30" monitor and what video card?

[Peter Huebner]

Currently thinking about buying a new, bigger monitor than my HP 1955.
And I was looking at 30" and 27/28".
Imagine my surprise when I looked at the video resolutions that my
pretty new Asus EN8800GTS is capable of: they list only to 2048x1546.

Does this mean that I am s.o.o.l. with regard to 30" monitors or am I
missing something here? This was about the next-to-bleeding edge card
when I bought it just over 1/2 a year ago and those monitors have been
out a bit longer than that?!?

And by the bye: any opinions on the Dell 3008 out there? It seems full
featured (not just dvi input, so it seems to have a scaler inside) but
is it actually any good?

cheers, -Peter

 

[rjn]

And I was looking at 30" and 27/28".

The point of going to 30in is 2560x1600 res.
Any 27/28s are apt to be merely 1920x1200.

Imagine my surprise when I looked at the video resolutions that my
pretty new Asus EN8800GTS is capable of: they list only to 2048x1546.

On what port?
That's quite likely the case for the analog Dsub15/VGA port.

According to newegg's specs for that card, it can do
2560x1600. This will be via DVI, and dual-link DVI at that.
Newegg SKU: N82E16814121218
Is yours a different variant?

Does this mean that I am s.o.o.l. with regard to 30" monitors or am I
missing something here?

You have to use dual-link when running DVI over 1920.
That's dual LINK, and not dual PORT. Most new cards
are DL-capable. The cable needs to be DL as well.

And by the bye: any opinions on the Dell 3008 out there?

There seem to have been 3 versions of it. Only the latest
has the scaler. The two earlier ones run ONLY at 2560
or precisely half that.

... is it actually any good?

I'm waiting for LED backlit before moving up to 30in.
None of the current 30LCDs are, AFAIK.

 

[Peter Huebner]

The point of going to 30in is 2560x1600 res.
Any 27/28s are apt to be merely 1920x1200.

Yes, I am aware of that. One of my reasons for upgrading is
deteriorating eyesight (age-related) and so I am trying to decide if a
larger DOT pitch or a larger screen would be more beneficial.

On what port?
That's quite likely the case for the analog Dsub15/VGA port.

According to newegg's specs for that card, it can do
2560x1600. This will be via DVI, and dual-link DVI at that.
Newegg SKU: N82E16814121218
Is yours a different variant?

I don't think it's a variant. I looked at my retailer's website &
listed specs, and the max resolution there is shown as 2560x1200. But
on my desktop prefs (nvidia applet) I can only see resolutions up to
2048x1536 and when I looked at the box there was a table on the back,
listing resolutions up to 2048x1536 --- alas, when I turned the main
light on I saw that it says 'refresh rate table'. So hopefully the card
IS able to do 2560x 1200 ... it _should_ do! Confusing, which is why I
am looking for clarification. Asus' website is a useless mare's nest.

In any event, my options are constrained, w.r.t. what is available here
in NZ. I can get a 27.5" Viewsonic for NZ$1000, a Samsung 27" for twice
that, a Dell 27" for NZ$1600, the Dell 3008 for NZ$2400 or the HP 30"
for NZ$2200. That's more or less all that there is for sale in the
larger sizes. Not interested in large 1366x768 screens.
As far as I'm concerned, the Samsung 27" is overpriced. The question is
do I go for the extra real-estate and resolution (and the USB hub and
height adjust that the Viewsonic doesn't have) but I get the larger
DOT pitch of .30 or do I spend a huge lot more and get a .25 DOT pitch
and the little luxuries. Or do I go half way and buy the Dell 27"?

So far I've always avoided buying Dell products ("Dell rhymes with
hell") but their 30" monitor with the hardware scaling built in sounds
superior, technologically, to the HP (a brand I tend to trust more, for
peripherals).

I've only had one comment on my enquiries in various places and that
chap was very happy with the Viewsonic screen, said the picture quality
was superb. Reviews on the Dell 3007 I've seen were very mixed, but
that's a different animal from the 3008 on offer now, even the panel is
supposedly LG-Phillips instead of Samsung.

I'd really appreciate more input ....

cheers, -P.

 

[rjn]

Yes, I am aware of that. One of my reasons for
upgrading is deteriorating eyesight (age-related)
and so I am trying to decide if a larger DOT
pitch or a larger screen would be more beneficial.

In that case, you might well be happier with a 26
or 27 at 1920. My 23wide @ 1920 works out to just
under 100 dpi, and that's really too small for
aging eyes. The current 30in 2560s are just over
100 dpi.

If my current monitor (an hp f2304) went to backlight
heaven, I'd replace it with nothing smaller than a
24in at 1920 (94 dpi), and having just done the math,
I'll now have to rethink my 30in plans :-(.

... But on my desktop prefs (nvidia applet) I can only
see resolutions up to 2048x1536 ...

The on-screen menus are likely limited to what the
current monitor has reported. You'd have to connect
a 2560-capable DL monitor, via DL, to see 2560 as an
option in the menus.

You'll need to keep asking, and in more places than
here.

Asus' website is a useless mare's nest.

So true.

In any event, my options are constrained, w.r.t.
what is available here in NZ.

Not just that. As far as I know, the current Dell 30
is the only one with a scaler at present, and Dell is
presumably pricing to exploit that advantage.
I expect other brands to offer competing products at
any moment, and certainly before year end.

So far I've always avoided buying Dell products ...

Ditto. The monitors I use at work are Dell branded.
I would not have spent my own money on them - uneven
backlighting - questionable vertical viewing angles
for portrait mode - inadequate on-screen controls
(which is a major nuisance on Unix).

 

[Peter Huebner]

If my current monitor (an hp f2304) went to backlight
heaven, I'd replace it with nothing smaller than a
24in at 1920 (94 dpi), and having just done the math,
I'll now have to rethink my 30in plans :-(.

And then again, you may not! I have just read a rewiew of the new Dell 3008 -
unfortunately it's in German
http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/test/2008/test-dell-3008wfp.html

And not only do they give this monitor a 'very good' rating, they also say that
the interpolation at lower resolutions is superb, not least *because* of the
very fine pixel pitch. You can see pictures with photos of different
resolutions, and it's quite impressive, I must say.

Yes, interpolation. This beasty has a scaler built in. The only other 30" that
does is a Gateway apparently (not available in this country) and I read a
second review - maybe on extremetech, not sure now, that set the two off
against each other. The Gateway was better in some regards, particularly color
quality at low low levels where the Dell veers towards turquoise and there was
something else, I forget. But they, also, were quite happy with this monitor
overall.

Still a hefty price tag, mind. Having read some more reviews of the Viewsonic
28" monitor I am still scratching my head: "you get what you pay for" as a
conclusion in some reviews is not confidence inspiring.

-P.

 

[Mike Ruskai]

Currently thinking about buying a new, bigger monitor than my HP 1955.
And I was looking at 30" and 27/28".
Imagine my surprise when I looked at the video resolutions that my
pretty new Asus EN8800GTS is capable of: they list only to 2048x1546.

Every EN8800GTS model on the Asus web site shows support for
2560x1600, which should be expected for basically any modern card
(i.e. built in the last two years).

So long as it has a dual-link DVI connector, it will support 30"
monitors.

And by the bye: any opinions on the Dell 3008 out there? It seems full
featured (not just dvi input, so it seems to have a scaler inside) but
is it actually any good?

I bought the first HP LP3065 with the 92% gamut backlight. Simply for
quality control reasons, I'd be more inclined, if purchasing a new
one, to go with HP's more recent LP3065, which also has built-in
display scaling and an OSD.

 

[Peter Huebner]

Every EN8800GTS model on the Asus web site shows support for
2560x1600, which should be expected for basically any modern card
(i.e. built in the last two years).

So long as it has a dual-link DVI connector, it will support 30"
monitors.

I see what you are saying. I did a search of Asus website and this time I found
the refrence and you're quite right, of course.

What has me still scratching my head is that when I 'enable all display modes',
even the ones not supported by your monitor' the NVidia display applet only
shows up to 2048x1536 which is way more than my current monitor can display
(1280x1024) but still short of 2560x1600. Retailer's website says 2560x1600 as
well but the box lists only up to 2048x1536 and so does my 'puter.

Go figure. I can't make head or tails of it.

Thanks for the heads-up on the new HP monitor - I haven't seen that one appear
in the stores' listings here (NZ) yet.

regds, -P.

 

[Mike Ruskai]

I see what you are saying. I did a search of Asus website and this time I found
the refrence and you're quite right, of course.

What has me still scratching my head is that when I 'enable all display modes',
even the ones not supported by your monitor' the NVidia display applet only
shows up to 2048x1536 which is way more than my current monitor can display
(1280x1024) but still short of 2560x1600. Retailer's website says 2560x1600 as
well but the box lists only up to 2048x1536 and so does my 'puter.

Go figure. I can't make head or tails of it.

Thanks for the heads-up on the new HP monitor - I haven't seen that one appear
in the stores' listings here (NZ) yet.

I'm not sure about the HP right now. I had heard they updated the
model, but I don't see any confirmation on their web site, so you
might actually be stuck with only the Dell having a built-in scaler.

Mind you, the graphics card will automatically scale (with no
performance hit) to 2560x1600 for other resolutions, without any
display driver. Once the drivers are loaded, if there weren't a bug
in nVidia's drivers preventing it (a long-standing one that they
seriously need to fix), you would be able to use fixed-aspect-ratio
scaling as well. But sans a a fixed driver, all resolutions will be
stretched to 2560x1600. This is a problem almost exclusively with old
programs that want to run fullscreen at a specific 4:3 resolution.

 

[rjn]

I'm not sure about the HP right now. I had heard they updated the
model, but I don't see any confirmation on their web site, ...

Adding the scaler, and a bunch of inputs, is a fairly
major change; one I'd expect to be accompanied by
both a model branding and SKU change - as there's
otherwise ample opportunity for customers to seek
the new model and get an unusable remaindered old one.

Unless hp is planning to abandon the 30in segment
(as they did briefly with the 23/24in segment),
I'd expect an hp scaler30 this year, under a new
model number and SKU.

My guess is that hp is anxious to ditch the LP3065.
On one of their monitor summary pages, they list
all the sizes in the format:
Model
Size A/R Type

There's a 3rd line under the entry for:
HP LP3065
30" Widescreen LCD Monitor
(Dual-link DVI graphics required)

I don't recall seeing that earlier. I'm guessing that
it's been bought by some customers who either
couldn't use it at all, or couldn't use it as
expected, based on how smaller monitors work.

... so you might actually be stuck with only the
Dell having a built-in scaler.

The Gateway XHD3000 pretty clearly has a scaler.
However, they want USD$1700 for it, and may not export.

 

[Mike Ruskai]

Adding the scaler, and a bunch of inputs, is a fairly
major change; one I'd expect to be accompanied by
both a model branding and SKU change - as there's
otherwise ample opportunity for customers to seek
the new model and get an unusable remaindered old one.

They didn't bother to change the model number when they added the 92%
gamut backlight. I had to make sure I was buying the right part
number to get it.

 

[rjn]

They didn't bother to change the model number when
they added the 92% gamut backlight. I had to make
sure I was buying the right part number to get it.

Was that the difference between the EZ320A4 and EZ320A8 ?
(hp SKUs do keep getting weirder, don't they)

It's not terribly surprising that they left the model LP3065, nor
is it terribly surprising that only one character changed in the SKU.
When hp changed colors in the 1990s, the monitors went from
A1234A to A1234D.

The BLU change was a minor performance enhancement, with
no change to form, fit and function where one would have
previously used the earlier model, and the altered SKU did
provide version control for anyone consciously avoiding the
old model for a new application needing the gamut.

Contrast this with the LP3065c, which apparently just adds
speakers, but gets a changed branding and a whole new SKU
(GN454AA).

The 'c seems to be out of stock at the moment, and the regular
LP3065 has a bundling deal that expires 30 April. Hard to say
what to make of that in terms of any imminent replacement.

But I do expect any replacement with a scaler to have both a new
SKU and a model branding difference (and probably not just
a letter on the end).

 

[Not Gimpy Anymore]

Was that the difference between the EZ320A4 and EZ320A8 ?
(hp SKUs do keep getting weirder, don't they)

It's not terribly surprising that they left the model LP3065, nor
is it terribly surprising that only one character changed in the SKU.
When hp changed colors in the 1990s, the monitors went from
A1234A to A1234D.

The BLU change was a minor performance enhancement, with
no change to form, fit and function where one would have
previously used the earlier model, and the altered SKU did
provide version control for anyone consciously avoiding the
old model for a new application needing the gamut.

Contrast this with the LP3065c, which apparently just adds
speakers, but gets a changed branding and a whole new SKU
(GN454AA).

The 'c seems to be out of stock at the moment, and the regular
LP3065 has a bundling deal that expires 30 April. Hard to say
what to make of that in terms of any imminent replacement.

But I do expect any replacement with a scaler to have both a new
SKU and a model branding difference (and probably not just
a letter on the end).

Well - knowing how the subject company works, it may
have been thought of by marketeers as "just a performance
enhancement", and no thought given to whether some more
erudite users may have specific preferences...... "any color
you want, as long as it's black..."

BTW, FWIW, it's typically not just BLU but also filters &
compensation film that had to change - indeed not trivial from
the point of getting it into production with reasonable yield....
Not all panel companies are doing well in providing 92% gamut
ones.... but can't speak directly to this 30" model as "it ain't ours".
NGA