Need space, but don’t want to clutter up your desk with monitors? Choose one that stands out from the rest not only in terms of size!
Anyone can say anything, for efficient work you need a big screen. Yes, high resolution, rich colors and good contrast are very important, but most tasks are speeded up and simplified just because we have more space. You don’t have to compress the windows so much, the icons are bigger, the individual panels are well separated from each other, you don’t have to rummage through the thick of the data.
Several manufacturers have already come up with their 32-inch 4K displays, but this proves to be a narrow frame in many cases: the traditional 16:9 resolution is usually enough for two side-by-side programs, the windows will be very narrow for three. This is offset by ultrawide displays, but most of them work with a resolution of 3440×1440, so the pixel density is lower compared to traditional 4K, and the textures will be less sharp. In the case of 32:9 panels, this is exponentially true.
He tries to solve this dilemma Philips 40B1U6903CHwhich, with its massive 40-inch diagonal screen, 5K2K panel and plenty of comfort extras, is clearly trying to appeal to those who want to get the most out of their time at work.
5K2K is the new 4K
It is not easy to follow the naming conventions of the panel types, since sometimes we refer to the vertical and sometimes to the horizontal pixels. Full HD is still called 1080p, the next step is called 1440p, but instead of 2160p we use 4K. This monitor is in fact as if we had enlarged a 32″ 4K monitor: the pixel density has remained, only with an aspect ratio of 21:9. Thanks to this, we can comfortably set 3 windows next to each other without losing anything in terms of sharpness. Neither in resolution, we don’t have to compromise on size either.
The viewing angles of the IPS panel are very good, but with such a size, it certainly helps if the display is bent. Philips engineers decided on a 2500R curvature, so the monitor doesn’t wrap around us yet, but it’s still more pleasant to look at in the corner.
Since we are dealing with an iron designed specifically for work, it is not worth counting on extras tailored for gamers. The maximum refresh rate of the panel is 75 Hz, the response time is 4 ms, and the brightness is up to 300 nits, so we won’t use these to perform a top attack in Counter-Strike or dominate everyone in Call of Duty.
In the recent period, more and more OLED monitors have visited our test lab, compared to them, the lower contrast is very clear, which somewhat affects the consumption of multimedia content. At the same time, the panel covers 100% of the sRGB color space and 98% of the DCI-P3 color space, so it can absolutely be used for image editing and video editing. Unfortunately, the AdobeRGB color space is only 90%, so if someone needs it, they should look elsewhere.
Pure beauty
We get a very neat surround for the huge panel. This is not the first time we have seen the design of the base, but I personally still like it a lot. It is much easier to keep things symmetrical on the table than in the case of a separate V-shaped leg, we can also pack them into the inner area, and the display itself is very stable.
However, it is not easy to hold a panel of this size: the Philips monster weighs over 10 kilos even without the legs, and weighs 13.5 kilos with the base, so even though it can be placed on a 100×100 VESA stand, it is worth choosing a quality piece that can hold a such a monster. On the stand, the monitor can be rotated 45 degrees in both directions, tilted between -5 and 15 degrees, and its height can be adjusted to 150 mm.
Labor hero
In order for a monitor to facilitate and speed up work, it does not have to be big enough, the connection is also important. Many people end up with such a monitor by connecting it not to a desktop computer, but to a laptop, which needs to be plugged into the home or office ecosystem every day.
There’s really nothing missing here. We get two HDMI 2.0 and one DisplayPort 1.4, as well as two Thunderbolt 4 connectors. One of them is capable of up to 90 watts of Power Delivery, which means that it not only receives the image from our laptop/Macbook, but also charges it at the same time. We also get 4 USB 3.2, a USB-C (with 45 W PD), a gigabit Ethernet connector and a 3.5 mm combo jack, the latter on the side of the monitor, so it’s easy to plug in and out the headphones. With the second Thunderbolt 4 port, you can even connect several monitors in a row, so you can drive several displays with a single port on the laptop.
With this monitor, you don’t need a dock for your Macbook, just plug in a single cable and everything from charging to peripherals is available. Of course, there is also a built-in KVM switch, which means that you can control the desktop and laptop with the same mouse and keyboard, and the monitor naturally also offers picture-in-picture and PbP solutions, so you can play games on the console and watch video on the computer at the same time, or even work on two machines. All of this can be controlled from the menu, which can be controlled with the buttons located at the bottom right. So in 2024, we would have been happier with a joystick, especially if the different modes are so prominent, but unfortunately we have to make do with this old-fashioned solution.
The list of comfort extras does not stop here. An openable headphone holder has been placed on the left side of the monitor, and a 5-megapixel web camera pops out from the top. This can be used not only for video calls, but also for Windows Hello authentication. If someone wants to keep their privacy absolutely safe, they can close it when not in use.
If you have something to grind into the milk
The Philips 40B1U6903CH is an outstanding monitor, but the price is high: it is currently available in domestic retail for HUF 600,000. For that money, you get a huge surface area, a pin-sharp image, very nice colors, a very solid design and one of the best port offerings we’ve ever seen. The pixel density is outstanding, but at the same time we have to reach much deeper into our pockets than if we made a compromise with a 32″ 4K panel.
Source: www.pcwplus.hu
