Monitor Questions

[b3nbranch]

It's been years since my last build -- an E7500 Core Duo using an on-board
nvidia chip (geforce 9300 / nforce 730i). I'm working on the specs for a
mini-ITX skylake build using the Intel IGP. Use cases: office and creative
writing work, photo editing (GIMP), very light video editing. I'd like to bump
up to a higher resolution than my current 1920x1200 24" monitor.

Unless I get a Z170 motherboard, which I don't need, the mini-itx offerings
don't seem to include DisplayPort, so a 3840x2160 monitor could only be run at 30Hz.
Is this a problem for my use cases? (My current rig runs the monitor at 60Hz.)

If I limit the bump to 2560x1440, any monitor recommendations? Seems to be
a lot of QA issues with Dell and some others in the last couple of years. Must be
IPS (current monitor has me spoiled), 10-bit color for bonus points. Need a VESA
mount, as I'm using a standing desk, but most monitors seem to have that.

Thanks in advance,
Ben

[CA_Steve]

Asus has an H170I board with Displayport. No reviews there or on Amazon..must be a new SKU. Here's the five mITX boards Newegg showed with Displayport....and if there's features you can only find on a Z170 board, then it might be worth going that route. Seems off balance to worry about $25-50 difference on a motherboard and then buy a $500 monitor.

While HDMI 1.3 supports deep color, I don't know if I'd mess with 4k/30 over HDMI.

No specific monitor recommendations from me.

[b3nbranch]

Thank you for the comparison list. I guess I do have some options after all.
I wish one of them was perfect ...

Ben

[keif]

The BenQ GW2765HT sounds like a good option for you. It's 27", 1440p, 60hz, IPS, 10-bit (8-bit with dithering), no PWM dimming on the back light, good color accuracy and contrast, VESA mount, decent build quality, and a 3 year warranty. It doesn't have USB ports though if that's something you wanted.

Best of all, they're one of the cheapest 27" 1440P monitors and you can get one on Amazon for $330 right now.

I have one myself and I really like it. No backlight bleed and not a single dead pixel. The only thing I don't like about it is the glossy finish and the logos on it. I actually sanded off the logos and sanded the whole bezel with a fine grit sand paper. It looks much nicer and was really easy to do. Pic here: http://i.imgur.com/MNaWC7F.jpg


TFTCentral has a very in depth review of it and they also have an ICC profile for it. They're also a good source for monitor information and have a lot of other reviews you can check out, as well.

[b3nbranch]

Thanks for the BenQ GW2765 recommendation. I snagged one in November when it was briefly on sale for $250.
I also caught the i5-6600K on sale for the same price as the i5-6600 non-K, so I decided to go with the
AsRock Z170M-ITX/ac motherboard. Displayport works great with the BenQ. I only assembled the system
a couple of weeks ago so I'm still testing overclocking, undervolting, etc.