Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

tornado99

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 28, 2013
454
445
I have been on the hunt for a 4K 24 inch monitor, and finally I found one! The Electriq Eiq-244kMHDR.

electriq4k.jpg


It has a light matte AG coating, 10 bit IPS panel, 300 nits, and costs £140 ($190). Text looks ultra-smooth like a printed page on this screen! It works perfectly with my Mac and is detected as a Retina Display. Even though it's only 185 dpi (instead of 218 dpi), 200% scaling looks fine sitting 20" away. Calibrating with a colorimeter I get 99% sRGB, 82% DCI-P3, 285 nits brightness, contrast ratio 950:1, and deltaE 1.9. The default manual sRGB values 50,50,50 gave a color temperature of 6700K, and 48,50,48 gave 6500K - perfect for desktop usage.

The driver board is also great. HDMI 2.0 x2, Displayport 1.4 x2. I can use this with my Linux laptop too. Flawless switching between multiple sources and sleeping/waking up.

What panel is inside?

There are only two 4K 24" panels in the whole world currently being manufactured. One is the glossy LG used in the Ultrafine, so this must use the BOE MV238QUM-N20 panel. The larger version of the BOE also appears in the Asus ProArt:


panels.png


Repair-ability

The monitor case unscrews at the back. The LCD panel and driver board are widely available on AliExpress. The power supply is a standard 12V external power brick. If the monitor dies in a few years I'm confident I could repair it.

Where can I buy it?

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/ele...c-hdr-gaming-monitor-eiq-244kmhdr/version.asp (UK, Europe)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163291137904 (Many countries)

https://shop.tbfocus.com/item.php?id=555251609724 (Same panel, world?)

I have also seen monitors with this panel on several websites dealing in CCTV products.

Why not get the P2415Q second-hand?

The Dell has many issues: horizontal gray lines on display, poor backlight uniformity, grainy AG on white backgrounds, unreliable driver board, only HDMI 1.4 on older models.

Why not get the LG Ultrafine 24" or 21.5"?

My usage is coding, writing, reading, web browsing in a moderately lit home environment. I find the small reflections from glossy displays annoying, and having to keep the brightness high to minimise them is fatiguing on the eyes. The Ultrafines are not fully laminated glass like the iMacs, so not up to the same quality.

Also, the Ultrafines seem hard to repair if they go wrong, and could be difficult to connect with non-Mac computers (although bi-directional displayport-usb c cables are now on the market).

TL;DR

Finally a solid 4K monitor for Mac and PC users who aren't photographers. Why isn't this more popular?

Small criticisms

Viewing angles are good, but not the best I've seen on IPS monitors. 350 nits would be better for bright environments but I've not seen that on 1080p 24" IPS monitors either. No DCI-P3 color gamut, but not something I currently need.
 
Last edited:
Great review. You even supplied real readings. Rather than looks good to me.

is the Delta E before or after calibration?
 
Thanks for this. Have a 24" Ultrafine which I love, but this is so affordable I might pick it up. I have workarounds for HDMI compatibility with the Ultrafine, but this could be a nice native option.
 
The Dell has many issues: horizontal gray lines on display, poor backlight uniformity, grainy AG on white backgrounds, unreliable driver board, only HDMI 1.4 on older models.

I haven't seen those lines on my P2415Q yet - and in which way is the driver board unreliable in your experience? I have noticed that when switching between two sources (DP/mDP in my case) it sometimes fails to pick up the signal, necessitating turning the power off and on, or in extreme cases (which only happen rarely) pulling the power plug. I'm also on my second P2415Q 'cause my first was emitting a high-pitched whine while operating. It was quiet but I noticed it nonetheless. My current one also does it but only in stand-by mode and it's so quiet that I can only hear it when I'm in front of the monitor, which I am not when it's in stand-by.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Loi84
I haven't seen those lines on my P2415Q yet - and in which way is the driver board unreliable in your experience?

I just found those issues from reading through Amazon reviews. I think big manufacturers like Dell make custom driver boards for all their products, so probably the P2415Q is using the first version of Realtek chips able to drive 4K displays.

Whereas the Electriq 4K (released 2019) seems to be using some completely generic driver board from the digital signage industry, with a rather crude OSD! I'm guessing it has a more recent chipset, as HDMI 2.0 wasn't widely used when the P2415Q came out in 2015.

An interesting fact I discovered is that some more recent P2415Qs are probably using the BOE panel, as the LG panel stopped being manufactured in 2018. I'm not sure why Dell discontinued it though, as the BOE is in plentiful supply.
 
I haven't seen those lines on my P2415Q yet - and in which way is the driver board unreliable in your experience? I have noticed that when switching between two sources (DP/mDP in my case) it sometimes fails to pick up the signal, necessitating turning the power off and on, or in extreme cases (which only happen rarely) pulling the power plug. I'm also on my second P2415Q 'cause my first was emitting a high-pitched whine while operating. It was quiet but I noticed it nonetheless. My current one also does it but only in stand-by mode and it's so quiet that I can only hear it when I'm in front of the monitor, which I am not when it's in stand-by.
I’ve so far had zero issues with my two p2515q’s

I don’t doubt that some people have had issues with some units - because problems occur in every mass produced product on the planet.

but I don’t think bad Amazon reviews alone are enough to discount a product.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Amethyst1
There is one inherent flaw in the P415Q, which professional monitor reviewers like pcmonitors.info picked up on. The LG panel happens to come with a slightly sub-par surface layer:

This screen surface imparted a bit more graininess to whites and light colours than some other light or very matte screen surfaces we’ve seen. The image didn’t look as clean – the surface texture didn’t seem as ‘smooth’ as on some otherwise comparable matte surfaces. It is at least free from the heavy ‘smeary’ grain that is pretty much exclusive to ‘heavier’ matte surfaces.

Whereas the BOE panel is fairly decent. Of course, any comparison is further complicated by the fact that more recent P2415Qs might actually have the BOE panel!
 
There is one inherent flaw in the P415Q, which professional monitor reviewers like pcmonitors.info picked up on. The LG panel happens to come with a slightly sub-par surface layer:



Whereas the BOE panel is fairly decent. Of course, any comparison is further complicated by the fact that more recent P2415Qs might actually have the BOE panel!
... I honesty don't actually know if I even understand what they are trying to describe there.
 
For sure, I have never seen a P2415Q in person, so I'm sure it works great for many people.

I went to an Apple store today to check out the new iMac and I have to admit that it is somewhat better than a 24' matte display, mostly in contrast (1500:1) rather than sharpness. You really have to be Apple to pull that off though. They basically went to Corning (who make many phone screens) and said: can you make us the thinnest possible strengthened glass, with your best anti-reflection coating, and then fully laminate it to a 4.5K LCD panel. Contrast that to the LG Ultrafine series, where they slapped a glossy plastic sheet with an air gap in front of the LCD - the worst of both worlds. Sadly, unless Apple release a new Cinema Display, that "best of the best" quality remains with the iMac.

So, in my opinion: iMac 4.5K > P2415Q (or equivalent) > LG Ultrafine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Moonjumper
... I honesty don't actually know if I even understand what they are trying to describe there.
I had a 2006 (first-gen Intel) MacBook Pro and the matte screen was indeed grainy as they describe. The glossy screen that my 2007 had was not (same resolution/ppi).
 
Sadly, unless Apple release a new Cinema Display, that "best of the best" quality remains with the iMac.
There were rumours of it earlier this year.

I've resorted to scanning the likes of ebay/gumtree/etc to find a third P2415Q with a seller that's willing to ship it all the way here.

If Apple releases an 24/30" display (at 4.5/5.5k respectively) it's probably a day-one buy for me.
 
I've resorted to scanning the likes of ebay/gumtree/etc to find a third P2415Q with a seller that's willing to ship it all the way here.
If you can find one, the Asus MG24UQ is also good. 23.6" IPS (uses Samsung's panel), matte, flicker-free.
 
If you can find one, the Asus MG24UQ is also good. 23.6" IPS (uses Samsung's panel), matte, flicker-free.
I've reached out to my normal supplier to see if they can get it. They don't list it, but who knows. Thanks for the tip. I didn't even know that existed, and I've been looking for alternatives for ages.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Amethyst1
I've reached out to my normal supplier to see if they can get it. They don't list it, but who knows. Thanks for the tip. I didn't even know that existed, and I've been looking for alternatives for ages.

The Electriq does ship to Thailand according to this, and is spec equivalent to the P2415Q.

 
That's probably my fault - I had edited the post, adding the list after making the initial version. Sorry for that.
No worries.

Got a reply from my usual guy, no luck on the ASUS domestically - he says it's never been sold here (and no luck on any old stock of the Dell either).

Ebay it is, I guess.
ebay_is_cheaper_for_a_reason.jpg
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Amethyst1
Interesting new developments! This is the Hauwei Mateview 28 inch 500 nits P3 3840 x 2520 3:2 160 dpi matte aluminium framed monitor next to the new iMac. Released in Europe now for 600 euros (Hauwei regional websites/Amazon).

Thoughts?

From my perspective the extra height is unbeatable for actually getting work done, although I do wish there was also a 24 inch sister model.
 

Attachments

  • E23X9RuVUAMwr5n.jpeg
    E23X9RuVUAMwr5n.jpeg
    207.3 KB · Views: 380
  • E23X5l4UcAE5Bsd.jpeg
    E23X5l4UcAE5Bsd.jpeg
    300.2 KB · Views: 377
Awesome, although 160 ppi is a bit on the low side. Afaics it's 700 euros with availability in August.

At a distance of 20 inches it has 63 pixels per degree. According to Steve Jobs, Retina is anything higher than 57 ppd.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.