Choice of All Around Monitor

[paraiso]

I've been struggling to find a proper 30-32'' monitor to use home for a very long time. Currently I still use a NEC Multisync 2690WUXi v1 (with A-TW polarizer almost completely getting rid of the IPS glow) which is an exceptional monitor but it's been humming from both the integrated PSU and the CCFL lights since day one. Its backlight is also now at about 6k hours and I am unable to find a company that can fix the operating noise, otherwise I will keep it.

I have tried with LG 43UD79 4K monitor a few months ago which looked OK but it came with a permanent bright pixel so in the end I sent it back. It also uses a pretty low frequency PWM (raised to 480Hz via a firmware update from only 200Hz initially) and was a bit too big for my desk.

Last week I bought what was advertised as a used NEC PA302W monitor off Ebay which in the end turned out to be a NEC PA301W and also came with a bright pixel right in the middle. I am sending it back for a full refund today.

At the moment I am considering buying a new NEC PA302W off Amazon for about £1500. This is mostly because it has internal backlight compensation function, 2560x1600 resolution which to me is perfect for this size of display, relatively decent input lag and response time, but mostly because I trust NEC's general quality control and I expect less problems. Also, there is nothing around 30-32 inch that comes at this resolution and is not bundled with problems with excessive backlight bleed, uniformity issues or other quality problems. I was considering Acer Predator XB321HK (4K, G-Sync) which however only comes with one display port input which allows to be used at 4K 60Hz, its HDMI port is useless and its only the two of them. I've also stumbled upon some negative reviews about backlight bleed, dead pixels etc. and its colour accuracy is poor too.

I do some amateur photo and video processing and occasionally play games, but not competitively. There is also not too much space on my desk so I cannot combine two monitors for different purposes. This is why I need an all-around monitor that I can more or less use for everything.

I was also considering ViewSonic XG2703-GS 165Hz G-Sync monitor as one of the 27'' G-Sync ones with least reported issues and newer panel from AUO but am concerned about the same issues of nonuniform screen and excessive backlight bleed. Same with LG 32UD99-W that was probably the best modern choice, including for gaming, but it's been reported to have various issues with random signal disconnection, flickering, USB-C problems etc.

At the moment I am leaning towards a new NEC PA302W despite the fact it's an old tech because its size and resolution (2560x1600) are perfect for me. 4K resolution at 27-32 inch is too high, at least for me, and needs Windows scaling and some adjustments for clear text as I've gone through this with the 43'' LG and I would rather have it at native resolution in Windows.

Just wanted to hear your thoughts also before paying some hefty £1500 for a monitor that is just the better of everything out there I am considering. I'd have gone for a G-Sync monitor since I am going to use an OC 1080Ti card and there are a few 32'' 2560x1440 monitors with G-Sync from LG and Samsung, but unfortunately with VA panels which I would like to avoid for the black crush and gamma change with angle. Anyone with NEC PA302W? Any humming/high pitch noise problems from the PSU/backlight? Any other suggestions?

Thanks everyone.

 

[HiCZoK]

Nec as all around? Nec is known for having quite huge input lag (for the cost of great image quality).
For all around those 144hz, 1440p gsync monitors seem fine if You get a good one

 

[paraiso]

I'd rather have good image quality, uniform backlight and as low backlight bleed as possible than some more hertz at the expense of the above. All 144+ IPS panels are AUO ones all of which have issues so it's up to what you'd be happy to settle for and live with in the end. People will settle for more bleed if they can save themselves one or more dead pixels, dirty particles inside the matrix or clouding.I am not happy to keep doing that, especially after many problems with exchanges, dealing with sellers, delivery companies, time etc. Also imagine paying a game with amazing motion but with a yellow-to-orange glow from all corners killing the whole experience. What's the whole point of the higher refresh rate then?

The PA302W comes with about two frames delay in total which I would definitely not go for unless I have a suitable alternative. Not that bad either. I watch a lot of videos and movies so 30''+ is the perfect size.