Monitor to replace NEC PA302w

[jrp50635]

The recent heat seems to have done in my old faithful NEC monitor.

A loud pop suggests that a capacitor has blown, or worse.

There appears to be no direct successor model. The main brands (ASUs, BEnq, Eizo and even Apple) seem to offer only 27” monitors in 16:9, which is rather less than the 30” 16:10 that I am used to. Granted, the new monitors are mainly 4k, or occasionally 5k, so you can get more onto the screen but you’d need to sit much closer to the screen to make it work. The 5k panels seem not to do Adobe RGB as well as some 4k ones.

The expensive Mac Studio display sounds good and obviously fits seamlessly into an apple environment, but if you want to plug in a pc, you can’t even adjust the brightness. And the gamut is not ideal for photography.

Anyone else managed the transition from a big screen to a 27” one without regret? The fact that it’s so much harder to find bigger screens suggests that most people live with 24 or 27” screens.

Any specific recommendations?

 

[Ab S]

why not go to 16:9 32" factory calibrated 4K?

 

[BobKnDP]

(snip)

The fact that it’s so much harder to find bigger screens suggests that most people live with 24 or 27” screens.

(snip)

Huh?

There are many 32" class displays on the market. The ones aimed at the professional market can be expensive, like the NEC PA302w was.

(I admit I'm in the US, and unfamiliar with the UK market.)

Do you have a budget?

If it's unlimited, you could go for the Asus PA32DC . It's a 32" OLED (3840 X 2160).

I believe that it uses a JOLED panel. My (much) lesser Philips 27E1N8900 uses one of those, and has displayed no image retention or burn-in after 2 years of mostly Web browsing. It's a 27" 3840 X 216o (@ 60 Hz) display.

You may prefer a more traditional IPS display.

 

[Matt2134]

The recent heat seems to have done in my old faithful NEC monitor.

A loud pop suggests that a capacitor has blown, or worse.

There appears to be no direct successor model. The main brands (ASUs, BEnq, Eizo and even Apple) seem to offer only 27” monitors in 16:9, which is rather less than the 30” 16:10 that I am used to. Granted, the new monitors are mainly 4k, or occasionally 5k, so you can get more onto the screen but you’d need to sit much closer to the screen to make it work. The 5k panels seem not to do Adobe RGB as well as some 4k ones.

The expensive Mac Studio display sounds good and obviously fits seamlessly into an apple environment, but if you want to plug in a pc, you can’t even adjust the brightness. And the gamut is not ideal for photography.

Anyone else managed the transition from a big screen to a 27” one without regret? The fact that it’s so much harder to find bigger screens suggests that most people live with 24 or 27” screens.

Any specific recommendations?

I used the Benq 32 PD 3200U photo editing screen for a while as well as the Asus pro art PA329CV which I thought was better than the Benq. I also avoided the studio display because of it being 27 inch - but later I switched to the studio display, and I really like it. It look clearly better than the others I have used, the speakers are frankly amazing for a monitor, and I don't need critically matched printing so the gamut is fine for me. It's a really nice monitor, and the switch to 27" has been an absolute non issue

 

[jrp50635]

Thanks. I’ll have a look at the various 32” monitors, even if they don’t seem as popular as the 27” ones and used older technologies.

Is the 4k v 5/6k thing an issue?

 

[BobKnDP]

Thanks. I’ll have a look at the various 32” monitors, even if they don’t seem as popular as the 27” ones and used older technologies.

Is the 4k v 5/6k thing an issue?

Are you looking at gaming monitors? Those seem to attract the latest tech, and high frame rates.

As regards resolution, some insist on a monitor like an Apple "retina" one, where the pixels are unresolvable by the eye, at any reasonable viewing distance. Your old NEC was far from that.

The only monitor I can recommend against from personal experience is this one:

8K Monitor: Dell Ultrasharp UP3218K | Dell USA

32", 7680 X 4320 @ 60Hz. (To run it at that, it required two DisplayPort cables, and a compatible graphics card. No DSC, or DisplayPort 2+.)

I had one. (Refurb; highly discounted.) I returned it because it suffered image retention that manifested in a couple of weeks. (Unexpected for an IPS monitor.) It has a user-invokable hardware utility that is supposed to fix that, but it didn't seem very effective.

Dell still sells them, even though the model was released in 2017. It hasn't been updated.

 

[jrp50635]

No, I don't game.

But since most Macs now sport Thunderbolt 4 and Macs prefer 5K over 4K, etc, you'd have thought the more monitors would be support that.

I see that the BenQ monitors have a MacBook colour simulation mode, but it doesn't seem to be possible to use the MacBook to change display colour settings. You can see why people get the Studio Display, for the convenience and freedom from hassle. Bu even that is not a true 10bit display, just 8bit dithered.

Maybe I spoke too soon. There is a new Eizo, not yet available in the UK, that seems to support USB-C rather than display port. But the monitor would need more space than the NEC PA302w

https://www.eizoglobal.com/support/db/comparison?m1=CG319X&m2=CG3100X&

Similarly, it's hard to tell what the differences between the ASUS 32-inchers is:

https://www.asus.com/uk/product-com...5392,14661&LevelId=displays-desktops-monitors

BenQ offers only the SW321C.

All these seem to be 4K only. What's the experience of 5k + 27" v 4k + 32"?

 

[BobKnDP]

Some monitors can be run with a bidirectional DisplayPort to USB-C adapter.

The graphics cards I'm familiar with lack Thunderbolt ports. My motherboard can take a DP output and send it back to a motherboard input. That provides the video to a USB-C 4 output, which is supposed to be Thunderbolt compatible. I've never tried it.

If you'd like to participate in the last days of JOLED panels, without spending over £3k on the Asus OLED, these are still available in the US:

Amazon.com: INNOCN 32" OLED 4K PC Monitor for Mac mini MacBook Air/Pro, UHD (3840 x 2160) Computer Monitor, USB C, HDR 10, 99% DCI-P3, 99% sRGB, 1M:1, Tilt/Height Adjustable Stand, VESA Mountable - 32Q1U : Electronics

No HDMI or DP ports.

I don't know about availability in the UK.

Are you looking for a "future proof" monitor? I suppose it's possible. I wouldn't care to predict what the state of the art might be in 2030. Maybe our AI overlords will include a direct interface to the visual cortex to the brain interface they use to enslave us.

 

[WilyKit]

I can highly recommend this new Dell UltraSharp model: U3225QE

Amazing quality for the price. Great contrast (I haven't seen anything nearly as good), accurate colors, no annoying uniformity issues, no annoying "bleed" effect, and good anti-glare.

The panel is for SRGB / BT.709 (100%) and DCI-P3 / Display P3 (99%).

 

[BobKnDP]

I can highly recommend this new Dell UltraSharp model: U3225QE

Amazing quality for the price. Great contrast (I haven't seen anything nearly as good), accurate colors, no annoying uniformity issues, no annoying "bleed" effect, and good anti-glare.

The panel is for SRGB / BT.709 (100%) and DCI-P3 / Display P3 (99%).

That's supposed to be very good.

But I believe it lacks a programmable LUT, for those who insist on such.

 

[WilyKit]

I can highly recommend this new Dell UltraSharp model: U3225QE

Amazing quality for the price. Great contrast (I haven't seen anything nearly as good), accurate colors, no annoying uniformity issues, no annoying "bleed" effect, and good anti-glare.

The panel is for SRGB / BT.709 (100%) and DCI-P3 / Display P3 (99%).

That's supposed to be very good.

But I believe it lacks a programmable LUT, for those who insist on such.

It has it, 14-bit 3D LUT. The Dell Color Management software works with it. You can also use custom color profiles made with CalMAN in it.

 

[jrp50635]

I had a Dell before the NEC. It also gave up the ghost, after a much shorter time.

It seems to use more recent panels and has good connectivity.

So I need to think about 32” 4K or 27” 5k.

 

[BobKnDP]

I can highly recommend this new Dell UltraSharp model: U3225QE

Amazing quality for the price. Great contrast (I haven't seen anything nearly as good), accurate colors, no annoying uniformity issues, no annoying "bleed" effect, and good anti-glare.

The panel is for SRGB / BT.709 (100%) and DCI-P3 / Display P3 (99%).

That's supposed to be very good.

But I believe it lacks a programmable LUT, for those who insist on such.

It has it, 14-bit 3D LUT. The Dell Color Management software works with it. You can also use custom color profiles made with CalMAN in it.

I've never had a U3225QE.

As far as I've been able to find, it has no user programmable LUT. It's certainly not mentioned on DisplaySpecifications:

31.5" Dell U3225QE - Specifications

If you can provide a link to the contrary, I'd be glad to see it.

I don't expect to see a programmable LUT on a $1k 32" monitor, but I'd be happy to be mistaken about it for this one.

 

[WilyKit]

I can highly recommend this new Dell UltraSharp model: U3225QE

Amazing quality for the price. Great contrast (I haven't seen anything nearly as good), accurate colors, no annoying uniformity issues, no annoying "bleed" effect, and good anti-glare.

The panel is for SRGB / BT.709 (100%) and DCI-P3 / Display P3 (99%).

That's supposed to be very good.

But I believe it lacks a programmable LUT, for those who insist on such.

It has it, 14-bit 3D LUT. The Dell Color Management software works with it. You can also use custom color profiles made with CalMAN in it.

I've never had a U3225QE.

As far as I've been able to find, it has no user programmable LUT. It's certainly not mentioned on DisplaySpecifications:

31.5" Dell U3225QE - Specifications

If you can provide a link to the contrary, I'd be glad to see it.

I don't expect to see a programmable LUT on a $1k 32" monitor, but I'd be happy to be mistaken about it for this one.

Oh, sorry, you're right. Some store websites listed wrong info that it has programmable LUT because it's supported by the Dell color management software, but now I see that the software only allows LUT programming with the "UP" series monitors, not "U".

 

[mclewis]

I have one of these: https://www.lg.com/uk/monitors/uhd-4k-5k/32un880k-b/ . It is 32" UHD screen.

It has hardware colour calibration with the LG calibration application. It works well for me and the ergo stand is great. The P3 gamut is perfectly suitable for photo editing and is similar to AdobeRGB.

 

[BobKnDP]

I have one of these: https://www.lg.com/uk/monitors/uhd-4k-5k/32un880k-b/ . It is 32" UHD screen.

It has hardware colour calibration with the LG calibration application. It works well for me and the ergo stand is great. The P3 gamut is perfectly suitable for photo editing and is similar to AdobeRGB.

I'm not sure what "hardware color calibration" implies, but the 32UN880K doesn't seem to have a programmable LUT. None would be expected in an £399 monitor.

My monitor lacks a programmable LUT as well. While profiling it, I've adjusted its RGB gains. Some might call that hardware calibration, I suppose.

 

[jrp50635]

I had a look in the Apple Store at the 5k 27” Studio display versus the older 6k 32” XDR display as other displays on display in other outlets were 27” only. The 32” size seems much more comfortable to me. Apart from the Apple 6k display, we have a Dell, and Asus and the LG, although that doesn’t seem to be available in the UK. There may also be a Benq. The Apple is pricey and must be ripe for a refresh. The image quality looks great, nevertheless. Not sure how the others compare. Anyone got any experience of any of these? On MacOS

 

[The_Thin_Man]

The Apple is pricey and must be ripe for a refresh. The image quality looks great, nevertheless.

I've been watching this. Rumor has it , "Apple plans to release a new Studio Display in late 2025 or early 2026." But, in my mind, waiting is a losing game, especially if you could benefit from it now. I'm planning on picking up a Vesa mounted Apple studio display in the next few weeks.

 

[mclewis]

I have one of these: https://www.lg.com/uk/monitors/uhd-4k-5k/32un880k-b/ . It is 32" UHD screen.

It has hardware colour calibration with the LG calibration application. It works well for me and the ergo stand is great. The P3 gamut is perfectly suitable for photo editing and is similar to AdobeRGB.

I'm not sure what "hardware color calibration" implies, but the 32UN880K doesn't seem to have a programmable LUT. None would be expected in an £399 monitor.

My monitor lacks a programmable LUT as well. While profiling it, I've adjusted its RGB gains. Some might call that hardware calibration, I suppose.

Harware calibration = programmable LUT. Yes it does have one but you need to use the LG calibration software to access it.

 

[Ernie Misner]

why not go to 16:9 32" factory calibrated 4K?

Thanks for this. Off topic, but does a factory calibrated monitor still have to be recalibrated in a couple of months?