Accessory Portable LCD monitors for work and gaming, recommendations?

[Elaman]

Thanks for this! I'm looking everywhere for this sort of use case, and while my research boils down to these two plus sunix upd2018 pcie card, real world review like yours ia the best.

When we are talking about a 22inch monitor and calling it portable, we are not too far from 24-25, what many of us find the sweet spot for daily use. My workflow starts being less comfortable when any one of my monitors is 32 or bigger than that.
Moreover if I look at current commercial monitors which are not even meant to be portable, I find pretty interesting stuff that weighs ~5ks and really 3kg without the mount.
For example this one from LG seems to be 40mm thick and that accounts for the big circular obtrusion in the center:

I wonder how hard would be to pack that thing for a trip or similar?

 

[inSparks]

I'll say it again, 15" is far too small to worry about 4k pixels.

Totally agree. On my 15.6" laptop I've had people ask me why I didn't buy a 4k one. The reason is because with both the small screen and typical viewing distance, pixel density at 1080p looks a lot like 4k would on a much larger screen. Totally un-necessary on a small screen.

 

[R-Oak]

Another update for the displayport to USBC monitor journey.

after a little bit of digging, its 100% impossible to get gsync or freesync to work on this monitor whit a 3000 series card
Exept whit those 2 options what a bummer

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Totally agree. On my 15.6" laptop I've had people ask me why I didn't buy a 4k one. The reason is because with both the small screen and typical viewing distance, pixel density at 1080p looks a lot like 4k would on a much larger screen. Totally un-necessary on a small screen.

This totally depends on the person. I personally can immediately see the difference at the viewing distance I use mine. So, I specifically seek out HiDPI displays. Color gamut and color accuracy are also something to consider regardless of pixel density. Most 1080p panels have significantly worse color gamut and color accuracy than their 4K counterparts. Right out of the gate, this already makes the 4K models a better option even if pixel density isn't as important of a selling point for the perspective buyer.

 

[AlexTSG]

This ASUS ProArt PA148CTV looks like it should be available soon as it already has a listing on Amazon for $399.


As it's targeting creative professionals by having very accurate colour reproduction and options to use the integrated dial and touchscreen to work in various Adobe applications, I expect it to be very expensive.

Still, it's probably one of very few options for a portable screen with 100% sRGB and 100% Rec. 709 colour gamut, and Delta E <2.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Still, it's probably one of very few options for a portable screen with 100% sRGB and 100% Rec. 709 colour gamut, and Delta E <2.

100% sRGB and 100% Rec. 709 are by far the smallest major color gamuts (in fact, sRGB and Rec. 709 cover the same color range, only with a different transfer function). So they are actually quite paltry by today's standards. Many of the laptop display units used in the portable monitors on the market today meet basic sRGB. 100% sRGB is only a baseline requirement. It is Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 that are far more comprehensive and wide in color range.

There is at least a dozen portable monitors I know of on Amazon alone that carry ~100% Adobe RGB and/or ~100% DCI-P3 color gamut compliance. Many of those are 4K to boot and, like the ProArt, are touch-enabled and cost around $250-$500. That combination of color space and HiDPI easily eclipses the ProArt PA148CTV in those areas.

Now, as for color accuracy or Delta E, though, that's a totally different story. Most portable monitors come uncalibrated and are probably Delta E <10 or (at best) <5 out of the box. However, there is nothing stopping someone from picking up a ~$100 X-Rite and doing what ASUS is doing, namely factory pre-calibration, by calibrating it yourself for far less money on your own.

EDIT: Actually, I was able to find a calibrated portable monitor that is arguably superior. Here is a $349 calibrated portable 4K monitor with <3 Delta E and 99% Adobe RGB and 97% DCI-P3.

G-STORY 15.6 Inch 4K Photography Portable Monitor, Delta E<3 IPS Screen Editing Monitor Frameless UHD 10 Bit Portable Display with USB C/Mini HDMI for PC Phone Laptop PS5 Xbox Nintendo, Included Hood​

 

[AlexTSG]

Outside of the Delta E accuracy, the problem I've seen with a number of panels is that they cover a larger gamut than sRGB, but don't provide a mode which allows the gamut to be accurately clamped to sRGB.

This can lead to oversaturated colours, and although calibrating the display and generating an ICC profile can help in some applications, not all of them use the colour profile. I use a Datacolor Spyder 5 and DisplayCAL at the moment which does a pretty good job.

I've just ordered a very non-portable Alienware AW3821DW that will have this exact oversaturation problem. I'm considering getting the ProArt display as both a portable monitor, as well as a second display which I can use to ensure my colours are sRGB accurate.

EDIT: Actually, I was able to find a calibrated portable monitor that is arguably superior. Here is a $349 calibrated portable 4K monitor with <3 Delta E and 99% Adobe RGB and 97% DCI-P3.

That G-Story looks really good and I prefer the larger 15.6 inch size, but for my particular use case I'm still leaning towards the ASUS ProArt as I'm hoping that the ASUS Dial and Adobe support works well. It supports all the Adobe apps I actually use, and my editing speed could use a boost.

 

[RenG]

Since almost all portable monitors use USB-C as input, is this connection possible for portable gaming PC?

PC -> Adapter (HDMI for video, USB-C for power) -> Monitor (USB-C for video and power)

 

[AlexTSG]

Since almost all portable monitors use USB-C as input, is this connection possible for portable gaming PC?

PC -> Adapter (HDMI for video, USB-C for power) -> Monitor (USB-C for video and power)

I was looking into that option, as I thought someone like Club-3D might have an adapter, but I couldn't find anything.

For SFF builds you're best off looking for a monitor with an HDMI or DisplayPort. There are a few options with these, or the smaller sized versions of the connectors.

That will still require a USB C connection to power the display so it's not a single cable solution. However, there are a few portable displays with internal batteries which will give 2-3 hours of use on a charge.

 

[Choidebu]

Since almost all portable monitors use USB-C as input, is this connection possible for portable gaming PC?

PC -> Adapter (HDMI for video, USB-C for power) -> Monitor (USB-C for video and power)

External dongles: wacom link plus, belkin vr cable.
Pci expansion: sunix upd2018 (and its dell rebrands), asus thunderboltEX card (likely intel only, at least by spec)

More info here.

 

[RenG]

External dongles: wacom link plus, belkin vr cable.
Pci expansion: sunix upd2018 (and its dell rebrands), asus thunderboltEX card (likely intel only, at least by spec)

More info here.

That Belkin VR cable looks like it will work though it is $80 and 4.5m which is too long for an SFFPC.

I like the Wacom Link Plus more. I will take note of this. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Choidebu]

That Belkin VR cable looks like it will work though it is $80 and 4.5m which is too long for an SFFPC.

I like the Wacom Link Plus more. I will take note of this. Thanks for the tip!

Np.
Nice S4M-C you got there on the avatar.

 

[RenG]

Np.
Nice S4M-C you got there on the avatar.

That's my actual S4M-C. Credit to Josh for the photo. Been planning the build for years now

 

[AlexTSG]

After 10 months of radio silence, ASUS has posted another video of the ROG Strix XG16 144Hz portable monitor.


The only new information I can see, is that they now have a light/white colour option. I still don't see any retail availability.

They have added 4 SKUs of the display to their website. It appears that they're the dark and light options, both with the option of the monitor only, or monitor with tripod stand.

Here's the comparison:

Below 23 Inches | Gaming Monitors｜ROG - Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global (asus.com)

 

[R-Oak]

I wonder if this (or the XG17) for that matter

Works whit only the usb-c
From a 6800xt

 

[ignsvn]

Since almost all portable monitors use USB-C as input, is this connection possible for portable gaming PC?

PC -> Adapter (HDMI for video, USB-C for power) -> Monitor (USB-C for video and power)

If you don't care with the brand, there are quite a few portable monitors out there that accept mini HDMI (or HDMI) as input (and USB or DC jack for power).

You can try to search on AliExpress.

 

[Valantar]

I wonder if this (or the XG17) for that matter

Works whit only the usb-c
From a 6800xt

I don't see why they wouldn't. There must be some sort of power delivery through that USB-C port (typically such ports deliver up to 15W, or 5V3A), and beyond that it's just DP over USB-C like every laptop has.

 

[trickyaamir]

After using a Chinese portable monitor, I switched to Asus for quality display. Here are some cheap portable monitor from Asus and low-budget displays also.

 

[AlexTSG]

Just saw this strange, and expensive option for a portable monitor from Lenovo, starting at $680, with availability next month.

The upcoming Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 is an Android tablet, which also has a micro HDMI input, allowing you to use it as an external monitor. Not sure if the USB C port also works for display input. The 13 inch display has a 2160x1350 (16:10) resolution, 400 nits of brightness, and a 60Hz refresh rate.

Lenovo Debuts 13 Inch Monitor That's Also a Tablet | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

I do like having the 10000mAh battery built in, as this should give it a good 5 hours+ of battery life.

I think at this price you really need to have a use for it as a tablet, but if you're looking for a new tablet, and a portable monitor, then this could work.

 

[AlexTSG]

At last!

The ASUS ROG Strix 15.6 inch (XG16AHPE) Portable Gaming Monitor is available at Amazon.

It's expensive at $399, but it has a much better stand than the larger 17.3 inch model, and still retains the tripod mount.



I should have an Aya Neo handheld gaming PC arriving in September, and I'd like to get a portable monitor before then. Currently it's between the ASUS 14 inch ProArt and this, as they're the same price.

The choice comes down to a bigger 15.6 inch screen with 144Hz adaptive sync and a built in battery, vs a more colour accurate 14 inch screen with touch and the Asus dial. I'm leaning towards the 15.6 inch option, but I have till next month to decide.