Ports:Monitors offer more than just HDMI or DP ports. Some come with USB-A hubs for your keyboard/mouse, while others support USB-C for charging a connected laptop. Obviously, the more the merrier, but your budget will dictate how many extras you can afford. At the other end of the spectrum are high-end monitors geared toward graphic design professionals and photographers. Most of these are 27-inch to 38-inch panels that support 4K resolution (usually 3,840 by 2,160 pixels), capable of displaying four times the resolution of a typical full HD or 1080p (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) monitor. Moreover, they offer such features as highly adjustable stands, a range of ports including HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, and USB (often including USB-C), and a wealth of advanced image settings, sometimes including color calibration hardware and software. (Credit: Molly Flores) Color accuracy is the other aspect of color, which lets us measure how closely a monitor can reproduce a given shade. This is presented as a Delta-E rating, which indicates the level of deviation from perfect. Zero is a perfect score, while higher numbers indicate lower accuracy.

The Dell 27 S2721HGF may have just a middle-range screen size (27 inches on the diagonal) for a gaming-oriented panel, but it includes many of the other elements that gamers seek, including a graceful curve, at a great price. A VA panel with 1080p resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate, it is both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync compatible. It serves up very good gaming performance for the money, and showed very little ghosting or screen tearing during our testing. Who It’s For This monitor might be a little bit older than most, but it's still got serious performance chops for professional users, and the fact that it's just slightly out of date means you're likely to find it for a bargain at a lot of retailers. And, that’s on top of all the other features this monitor boasts. The best aspect ratio for your monitor depends on how you intend to use it most. For digital content creators, a 16:10 ratio might be preferable (offering a bit extra vertical space for toolbars and such). But the 16:9 aspect ratio of 1080p and 4K screens is by far the most common among desktop monitors, though that dominance has been chipped away in recent years by the ultrawide formats. (Credit: Zlata Ivleva) The best HDR monitors offer boosted contrast and highlights that show more details in both dark and bright scenes, which makes videos appear more life-like, and are just brighter in general. Those advantages benefit not just gamers and video editors but people who binge Netflix on their computers as well.

Depending on how far away from the screen you are, there will be a point where it just doesn't benefit you to upgrade to a new monitor with a higher resolution.

For most people though, a 1440p monitor is often more than enough, since the jump from 1440p to 4K isn't nearly as impressive as the jump from 1080p to 1440p. What is best screen size for 4K? The Lenovo ThinkVision M14d doesn't have the range of controls of some other portable displays, and its 14-inch screen isn't the largest among portable monitors. But it's bright, features high color fidelity, can be tilted to a wide range of angles, and is very light and easy to transport. Its color accuracy (96% of sRGB) is much better than that of most portable panels we have reviewed. The screen cabinet rests on a hinged base on which the ports and controls reside, and you can tilt the screen away from you at any angle you desire, down to flat. Connectors include two USB-C ports, including one that supports USB Power Delivery as well as DisplayPort over USB-C. And it has a 16:10 aspect ratio to match the squarer screens of late-model laptops. (Lenovo's ThinkVision m14, without the "d," adheres to a wider 16:9 format.) Who It’s For The Dell UltraSharp UP3218K is aimed at professionals, obviously, so if that sounds like it’s made for you, it’s probably the best monitor you’ll ever find. This product is only available in the US and UK right now, and given that it's a couple of years old at this point, it's harder to find than most. Touch-screen desktop displays have gained some traction, but mostly in vertical markets. You'll pay a bit more for touch technology, but it's worth it if you care about the Windows touch experience. Look for a model equipped with a stand that lets you position the panel so it's almost parallel with your desktop if you need that kind of interaction. (Some touch models are designed without a stand, meant to be integrated into a specific environment with a custom stand or mounting arm.) (Credit: Zlata Ivleva)If you’re in the cinematography or photography sphere, that’s exactly what you need. To test this monitor’s performance, we ran software-based calibration using the SpyderX Elite colorimeter. And, its scores for color gamut, tone response, white point uniformity, contrast, luminance uniformity, color uniformity and color accuracy were excellent. The monitor isn't perfect, however. It's considerably dimmer than some of its competitors, and the fact you can't access all menu options without a remote is also troubling. The astonishing picture quality and speedy performance mostly help you overlook these deficiencies, but they're still worth pointing out. When seeking out the best monitors, we test every display we review with our Klein K 10-A colorimeter, paired with testing software. We use this high-quality scope to measure the display's brightness levels, color gamut and color accuracy.

You can classify most monitors into five categories, all of which target different audiences: Budget, Business/Professional, Touch Screen, General Use/Multimedia, and Gaming. Prices vary within each category, depending on the screen size, the panel technology used, and extra features. Budget Monitors The Dell UltraSharp U2415is a 24-inch 1920 x 1200 16:10 monitor. It uses an IPS panel. The visuals are amazing. It covers 99% sRGB Color Gamut so If you’re a professional working on images or a photographer, this monitor will be useful to you. The brightness and contrast levels are also great. The screen has a matte anti-glare coating to prevent any distracting reflections from forming on it. For gamers, the resolution you choose will be tied to the power of your gaming console or PC, but normal office users shouldn’t worry about this. For you, price is the most important consideration here, followed by the amount of room you have at home, followed by the amount of space you need on your screen. Among the best brands in this regard are Dell, Alienware, BenQ, Acer, LG, Samsung, HP, Lenovo, and Asus, but they are by no means the only ones. Which monitor quality is best? Next up: how you'll actually connect your new monitor to your computer or other device. This equation is anything but simple, and often leads to confused buyers spending more than they need on marketing mumbo-jumbo.It’s also quite a practical monitor. I’m not overly fond of the OSD controls, yes, but there’s no arguing with the versatile stand and four-port USB-A hub. This is an indication that you’re getting relatively good value for money – although of course, it’s still hard to ignore the price. Assuming you can afford it, however, the PG32UQ is a great monitor for next-gen gamers and PC fans alike.

Bendable monitors are fairly new in the gaming world, but if you want to be an early adopter, the Corsair Xeneon Flex 45WQHD240 has just made a solid case about needing them. This versatile gaming monitor lets you enjoy pretty much every game genre as they're meant to be visually enjoyed, thanks to its bendable panel that offers up to 800R of deep curvature. As this is a VA panel, ghosting is a definite issue, so we’d suggest that e-sports fanatics look elsewhere. If you’re a casual gamer with a small budget and big expectations, however, the G27QC won’t disappoint.

Do I Need a Low Pixel Response Rate?

With its stratospheric price tag, 6K resolution, and standout color accuracy, the Pro Display XDR has a very specific target market: professional Mac-based content creators. In fact, it only officially works with Apple devices. If you're a Mac creator and don't have the small fortune needed for the XDR, look to the Apple Studio Display, which is still pricey but a pittance compared with the XDR. Windows-based creators should look to the likes of the Asus ProArt PA34VC Professional Curved Monitor instead. Don’t limit yourself to a single panel type; the gaps between each type are always shrinking. We list this information so that you know what to expect from the monitor you choose. Business monitors usually offer ergonomic stands that can be adjusted for maximum comfort. Often, they'll offer pivot adjustability, which lets you rotate the screen 90 degrees for viewing in portrait mode. Look for a monitor with an auto-rotate feature that flips the image for you when you change the orientation. Other business-centric features include a generous (three- or four-year) warranty with an overnight exchange service, built-in USB ports, and an aggressive recycling program.