Suggestions welcome re best 27" monitor to get… Thread poster: Michael Beijer
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Michael Beijer 
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:34
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
OK, so I am in the market for a new, bigger monitor for my computer. I currently have a 24" Samsung (1920x1200) connected to my Dell Precision laptop. The laptop is very powerful, so number of pixels shouldn't be a problem. Does anyone here have any tips? I am on Windows, as most of you probably know. I'm thinking of getting a 27".
I am wondering, however, what the difference would be between a 27" monitor with 2560x1440 (WQHD) resolution and one with 1920x1080? And specifically, it... See more OK, so I am in the market for a new, bigger monitor for my computer. I currently have a 24" Samsung (1920x1200) connected to my Dell Precision laptop. The laptop is very powerful, so number of pixels shouldn't be a problem. Does anyone here have any tips? I am on Windows, as most of you probably know. I'm thinking of getting a 27".
I am wondering, however, what the difference would be between a 27" monitor with 2560x1440 (WQHD) resolution and one with 1920x1080? And specifically, its effect on how my CAT tool (CafeTran) and text will look.
I don't play games or watch any kind of videos on this computer, so all I care about is crisp, clear text, and as much space as possible for the large number of little "boxes" (various TMs, glossaries, preview window, translation editor (source + target area), Google Translate and Microsoft Translator panes, and the grid) that make up my CafeTran UI.
Also, does anyone here have any experience with anything bigger than 27", and specifically how it would affect text and CAT tools on Windows (currently 7, soon 10)?
Michael
PS: also asked here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/cafetranslators/teOghFfvQ2Y
[Edited at 2015-03-06 17:14 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:34
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Look no further | Mar 6, 2015 |
Hi Michael
I can save you a lot of time; a while ago I went through the same process that you're going through - looking for my ideal monitor. I finally found it, and here it is:
http://www.macworld.co.uk/review/displays/benq-gw2760hs-27-inch-monitor-review-outstanding-quality-price-3465425/
<... See more Hi Michael
I can save you a lot of time; a while ago I went through the same process that you're going through - looking for my ideal monitor. I finally found it, and here it is:
http://www.macworld.co.uk/review/displays/benq-gw2760hs-27-inch-monitor-review-outstanding-quality-price-3465425/
To get the best price, you should try shopping around. I got mine from Amazon for £169.70 (July 2014 prices).
It works with Windows and Mac and not only is the price right; it's non-glossy, and once you've found the correct adapter for it and adjusted the initial settings it's absolutely fantastic.- I'm really pleased with it!
I don't use CAT tools but when I'm translating I do tend to have a lot of different applications open on my screen- Adobe reader, Word, my browser, my PIM (diary), numerous other things all running at the same time.
The main thing is that I need to have two A4 pages at full-size side-by-side on my screen. That was why I bought this monitor. As I say, I'm satisfied with it in every way. Had I bought the equivalent monitor made by Apple it would have cost me 10 times as much.
[Edited at 2015-03-06 17:36 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:34
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| You could have it so much better | Mar 6, 2015 |
Michael Beijer wrote:
OK, so I am in the market for a new, bigger monitor for my computer.
Come on Michael. It's time to go big... or go home!
Dan
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:34
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for the tip. It does look very good.
I'm wondering about the resolution though, which is 1920x1080. I noticed there is another BenQ (the GW2765HT) with 2560x1440.
In a review on the one you mentioned over on Amazon, someone said:
"Some reviewers have carped a little about th... See more Thanks for the tip. It does look very good.
I'm wondering about the resolution though, which is 1920x1080. I noticed there is another BenQ (the GW2765HT) with 2560x1440.
In a review on the one you mentioned over on Amazon, someone said:
"Some reviewers have carped a little about this model's resolution, which looks to be more normal for 24" monitors. However, for me the resolution not being as high as it might be for this size is something of an advantage, because that means that everything on-screen looks a little larger than otherwise - so, in particular, normal to small text is easier for me to read than it would have been otherwise. The down-side of that, however, is that the pixels are naturally a little larger, and I can clearly see the pixel pattern on lighter even tones, which is a bit unpleasant, at least for me. I still get a reasonable number of extra pixels, particularly in the width, as compared with my old 1280x1024px monitor, and it gives me just the right amount of 'elbow room' for using my various applications." (http://www.amazon.co.uk/BenQ-GW2760HS-Multimedia-Monitor-Speakers/dp/B00BPL0558/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425664776&sr=8-1&keywords=BenQ%20GW2760HS )
This illustrates an interesting point, and something I have noticed in the past: a higher resolution isn't always better, as it can sometimes make text and UI stuff too small. However, this can often be counteracted by moving to a larger size screen. A good example is a small laptop screen with too high a res, which IMO is a disaster for working on. I got the biggest screen I could on my laptop (17" @ a max. res of 1920x1200), but I hate working on it (which is why I always use an external attached to it).
So I guess what I'm wondering is if anyone has any hands-on experience with working on a 27" screen like the one you mentioned, but then in 2 different resolutions: 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, and what effect this has on text and UI stuff.
In any case, your suggestion is going on my short-list, as it looks like a real bargain for what you get!
Michael ▲ Collapse
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Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:34
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Ha ha, thanks Dan. | Mar 6, 2015 |
Dan Lucas wrote: Michael Beijer wrote:
OK, so I am in the market for a new, bigger monitor for my computer. Come on Michael. It's time to go big... or go home! Dan
Yeah, I was wondering about those monsters (although I've only really looked at a few 32" screens, not much bigger than that). However, I've set myself a bit of a budget. I don't want to spend much more than €400–500.
Michael
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:34
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Monitor, keyboard and chair are crucial | Mar 6, 2015 |
Michael Beijer wrote:
Yeah, I was wondering about those monsters (although I've only really looked at a few 32" screens, not much bigger than that). However, I've set myself a bit of a budget. I don't want to spend much more than €400–500.
As you say in your response to Tom's suggestion, "a higher resolution isn't always better, as it can sometimes make text and UI stuff too small." Yes it can, and that's why I'm interested in this size of monitor. Note the PPI of only 110 - you'll not be squinting at this even at full resolution. Or one could run it not at full resolution but at 2560x1440 just to enjoy not having to strain one's eyes! Your eyes aren't going to get any better over the next five years - if anything the opposite.
However at full resolution of 3840 x 2160 this display has an awful lot of pixels to push, which means you'll need an (expensive) DisplayPort 1.2 compatible graphics card. In addition to which you'll probably want a proper gas arm to hold the monitor as the stand isn't adjustable. So all in all you're looking at a lot more than the price of the monitor.
That notwithstanding, this has been getting rave reviews and seems to have sold well. Amazon uk had some, now they're sold out. Other monitor suppliers will certainly follow Philips and launch similar models. And although some people will say that 40" is Just Too Big, some people said that about 27" and 30" monitors. I think we'll see this part of the market develop into a healthy little niche within a year.
Maybe wait for 6 months?
Dan
| | | | Ben Senior
Germany
Local time: 10:34
German to English
| Best resolution | Mar 6, 2015 |
Hi Michael,
Get the best resolution possible, but be aware that a high resolution on a smaller screen will produce smaller text and buttons in your applications. We have had various Samsung monitors for many years and have been extremely happy with them. The last company that I worked in had had many different monitors with varying results. I insisted on Samsung and we had various sizes on different computers 14" to 24". Reliability and performance were really good. They never let u... See more Hi Michael,
Get the best resolution possible, but be aware that a high resolution on a smaller screen will produce smaller text and buttons in your applications. We have had various Samsung monitors for many years and have been extremely happy with them. The last company that I worked in had had many different monitors with varying results. I insisted on Samsung and we had various sizes on different computers 14" to 24". Reliability and performance were really good. They never let us down and after a couple of years the System Administrator changed the whole company over to Samsung and that was over 200 computers.
My advice is get the best you can afford because you spend all day looking at it and your eyesight is very valuable to you. The Samsung 27" models have great write ups although I've never used on myself.
Ben ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 16:34
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
| Things can be adjusted | Mar 6, 2015 |
You can always adjust scaling or just text size in Screen Resolution settings.
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Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:34
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Scaling on Windows still doesn't work that well | Mar 6, 2015 |
Lincoln Hui wrote:
You can always adjust scaling or just text size in Screen Resolution settings.
Maybe this has improved in Windows 8.* and Windows 10, but scaling in Windows 7 is often ugly.
Dan
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:34
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Dan Lucas wrote: Lincoln Hui wrote:
You can always adjust scaling or just text size in Screen Resolution settings. Maybe this has improved in Windows 8.* and Windows 10, but scaling in Windows 7 is often ugly. Dan
Yeah, still on 7 here myself. I briefly tried 8/8.1, and seem to remember it had been improved, but can't remember. Same ought to apply to 10, which might be even better. In fact, I have high hopes for 10. Am going straight from 7 (64-bit) (which has been a great OS) to 10 when it's ready. I know it's not really comparable, but I'm really loving 10 on my Windows Phone.
Anyway, to return to Lincoln's suggestion, yes, this is exactly what I do if I have to work on my laptop without my external monitor for an extended period: increase the text size (via Screen resolution > Make text and other items larger or smaller).
Michael
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:34
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Unexpected consequences | Mar 6, 2015 |
Michael Beijer wrote:
Anyway, to return to Lincoln's suggestion, yes, this is exactly what I do if I have to work on my laptop without my external monitor for an extended period: increase the text size (via Screen resolution > Make text and other items larger or smaller).
I wish it did it better though. There are all kinds of issues that often come to light in unexpected ways. For example, if you use the Selenium framework for browser automation (scraping, basically) you may, as I did, run into an obscure bug that only occurs if your fonts in Windows are set to 125%! Hard to predict this kind of thing. Rather than fixing it in software, fix it in hardware with a bigger monitor!
I too dismissed Windows 8 as a potential replacement, having been very happy with Windows 7, just as I dismissed Vista having been very happy with XP. Think Windows 10 may be the one though. Might do a Linux dual-boot as well, as that seems now to be quite mature and my experience of it so far has been fairly positive.
Buy 27" now, get 40" a couple of years down the road?
Dan
| | | | 2nl (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 10:34
| Nice 27" screen with crisp text: good value for your money! Splendid specs! | Mar 6, 2015 |
Dear Michael,
I can advise an iMac Retina as a screen, it even comes with a built-in processor for running any OS. You can even downgrade to Windows, if you like. Personally I don't see any reason to do so, but hey: it's your party!
Other screens with these magnificent specs cost more than an iMac Retina. So the processor part is for free.
Have a good weekend.
Cheers,
Hans
(waiting for his Retina to arrive next week)
... See more Dear Michael,
I can advise an iMac Retina as a screen, it even comes with a built-in processor for running any OS. You can even downgrade to Windows, if you like. Personally I don't see any reason to do so, but hey: it's your party!
Other screens with these magnificent specs cost more than an iMac Retina. So the processor part is for free.
Have a good weekend.
Cheers,
Hans
(waiting for his Retina to arrive next week)
PS Did you see that CafeTran's resources now can be made floating, e.g. to place them on your second screen on the third floor of your second home? ▲ Collapse
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Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:34
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | "OS X"? What's that? Never heard of it. | Mar 6, 2015 |
2nl wrote:
Dear Michael,
I can advise an iMac Retina as a screen, it even comes with a built-in processor for running any OS. You can even downgrade to Windows, if you like. Personally I don't see any reason to do so, but hey: it's your party!
Other screens with these magnificent specs cost more than an iMac Retina. So the processor part is for free.
Have a good weekend.
Cheers,
Hans
(waiting for his Retina to arrive next week)
PS Did you see that CafeTran's resources now can be made floating, e.g. to place them on your second screen on the third floor of your second home?
Hi Hans,
Don't make me calculate how much you paid for your shiny new toy using the shiny white Apple Store thingee and post it here to shame you publicly, because you know I will 
Michael
PS: No, missed that. How do you float resource panes in CT? And don't answer: "to get to the other side".
| | | | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:34
Member (2008)
Italian to English
How about a 360° panoramic monitor that goes all the way round you? You'll need a swivel chair, of course.
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