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Ask HN: Best monitor for a MacBook Pro for ~US$700?

by sarupbanskota on 11/23/23, 3:13 AM with 20 comments

I've never owned an external monitor my whole life (mostly due to a nomadic lifestyle).

The only screen I'm used to is the default Retina Display on a MacBook Pro. I'd like to buy my first external monitor and I can't figure out which one.

— Usually, I buy Apple hardware, but Studio display feels excessively expensive

— I live in Singapore, so I can't return a monitor other brands if I don't like it

— The review sites on the internet don't feel very trustworthy

If you had to bet on 1 monitor for ~$700 without trying it, which one would you pick? Which one has worked well for you and why?

Notes: — I don't play games or watch Netflix

— I code occasionally on the weekend. I do work with professional, large codebases, but not as a full-time engineer

— I have a great external webcam

— Don't own an external speaker

  • by vmurthy on 11/23/23, 5:07 AM

    Personal experience has been great with Dell 27 4K UHD Monitor - S2721QS [0]. Similar workload to you although I am not a developer . Cost about 300 AUD. There's a USB-C one , too for about 700 SGD [1]

    [0]https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/dell-27-4k-uhd-monitor-s2721...

    [1]https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/dell-ultrasharp-27-4k-usb-c-...

  • by achempion on 11/23/23, 3:22 PM

    I can recommend the LG 27UN880P. I have two workstations and bought the same panel for the second workstation.

    The main features are a sweet spot of 27" screen size, pixel density, and a charging USB-C cable to connect the monitor to the laptop. It has a speaker, but the quality of that speaker could be better.

    The main con of all non-apple monitors is scaling. You can buy monitors with low pixel density to match the scaling, but the text quality will be similar to a standard office monitor. Then, there are middle-range monitors with above-average pixel density, which require adjusting interface scaling in Mac OS settings. On the higher end, apple & collab monitors with Retina pixel density for x2-5 the price.

  • by alwillis on 11/23/23, 3:52 AM

  • by bythckr on 11/23/23, 3:25 PM

    If you are continuing your nomadic lifestyle, you might want to consider getting an iPad that can double as an external display via sidecar app. Of course, I am aware of the small size and crossing your budget. Or you might consider portable monitors.

    FYI, Please be careful with LG monitors. Just an alphabet change in the model makes a huge difference. My friend saw an LG monitor and took down its model number. He missed that one the alphabet in the model was different (example 29ABC600-XYZ, but he got 29ABD600-XYZ - "D" instead of "C") and that made a huge difference.

  • by NhanH on 11/23/23, 6:19 AM

    Pick a 4K in your price range from Dell or LG and you should be good to go.

    Outside the US, recommending specific display is not particularly useful since stocks is an issue, not to mention the model would be straight up unavailable to you.

  • by ryaneager on 11/23/23, 4:46 PM

    I recently bought a GIGABYTE - M34WQ. It’s 3440x1440 so I can fit a full browser and IDE side by side. Plugs into the Mac with just a single USB-C cable, has a KVM switch so you can plug your mouse keyboard into the monitor and have it controlled two PCs. Has built in speakers. Around $420 USD. https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/gigabyte/m34wq

  • by ajeet_dhaliwal on 11/24/23, 11:17 PM

    I know you say Studio display feels excessively expensive, but I just got one two weeks ago and I couldn't be happier. If you can afford it, it's worth it.

  • by andrei_says_ on 11/23/23, 8:05 AM

    I really like my Gygabyte m27Q 27” 2k monitor. Supplies 15 W via usb-c which charges my MacBook Pro while also serving as display port.

    It’s sells for less than half of your budget.

  • by sarupbanskota on 11/23/23, 7:03 AM

    Thanks everyone for the tips and links. Gonna look for the top Dell Ultrasharp or LG Ultrafine model that's in stock and within my budget, and go for it.

  • by ps256 on 11/23/23, 12:50 PM

    LG 24UD58-B - it's cheap, works well with MacOS, obviously not as good as a MacBook Pro display but doesn't look like shit next to it either.

  • by dnh44 on 11/23/23, 5:35 PM

    Dell G3223Q

    32 inch, 4k, 144hz, HDR, HDMI 2.1, About $700. I have one and I'm really happy with it.