Is a 1080p 27" monitor suitable for rendering (or need higher res)?

[Matt.Kinsington]

Hi all,

Looking to buy an external monitor for my laptop to do renderings, CAD work and general use.  Possibly some video editing.  I'm a total beginner, so trying to keep costs low.

I could get something like a Dell Ultrasharp 27" with 2560x1440 pixels for around $400-$500 USD.  Fairly confident that would do the job. 

But would rather spend half that for now (if possible) on something like a Dell Professional P2717H (or any other suitable make and model).

But perhaps it's best to invest in a higher quality monitor, rather than try to save money here.
Anyone rendering on a 27" 1080p monitor that could give some advice??

Thanks

[Furniture_Guy]

We currently have four of these on our Windows 10 KeyShot render PC's and they work quite well:

http://www.benq.us/product/monitor/sw2700pt/

And we're in a marketing department Mac environment so we're spoiled when it comes to good monitors.

https://www.keyshot.com/c/virco/

Not super cheap but you are, after all, doing visual work you want to look good...

Furniture_Guy

[Matt.Kinsington]

Thanks for the recommendation Funiture_Guy. 

Those BenQs looks to be about $600 each. 
I will definitely consider those since you've shown they're suitable for even high level professional use.  So it's something I could grow into.

I'm caught in that age-old position of trying to spend as little as possible to get started vs. needing to get high enough quality gear to actually do a good job and continue on.

My hunch is a 1080p 27" won't even be suitable for my daily tasks, let alone quality rendering.

Thanks

[mattjgerard]

so, I started a new job about a year ago, and they were using $80 business class 23" 1080 monitors. Weren't the best, so I did some research and made some suggestions.

IT didn't like the idea of getting an "off brand" like BenQ (I know, I know, but IT makes all purchases and supports, so they hold the reigns)

Ended up getting the Dell U2515HX which is a 25" 2560x1440, its pretty good,I think they got it for about $350.

As far a resolution goes, I'd say that this dell is a great match of screen size and resolution. Any higher res at 25" would be too small on a small screen.

I've got the Acer 28" 4k screen at home, and the icons are pretty small, I have to scale them up, but its fantastic for screen real estate. Color is pretty good on both monitors.

https://goo.gl/ah1fB6

And yeah, 1080 at 27" would be huge.

[Matt.Kinsington]

Hi mattjgerard.  That 25" Dell could be a really good place to start.  Thanks.

[Matt.Kinsington]

Eye strain has been a big issue for me.  That is actually the biggest issue.

If I could pay more for a monitor that reduces eye strain, that would be well worth it.

[Speedster]

If I could pay more for a monitor that reduces eye strain, that would be well worth it.

Well, they are a bit pricy, but for reduced eye strain and eye fatigue, as well as top-of-the-line KeyShot quality, you really should look at the EIZO monitor. Used for high-end rendering, medical monitoring and air traffic control.  Billion of blacks, which is critical for definition.  1,000,000 : 1 contrast ratio.

Mine is a ColorEdge CG223W.  Numbers have changed, as mine is about five years old now.  Comes with a glare shade, etc.  Auto ambient room light adjustment, easy color calibration.

http://www.eizo.com/products/coloredge/

Also, and take it from a eight hour a day user- practice the "20/20/20" Rule!  Every twenty minutes, take a twenty second break and look at something 20 feet away.  Allows you eyes to return to their natural shape, and helps avoid both eye strain and "dry eye".

Bill G

[Matt.Kinsington]

Hi Bill G.  Thanks for the recommendation.  Did you notice less eye strain when you bought the EIZO?

Great tip!  I just started doing the same eye stretching exercise as you.  I've got an app on my phone to remind me.  Every twenty minutes it says "look away."  Twenty seconds later it says "work."  Twenty minutes later again it says "look away."  Seems to help.

[Speedster]

Did you notice less eye strain when you bought the EIZO?

Absolutely!

Our monitor, IMO, is the most important tool we have, next to KeyShot, of course, and a good computer to run it.  It's our "window" and quality is paramount.  I render my medical device and other stuff as part of the visualization process, but a large amount of it is rendering for print, and for me the EIZO is spot-on for color conversions.

There's more to the story, which I've shared here in past posts. At 71 I'm very likely older than most of you guys.  Not that I'm any better, just that I've been a self-employed product designer for almost 50 years now, and it's taken it's toll.  Eye strain is a big deal for me, especially now that I have a lot of "floaters", not from strain or injury but simply as a by-product of aging. 

Also, I've become a big fan of smaller monitors.  For years I was running a large 32" ViewSonic.  I started to get a sharp pain in my shoulder, and mentioned it to my chiropractor.  His first question was what size monitor I was using.  Yep, he said- that's the culprit.  With larger monitors you tend to use small arm and shoulder motion to travel the real estate, which results in micro-tears in the rotator cuff. By lucky coincidence my ViewSonic power supply blew up, which is why I searched carefully and chose the EIZO.  HP also has an excellent line of high-end monitors, as does DELL, but both were special order, while my Calumet Photography had the EIZO's in stock as part of the "Adobe Studio" setups.

The takeaway though is to really take care of your eyes and body early on in your careers! 

Bill G

[Will Gibbons]

While I value everyone's opinion here, I'll offer another lens to consider this through:

If you can make an image look good on a sub-par/mediocre monitor, it'll probably offer a pretty decent image across all devices. That's grossly over-simplifying a very complex topic, but nonetheless.

I've always seen Dell's value as good and used their Ultrasharp monitors (had the 23" version, the 27" version and now have the 34" curved ultrawide version). Bang-for-buck, I've been comfortable buying them.

BenQ is a great value brand as well and I've seriously considered them.

Now, that I've invested heavily in every other bit of my hardware and done 3D modeling and rendering daily for the past 10 years, my next monitor will probably be an Eizo.

[Matt.Kinsington]

Thanks Will.  Have you seen some Eizo's already?

I've ruled out a 27" 1080p.  Looks too pixelated.

Considering  these two 24" monitors now.

Dell Ultrasharp U2515 / 24" / 1920x1200 / ~$270
Eizo FlexScan EV2455 / 24" / 1920x1200 / ~$490

The Dell looks like a great monitor for size, price, picture quality and color accuracy (for sub $500 monitor).  Anyone know if this Eizo will truly have less eye strain (but just as good picture quality) and be worth the price difference?

Looks like Speedster's Eizo cost around $1400.  Not sure if their $500 model would have as good eye strain results

[HaroldL]

Thanks Will.  Have you seen some Eizo's already?

I've ruled out a 27" 1080p.  Looks too pixelated.

Considering  these two 24" monitors now.

Dell Ultrasharp U2515 / 24" / 1920x1200 / ~$270
Eizo FlexScan EV2455 / 24" / 1920x1200 / ~$490

The Dell looks like a great monitor for size, price, picture quality and color accuracy (for sub $500 monitor).  Anyone know if this Eizo will truly have less eye strain (but just as good picture quality) and be worth the price difference?

Looks like Speedster's Eizo cost around $1400.  Not sure if their $500 model would have as good eye strain results

I recently bought a Dell U2415 as an external monitor for my laptop. I think I paid around $250 at the local computer store.

While it has enough room when using Keyshot full screen when using it side-by-side with my CAD program it is a little cramped for space. If I had to do it over (or if it bothers me enough to do it over) I'm thinking more along the lines of Will's 27" or 34".

BTW, I found that setting the Interface Font Size to 10 pts works out great for me. I'm not straining so hard to read the screen text.

[Will Gibbons]

Thanks Will.  Have you seen some Eizo's already?

I've ruled out a 27" 1080p.  Looks too pixelated.

Considering  these two 24" monitors now.

Dell Ultrasharp U2515 / 24" / 1920x1200 / ~$270
Eizo FlexScan EV2455 / 24" / 1920x1200 / ~$490

The Dell looks like a great monitor for size, price, picture quality and color accuracy (for sub $500 monitor).  Anyone know if this Eizo will truly have less eye strain (but just as good picture quality) and be worth the price difference?

Looks like Speedster's Eizo cost around $1400.  Not sure if their $500 model would have as good eye strain results

I haven't. I'm not actively shopping for one atm. I don't suffer from eyestrain, but when I'm pushing 100+ hours per week behind a screen and my eyes give me issue, I don't blame the monitor. I know I've overdone it and I take a break.

A 24" monitor certainly seems too small. For a single application, it's fine, but I find that I need to reference other images or items while working. Also, the larger monitors should have more pixels, keeping the ppi about the same. I don't think 2460x1440 on 27" doesn't look too pixelated, assuming you're sitting at least an arm's length from the monitor.

[mattjgerard]

In my research it became apparent o2 things-

1) 4k under 25" is pointless
2) 1080 bigger than 23" is pointless.

That being said, I ended up with a 2550x1600 25" and sitting besides a 23"1080 monitor it is so much sharper and cleaner to look at. My idea situation would be 2 25" 2550x1600 or one big-ass 34 at 4k.

The 25" Dell that I ended up with was the same price as others, a pretty good bang for the buck at about $260.

[Matt.Kinsington]

The 25" Dell  that I ended up with was the same price as others, a pretty good bang for the buck at about $260.

Which model Dell was that?