Shopping for an 49" ultrawide monitor: 5120x1440 or 3840 x 1080? NO GAMER PLEASE

[Zucca]

I am looking into a 49" ultrawide monitor upgrade but I can't decide about the resolution 81DPI 3840 x 1080 or 109DPI 5120x1440?
I post here because if I google only gamer stuff comes up, but I am not a gamer as I use the PC for doing something else (for example EDA CAD).

The two separate inputs feature is nice so I can have truly two 27" monitors stuck togheter without the bezel between, and I can move the windows left monitor <--> right monitor in a breeze.

Anyway I do not want a too high DPI otherwise my eyes can't read small text in full resolution.
I already burned my finger with a wrong purchase: ASUS MG28UQ (28") 4K UHD (3840x2160), the DPI here is too much 157 DPI and it bothers me (thanks to windows if I lower the resolution everything looks blurry... it's another sad story to tell....)

What do you think? Do you have any direct experience with an ultrawide monitor?

EDIT: Just by looking at number I feel 109DPI 5120x1440 is the right spot.

Thanks!

[tszaboo]

I have 2x 2540x1440 at work, 2x24" and it is great for work. At home I have a 34" ultrawide, it is great for...  gaming, but nothing else really. I dont watch movies on the computer, but I imagine it would be OK for that. Dell has the U3818DW, and the U4919DW. I imagine these would be good work monitors, if price is not a problem. If it is, then 2x 24-27 inch monitor is half the money.

[Zucca]

If it is, then 2x 24-27 inch monitor is half the money.

 , still thinking but I like saving some $$. Thanks

[KaneTW]

I use a Samsung CRG9 for work and gaming. It's basically a 2x 27" setup without bezels (you can split the monitor into two virtual monitors if you care). Pretty happy with it.

Way better for viewing large tabular data or similar due to no bezel.

DPI is fine at 1 meter distance with my vision (5120x1440 49" ultrawide).

Is there anything concrete you'd like a user experience report on?

[Black Phoenix]

The market is not that big for 49" UltraWide Monitors - Except the Gaming Ones:

Philips Brilliance 499P9H;
LG 49WL95C-W;
Dell U4919DW;
Samsung C49J890DKN.

[Zucca]

Is there anything concrete you'd like a user experience report on?

Do you use it as one big ass monitor or two separated one?
I am thinking that two separate one better for productivity.

For two separate ones I am meaning two separate cables from the graphics card to two separate inputs in the monitor.

What do you mean with "two virtual monitors"?

Anyway I am thinking to save 1K€ and go with 500€ two 27 thin frame. When the ultrawide will go down in price I will think about it.
1K€ is too much for the "no middle bezel" feature.

[Zucca]

BTW how resolution vs refresh rate works?

In other words I have this g card:

https://www.nvidia.com/content/PDF/data-sheet/NV_DS_Quadro_K6000_OCT13_NV_US_LR.pdf

I am trying to understand what are the max Hz for two 2x 2540x1440 Monitor that my K6000 can handle, or does make sense for me to buy a 144Hz monitor?

I also read this:
https://www.pny.com/File%20Library/Support/PNY%20Products/User%20Guides%20and%20Tutorials/Quadro/Quadro-and-NVS-Display-Resolution-Support.pdf
but I am not sure how it works....

[KaneTW]

Do you use it as one big ass monitor or two separated one?

One monitor. I just drag windows to the side/use a tiling window manager tool to organize my space.

I am thinking that two separate one better for productivity.

For two separate ones I am meaning two separate cables from the graphics card to two separate inputs in the monitor.

What do you mean with "two virtual monitors"?

You don't need to run two separate cables. One cable is enough; you can take both inputs from one cable and it treats them as separate monitors.
Basically equivalent to connecting it to the graphics card with two cables, but you only need one cable.

Anyway I am thinking to save 1K€ and go with 500€ two 27 thin frame. When the ultrawide will go down in price I will think about it.
1K€ is too much for the "no middle bezel" feature.

Yeah, agreed. I got mine because I wanted some gaming features other 27" 1440p didn't have. For pure work the gain are much less.
I think CRG9 should go for around 1k EUR right now, and some of the lower refresh rate variants for even less?

[Zucca]

Thanks Kane,
It's very clear now.

Now I want to investigate what my K6000 can do, I am not sure if it is worthy to buy a 144Hz monitor in my setup.

[Mechatrommer]

off topic but its quite hilarious in the topic about gamer-phobic. nothing about gamer stuffs that cant be used as professional work. you can just change "gamer" with "performance" (with exception the joystick and simulator platform HW of course). my current monitor is advertised as gamers monitor but i bought it not even slightly due to that, but to my surprise its the exact performance i want (Acer brand) that it doesnt change color/contrast/brightness in almost any angle that my head can possibly go, exactly a photo editor like me (part time) wants. this is the replacement of my CRT monitor that i longing for so many years. just saying... having said this, you can buy a desktop PC for gamers and use it for pro work but... beware the price because it has "extreme" version of Intel or Ryzen core in there, again not exactly about gaming but... "performance", ymmv.

[LeonR]

Dunno if you had a VA panel in mind, but check some videos on smugde/black crush or better yet, try finding one that you can run some tests onto before buying. If you are dealing with lots of dark backgrounds/images this is very annoying. I just discovered this "feature" after buying a XG32VQ. 

[KaneTW]

My issue with a lot of gamer branded hardware is that it's really ugly.

[edavid]

If you can live with 3840 pixel width, why not get a large 3840x2160 monitor like an Acer ET430K or EB490QK?

[NiHaoMike]

Just get a decent 4K TV and ignore the smart features if it has any.

[dzseki]

Just get a decent 4K TV and ignore the smart features if it has any.

But TVs have a lot of edge enhancements going on, often impossible to fully bypass those make text annoying looking. You have to be carefull with TVs therefore and have to double check if it gives a picture you'd like to see.

[tszaboo]

Just get a decent 4K TV and ignore the smart features if it has any.

But TVs have a lot of edge enhancements going on, often impossible to fully bypass those make text annoying looking. You have to be carefull with TVs therefore and have to double check if it gives a picture you'd like to see.

Yes, a TV is not suitable for work. They have for example chroma subsampling, which reduces the bandwidth required for the info, and makes text unreadable. Viewing angles are also not suitable to sit close to it. And input lag can be so high that moving the mouse in Windows is annoying. Or scrolling a website. They are different products for a reason.

[Bud]

Some TVs before had a dedicated "PC" mode which presumably turned off the enhancements stuff and allowed the signal to pass through. Not sure if that exists in modern Tvs as i have not bought one for a few years. I must say though the last big screen TV Dave salvaged from the dumpster looked quite good to me when he was testing it with input from a computer.

[Mechatrommer]

grabbed the last unit of Sony Bravia KD65X7000G at 12.12 promotion price around $680... i thought if i cant use it for PC, i still can watch movie with it cant i? am surprised how technology moved from my previous not smart not 4K TV... 3840 x 2160 is a good way to make the mid range graphics card crawls (attached benchmark), and equivalent to 4x 32.5" 1920 x 1080 monitors, nice! i can manually re-arrange applications in Windows, am not a fan of multiple monitors setting of Windows, i hate when i lost the mouse (pointer) got to find on which monitor its in.

at close distance, i dont see noticable overblown enlarged pixelations like old age TV, though i have to swing my neck left to right to see overall picture, from a distance, text can be small, but it wont hurt to downgrade screen resolution back to 1920 x 1080. text sharpness feeling like at home PC monitor, no issue there. really making my old TV next to uselessness... i dont really care about the "smartness" of smart TV, i only care to operate in PC mode or watch movies in a usb stick, but upon booting first time, it connects to my internet, update the software and do its thing, so i decided to leave it at default setting, the "smart?" menu can switch between PC and TV or internet mode in a breeze, so.. thats ok. my kids maybe happy with it, as i said i only care PC and USB movie mode, which i think i already got with this TV..

i cant find 2:1 screen ratio nor anywhere close as required by the OP though during the visit to the few hundreds or maybe thousands square feet mall, so.. sorry to Zucca i cant help. maybe thats the no gamers area. there are so many options i circled the area in hours, like when a lady to a clothing shop. just to take pictures on the 1st day, browsing the phone on 2nd day, and decided on the most bang for buck per TV square feet area, so this is it, i dont need fancy stuffs like Quantum dots 4K @$4K  . thats the boring story. to summarize, its beyond my expectation. just as NiHaoMike posted in fewer words, just buy a decent brand 4K TV, i think you should be happy with any of them... ymmv.

ps: err, i did try playing PC game with it, it can, so i can also recommend this to gamers cheers.

[rdl]

There's an option in Windows 7 to change the size of various screen elements. I run my 42" TV at 150% so I can actually read the text. Right click on the desktop and select "Screen resolution", then "Make text and other items larger or smaller". Some programs and games will have problems with this, but most are easily fixed.

[Zucca]

I ended up with two Eizo EV2750-WT. 600 Euro delivered for both.

Sadly it looks like I can not push 75Hz into 2560x1440

[dzseki]

I ended up with two Eizo EV2750-WT. 600 Euro delivered for both.

Sadly it looks like I can not push 75Hz into 2560x1440

You asked for "no gaming", then what is the significance for work to not able to push 75Hz refresh instead of 60Hz?

[Zucca]

You asked for "no gaming", then what is the significance for work to not able to push 75Hz refresh instead of 60Hz?

 

I read 75hz is much better than 60Hz (..."even if you look at a mouse pointer moving on the desktop"...) and I wanted to try it out.
Probably my video card can not do it, those monitors should support 75Hz. I am not sure where the bottle neck is in my system.

[Mechatrommer]

why not try 144Hz? i read its much better. my 10 yrs old Radeon HD4650 can set up to 120 Hz (my Acer VG270 maxed to 75Hz, or the HD4650?) i dont see any newer card cant do it. anyway, 75, 60 or 50 Hz (in PCing mode) doesnt feel any different to my eye, except 30 vs 60+ Hz watching movie, ymmv.

[Zucca]

why not try 144Hz? i read its much better.

 

I am always interested to verify the stuff I read, it could also change my personal taste.
It happened in the past many times.

my 10 yrs old Radeon HD4650 can set up to 120 Hz (my Acer VG270 maxed to 75Hz, or the HD4650?) i dont see any newer card cant do it. anyway, 75, 60 or 50 Hz (in PCing mode) doesnt feel any different to my eye, except 30 vs 60+ Hz watching movie, ymmv.

Thanks, now we know for you 75Hz vs 60 Hz it is not important in Pc mode.
If I have time I will now investigate why the 75Hz are not available in the windows settings.

[nctnico]

You asked for "no gaming", then what is the significance for work to not able to push 75Hz refresh instead of 60Hz?

 

I read 75hz is much better than 60Hz (..."even if you look at a mouse pointer moving on the desktop"...) and I wanted to try it out.
Probably my video card can not do it, those monitors should support 75Hz. I am not sure where the bottle neck is in my system.

The limit is still in the TFT panel used in the monitor. But there is also a physical limit in the form of the time it takes for a pixel to change to a different color. For the average person 60Hz should be OK but there are some people who need higher refreshrates in order to perceive an image as stable.