Monitor recommendations

[WarBeer]

This seemed like the most suited forum for my question

I'm looking to get a new monitor. Presently I'm using a 17" on my laptop. I'm going to build a new computer and want a monitor for precision photo editing, but I'd
like to improve my map-making skills as well. My desk is a typical 24" deep, thus the monitor probably sits about 18" away from the edge. Maybe 20" from my face. With this in mind...can I go "too big"? Would a 32" 4k just be a gigantic beast of overkill or would it be advantageous? At this time (gimp), I usually have tools on the left and dialog boxes on the right. This, of course, tends to both center the canvas as well as reduce it's area a bit.

Any thoughts or recommendations would be most appreciated

[jpstod]

Ask yourself this? Will it be used for any other purpose than just for Cartography?
Will you Game on it?
Surf the Internet on it?
How About watch Movies on it?

My Motto..The Bigger the Better.
I even hook up My Projector to Map with sometimes. (Optoma Brand my personal choice). Love setting up my Projector Outside and having friends over for BBq, Beer and a Movie...especially when I can be 100 ft away and still see it.


Advantages to better quality is just that....Ever try and Watch HD on an Old TV set? Of course there is a difference.
It boils down to a personal Preference..and your wallet....I can barely afford $150 for a good TV...and Unless I steal one, even thinking about affording a 4K Tv is outta the question...

[waldronate]

The question that I keep asking myself for this situation is one of workspace. I have two 24" monitors side-by-side about 24" from my face. This setup allows me to keep my head relatively still and look at my main work area on one monitor and keep the second monitor for testing layouts and software (sometimes for an different workspace when things get a little crazy). I find that having to move my head back and forth frequently gives me some pains in my neck, so I tend to just focus on one area at a time. I am looking to upgrade to a pair of 27" monitors this year, but I suspect that the upgrade will put the edges of one monitor just out of the main area of my vision and would require me to move the monitor back for best effect (something that I don't have desk space for).

A 32" monitor at that distance should just about completely fill your field of view. Due to the size of the monitor, you may need to move your eyes farther than is optimal for looking around the area of interest. Some folks don't mind that, but others do (to overgeneralize, younger folks do better at this than older ones). I do recommend that you try out the geometry of the situation at a store if you can to see if it feels comfortable.

The questions that jpstod asks are important questions for a new monitor. If you're going to be primarily using this monitor for artistic works (not video), then color gamut and color reproduction are probably going to be high on your list. If you're going for games, video, and TV watching, you are probably going to give up a bit on color quality. If cost is a big driver, you're probably going to give up a whole lot (a $400 monitor isn't going to look nearly as nice as one of the $1500 ones). As always, the interfaces on your video card and on the monitor will play a role in your choices.

Note that you might be able to get a pair of 24" 2k monitors for the same price as a single 32" 4k monitor, if you can tolerate that sort of thing.

[Falconius]

I'd also say beware of light bleed. I upgraded from my old monitor which had burnt pixels (that stayed yellow at all times) and a scratch in the screen (which turned white basically, I broke a glass and it shattered into the screen), into a new monitor the last couple of weeks and the new monitor has noticeable light bleed from the LED's used to illuminate the rest of the screen. On the plus side it was half as much as my old monitor cost and the same specs. Bigger is definitely better but also consider what you can move to a second screen (sadly I can't as I got so upset at my previous screen I punched it as hard as possible, it broke. Don't do that, if you can avoid it.) Also to consider is of course your graphics card. Mine is 5 years old or so, it can't handle 4k, since you are building from scratch I assume yours could, it is best to get a screen that can best utilize the hardware you have on hand, you wont regret it. You're never going to encounter a scene and say, "Well I wish this had lower fidelity, it's just too much."