This monitor is quite a revelation compared to the 19" lcd monitor I've been used to for the past 12 years. I spent a fair bit of time reading the reviews and tossing up whether to go for a 24" or a 27", 1920 or 2540 resolution etc. I decided on 27" because, although it is a lot wider than my old 19" (4:3 screen ratio), it is only about 1 inch taller, whereas a 24" (16:9 ratio) monitor would have been a little shorter vertically. Much of my time is spent using PhotoShop and when editing a portrait format photo I find a taller screen to be better, so that decided it in favour of a 27" screen. Resolution-wise I was happy with the old screen and this new one is about the same or a fraction better. I decided I didn't need a 2540 resolution screen and I certainly didn't need the extra expense. I think that was a good decision because this screen, viewed from a distance about 20cm beyond my outstretched fingertips, is pleasingly sharp even for quite small text.
The first thing to do after removing it from the box was to attach the base, very easily done with 3 supplied special screws done up finger tight. The screen swivels and tilts smoothly and the height can be adjusted over a range of about 4" by pressing a lock button on the back of the stand and pushing the screen up or down. Although it doesn't lock positively in any position, there is enough friction to hold the screen firmly at whatever height it is set.
Connected up to my pc (Windows 8.1 which I get on well with, despite all the bad press), the first challenge was to turn the monitor on! It has 5 buttons mounted under the right bottom edge of the bezel, of which the rightmost one is the power button. On close inspection with a torch shone at just the right angle, the button functions are in fact shown in slightly raised lettering on the front of the bezel above each button. But it's black on black so very hard to read! I deemed it a slight annoyance but since the buttons will hardly ever be used I'm not too concerned about that. Otherwise installation was just plug'n'play, the pc recognised the new monitor and adjusted the video output and I didn't have to do a thing.
Once switched on, the monitor came on at retina-searing full brightness, quickly solved by more button-fumbling with the aid of a torch to access the menu, where I reduced the brightness to 75%. It's still a bit too bright when the room is dim in the evening so I may turn it down a little more. The colours are nice and punchy and the brightness and contrast are visually consistent across the screen, courtesy of the IPS panel. No sign of backlight bleed or any of the other gremlins reported by users of other IPS panels. The picture is just lovely and I'm well pleased with it.
Not so good is the sound - you know what I'm going to say because it seems to be the same for all thin lcd screens - tinny and lacking in base. It's also very quiet even on max volume. However I was already using a separate sound system which I have coupled up to the pc so the poor monitor sound is of no consequence to me and I have not down-rated it for that.
The monitor has a party trick in that, after raising it to max height, the whole screen can be rotated 90 degrees clockwise to give you a giant portrait format monitor, fantastic if you are seriously into lots of word-processing or PhotoShopping portrait format pictures. Having set it like this, you need to set your pc's display manager to rotate the picture 90 degrees too, otherwise you'll get a crick in your neck.
What else can I say? Oh yes, it's physically quite nice looking on my desk and the bezel is acceptably thin - I measure the top and sides bezel to be about 10mm, and about 20mm at the bottom. Totally happy with this monitor so far, thoroughly recommended if you want a big beast at a reasonable price.
| Brand | COMPUTER MOUSE |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 23 x 62.25 x 43.3 cm; 4.66 kg |
| Item model number | XUB2790HS-B1 |
| Manufacturer | iiyama |
| Series | XUB2790HS-B1 |
| Colour | Black |
| Standing screen display size | 27 Inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Processor Count | 1 |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 3 |
| Number of HDMI Ports | 2 |
| Number of VGA Ports | 1 |
| Voltage | 220 Volts |
| Wattage | 27 watts |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Item Weight | 4.66 kg |
| Guaranteed software updates until | unknown |
