Peripherals Now just need a monitor, 32 or 34,flat or curved, ultrawide?

Hi all,
Due to potential upcoming room tetris I may be splitting my desk setup from being both home and work into home and work on seperate desks, and therefore will be needing another couple of peripherals at a minimum.

Currently use a 4k 32" Lenovo thing as my main monitor which I was very unsure of but actually really like, as it's my work monitor technically and it's got USBC charging/video it'll be sticking with my work laptop, and so I'll be needing a new main monitor for my personal PC, thinking 30"+, maybe a wider one? high refresh rate would be nice but not the end of the world as most of my gaming is on the slower end of the spectrum.
I use a Razor deathadder and Ducky Mini for my mouse and keyboard, not sure which way they'll be going, been out of the keyboard scene for quite a while so happy to have some suggestions for something 60-75% ISO layout, currently use blues but am open to others, reds/browns were too light I found in the past. Mouse doesn't need to be anything particularly special if I keep the deathadder for my main pc and use the new one for the work setup.

So new main/gaming pc monitor, keyboard and mouse for either. Not sure if I'll be needing anything else, will see how things go regarding speakers/headphones I think. Budget is fairly open, £500 monitor, then £100 total for keyboard/mouse maybe but would very happily spend less

 

I'm assuming that you don't just want to share the mouse & keyboard between the two setups?

 

Thats what I do at the moment with a kvm, but they'll be in different rooms and not sure I want to be unplugging/replugging everyday, on principle if nothing else haha but it is an option yeah, monitor is certainly the more important.

 

Ah, didn't appreciate you were moving to a multi-room, not just multi-desk, setup!

 

Ah, yeah hence the feel for the need to semi replicate the setup.
Edit:
Wonder if this is a chance to try some wireless peripherals, and aim for a slightly cleaner desk, either the work or play one hah!

 

Bit of an update, went for an Epomaker TH80Pro (I think) for the keyboard (this is actually my 2nd as the first had linear switches which were just a tad too light for my heavy finger apparently, accidentally pressing keys all over the place, amusing when a web page starts scrolling madly because I've accidentally pressed the tab key just by resting my hand!), and got a free Cooler Master MM731 with a SSD I got to upgrade my/the media PC so that's both of those sorted, just trying to commit to a monitor now.

I'm thinking either a 32/31.5 flat (currently use a flat monitor at this size and don't think a curve would add anything) 2560*1440 (don't think I'm *that* fussed about 4k having used it for the past couple of years and to save money), or maybe a curved 34 3440x1440, seems to be a decent price jump up and not sure if it'd be worth it/I'd like it that much, but I do like the idea of this being a chance to try something a little different/new.

Those who use curved monitors, do you use them with a 2nd monitor at all, thinking the curve might make it weird to setup.

 

My current set up is a u3818dw in the centre with a s2721dgf (1440p, 165hz) on the left of it and a s2721QSA (4k) on the right.

I do not notice the curve at all on the 38 inch, but I don't think at that size I would want to lose it.

I only really buy Dell monitors due to the warranty and overall.waulity so I am more than a little biased in any recommendations.

With that said, I don't think you could go wrong with the S3422DWG:

https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/dell-34-curved-gaming-monitor-s3422dwg/apd/210-azze/monitors-monitor-accessories

(Edit: just saw it is a VA panel, which I personally avoid)

And 10% off that price with a student discount code. (If anyone needs one, just let me know).

More games play nice on the 34" monitors than on mine, but then I don't really have many issues in more recent times. Open world games are so much better on ultrawides, so if that's your jam I would say go for that, also I do enjoy a bit of civ 5 on it too.

But I am playing fallout 4 at the moment in my 27" because Bethesda are crap at multi monitor stuff and would be happy if that is all I had to to use.

I might add that also, outside of programs designed to highlight refresh rate, I just don't see a difference between my 60hz and 165hz panels and find playing at 69hz on the 38" completely fine. But that's just me, but it may open up options of you too don't really see the Hz increase.

 

Very nice. It annoys me that 3840 x 1600 isn't more popular, it's ideal imho.

 

The ultrawide OLED panel I have is by far the most impactful part of my build. Especially if you have separated work from play, the drawbacks practically disappear.

There are a few of them out from different brands but do a bit of price research before you buy. For instance, by combining cashback, regular sales, and Amex deals the Dell ones are at least 33% off sticker price.

 

Blimey that sounds like a wide setup! Yeah I've had good experience with Dell monitors, currently got 3 in the house I believe having sold a couple of extra 24"s in the past year or two.
Had a quick look on the Dell website for that model but it didn't come up, I think it would be a tad too big anyway for the space as I'd like to use one of the 24" as a vertical 2nd monitor even if I go ultrawide I think as I like having a browser/chat etc open when playing a game or something full screen, so whilst I know the ultrawide might be as wide as a normal screen plus a 2nd I don't think it'd work out that well on its own I'm not sure, how do people who just have a single ultrawide work?

Also sadly looks like the sale has just ended which is a shame as I'm wanting to get a new monitor in the next couple of days I think having just moved desks/rooms around last night!

Yeah I'd like to get a Dell but I think their sale has just ended and having commited to the room swap last night I will be getting a new monitor in the coming days I think.
As mentioned above, how does having a single ultrawide work if you want to have other windows open when you play games/watch something, you just split the screen and run the game/video not full screen?

 

The U3818DW has been superseded, first by the U3821DW and now by the U3824DW. Annoyingly the U3824W is on the Dell site but for some unknown reason doesn't show up when you look at the list of available monitors, even if you filter for it appropriately. Here's a direct link, but take a deep breath before you look at the price tag: https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/del...4dw/apd/210-bhxb/monitors-monitor-accessories

Mind you, if that's expensive, here's something even worse: https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/del...5qw/apd/210-bmdv/monitors-monitor-accessories
Looks great though - 5k x 2k ultrawide, high refresh rate IPS, USBC/TB hub with power delivery, built in KVM and PiP/PbP. Basically ticking every single box for me, but I cannot justify the money. But I have been known to be persuadable

 

Weird, but ooh yeah that's a hard pass
Got an old U2711 that my wife now uses and it's been great for the 10+ years (I'm guessing) it's now been in almost constant use, but I'm not a fan enough to pay that much for a monitor that'll only get a couple of hours use a day max I would think!

 

TBF I don't really do this - I'm more all-in on focus on the game itself. If I were going to do this, I'd probably get a cheap, small second monitor and put it vertically oriented off to the side.

I know the sale & room move timings might not be working out but I really would try to wait with some sort of compromise and nab one when possible (budget permitting)

 

Fair enough.

I don't think OLED is in the budget whatsoever to be fair, regardless of sale but I'd have to double check which models they are.
Regarding Dell in general, if even with Dell it's recommended to go for and IPS panel vs VA, then I might end up just grabbing another big manu IPS panel, think MSI and Giga both do one with 3 year warranty which I think is the same as Dell. Unless there's something else I'm missing.

 

Most VA panels on the market are the old cheap design with bad pixel response times and will have issues with ghosting etc.
You can get VA panels that kick the crap out of IPS... but those are found in the premium price segment only, think Samsung G9 and the likes.
But... premium price VA monitors are no longer worth buying because OLED has finally arrived.

 

Yeah so if it's a case of avoiding cheaper VA panels regardless of manu, then I think this is the cheapest Dell option: https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/del...23q/apd/210-bdxs/monitors-monitor-accessories

Which if anything is bad as I'm not really wanting another 4k screen as I would have to reduce res for games a lot of the time anyway so feels like paying for a feature I'm not going to use. Also the price just feels difficult to justify over something like the below.

If I'm happy going for a lower res 32 I could get something like:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...1x020jFCzie8j9ZJaoMChPtzQismmwB0aAgRMEALw_wcB
(I know it says 1080p in the web address but everything else seems to say it's a 1440p screen)
In fact I could get two of them and have some money left over if I really wanted haha.
There are options like this which seem to be well regarded:
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/34-...40x1440-1ms-144hz-10001-400cd-m-hdmi-dp-usb-c
For a decent amount less than the equivalent Dell (I think)

Don't think it'd fit in the space/my wife would question my sanity but could even go for something crazy like this for less:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...1x020jFCzie8j9ZJaoMChPtzQismmwB0aAgRMEALw_wcB

Not curved which I think would be preffered at that size but maybe it'd still be great.

Think I may just have to cope with no personal pc/using an old 24" monitor for a bit until a decent sale maybe as budget for the monitor has been limited due to other unforseen costs recently so may have to wait a bit to justify spending more.

 

I think you can probably manage the OLED from dell at 600-700 at some point over the next few months. Rather than spending 400 on an IPS UW, I’d make do with something budget (used?) then return with more money - as you’ve suggested yourself.

 

If you can find a second hand Dell G3223D, that may be a good option.

 

I'll keep looking, as to be honest even at 6-700 I would struggle to justify that, 4-500 already seems like a lot, if it was getting 10+ hours of use a day like my work monitor used to then I could maybe see it but yeah, will have more of a think.

Had a quick google, seems similar in type to the MSI model I linked above which obviously at the moment is quite a bit cheaper but yeah I'll have a look 2nd hand, not something I've really done yet as just feels like there are more risks with something like a monitor, easy not to notice an issue until too late/using it a certain way etc.

Edit:
Just seen this has dropped in price in various places, now might be worth a gander to do for now with potential to upgrade later:
1400p, IPS (although I am seeing VA in various places, but official site says IPS so....), 75Hz (technically an improvement from my previous/current of 60 )
https://www.ebuyer.com/1128271-aoc-...-u1OvTQjFpLkxSveuThoCOdIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Seeing some comments saying it actually is VA despite the manu page stating IPS, so maybe not...

 

I've had a MSI screen for ages, and other than it being a terrible VA panel (this was back when reviewers didn't bother with ghosting or other image artifacts) its been rock solid!

This is the monitor I'm eying up as it looks fantastic and is often on sale for this price https://www.scan.co.uk/products/342...z-003ms-adaptive-sync-hdr-1m1-1000cd-m-hdmi-d
Its £800, so our of your current price range, but something to look at if you're thinking of saving more and upping the budget a bit. These are regarded as the best monitors money can buy, and with modern OLED advances burn in it more or less a non issue.

This LG Ultragear seems good for the money. https://www.scan.co.uk/products/32-...1ms-165hzfreesync-premium-g-sync-compatible10 Compared to the Corsair and MSI at around the same price its slightly better, lighter, brighter, more features, otherwise same panel but with better colour accuracy.