Photographer looking for new MONITOR...

[CMStorm]

New Monitor recommendations?

My 18inch DELL 'UltraSharp' (made in 2002!) has no power today. Usual plug checks = no response. No flicker, no messages, worked fine until today. <shrug>

Using emergency Netbook to discuss options with you.

Would like bigger and I know nothing about monitors. 24inch or bigger??

My PC was bought from PCSpecialist in mid November 2011 but I can't access my account to answer any questions you might have. <grrrrrr>

Any likely connection problems with old PC? :wheelchair:

 

[Oussebon]

What kind of budget are you looking at?

And what video outputs does your PC have? on the graphics card if it has a graphics card, or on the motherboard if not. If you don't know how to check you can either post up your full spec (which is listed in your main PCS account).

That will help advise on whether you would want any adapter cables.

 

[CMStorm]

Ahar, this is a good start. It's been so long since I knew all the jargon. So bear with me ;-)

Budget? Not restricted. I could fit a 28inch monitor on my desk. Don't think I would need more than 30inch but I will be buying a Canon 1DX soon. So need lots of pixels!

Cables and connections? Er, looks like ya usual monitor cable to me and I don't know what it plugs into at the back.

Astounded that I can't get into my PCS account to check specs. Wondering why my password doesn't work. S'been a LONG time though. Might have to do a bloody reset.

 

[Oussebon]

The size of the monitor is somewhat secondary to the resolution. If you're into photography, have a decent budget, and are happy with something 24-30 inches in size, you could look into a 4k IPS monitor. Maybe something like the Dell P2715Q for ~£550.

 

[CMStorm]

Does this help?

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard ASUS® P8Z68-V: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, NVIDIA®SLI™, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card 1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

 

[CMStorm]

Major thank you for providing the starting point for my search here; possibly even the solution. The reviews I quickly looked up all agree with you.

But connections?

Is my system(now added in this thread) too old to connect and use? Is there a step down for plug and play if so? I'm not tech savy and would literally need 'you plug this bit in here'. Hah, my first pc even had colour coded cables which I thought was awesome!

 

[Oussebon]

Does this help?

That does.

You have a dedicated graphics card (GTX 570), so you'll be plugging the monitor into that.

Almost all monitors you'd be looking at will have HDMI or DP (DisplayPort) connectors. Most will come with an HDMI or DP cable included in the box too.

The GTX 570's maximum supported resolution however seems to be

Maximum Digital Resolution
2560x1600

https://www.geforce.co.uk/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-570/specifications

So 4k (which is 3840 pixels × 2160)wouldn't an an option.

There are plenty of 1440p (aka 2k, WQHD, 2560x1440) IPS monitors that should be supported, or you could upgrade the GPU to something like a GTX 1050 ti or GTX 1060 which would support a 4k monitor.

 

[CMStorm]

Ahar useful! <nods excitedly>

My current monitor cable goes into the graphics card then? Looking at the back of my pc, there are two empty sockets beside the chunky monitor cable for a DP and a HMDI.

So I have a decision to make this week. Buy a 1440p interim monitor that will probably work straight away OR upgrade my graphics card (no idea how to do this) AND buy a big 4k monitor? Hmmm, more expertise required for option two.

 

[Oussebon]

upgrade my graphics card (no idea how to do this)

Upgrading a GPU is pretty straightforward, and there are lots of videos and articles online about this. Gamers might often expect to upgrade their GPUs every few years so you certainly don't need to be an expert to do it.

For some How-to articles:
https://www.msi.com/blog/pc-gaming-101-how-to-upgrade-your-graphics-card
http://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/pc-upgrades/how-upgrade-your-graphics-card-3470162/

Video guide on GPU installation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyDxrTHDjXQ

As long as your PSU supports the new GPU (it's almost certain to handle a 1050 ti, and likely a 1060 as well if it copes with a 570) and it fits in the case (again, if a 570 fits, those GPUs are very likely to be fine), you should be able to upgrade.

Of course, if your old monitor was from 2002, even a 1440p monitor would likely be a huge upgrade.

 

[CMStorm]

PROBLEM

I have bought a DELL U2515H, turned it on and it just says on the screen 'No DP cable'.

Huh?!

It's plugged in via the miniDP cable provided into my graphics card (next to where my old monitor was plugged in). I tried the only other option provided and plugged the USB into an empty socket on the back of my pc near where the mouse and keyboard are plugged in. And it repeated 'No DP cable'.

 

[Oussebon]

The monitor comes with a mini-DP to DP cable. Which end is plugged into the GPU and which end is plugged into the monitor?

Have you checked this: http://www.dell.com/support/article...n-the-dell-u2713h-and-u2414h-monitors?lang=en

There are quite a few things to try there including selecting the input in the OSD and making sure you're using the DP input, not the output.

EDIT: accidentally linked to the image I already attached instead of the DELL support article.

 

[CMStorm]

Ooooh wait a minute...

There are HIDDEN buttons on the bottom right of the screen that the customer is not told about.:taz:

One scrolls the cable input options (no auto detect?!). :wacko:

Will get back to you....

[will keep the links for swapping graphics cards btw - might happen at a later date - so thank you].

 

[CMStorm]

Thanks for the DELL troubleshooting link for plugging in a monitor.

WOW, look at how much extra information DELL are compelled to add for poor product design!

All seems to work now. :yes:

 

[Oussebon]

That's good

All running at 1440p resolution, no dead pixels, suitable image quality etc I hope!

How is the increased res compared to the 2002 model?