i got an LG OLED TV earlier this year and i was taken aback by how slow TV menu interfaces are

tehinternet
Feb 14, 2005

Semantically, "you" is both singular and plural, though syntactically it is always plural. It always takes a verb form that originally marked the word as plural.

Also, there is no plural when the context is an argument with an individual rather than a group. Somfin shouldn't put words in my mouth.

silence_kit posted:

Does it make sense for me to upgrade my computer setup from 2 24" 1080p monitors to a 32" 4k monitor? I might keep one of my old monitors as a secondary monitor, and rotate it to a portrait orientation, if I have enough desk space. I'm thinking about buying a Gigabyte M32U.

Here are things I like about the idea:

- 4k would permit a higher pixel density for desktop use, and for games, I'm hoping I could use the integer scaling feature to play at 1080p. I only have a GTX 1660 Super, and don't want to immediately buy a new video card.
- I like the KVM feature with the USB-C connection, and would use it occasionally with my M1 MacBook and/or work laptop. I occasionally work from home.
- It gives me the option to later upgrade my video card on my PC to something powerful enough to take advantage of the capabilities of the display.
- It will give me more desk space when compared to 2 landscape 24" 1080p monitors, even the hypothetical 32" landscape + portrait 1080p setup

Here are things I don't like about the idea:

- I kind of don’t need it. It might make more sense to wait for prices to drop. $680 seems like a lot of money to spend on a display.
- I am reducing the pixel density of my main monitor when playing PC games.
- I've read that 32" 4k is not a great format for Mac.

It really depends on your vision and how you feel about scaling. The number of pixels in that 4K monitor equals four 1080p screens, so you’ve got way more real estate. Also, screen area wise you’re at what… ~80% of 2 24” monitors? So petty close.

Bear in mind that screen sharing a whole screen will be unreadable for most people as Teams and Zoom don’t output native resolutions, so sizing windows to be a quarter of the screen (equal to 1080p) and sharing the window will usually be the best way to screen share so people can read it.

I have 32” 4K monitors and they’re just amazing. Get screen splitting software or use windows’ native sectioning and you’ll be gold. I would never go back to 1080p. In one monitor I’ll have teams, Outlook and two windows of whatever I’m working on split into quarters. Completely workable.

And the image quality? Text looks so goddamn good.

Personally, I’d take the single 32” over two 24” 1080p screens any day of the week.

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Hello monitor thread, hi how are you. Hey.

I've got a dual-montor dual-computer setup that I need to upgrade.

Currently: main PC has a GeForce RTX 3090 (my friend gave it to me because it was "too noisy" which was an amazing gift holy poo poo)
My 2nd PC is a laptop for my job, which I have just been forced to upgrade: a Dell Latitude 7430 with whatever onboard graphics chip that thing comes with. It has an HDMI port.

Monitors: on the left, used only for my main PC: Dell UP3216Q. This is a 32 inch 4k monitor that I'm quite happy with, I got it used from a goon a few years ago. However, it's not a "gaming" monitor - it is not high refresh or fast or whatever. Just a really nice display IMO.
On the right, I have an elderly Samsung SyncMaster S24B30BL. This is a 1080p monitor that has the critical attributes of having a VGA D-SUB and a DVI port. I've been running it as a shared screen, going from my main PC (RTX 3090) to the DVI port, and using the port replicator on my old work laptop to go to the VGA port, easily switching between the two computers with one touch of a button on the monitor.

Well the new monitor ain't gonna do that old VGA poo poo and it's only got one DVI port so I can't easily run both computers to that (probably there's a switch box out there somewhere but nah) I think it's time for a new monitor.

What should I get?

I could move the big Dell to be the shared screen and get a new 4k or even 8k (?) monitor for my main PC. It'd be nice to get something with high refresh rate, g sync, and whatever other whizbang jargony keywords you kids are saying these days to be my new main monitor, so that I can play the next The Witcher game at its maximum fidelity or whatever. However I can compromise on that stuff if the price is $absurd.

Or, I could leave the Dell where it is, and slap whatever ~$300 thing they have at Costco (https://www.costco.com/CatalogSearch?dept=All&keyword=monitors)on the right and call it a day.

Am I gonna overtax this RTX3090 if I try to drive two 4k screens at the same time? Let's assume I would generally do gaming on just one screen, but I like to have the second one up while I do that, although I could turn it off if that'd make the game run more awesome.
I also have a dual arm monitor arm thing on my sit/stand desk but if the monitor is giant it might not reach, I'm not looking for ultrawide, I think 32" is probably the max?

Oh yeah this is on a desk, the monitors are like less than an arm-reach away so let's say ~16 inches from my eyes, there's no real glare concerns, and my budget is whatever, under $1k for a good monitor that should last a long time, or $300 for something I can get rid of in two years if it sux.

Also I would really rather not wait, I'm stuck on a tiny laptop screen for my work until I get something set up. Thanks for your help

Dr. Video Games 0031
Jul 17, 2004

The best 4K monitor on the market right now is, in my opinion, the Samsung Odyssey Neo G7. It uses a miniLED backlight, which means that there are a thousand backlight zones that adjust to the picture dynamically, resulting in fantastic contrast for an LCD and pretty good peak brightness for HDR. The catch is that it is very expensive at $1300 (often $1100 after discounts). I've had one for a few months and I like it a lot, though I dunno if a curved display would work with your setup. I think having a 32" curved monitor next to a 32" flat monitor would feel pretty weird and you may never get used to the curve.

So for your situation, I think I might be inclined to go with the $300 monitor option and wait a couple years for the OLED and miniLED monitor market to mature and get cheaper. The $300 range will generally get you a pretty good 27" 165+ Hz 1440p monitor, such as the LG 27GP850. Or you could split the difference and grab the Gigabyte M32U, a 32" 4K 144Hz monitor, for $680. It only has average IPS contrast and no real HDR features, but it's still a perfectly good monitor with nice image quality. Several goons have one and are happy with it.

You will have no problem running two 4K monitors side by side. Just having another monitor plugged in and on is basically free for your GPU.

Dr. Video Games 0031 fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Sep 30, 2022

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Awesome OK that's a great start.
For that Gigabyte M32U, it's a Freesync monitor, right? Isn't that the AMD thing, and Nvidia does G-Sync? Or am I remembering wrong / 6 years out of date.

Waiting for the OLED market to get cheaper seems like a reasonable thing to do. Although $1100 with discounts is... on the edge of affordable. I think I agree that a curved monitor isn't what I want, especially because I tend to slid back and forth, sit/stand etc which changes my viewing position a little. There's a G70A 28" that is flat... for $726.47 on amazon right now. https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-Odyssey-Computer-FreeSync-LS28AG700NNXZA/dp/B096YPN52D It'd be tough to spend even that much and also go down four inches, but maybe that's worth considering too.

Dr. Video Games 0031
Jul 17, 2004

Leperflesh posted:

Awesome OK that's a great start.
For that Gigabyte M32U, it's a Freesync monitor, right? Isn't that the AMD thing, and Nvidia does G-Sync? Or am I remembering wrong / 6 years out of date.

Waiting for the OLED market to get cheaper seems like a reasonable thing to do. Although $1100 with discounts is... on the edge of affordable. I think I agree that a curved monitor isn't what I want, especially because I tend to slid back and forth, sit/stand etc which changes my viewing position a little. There's a G70A 28" that is flat... for $726.47 on amazon right now. https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-Odyssey-Computer-FreeSync-LS28AG700NNXZA/dp/B096YPN52D It'd be tough to spend even that much and also go down four inches, but maybe that's worth considering too.

G-sync is compatible with almost all new Freesync monitors these days, including the M32U and all the others that are up for consideration here.

I'd go with the M32U over the G70A, personally. If you were to go down to 28", the better play would probably be the M28U. That actually uses the exact same panel as the G70A, but in a Gigabyte frame. It's a fairly basic IPS panel, but it's the cheapest you'll find a high-refresh 4K monitor.

infraboy
Aug 15, 2002

Phungshwei!!!!!!1123
https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-Fre...5b3de13370&th=1

They have some pre-owned M32U ones for 505$, my Aorus FI32U (Same panel) didn't come with the original box but all the cables and accessories were there and well packaged, no screen issues.

G-sync pretty much works on most monitors even if it's not technically certified.

Theres a few other nice 32'' 144hz 4k monitors but they're like a 1000$ LG and BENQ monitor. I'm not a huge fan of curved monitors either.

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Looks like the M32U has a KVM switch which could simplify some things for me, too. I'd probably get a new one just to get the full warranty, etc. but $679 seems OK for this level of monitor. Does this one have all those backlight zones like the G7? Or am I confused and the G70A doesn't have those zone thingies?

Dr. Video Games 0031
Jul 17, 2004

Leperflesh posted:

Looks like the M32U has a KVM switch which could simplify some things for me, too. I'd probably get a new one just to get the full warranty, etc. but $679 seems OK for this level of monitor. Does this one have all those backlight zones like the G7? Or am I confused and the G70A doesn't have those zone thingies?

Neither the G70A or M32U have those, only the Neo G7 does. The M32U, M28U, and G70A have the same standard types of LED backlights we've been used to for the last decade, so you aren't getting any exciting new technologies with them unfortunately. They are however just really solid, regular IPS panels, especially the M32U. I encourage you to look up reviews for these monitors in RTINGS and the Hardware Unboxed youtube channel since they tend to test these things better than most reviewers. Here's a comparison from RTINGS between the M32U and Odyssey Neo G7: https://www.rtings.com/monitor/tools/compare/gigabyte-m32u-vs-samsung-odyssey-neo-g7-s32bg75/27393/33691?usage=3623&threshold=0.10

K8.0
Feb 26, 2004

Her Majesty's 56th Regiment of Foot
Keep in mind that as always monitors are going to go on mega-sales before Thanksgiving. Buy a monitor now if you need one now, but if you can wait you can save probably a couple hundred bucks on a $700 purchase.

Anti-Hero
Feb 26, 2004

Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:

The best 4K monitor on the market right now is, in my opinion, the Samsung Odyssey Neo G7. It uses a miniLED backlight, which means that there are a thousand backlight zones that adjust to the picture dynamically, resulting in fantastic contrast for an LCD and pretty good peak brightness for HDR. The catch is that it is very expensive at $1300 (often $1100 after discounts). I've had one for a few months and I like it a lot, though I dunno if a curved display would work with your setup. I think having a 32" curved monitor next to a 32" flat monitor would feel pretty weird and you may never get used to the curve.

Kind of an odd question, but do you have a sense for how 30 Hz content would perform? Any pitfalls or gotchas?

I ask because I console game a lot and my next display will pull double duty between PC and console. A handful of games in my console backlog are 30FPS only. When I got a PS4 in 2014 I hooked it up to my 1080P monitor of the time (an Eizo 60 hz display) and just something about GTA5 looked off compared to my plasma TV. It could have just been 30FPS looks awful at typical monitor distances, who knows.

Dr. Video Games 0031
Jul 17, 2004

Anti-Hero posted:

Kind of an odd question, but do you have a sense for how 30 Hz content would perform? Any pitfalls or gotchas?

I ask because I console game a lot and my next display will pull double duty between PC and console. A handful of games in my console backlog are 30FPS only. When I got a PS4 in 2014 I hooked it up to my 1080P monitor of the time (an Eizo 60 hz display) and just something about GTA5 looked off compared to my plasma TV. It could have just been 30FPS looks awful at typical monitor distances, who knows.

I loaded up Spider-Man Remastered on the PS5 and slung around the city for a bit in the 30fps fidelity mode and it seemed fine. A slow camera pan test showed no sign of stutter and I didn't see anything else wrong. I don't have my PS4 hooked up to test with that, but I don't see why it would be any different. You just have to set the monitor's refresh rate to 120hz in the OSD to ensure that consoles see and use 120hz/60hz properly (it saves this for different input sources so you don't have to constantly manually switch)

edit: also, this is totally off-topic, but Spider-Man's 120hz fidelity mode with VRR is pretty good on PS5, actually. So much smoother and nicer to look at than the default 30fps fidelity mode.

Dr. Video Games 0031 fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Oct 1, 2022

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Anti-Hero
Feb 26, 2004

Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:

I loaded up Spider-Man Remastered on the PS5 and slung around the city for a bit in the 30fps fidelity mode and it seemed fine. A slow camera pan test showed no sign of stutter and I didn't see anything else wrong. I don't have my PS4 hooked up to test with that, but I don't see why it would be any different. You just have to set the monitor's refresh rate to 120hz in the OSD to ensure that consoles see and use 120hz/60hz properly (it saves this for different input sources so you don't have to constantly manually switch)

Perfect, thanks! This might be the monitor for me.

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