[Merged] Various Korean Branded 27" 2560x1440 S-IPS LCDs $280-450 US Shipped (Ebay)

[scv]

Listing of Various Sellers.

Common Features:

• All of the monitors share the same LG LM270WQ1 Panel and 99% of the have the same Glossy display with no AG Coating. There are reports that a very small number of people who ordered Catleaps received a Matte display, but you should order with the assumption that the screen will be glossy.
  
• The panel is the same as the one found in the 27" Apple Cinema Display, although the main difference is that these are A- Panels, rather than A/A+. What this means really is that a panel that is considered 'good' can have as many as 5 dead pixels, including bright dots. Some sellers have a "Perfect Pixel" option for another $50-70, although some people have reported dead and stuck pixels even with this option, so it might not be worthwhile.
  Edit: AccessoriesWhole claims to have A/A+ panels for some of their monitors.
  AccessoriesWhole and BigClothCraft are selling Perfect Pixel options with zero dead/stuck pixels and free return shipping. The price is $375 at BCC and $420 @ AW.
• Support and Warranty are a bit Spotty. You should be able to return the monitor if it is defective, and some of the sellers offer free return shipping for defective purchases. The Squaretrade warranty may or may not apply, no one knows since no one has tested it.
  AccessoriesWhole, Greensum and BigClothCraft all offer free RMA Return Shipping
  The Squaretrade warranty may only apply with Perfect Pixel models, as they might consider the regular monitors to be 'defective' on shipment.
• No OSD, and only brightness settings and a volume control. Obviously, only the models with speakers have the functional volume control, and the buttons will be dummy otherwise.
• Inputs vary based on the model that you buy. The cheapest displays only have Dual-Link DVI, while more expensive models also have HDMI, D-Sub and some also include Displayport. A model with HDMI and DSub will be around $450-500, while even more inputs will run you $600+.
• Only the Multi-Input displays have Scalers, the single Dual-Link DVI models do not have one. This doesn't really matter for PCs, as most GPUs have internal scalers, but using a PS3 is not possible.
• A GPU that has a Dual-Link DVI Port is necessary, so older GPUs may not work properly. If you're interested in the HDMI version, keep in mind that with most GPUs, the maximum HDMI resolution is 1920x1200, so you might not be able run the LCD at full resolution.
• All the Screens have VESA Mounting Points. The majority have poor quality stands so it might be worth buying a mount.
• It appears that all the screen have basically been built with a 'grab-bag' of parts. People have found various 'revisions' with different controller boards and internals, although the no one has reported a different panel.

Sellers:
What I've seen, the best sellers appear to be Greensum, AccessoriesWhole and BigClothCraft. All three will check the monitor prior to shipment for free, and offer free RMA return shipping if anything goes wrong. Dreamseller, and ta_planet also have good reputations. There haven't been many major issues with Sellers, as long as you buy from one with a good feedback score.

Edit: I would avoid purchasing from RedCap. There are a number of instances where he has disappeared completely after shipping defective monitors.

For more information on all the Monitor Brands:
Achieva Shimian:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1215866/r...ne-read-korean
http://www.overclock.net/t/1228062/a...n-monitor-club

Yamakasi Catleap:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1225919/y...p-monitor-club

CrossOver 27Q LED/LED-P & 27M LED:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1232496/c...d-monitor-club

Crossover 2720MDP Gold.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1243709/c...port-available

PCBANK 3VIEW PB2700 & PB2700 SUPER:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1228729/b...k-3view-pb2700

Potalion 2710QW.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1270861/p...w-monitor-club

The differences between all of these are mostly cosmetic and related to the stand.. The Crossover is reputed to have better compatibility with the AMD HD5850, which has some issues showing the Bios on the other three. The Crossover also has the best stand of the four, while the others have one that is very cheaply built.

The easiest way to keep up-to-date is to check the overclock.net Monitor Forum. There are multiple people who have purchased these LCDs there, and this forum has the most accurate information.

http://www.overclock.net/f/44/monitors-and-displays

Group Buy Info:

I emailed Achieva, unfortunately, the monitor itself does not have CE/UL/CSA/FCC certifications at this moment. They applied FCC/CE certifications, but they did not apply CSA/UL.

The power brick has.

Just want to bring this up, as if we do a group buy, we are importing 100 PCS of this monitor, custom assumes that these are for resale. It is illegal to sale products without CSA/cUL certification I guess. Also I believe FCC is a must.

It looks like the Group Buy is dead, unless someone can figure out a legal way around it. I'll leave the link to the Bulk Order prices in any case.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/61830124/Spe...n%20series.pdf

There are now 120hz monitors available at www.120hz.net . These are small batches and will cost around $555 at this time. Keep in mind that running these monitors at 120hz will cancel the warranty, and doing so is putting the panel out of spec, and long-term consequences are unknown.

[keinjuan]

Achieva is a reputable brand and this is a very well reviewed monitor in Korea. (which is the "home" country for Samsung and LG. The display market there is very competitive)

I would be hesitant to buy this though... If I bought this in Korea, it would cost me less than $250 and it will come with dead-pixel free warranty.

In Canada, I'd prefer buying Dell U2711 or Samsung S27A850D. Of course, it would be thrice the cost of this monitor...

my 2 cents.

[MikeMC12]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACHIEVA-Shim...item3372543c81

Amazing price for a 27" 2560x1440 S-IPS LCD, although keep in mind that there are some caveats:

The seller is in Korea, and there is no warranty with only a 7 day return policy, so there is an inherent risk in buying this LCD.
Taxes will definitely apply at the door, although I've shipped higher value items through EMS without any real issues.
You will also need a Step Down converter, as the LCD is meant for the Korean Market.
The Squaretrade extended warranty does not work, as it does not apply to International transactions.
The LCD itself is also barebones with only a DVI connection, and no extras like HDMI, Displayport, etc.

Supposedly you can even lower the price to $250 with a Group Buy, although someone else will have to organize this one if they're willing.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1215866/r...#post_16537913

http://www.overclock.net/t/1215866/r...ne-read-korean

$250 for group buy?? I'd be all over this and I'm sure many rfd'ers will too!! How many people do we need and where do we group buy from?

I thought the u2412m was hot when it went on sale, but this is SMOKING for $250!

[linkthe2nd]

I, too, would be DEFINITELY in for a group buy.

[zatnaf]

Apparently the group buy was closed?

[MikeMC12]

Apparently the group buy was closed?

The group buy for overclock.net was US only anyway, I think the OP meant we could organize one of our own, if we get enough interest, just need to know where to group buy from haha.

I see it selling here: http://english.gmarket.co.kr/challen...s_class_kind=T for $235ish, but it only ships to korea, I wonder where the US group buy was from??

c'mon ppl, if you are interested, please post a reply showing your interest, I really want this group buy to happen if we have enough interest haha

[zatnaf]

I see it selling here: http://english.gmarket.co.kr/challen...s_class_kind=T

"International Shipping Unavailable"

Also they get charged a lot less customs fees in the US compared with Canada. Don't know how much a step-down converter is also, but still might be worth it.

[MikeMC12]

"International Shipping Unavailable"

Also they get charged a lot less customs fees in the US compared with Canada. Don't know how much a step-down converter is also, but still might be worth it.

Even with taxes, it would be a steal compared to what we pay for IPS here. It's close to $370 for the Dell U2412M when it was on sale for $300 after tax and the stupid Environment Charges . PLUS that's an E-IPS, whereas this is a S-IPS

The review on Overclock.net mentioned you could do without a stepdown converter, though you need a typical 3 prong female-to-male power cable (like a psu cable) to connect the power adapter to the wall

[scv]

I'm also interested in joining a group buy, although I can't offer a firm commitment, and I'd rather keep the price under $300-330 considering the lack of a warranty.

It is possible to order the LCDs in bulk from Achieva, but this requires a minimum order of 500. 500 x $250 = $125,000, so this is probably beyond what anyone can do here.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-tp/12...270_IPSBS.html

There is also a thread in the HardOCP forum with others interested in a Group Buy so a solution may be found there.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1675393

Edit: I did some checking on Gmarket, and there are a number of sellers who have the LCD for $250. No one ships internationally though. :-/

[zatnaf]

Keep in mind at $400+, the customs/brokers fee will possibly be well over $100-$150. If it's broken, sending it back to return and needing to pay that fee again when they ship a new one will not be good.

[MikeMC12]

I'm also interested in joining a group buy, although I can't offer a firm commitment, and I'd rather keep the price under $300-330 considering the lack of a warranty.

It is possible to order the LCDs in bulk from Achieva, but this requires a minimum order of 500. 500 x $250 = $125,000, so this is probably beyond what anyone can do here.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-tp/12...270_IPSBS.html

There is also a thread in the HardOCP forum with others interested in a Group Buy so a solution may be found there.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1675393

Edit: I did some checking on Gmarket, and there are a number of sellers who have the LCD for $250. No one ships internationally though. :-/

Where are all the hoarders when we needed them lol

Im sure with `~10people, we could talk to the ebay seller and ask for a lower price ie. $350 if we buy10 at once

[x2007ura]

Didn't see this anywhere and this is a really hot deal if you're in the market for some pretty awesome IPS displays. They use an LG IPS LCD panel, the same one found in 27" iMacs. Plus one of them potentially has the ability to use a ~100hz refresh rate with an Nvidia GPU (85hz with AMD).

Here's the thread over at overclockers.net. Over 160 pages long at this point. OP has an excellent summary of what you're ordering.

These are Korean monitors being sold on ebay, several people have purchased and received and have been nearly all satisfied. If you're even remotely interested in monitors you know how much a similar panel would sell for in North America.

Honestly there's too much info for me to try to cram it in here but thought I'd give folks a heads up. I ordered a 27" Catleap (the one which can do ~100hz) without speakers tonight after being on the fence for awhile.

Really the only issue people have been having is if they ordered a tempered glass version, some of them seem to have problems with dust being trapped behind the glass.

[LanEvoVII]

A very good deal I'd say aside from the trapped dust

[hystavito]

I probably won't buy one at this time but it's interesting. I always thought that when you went to the higher end like 2560, there were no cheap options.

[jcdogg]

seems almost too good to be true :P