Monitor to last 5+ years.

[waloshin]

I am looking for a monitor that I do not want to replace in 5+ years. I am looking at the

A) HP Zr30W

B) Dell U3011

C) Apple Cinema Display 27" Thunderbolt

I own a 2011 MacBook Air.

[buzzingrobot]

Can't speak about reliability. You might try Tom's Hardware: http://www.tomshardware.com/. (http://www.tomshardware.com/)

The Apple's Thunderbolt capability might open it to more options down the road.

I have a Dell U2410. That's smaller than what you're looking at, but I find it an excellent monitor.

[Warpnow]

I would be surprised if any monitor currently on the market didn't last 5 years...

I've had my current monitor for 7 and it was the cheapest available. I don't think I've ever had a monitor die in under 5 years...

whether or not you'll still want to use it in 5 years, given various advancements in technology, is another story...

[waloshin]

I would be surprised if any monitor currently on the market didn't last 5 years...

I've had my current monitor for 7 and it was the cheapest available. I don't think I've ever had a monitor die in under 5 years...

whether or not you'll still want to use it in 5 years, given various advancements in technology, is another story...

I need a monitor that I wont want to upgrade for at least 5 years. (Technology wise)

[Warpnow]

I need a monitor that I wont want to upgrade for at least 5 years. (Technology wise)

I don't think that's possible. Even the best technology will be outdated in 2 years. Better off in my opinion of spending less and upgrading more often.

[jockyburns]

Well, for what it's worth, a monitor, is just a glorified TV screen. My monitor (an HP pavilion F1723) is now 8 yrs old and still works just like it did when new. However, bearing in mind, we are now seeing the development of touchscreen technology, I'd question whether you need a plain non touchy feely monitor. This could quickly become very outdated, when people (and companies) move over to touchscreen tech.
Remember too, that, instead of concentrating on monitor technology, you should perhaps be thinking about the way that graphics card technology is going to move in the future.

[MisterGaribaldi]

I would totally concur with the "spend less, upgrade often" advice given up-thread.

First off, none of these companies make LCD displays.

Secondly, who knows what any of the LCD panel makers have cooking up at the moment for release in the next 12-36 months, let alone in 60 months' time?

Thirdly, be very wary about things like interfaces. I mean, everyone thought that DVI was going to be the you-know-what, and then everyone switched over to HDMI as the new high-end standard de jour. Who knows what the next standard will be, as I said above, in 12-36 months?

And, to use Apple as an example, it seems likely they'll try and push to have all of their products use "retina" displays (i.e. very-high-res panels). Why in the world would you spend this kind of money now, only to have whatever you buy -- no matter how much you spend -- significantly obsolesced in less than the time frame you've specified?

Buy what you need. If you need a high-end monitor that's good for professional video editing, buy that. If you need one that's good for professional image editing, buy one of them. But don't buy something and think that throwing money at it will make it more technologically durable. That's just crazy.

[Paqman]

I don't think that's possible. Even the best technology will be outdated in 2 years.

Monitors are monitors. A newer one might use slightly less power and have slightly better colours, but they haven't changed much for a few years now. A five-year old monitor will still do you nicely today.

[Bandit]

Get an ASUS 27" (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236091) (1080x1920) like I got. They even got LED ones now that are little nicer. This one is going on almost 3 years now. Most all monitors should at least last 5 years minimum. So what ever you choose shouldn't be an issue.

[Bachstelze]

Better off in my opinion of spending less and upgrading more often.

I very much disagree. At least in hardware, you get what you pay for, and something cheap will be of poor quality from day 1. The whole point of "upgrade often" is to always be on the top of things, and if you always buy cheap stuff, it totally defeats that point because you will never be on the top of things.

My opinion is to get something that you like and suits your needs, and stick with it. My current monitor is about 4 years old. It was about mid-range in price: not ridiculously expensive, but not cheap either, so that I don't find myself every day thinking "God I hate that cheap crap, can't wait to buy a new monitor". It may or may not be obsolete now; I don't care because my needs haven't changed, so I don't plan to upgrade it any time soon.

[Bandit]

I very much disagree. At least in hardware, you get what you pay for, and something cheap will be of poor quality from day 1. The whole point of "upgrade often" is to always be on the top of things, and if you always buy cheap stuff, it totally defeats that point because you will never be on the top of things.

My opinion is to get something that you like and suits your needs, and stick with it. My current monitor is about 4 years old. It was about mid-range in price: not ridiculously expensive, but not cheap either, so that I don't find myself every day thinking "God I hate that cheap crap, can't wait to buy a new monitor". It may or may not be obsolete now; I don't care because my needs haven't changed, so I don't plan to upgrade it any time soon.

I tend to agree here. I spend weeks if not months researching products before I buy them. Nine times out of ten its a quality product with many good reviews. I dont always buy something cheap because its cheap, if I do buy something that is cheap its becuase I am testing something and dont want to drop major cache on something that will not work for me. But other then those times, I normally go mainly for quality products that last for years and have a warranty to back it up. I may not always get the latest and greatest that just hit the market, but I judge the price/performance ratio to see what I am comfortable with to make smart purchasing decisions.

[Warpnow]

I'm not suggesting buying crappy or shoddy products. I just don't think staying on the edge of efficient.

Let's say, given the same company, they have 5 monitors. As you start at their cheapest, it may cost 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 dollars (completely random numbers here).

You can buy the $500 one and upgrade in five years.

Or you can buy the $300 one and upgrade in three years.

Overall you spend the same amount of money either way.

The difference is that with the $300 monitor in four years you'll have a new middle of the range monitor, whereas that $500 one will be extremely outdated. Better off to buy technology that is slightly outdated (maybe even 3-6 months) at a discount and maintain being middle of the road than to be at the top for 1 year, middle of the road for 2, and outdated for 2.

This way you stay consistently decent. You won't be the very best, but you also won't be the very worst.

[Bachstelze]

My point was that it shouldn't even matter if your monitor is "outdated", as long as it still fits your needs (as opposed to those of, say, hardcore gamers or those who watch Blu-ray 3D movies). You always need better CPUs and RAM because programs tend to eat more resources, but this is not true for monitors (or at least not as frequently). So IMO you should find a monitor you really like and that you will want to stick with until well after it becomes "outdated". And if you need to throw a little more, it's better than getting something suboptimal that will make you want to get a new monitor two days after you buy it.

[waloshin]

I very much disagree. At least in hardware, you get what you pay for, and something cheap will be of poor quality from day 1. The whole point of "upgrade often" is to always be on the top of things, and if you always buy cheap stuff, it totally defeats that point because you will never be on the top of things.

My opinion is to get something that you like and suits your needs, and stick with it. My current monitor is about 4 years old. It was about mid-range in price: not ridiculously expensive, but not cheap either, so that I don't find myself every day thinking "God I hate that cheap crap, can't wait to buy a new monitor". It may or may not be obsolete now; I don't care because my needs haven't changed, so I don't plan to upgrade it any time soon.

What I am looking for is 2550x1440 or 2550x1600 and IPS is also a must.

[Bandit]

What I am looking for is 2550x1440 or 2550x1600 and IPS is also a must.

I would buy a Viewsonic then. They make a good portion of the rebranded HP and Dell monitors. Looks like your wanting one for photo and image editing. Cant help you much more then that. Those could be expensive.

[codingman]

HP has good monitors, i've had a good hp monitor for 3 years and not a pixel has been lost. I pretty much think that all nowaday monitors are gonna be pretty long lasting before these 3D idiots come in and take over the whole thing.