Please Help Me Choose a Monitor

Hayce Irri on 06/06/2023 - 13:42
Last edited 06/06/2023 - 14:34

Hi all

I've been out of the game for so long the last monitor I bought connected via DVI, so Im a little lost.

Currently using 21 inch iMac, but the mrs is getting a new Macbook Air M2 and we will set it up with a dock and monitor.

It will be used for the usual browsing/emails etc, but the big thing it will be used for is editing 4k video for YouTube etc.

Im thinking between 27 and 32 inches…

4K

HDR, i'm not sure its relevant tbh although a PS4 will be connected to this monitor also

60Hz

I'll be getting a hub/dock at same time that will have HDMI, so that can be the means of connection,

Is there any manufacturer that has pulled ahead of the competition? Best bang for buck?
anything I should watch out for?

Price range $400-600ish

Thanks in advance fellow cheapies

ps: this is the one I'm currently thinking might be ok
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/MONLGL62762/LG-27UP600-W-27…

General Discussion

Comments

  • Grandma on 06/06/2023 - 14:12
    +1

    Whats your price range? 2 grand gets you a bloody nice 5k LG display… But it's also 2 grand

    • Hayce Irri on 06/06/2023 - 14:34

      Sorry, I knew I forgot something. Probably $400 to $600 maybe a bit more

      • Huntakillaz on 06/06/2023 - 14:53
        +1

        You'll want IPS because of this "editing 4k video for YouTube"
        but VA maybe ok

        32" will probably be better at 4k
        27" means the pixels will be much smaller unless you're going to be scaling the text anyways

      • Grandma on 06/06/2023 - 15:00
        +1

        Ah cool.

        At 32" you definitely want 4k. At 27 I'd say it comes down to your eyes, coming from a 21" imac with 4k display, you'll negatively notice 1440p, coming from the 21 with a 1080p display, you'll positively notice it.

  • ace310 on 06/06/2023 - 15:00
    +1

    Maybe Dell mentioned here ? I think it's VA so not sure on 4k editing. But it great otherwise if it goes on sale.

    Not sure if you can get IPS 32 4k at your price range, but could be wrong.

  • ace310 on 06/06/2023 - 15:02
    +1

    Waiting on this Refurb Philips 32 4k to arrive. Probably not for your use case though.

  • desikiwi on 06/06/2023 - 15:20

    Mac air get atleast 512 gb storage and 16 gb memory , for 4k video editing.

    The lg one you selected looks good .imo

    I use a dock from Amazon Australia

    I also got anker 33 watt gan charger and soopii 100 watts cable from Amazon

    LENTION USB C Hub, 6 in 1 USB C to USB Adapter, USB C Multiport Dongle with 4K HDMI, USB C Data Port, 3 USB 3.0, 100W PD Compatible New MacBook Pro/Mac Air, iPad, More Type C Devices (Space Grey) https://amzn.asia/d/dgPVfg4

    Deal of the day: SooPii USB C Cable, 4FT Nylon Braided USB C to USB C Cable, 100W PD Fast Charging Type-C Cable with LED Display for lPad Mini/Air/Pro, MacBook Pro, Samsung Galaxy S22/S10, Pixel, LG https://amzn.asia/d/f7oy7KX

    Anker USB C Charger, 323 Charger (33W), 2 Port Compact Charger for iPhone 14/14 Plus/14 Pro/14 Pro Max/13/12, Pixel, Galaxy, iPad/iPad Mini and More (Cable Not Included) (White) https://amzn.asia/d/iWwjDgH

    • Hayce Irri on 06/06/2023 - 17:21

      Hi, thanks for the response. That hub looks ok, but only does 4k at 30hz. But it did remind me to check around Amazon AU and there
      seems to be plenty of options for hubs so will look around.

      Cant justify the 512gb. The extra $350 for 512gb is insane… Will just get an external SSD for the hub to provide the extra storage needed.

  • guysaturday on 07/06/2023 - 00:36
    +4

    Several things to note here about the MacBook Air M1/M2:
    1) You can't have multiple external monitors. Just one. Doesn't matter how many monitors can plug into your dock. So get a good quality dock with just one good HDMI - not one of those 138192381-in-1 docks with more plugs than you'll use.

    Note: This is unless you're wanting to mess around with a lot of things: https://www.macworld.com/article/675869/how-to-connect-two-o…

    -Also, this is your excuse to get one good quality external monitor, and a big one. Because you can't just add a 2nd one later (unless a future MacOS release changes this).

    2) 4K@60 vs 4K@30 - extending on #1, except this time it's the dock makers that suck. They're unclear on which ports on the dock support 4K@60Hz, and it might just be the "thunderbolt"/usb-c only that supports it (some funky pbtech/amazon listings out there that mention 30 and 60 interchangeably throughout the ad). So it's worth reading some reviews of your chosen dock to make sure it will actually do what you want it to do, and can handle it through the HDMI. Or don't be afraid to test it immediately and return it if it doesn't do what the box promised.

    3) Cables. Don't buy the expensive brands, the gold plated, etc. However, DO buy cables that mention 4K@60Hz - this is a relatively new guideline for data transfer rates. Make sure you get an HDMI/USB-C cable that can support the extra data throughput as well - they're not much more expensive, don't need the really expensive ones with gold plating and stuff. But every HDMI/USB-C is NOT made identically. For example, USB-C has at least 4 different data rates possible (2.0, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 4/Thunderbolt). So beware the "USB-C 2.0" specification (lots of ANKER and Belkin fall in this hole). Same for HDMI - port and cable needs to be one of the later specifications, at least HDMI 2.0, to handle 4K@60Hz. Amazon and other places can be good for finding cheap, well-made cables - but beware buying the no-names with 1000s of reviews but without some reviews showing the cable performs as promised - I always choose one where the screenshot shows the computer reporting back that the cable did what I would want.

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