Hello. I’m wondering what’s the verdict on VA vs IPS on cheap 4K monitors? I’m potentially looking at 30-32" displays with 4K UHD resolution. Modest pixel densities of ~140 PPI sound pretty good to my situation.
But at the same time, a 32-inch monitor is a big one so I’d be looking at it pretty close. I may want a solution where I don’t do system-wide scaling to preserve resolution. TN/VA monitors have that nasty problem with viewing angles, a problem I had with 22" monitors back in the day. Will this be the case with current (but cheap) panels, I guess it is?
There are plenty of curved VA monitors out there. Am I hopeful in thinking maybe they behave better?
Hi and welcome!
I have not really much experience with the kind of screens you are interested in but, I think if you want 32 inch you really need 4k. I made good experiences with the brand iiyama. I just found the iiyama ProLite XB3288UHSU-B1 which I think meets your criteria.
However, if I were you I think I’d choose a smaller screen, maybe a 27 inch, but with 4k - must be really cool, very sharp. And definitely IPS. But maybe you are a gamer, then you might need VA.
Hope this is helpful.
Happy new year!
Anna
It depends on what you are looking for. My brief experience in looking into monitors (window shopping ) is that there is no such thing as a cheap but decent monitor. Price scales (steeply, the more demanding you are) with quality and size.
Basically, you need to decide which specs matter to you and then see what price range they tend to fall in. Then you can compare apples to apples. Also, store floor display models are misleading because they crank up the brightness, contrast and saturation. The floor lighting makes the products look better than they would be in your studio, office or living room. All that to make a quick sale rather than let the prospective buyer make a fair assessment.
Yes, there are way too many sites that comment on specs and technology. And perhaps a lot of them are inaccurate or not in depth enough. I haven’t had enough rest so I can’t think of one that I could recommend ATM. Find ones that have lists of monitors with notes that you could look up.
Prices seem to be dropping on 80cm 4K IPS monitors at the moment: the Dell u3219q was one of the first decent ones below 1k €, but it was still a “simulated” 10 bit screen: the up3216q was still up around 1300€… but now ASUS have brought out what looks like a very good 80cm version with 10bit screen, 12 bit LUT… I’m tempted.
Given I do mostly BW, I don’t really need 10 bit, but, well… there is a hope of a more uniform back-lighting, something that was infamously inconsistent on the Benq. We shall see
Thank you for recommendation. I’m asking about the VA/IPS specifically in 4K panels in this size because the viewing angles can be a bigger issue than for example in TV monitors. In other words, what specs/feature I need, what feature I prefer to have, so that I can hit the local stores and so on.
I love the hi-DPI look, at the same time I don’t know if it’s worth the hassle to get set up in my simple linux box.
Moreover, I am looking for screen estate, so this means that if the pixels are getting tiny and I have to use pixel scaling, I’m essentially wasting that estate (bet get sharper pixels in return).
Man it’s always been obvious to me that 4K UHD is precisely 4 times the Full HD resolution, to the pixel. But it didn’t click until you said it, it can also be physically 4 times the size.
I’m a multidisplay user. Have been for a good decade or so. Two, three main monitors plus a TV panel when possible. Because I and my Xmonad config work so well together I would be very hesitant to move back to one main monitor instead of 2-3. But nobody prevents me from setting Xmonad up so that it’ll potentially show a 2x2 matrix of subscreens. Huge possibilities if I go this route, very intriguing!
My vote goes to IPS as well. Well, because I have a LG IPS. I went with LG because they manufacture their own components (to my knowledge). The lowest tier and price of course but it was a step up from my previous non-IPS display. I didn’t go for VA because I couldn’t get one at that price point. At a higher price point, I could only get a bad VA.
Combining ideas from @Karl and @afre, a 49-inch IPS LG UHD television should probably be at least an interesting idea?
On that size the pixel density comes down to 89 PPI which is practically the same as my current 91 PPI. On paper, IPS should help with the viewing angles that can be as steep as 40 degrees. There’s probably some glow and the quality of panel isn’t tiptop.
But to get something like this for 350 € which isn’t necessarily enough to get a dedicated PC monitor IPS 4K, it’s an interesting idea.
I would say use the device for its intended purpose. If you do photo, video or graphics related work, then a computer monitor would be the obvious choice.
Yes, I love the flexibility. I usually keep Yakuake open, with a couple of browser windows and Thunderbird open and visible all at the same time, and when I use Darktable or Gimp I can use the entire display to see what I’m working on. I’d never be able to do that usefully with a multi-monitor setup (the bezels would irritate me too much.)
It depends on what you are looking for. My brief experience in looking into monitors (window shopping 
) is that there is no such thing as a cheap but decent monitor. Price scales (steeply, the more demanding you are) with quality and size.
