I got this https://www.samsung.com/uk/monitors/high-resolution/viewfini... and am pretty happy with it. I got it fairly cheap with a student voucher (I think ~650 GBP).

It had some coil whine initially but that has gone. There's a load of nonsense software in it but I just have it disconnected from the internet and only use it as a monitor. The web cam is not useful but I don't use that either.

This was a couple of years ago - I think that there are a lot more options available now?

I have been using 3 VP2788-5K for 6 months. Much better than 1440p or 4k monitors IMO. I spend most of the day on teams meetings and looking at code.

Text is very crisp at this DPI. The built in thunderbolt dock works reliably.

It is annoying how the cables stick down on the bottom of the monitors. A few right angle adapters helps with that.

I've tried the LG UltraFine and LG UltraGear (w/144hz) ... still went with the Studio Display. Expensive, but my previous Thunderbolt display gave me 12 solid years – hoping the SD does the same.

Edit: Also consider the price of speakers, camera, hub, power, and the "it just works" factor.

> power

Most modern usb-c / tb seem to come in an integrated "dock" which provides power. But many provide a laughably low number.

Also, for some reason, many come with external power bricks for some reason, which are a special kind of PITA with their short, permanently attached cords.

Ultimately, I'm beholden to whatever I can get work to pay for, unless I want to pay out of pocket to subsidize the capex of a multi-trillion dollar conglomerate.

A lot of people are saying nice things about Kuycon displays, but no personal experience with those. Otherwise I think Asus has good offerings, cannot remember the name though

Also JapanNext offers a 6k screen for <$1000, but it hasn't started shipping yet to my knowledge

I've been using an LG Ultrafine 27MD5KL-B for years, and it works pretty flawlessly once I set up BetterDisplay with it. This is my primary work setup, and I think I paid around a grand for at MicroCenter some time back. It has worked great.

Get a broken 27" iMac, rip out the guts, and slap in a converter board that adds a bunch of inputs. It's not nearly as difficult to build as most of the blogs make it out to be.

Mine's not even broken, but it is corp, so sticking an Aliexpress board in there is ill-advised. Hence, in the market for a 5k when I've had a perfectly good one on my desk since 2017.

BenQ PD2730S.

Asus ProArt

I can second this. I bought two of the 5K 27" ProArt monitors plus a Thunderbolt hub to be my home setup, all for less than the price of one Studio Display, and it has been working perfectly.

That was the one I'd heard of, but I was shocked to see how low the Amazon reviews are (3.8). A highly-rated review said it had horrible clarity, like a greasy phone screen.

You haven't had problems, and would buy it again?

As someone who is _very_ sensitive to screen texture (cannot tolerate grain, own glossy Dough Spectrum 27" 4k for that reason), from what I gathered, yes newest 5k and 6k panels use unusually harsh coating, which I am certain I would not be able to use whatsoever.

The clarity seems fine to me, and I bought it specifically because I want crisp text. Maybe those people had defective units, I'm not sure.