Advice on Monitor Selection

[RobertOZ]

I need to replace one of my monitors, what I am looking for is a min. 28 inch,
My understanding is that 24 inch is the optimum size for HD 1920x1080, above this and the pixels become noticeable.
So if I look for a 4K (3840x2160) monitor, what size should I look at, am aware that with 4K the display is smaller, so a larger screen is necessary
What I am looking at is a Samsung 28 inch 4K LED Monitor Model LU28H750UQEXXY, can pick that up in Aus. for $589 which seems reasonable, (price is a major consideration) would that then give a similar display size to my current 23 inch Full HD monitor
Have also looked at 2560x1080 monitors, but don't like the 21:9 look

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[Ken Berry]

Hi Robert. I first saw your post last night before going to bed, and nine hours later I'm a little surprised that you haven't received any responses. I am assuming from your reference to a Samsung and that price, that it may be from the Dick Smith on line catalogue -- though I also spotted another Samsung 28" 4K monitor there for $489 this morning...

I only upgraded to a 4K computer and monitor in February. You'll see the computer specs under my avatar. The monitor I chose was a 28" Kogan 4K (3840 x 2160) which I bought from Dick Smith NZ for NZ$388, though I think the price from Dick Smith Australia was almost identical. I have been pleasantly surprised by how good it's colour is. It even has built-in speakers which also aren't too bad -- not wonderful by any means, but then again I don't really expect much of such speakers and don't use them in practice. (I have two other monitors with them -- a 28" full HD AOC and a Philips 32" full HD).

I'm not sure I can comment meaningfully on the comparison on what you see on a 4K 28" screen compared to a 23" full HD screen, but it may be more akin to comparing it to a 21" full HD screen. Just about everything is tiny on the 4K screen. But of course you can use Windows to boost the size of a lot of things on screen, and I am pretty happy with this (but I prefer small icons, thumbnails etc in any case).

Not all programs respond to Windows zoom, however. Your browser should. But Corel programs are a bit of a mixed bunch in this regard. I've attached a screen shot I just took of VS 2018 on this monitor. It will give some idea of how things look. I can live with this.

However, the sister program PaintShop Pro 2018 appears (to me at least) far tinier -- see next screen shot. And remember that in PSP 2018 there is a new command which allows you to increase the size of the icons to Large. Those in the screen shot are what Corel thinks are large. I should perhaps note that you will get a better idea of the size of the letters and icons if you just look at these screen shots as they appear embedded in my reply, rather than by clicking on them to open them to full size. If you do the latter, everything will look gigantic!

You will recall that in recent years there have been complaints from some users about these sizes, most of them related to 4K monitors. Hopefully Corel is working on a resolution of the issue, particularly as 4K monitors are becoming increasingly popular.

[RobertOZ]

Thank you for your response Ken, you would appear to get better deals in NZ than here, the Kogan/AOC 28 inch 4K monitor here is $489 and there is an equivalent priced Samsung available, I have ordered the better featured Samsung LU28H750 for an additional $90
Are Kogan and Dick Smith part of the same group, because when you advance to Checkout, it is the same web site displayed for both

I was hoping that the much larger screen would compensate to some degree for the smaller icons of 4K, so hopefully windows zoom will be available for some programs, I did purchase the 4K with the future in mind

Notice that you have a Phillips 32 inch Full HD monitor, I did also consider this, but was put off by statements that 24 inch is the optimum size for Full HD, above this, then pixels can become noticeable, do you see that

Again, thank you for taking the the time to respond

[Ken Berry]

Re the Philips, yes it is true you can see the pixels if you look hard enough, but it is a truly beautiful monitor, and for the price ($289) unbeatable IMHO.

As for Kogan, it existed well before the demise of Dick Smith. I even think Kogan may be the name of the guy who owns it. When Dick Smith fell over, he bid for the on-line arm of Dick Smith. So in effect they are one and the same company, though for some corporate reason maintain different mast-heads. I am not sure, but I think Kogan also has actual shops... Both maintain NZ corporate identities, which is good from my point of view. Even though probably 100% of the products come from Australia (although DS also has a Hong Kong entity), NZ GST is included in the price (it's 5% higher than Australia's) and this means NZ Customs does not get into the picture when the goods arrive. I have been very happy with their service.

Re the price of the Kogan, yes I bought it when it was on a 5 day special. If you are not pressed for time, these come up quite regularly, as do "free delivery" deals, though delivery charges are in any case minimal.

[asik1]

I took a peek in DS for 24" and found prices are ~25% lower than in Israel.
unless the prices I see are VATless.

[RobertOZ]

Hi asik!

Not sure about NZ, but I assume they would be the same as Aus, GST of 10% (NZ 15%) would normally be included in the price of the goods, when purchasing, the amount of tax applied is shown separately

[TonyP]

I have a 24" Acer 1920x1080 monitor on a monitor arm directly over my IPS LG 27" UHD 4K display. I do edit 4K often, so need to see what things look like in that resolution. I can compare the difference between the two monitors easily, and have come to the decision that another 4K monitor is in my future relatively soon.
I would get a bigger 4K display, but my desk size would not allow me to. Once you've worked with a 4K display and all the "real estate" it offers in editing, it's hard to go back. Yeah... icons and text are smaller, so I have everything at 125%. You'll love the 28"!

[RobertOZ]

Amazing, I ordered the Samsung from Kogan on Wed. night and it has just been delivered by Aust. Post, 48 hours exactly
Now to unpack and install

[aljimenez]

I've been on a trip and saw this thread just now. I was going to suggest looking at Dell displays, but it's too late.

[RobertOZ]

I did look at the Dell 4K monitors Al, but from what I could see, an equivalent Dell monitor was about $200 dearer than Samsung or Kogan, and price was a major consideration, am very happy with the Samsung, now have 4 monitors available to use, but the Samsung cannot be used with the desktop PC, I assume because the graphics card is too old and not 4K compatible