Time for a new Monitor

 So in my house, I have a number of computer monitors (not all in use):

1. An old Apple Studio Display LCD monitor with CF backlighting.  This monitor is the one with an aluminum bexal, and special DVI connectors.  I have managed to convert it to Mini Display Port, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will work on my newer computers that only use USB-C.  The number of pixels on this monitor seemed huge when I got it, but given that it is relatively large, the actual densiy is not nearly "retina".  More to the point, the "black" parts glow fairly light grey, which is distracting unless most of the screen is covered with something relatively bright.  (A worst case scenario here is watching a movie with glowing black bars).

2. A slightly newer Apple Studio Display, which is the style that uses thunderbolt and has a glass screen cover.  The main issue here is that this display requires a certain resolution, and thunderbolt over mini-display-port type of cable.  I do have an adaptor that will let this monitor work with some USB-C computers, but it seems hit or miss.  The blacks on this screen are blacker than the old style Studio Display, but still can't compete with something like the OLED display on my Xperia phone, or even the LCD retina display on my macbook pro.  

3. I have a ultra wide Phillips display, which is essentially was wide as putting two large monitors side by side.  In fact, it can even be driven that way, using HDMI cables from two machines.  Thankfully, it also has USB-C, which means that you can plug a keyboard, mouse, speakers, and anything else you want into the USB ports on the monitor, and then plug the monitor into yout PC.  This way, it can charge you PC, display video, and connect everything else at the same time.  This guy is also not even close to perfecyly black, and despite being 5K accross, it's salso large enough that the resolution is just so-so in terms of DPI.  It's also so wide that I can't see the whole screen at once if I am close enough to actually be able to read characters at normal font sizes.  Another issue about this monitor is that it basically can't be moved by one person.  Given that it is long and thin and curved and glass.... chances are you'll break the monitor, yourself, or something else if you try to move it far.  

4. I have a bargain basement LG LCD monitor.  I'm not complaining about the quality - as this monito was sub-$100.  It's only mission in life is to be "a monitor" that I could connect to a server occasionally via display port when needed in order to access the BIOS, etc.  The plastic case feels super chinsy, the resolution, contrast, and build quality aren't great at all, but on the other hand, I suppose it's fantastic given the price.

So what am I looking for?  You might ask?  Well, I am looking for something like the Retina display in my Macbook Pro, but bigger, and in an external display.  It should be high resolution, and high contract.  Ideally, it should look more like the display on my phone, which is even better than the Macbook's.  

Coem to find out, my phone has an OLED screen.  No problem, right?  OLED screens have been out for years, and have made it into everything from smart phones to TVs, and even some laptops, so I'll just find a decent sized OLED monitor and buy that, right?

Surprisingly, there basically aren't any on the market.  I found one "monitor", the Gigabyte 48v OLED gaming monitor.  That's great, but it's perhaps a bit huge to put on my kitchen table for working, and there seems to be sone concern of burn-in.  I'm not sure why burn-in is not listed as an issue for the OLED laptops, and why it has never becomes a problem for phones.  (Perhaps because phone screens are not usually on for so many hours continuously).  

A bit more searching, and I found the Alienware QD-OLED 34v screen.  Supposedly this does away with most of the burn-in concerns while still retaining many of the advantages that OLED screens have.  It's annoying to me that everything decent in computer land these days is labeled "gaming", but I am not to proud to buy a "gaming" minotor for normal use.  Hell, I might even play TuxRacer on it just for giggles.  

Seems my timing was good too, as this has just been released very recently.  The most negative thing I can say about this monitor is that it doesn't support USB-C, meaning I will need a dongle to convert USB-C to display port in order to get the best use out of it on most of my machines.