Monitor Recommendations

[fredtgreco]

I'm looking for some opinions on monitors (and I am looking at you, @Ask Mr. Religion and @Semper Fidelis!)

I did get a Dell XPS laptop with 4K. So now I am seeing two 4K monitors:

1. A Monoprice 4K open box. It has built-in speakers (which is useful for me, as I use that on my current monitor) and a matte finish. It does not have freesync, but I am not really a gamer so I do not know if that matters. It is $250.

2. Samsung 4k refurb. It does NOT have speakers but has an audio jack, but does have freesync, and appears to be brighter and have a better response time (but when you are talking a difference of milliseconds, does that matter?).

3. A Monoprice 30-inch IPS LED Backlit WQXGA (2560x1600) Monitor. It is not 4k, but it is bigger, and does have a better than HD resolution. It does NOT have speakers but has an audio jack. It is also 16:10, which is nice for regular computing tasks.

Any opinions? If I get one without speakers, is there a good small set of speakers I could get?

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

I am no fan of refurbs or off-brand monitors given issues with stuck pixels, less connectivity ports, etc.

This one would be my purchase for the 28-inch range with integrated speakers:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQ1COOF

If you shop around you may find some savings as this one will be about $100 above your identified monitors.

Response times are important for gaming or action-based (think Fast and Furious) video viewing. If these are important, then the lower response time you can get the better. In a 4K world, milliseconds are an eternity. This Dell monitor should be just what you need and you get some USB-3.0 connectivity with it for quick access to external backup drives you will want to have.

 

[greenbaggins]

Bit off topic, but not hugely so. I got blue filter lenses to put over the top of my reading glasses. They are lifesavers, or should I say "eye-savers?" My eyes are MUCH less tired at the end of the day, and I am sleeping better as well.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

Bit off topic, but not hugely so. I got blue filter lenses to put over the top of my reading glasses. They are lifesavers, or should I say "eye-savers?" My eyes are MUCH less tired at the end of the day, and I am sleeping better as well.

I use these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FB0VWQA/

Magnification 2.0 does about what my regular prescription lens do while using a computer. Windows 10 has a night light feature that reduces blue luminosity that can be set to be active from sunset to sunrise or per custom hours. Click the All Settings button from the Action Center button at the bottom right of your task bar. In the window that opens enter "night light" in the Search bar. You may find using this feature is all you need.

 

[fredtgreco]

I have Gunnar glasses. They are not cheap, but they go on sale occasionally at Amazon, Woot, or Groupon.

 

[Brian Withnell]

Personally, I prefer IPS over other technologies. Better color rendering. Size matters. Sound? Huh? Monitors never give 5.1 surround sound so why even think of sound when buying a monitor.