All the colours of the world: TOP-5 monitors for working with graphics

Iiyama often attracts buyers with interesting monitors, in which the functionality is perfectly balanced with the price tag. ProLite XB3270QS is one of those cases.

The monitor uses a 31.5-inch IPS-matrix with WQHD (2560×1440) resolution. Looking at the price, these are the best indicators. The matrix is pseudo-10-bit (8 bit + FRC) and is capable of reproducing up to 1.07 billion colours.

What pleased me was that Iiyama did not take factory calibration carelessly, as many monitor manufacturers do. Right out of the box with a standard colour profile, the XB3270QS-B1 delivers a colour gamut of 98% of sRGB. Thanks to this, the monitor allows you to work with colour even without hardware calibration and reprofiling.

The design is made in the corporate style of the company: the screen with frames of medium thickness is seated on a slightly rounded rectangular leg. If you've seen any Iiyama monitor, the XB3270QS-B1 looks like its twin brother. In general, the design is not flashy, but it cannot be called rustic either. The most for those buyers who do not need easily soiled gloss and artsy coasters.

Speaking of the stand. It rotates horizontally as usual, allows you to tilt the monitor, adjust its height, and rotate the monitor 90 degrees for portrait mode. For more complex manipulations, a VESA mount is provided.

To connect signal sources, the monitor has a basic set of DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort. A nice bonus is the built-in stereo system. The speakers are claimed to be 3 watts each, however, they feel much louder, without wheezing or turning the sound into mush, as speakers in inexpensive monitors often do.

Iiyama ProLite XB3270QS-B1 is a quality workhorse that will appeal to novice photographers, designers and editors due to its high-quality matrix and low price.

The Viewsonic VX3211mhd-2K is an interesting multimedia monitor that gives you a little bit of everything. Thanks to a fairly fast matrix with a response time of 3 ms and a refresh rate of 75 Hz, it is quite suitable for the role of a gaming monitor. A fairly wide coverage of the sRGB and Adobe RGB colour space will appeal to novice photographers, designers and video editors. Together with belonging to a rather modest brand, this allows us to keep the price at an attractive $400 level for a 32-inch panel.

The model uses an IPS-panel with a diameter of 32" with a resolution of WQHD (2560 × 1440 pixels) and an aspect ratio of 16:9. Perhaps this is the main plus of the model, since it is extremely difficult to find an IPS monitor with the same ratio of screen size, resolution and price. And even if it works out, there will always be some pitfalls. At the same time, the matrix is pseudo-10-bit and is capable of reproducing up to 1.07 billion colour shades and belongs to the Flicker-Free type.

The monitor is made in a rather strict classic frame design. Tasteful, but no frills. A stylish branched stand, which was inherited from a gaming monitor, gives a certain colour to the appearance Viewsonic XG3202-C 32 " . Unfortunately, the stand's flexibility is limited to only a slight tilt angle. Adjusting the monitor height or putting it in portrait mode will not work. Rather, it will work, but for this you will have to use a VESA mount.

The compromise nature of the monitor is most evident in the connectivity options. It provides only one output for HDMI, VGA and Display Port, and the USB hub was cut down for the sake of price. But there is an extremely unpretentious stereo system with two speakers with a power of 2.5 watts. To work with sound, there is a 3.5 mm output and input.

The Dell UP2716D looks like a great solution for those buyers who are looking for a sweet spot when working with graphics. In order to get a good picture with a decent colour gamut at the output, but at the same time not to overpay for some highly specialized functions in displays from EIZO and NEC.

The Dell UP2716D is based on a 27-inch matrix with Quad HD resolution (2560×1440 pixels) and 10-bit colour depth. As already mentioned, in terms of performance, it is practically not inferior to professional monitors with a price tag one and a half to two times higher, providing the user with a colour gamut of 100% for the usual Adobe RGB and sRGB, as well as 98 – 100% for the new REC 709 and DCI colour spaces. -P3.

The backlight compensation system and factory colour calibration deserve special praise. While many monitors require painstaking manual adjustments to achieve 99-100% sRGB figures, the Dell UP2716D is almost perfectly calibrated from the factory.

The Dell UP2716D has an interesting appearance. If you describe it in one word, then the epithet "inconspicuous" is best suited. And this is by no means a disadvantage. The fact is that the UP2716D has almost no outer frames, and the inner ones (except for the bottom one) are so thin that they are practically invisible. If over the past year such framelessness has become commonplace for smartphones, then in the field of professional monitors it is still exotic.

Therefore, the first thing that catches your eye when looking at the monitor is its massive plastic stand with a cutout in the centre. With its help, the monitor can be adjusted to the desired height (limit 125 mm), tilt back or forward up to 25 degrees, rotate 45 degrees to the side or switch to portrait mode. Especially convenient is that you can detach the screen from the stand with one simple movement using a special latch. And then it, for example, can be hung on the wall using a VESA mount.

Ports for communication with the outside world are hidden in the back of the case: a pair of HDMI, a hybrid Display Port / mini DisplayPort port and a class 3.0 USB hub. In addition, there is a KVM switch that allows you to display a picture from two different computers and control them using one keyboard and mouse. The monitor does not have built-in acoustics, which could be written as a minus, but there is a 3.5 audio output that allows you to output sound directly from the monitor. Given that most people have a pair of favorite speakers on their desks for a long time, this solution can hardly be called a disadvantage.

BenQ SW271 is a rare professional monitor without weaknesses. Along with attractive looks and serious functionality, it delivers excellent image quality with 4K UHD resolution and support for HDR mode.

With slim bezels and a curved stand, the BenQ SW271 looks sleek and elegant at the same time and will fit into any interior. A stand with flexible adjustment is not a luxury, but an important tool for work. With this, the PV270 is completely fine: the stand is configured to your heart's content, including vertical offset by 150 mm, tilt up to 20 °, swivel 45 ° to the side, portrait mode and support for VESA mount.

The protective visor that comes with the kit speaks of the professional status. With it, the monitor becomes similar to the screen of an ATM, but it helps a lot to minimize unnecessary reflections and glare.

The 27-inch IPS SW271 boasts UHD resolution (3840×2160 pixels) and is capable of displaying over 1 billion colours. That is 10 bits per colour channel, which is extremely important when working with graphics. According to the passport, 99% coverage of sRGB and Adobe RGB colour spaces is claimed. At the same time, the screen shows a rather nimble response speed of 5 ms, which provides zero ghosting when editing photos. All together, this gives an accurate and consistent colour reproduction without any "buts" and "ifs".

If you connect several different sources to the SW271, they can be compared in different colour spaces using the picture-in-picture mode. Plus, the monitor comes with a puck-like remote that mounts at the base and allows you to switch colours and profiles on the fly. For example, a photo can be quickly run through 3 different black and white profiles in order to understand how it will look even before processing. Not to say that this is something from another universe and this has never happened before, but such well-thought-out little things really help save time.

A pair of HDMI inputs and one Display Port connector are hidden on the bottom and sides of the case. You can also find a class 3.0 USB hub there. There are only two USB inputs, while one of them is occupied by a puck-remote control, but on the same cable you can simultaneously transmit an audio / video signal in 4K, data for calibration and charge the device.

Immediately after the release in 2016, the flagship Asus PA329Q monitor from the ProArt series received an award from Chip magazine as the best solution for designers and artists. As noted in the review, the monitor provides all the tools a designer needs, such as support for the Adobe RGB standard and also a 10-bit IPS matrix for 1 billion colours, but at the same time it costs significantly less than reference Eizo monitors.

With UHD resolution (3840x2160 pixels) and high pixel density (137 ppi), this 32-inch IPS panel is even better than many other smaller monitors. The results of laboratory measurements of Asus PA329Q will impress people working with graphics. First of all, you need to highlight the perfect colour space coverage: 100% sRGB and 99.5% Adobe RGB.

But there is no support for G-SYNC and FreeSync technologies, which are necessary for smoother frame changes in games. Which, in general, emphasizes the orientation of the monitor to professionals working with graphics, photos and videos. The only nuance of the matrix, which you can find fault with, is a slight uneven backlight. Closer to the edges of the display, the image becomes darker and the difference from the centre reaches 15 – 17%. However, this can be corrected using the settings in the menu.

A monitor with a thin, barely noticeable frame looks solid, and a branched leg, taken from the gaming line of ASUS monitors, dilutes the austere look, giving it a twist. For maximum comfort while working, the stand can be adjusted in height, rotate the monitor 60 degrees, tilt back or switch to portrait mode. In general, the ergonomics of the monitor is at a very high level, and it will fit on any desk. The main thing is to have enough space.

The Asus PA329Q boasts four HDMI 2.0 inputs, two DisplayPorts and a full 5-port USB hub. At the same time, most of the exits are right at hand — on the left under the frame, which is very convenient. Throw in a card reader and built-in acoustics, and you'll get functionality that some motherboards would envy.