New monitor recommendations?

I need a bigger monitor for photo processing RAW files with Lightroom. What is the best monitor for the money up to $800?

I love my current NEC WGMX2 but it is about 10 years old and only 20 inches. I want 27 inch monitor. I have a serious backlog of photos that I need to submit to Getty images and my current monitor seems to lack the required real estate to do this quickly and efficiently.

I do not game. I would use it for viewing netflix and youtube so speakers would be nice but are not essential. My mobo is the ASUS P8Z77-V PREMIUM.

Any recommendations are appreciated.

http://www.necdisplay.​com/p/desktop-monitors/pa272w-bk A little above your budget but It looks like B&H has it for $949.00.

Check the thread at https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=18102611 especially the comments about the BenQ (currently at $600).

I built a new PC in September and got a Dell U2717D. It's a QHD monitor, 2560 x 1440. It's an IPS panel and factory pre-calibrated. There are certainly better ones but for me it provided good value. You can get it for under $450. I use it with Lightroom and like it very well. A good resource for monitor selection is tftcentral.co.uk.

Thanks for all of your input!!

Impulsively I went online all of last night and in to the early morning and in a sleepy mindset I pulled the trigger on a BenQ SW2700PT. It was the best photo processing non-gaming monitor (based on the multiple reviews I read) that I could get at that price point in Canada.

When I awoke this morning I guess I realized that I'd neglected to consider whether my PC can handle it.

I don't have a graphics card - I use the onboard Intel® Z77 chipset graphics... My mobo is the ASUS P8Z77-V PREMIUM (external link). I think it is the Intel HD 4000 graphics.

From themobo ASUS website it states:
Integrated Graphics Processor
Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DisplayPort/Thund​erbolt ports
- Supports HDMI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
- Supports DisplayPort with max. resolution 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz
- Supports Thunderbolt with max. resolution 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz

Depending on desktop real estate I may run the NEC WGMX2 as a 2nd monitor...possibly using it for web browsing as I read the text may appear smaller on the new monitor.

Will I now need to buy a graphics card?

You should be fine as it is a 2560×1440 so you can run it through the DP1.2 at @60 Hz with no problems. I'm sure you will like the added resolution over a 1920×1080 display. I went the whole hog and went for the Dell UP2715K with the 5K (5210×2880) resolution with my new XPS8900, and for that size you do need at graphics card, as it requires dual DP1.2 to run at the full 5K. The DP1.2 specification will only support 4K @ 60Hz on a single port.

Alan

Received the monitor today and setting up was a breeze. Base, arm and screen easy to assemble.

Had absolutely NO problems running the BenQ on my 4 year old i7 3770K's HD4000 graphics - even have the NEC 20WMGX2 as a 2nd monitor with both running at their native resolutions.

The BenQ is at 2560x1440 - w10 drivers were installed but not as easily as the manual said it would be.

Good news: It is connected using the supplied mini DP to DP wire: the Mini DP plug in my Intel mobo's Thunderbird port and the DP plug in to the monitor. Never thought that I'd ever use that port but am so glad I didn't have to go out and waste an hour buying another cable. Still don't know why they included it and not a DP to DP cable.

I am happy to say that I see almost NO performance degradation with LR 5.7.

Small difference: when in Library mode and scrolling in Grid view is a bit choppy.

Small difference: Bit more time required to cycle between regular and zoom when in Loupe view.

Performance differences are negligible - to the point I regret the considerable time I wasted researching it. Guess my i7 3770K and mobo were good choices 3 years ago...and happy I won't need a GPU!!

Though it is early days thus far...I'll report any issues.

a little late, but dell U3415W, much more amazing than the 27" variety monitors. Easily run 2 windows side by side or work on a panoramic landscape on full screen. The subtle curvature is phenomenal, keeps the monitor looking very natural. Use it 8-12 hours a day, got it for a steal in 2015 for $500

Charlie wrote in post #18246479
a little late, but dell U3415W, much more amazing than the 27" variety monitors. Easily run 2 windows side by side or work on a panoramic landscape on full screen. The subtle curvature is phenomenal, keeps the monitor looking very natural. Use it 8-12 hours a day, got it for a steal in 2015 for $500

I wish there was a way to use Lightroom better on a single ultrawide. I feel like the GUI isn't geared towards this and there isn't a good way to 'fake' dual monitors for the traditional Lightroom dual monitor setup.

Smitty2k1 wrote in post #18249512
I wish there was a way to use Lightroom better on a single ultrawide. I feel like the GUI isn't geared towards this and there isn't a good way to 'fake' dual monitors for the traditional Lightroom dual monitor setup.

I totally forgot the dual monitor setup in lightroom, tried it when I was still using dual monitors, but didnt do it for me. I guess if you want the best of both worlds, you can look for another monitor, like a smaller one if space is an issue. I was using 2 23" monitors, and incredibly, much more satisfied with 1 32" instead. I've considered adding one of the 23's back again, in vertical orientation for web browsing, but my desk spacing is limited since I already have another 17" laptop on my desk

Smitty2k1 wrote in post #18249512
I wish there was a way to use Lightroom better on a single ultrawide. I feel like the GUI isn't geared towards this and there isn't a good way to 'fake' dual monitors for the traditional Lightroom dual monitor setup.

So I tried dual monitor setup with lightroom, and it works fine on single monitor. Just pop out the second screen, snap left/right, snap other screen into other side, then done.

close the second screen, go fullscreen if you want just one image.

I looked at the "double-wides" ( or "side by each" if your from Woonsocket) monitors,. but prefer two monitors so one is always in portrait orientation.

I am on the brink of getting a 27" for landscape to go next to my 24" 16:10 Dell.
The old CRT is looking a little tired after all these years.

Sure you need a d dedicated graphic card

philmar wrote in post #18239924
Thanks for all of your input!!

Impulsively I went online all of last night and in to the early morning and in a sleepy mindset I pulled the trigger on a BenQ SW2700PT. It was the best photo processing non-gaming monitor (based on the multiple reviews I read) that I could get at that price point in Canada.

When I awoke this morning I guess I realized that I'd neglected to consider whether my PC can handle it.

I don't have a graphics card - I use the onboard Intel® Z77 chipset graphics... My mobo is the ASUS P8Z77-V PREMIUM (external link). I think it is the Intel HD 4000 graphics.

From themobo ASUS website it states:
Integrated Graphics Processor
Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DisplayPort/Thund​erbolt ports
- Supports HDMI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
- Supports DisplayPort with max. resolution 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz
- Supports Thunderbolt with max. resolution 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz

Depending on desktop real estate I may run the NEC WGMX2 as a 2nd monitor...possibly using it for web browsing as I read the text may appear smaller on the new monitor.

Will I now need to buy a graphics card?

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #18251008
I looked at the "double-wides" ( or "side by each" if your from Woonsocket) monitors,. but prefer two monitors so one is always in portrait orientation.

I am on the brink of getting a 27" for landscape to go next to my 24" 16:10 Dell.
The old CRT is looking a little tired after all these years.

Sorry to hear that your beloved Sony is fading.

I'm still in a re-design/rebuild after a wiring fire melted part of my self-built system (a cheap imported molex to sata power connector - NEVER try to save money on simple adapters - arc'd using a top of the line Corsair PS - what a mess - Corsair support is great!).

But I'm no longer cursing that dam old Dell Vista laptop (& a couple 4TB external HDDs) that I suffered forever (post incineration). The old PC is back in service, the NAS is about 2/3 completed - still installing and populating, the network is back up - new netgear router covers every square inch of our property - even through concrete block walls (impressive). So our digital lives have returned to pre-meltdown "normal" - maybe a bit better.

What had been contained in a my original single midtower Corsair Graphite 600T (from 2012) now occupies that same Corsair case + a 5 bay Synology 1515+ NAS (JBOD, non-raid) + (2) DAS 4 bay mediasonic enclosures (JBOD again) - each a dedicated backup for the PC & NAS + a couple HDD docks (not counting laptops, tablets, routers, switches & asst'd other devices & peripherals). I've lost track of total TB - as that's still a moving target.

After we finish this current redesign (yep, this time I found some talented help! - I'm not full-time IT), it will finally be time to upgrade the PC components (mobo, ram, cooler?, graphics card, etc.) which are all from circa 2012/3 (intel 2500K, oc'd @ ~30%). At that point, I may upgrade my current array of monitors: (2) Dell 24" IPS 1920 x 1200 in center + a 27" Samsung monitor/TV on the RHS + an older ViewSonic 19" LCD in portrait mode on the LHS + an Infocus projector aimed at an 80" screen on the wall to the LHS of my desk.

Complicated toys. Again, sorry to hear of your Sony - they were fantastic CRT's.

Dale