4k monitors clearer than a lcd monitors factory

After months of saving up to build your dream PC, the day has finally arrived to start it up for the very first time. In a single press, everything seems to be working great. Except, of course, until you realize that your expensive 4K monitor is blurry.

Besides factory defects, there are plenty of reasons why a 4K monitor doesn"t live up to its full potential. Sometimes, it"s due to device settings or connectors. Other times, it"s due to things beyond your control, like program development constraints.

In most cases, with blurry monitors, the problem isn"t even with the monitor itself. Sometimes, it"s because the monitor doesn"t have a built-in scaling process, which stretches pixels to fit the screen real estate.

Scaling is how much everything on the screen should be enlarged when measured in pixels. With scaling, onscreen elements, like windows, buttons, and text, are adjusted so that they aren’t too small to see or use. Alternatively, bad scaling can cause severe distortion, poor picture quality, and overall blurriness.

With this, you have to manually change the scaling. While each monitor will differ depending on its manufacturer, you can check your monitor settings and play around with its settings until you find the ideal scale.

To change the scale on a Mac, go toSystem Preferences > Display. While on Windows, you can go to Settings > System > Display toadjust the Scale and Layout preferences.

Sometimes, the issue goes a little deeper with blurry 4K screens. While most people don"t really need a powerful Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), people who have 4K monitors may benefit from it.

In fact, even if you buy the most expensive screen possible, it"s not going to do much if your device"s graphics card can"t create images that give your favorite game or video justice.

Graphic Processing Units or GPUs are processors designed to manipulate and alter memory. GPUs accelerate graphics rendering in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. So, while most commercial GPUs are compatible with 4K monitors, their power determines if the output will be blurry or not.

When using an LCD monitor, make sure to check its manual or online for its native resolution. If Native Resolution is not enabled, the screen will likely display blurry images. In addition, many console users also report improved image quality after altering the brightness, sharpness, and saturation of the monitor.

In some cases, we also assume a screen is blurry because our wallpaper doesn"t look as great on the screen as it does on our other screens. However, this can easily be fixed if you change your wallpaper to the correct resolution.

As with many other peripherals, its connections can be the reason why they"re not working so well. As for 4K monitors, the reason it is blurry can be simply because you are using the wrong type of cables.

For example, VGA cables are often used to connect to monitors to CPUs. However, there are two types of VGA cables—analog and digital. If your monitor is digital while your VGA cable is analog, the result will be a blurry screen.

Alternatively, HDMI connectors used to connect laptops with monitors can also be of poor quality, leading to unstable connections. To achieve 60 frames per second over HDMI, your graphics card need to also support HDMI 2.0.

No matter how fancy your monitor, it will look blurry when the screen hasn"t been given a good wipe down after sometime. After turning off your monitor, use a dry cloth to remove any dust that may have gathered on the screen. It is important to do this regularly, especially if you live in a dust-prone area.

If possible, use a lint-free microfiber cloth on non-porous surfaces, which is lightly dampened with distilled water or 70% isopropyl alcohol. Alternatively, you can also purchase special screen-safe cleaning kits which include sprays, cloths, and brushes for those hard to reach corners.

In recent times, Microsoft users have reported issues with scaling when using 4K monitors. While many of these issues can be addressed by various third-party apps and manual scaling changes, some problems cannot.

For example, some old programs whose developers have abandoned them may not offer these settings at all. With this, users will be stuck with blurry images forever, which can lead to eye strain. Alternatively, you may need to change your preferred app to one with developers that prioritize high DPI usage.

In addition, even with active development teams, some applications are really not capable of high DPI support. In some cases, especially for smaller companies, it"s not a priority because most of its users don"t need it. So, unfortunately, you"ll be stuck with barely legible text until they can find a way to make it work.

Whether it"s finding the right graphics card, settings, or cables, there are plenty of ways to make sure that you can make the most out of your 4K monitor. If none of these quick fixes work, it may be possible that the concern is out of your hands and into the developers who manage your favorite programs.

Alternatively, some problems with 4K monitors indicate that you may need to send your monitor out for repair or even full replacement. If you"re a creative, gamer, or hobbyist who enjoys large screens, finding a way to make your 4K monitor work for you is a worthwhile endeavor.

After your 4K screen is up and running, it may be time to upgrade your sound system or chair. Aside from your monitor, there are definitely more ways to enhance the immersive experience of your set-up.

Dell’s UltraSharp U2720Q was our main pick in an older version of this guide; compared with the S2722QC, it has a higher, 90 W USB-C charging rate and a slimmer border around the screen. If you can find it for around the same price as the S2722QC, it’s still worth considering. But as of this writing, it’s either out of stock or considerably more expensive than the S2722QC, and it’s just not worth paying extra for.

The Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q was a budget pick in a previous version of this guide, and it’s still a great monitor with decent contrast and color accuracy, an adjustable stand, and FreeSync support.

The biggest failing of the ViewSonic VG2756-4K is its mediocre 949:1 contrast ratio, which is okay in a budget monitor but harder to swallow in a model that usually costs around $500. Its performance in our color-accuracy tests was also mediocre. It has many of the other features we look for in a good 4K monitor, including a USB-C port, a USB hub (along with an Ethernet port), a flexible stand, and a three-year warranty. But its image quality is a step down from that of the Dell S2722QC and the HP Z27k G3.

Lenovo’s ThinkVision P27u-10 was our runner-up pick in an older version of this guide. It’s similar to the Dell S2722QC and the HP Z27k G3 overall, both in design and in the number and types of ports it has (though its USB-C port provides only 45 W of power, rather than the 65 W of the Dell monitor or the 100 W of the HP monitor). When we tested it in 2019, we found its colors to be fairly accurate but its contrast to be mediocre, and we also observed minor image-retention issues. In addition, its stand doesn’t swivel.

The LG 27BK67U-B and the LG 27BL55U-B are 4K monitors with good color that cost less than $400; the 67U-B has a USB hub and USB-C, whereas the 55U-B omits those features and generally costs less. But in our tests both monitors suffered from image retention, leaving behind noticeable afterimages that other budget monitors we tested didn’t have.

We dismissed the ViewSonic VP2768-4K and the BenQ PD2700U for their lack of USB-C connectivity, which is a must-have in $400-and-up monitors these days.

We dismissed the NEC EA271U-BK in 2019. It has handy features like picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture, and its stand and port layout are fine. But it generally costs more than our other 27-inch picks, so we didn’t test it in later rounds.

We also didn’t test the 27-inch LG UltraFine 5K Display, an even-higher-resolution screen for Macs with Thunderbolt 3. It’s very expensive, and getting it to work with Windows is either complicated or impossible depending on the PC you’re using.

Dell’s UltraSharp U3219Q was our upgrade pick in an older version of this guide, and it’s still a great monitor. It has a 90 W USB-C charging limit, and it includes a KVM switch, which makes the monitor easier to use with multiple computers at the same time. But it’s usually either out of stock, back-ordered, or much more expensive than it used to be on most retailer sites.

HP’s Z32 is a good monitor, with a respectable 1250:1 contrast ratio and decent color accuracy. It also offers a good port selection and a 65 W USB-C charging rate, though it doesn’t include an Ethernet port. But the Z32 is often out of stock or back-ordered at many retailers.

The Acer B326HK and the BenQ PD3200U are sometimes cheaper than the 32-inch monitors we considered, but when we tested them in 2017 and 2019, respectively, we were disappointed by their mediocre contrast and color accuracy. They’re also missing newer features that we consider essential in a high-end monitor, such as a USB-C port.

We dismissed some 32-inch monitors without testing them because they were missing one or more of the features we were looking for. The ViewSonic ColorPro VP3268-4K lacked a USB-C port and didn’t cost much less than monitors that had one, and the BenQ EW3280U omitted a USB hub and had a limited stand that tilted the monitor up and down only.

Most companies have stopped making new 24-inch 4K monitors, but we did test the LG 24UD58-B against the Dell P2415Q in 2019. The LG’s screen was less accurate than the Dell’s by a wide margin. This model also had fewer ports (two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort connection), and its stand tilted the monitor up and down only.

We didn’t test the 24-inch LG UltraFine 4K Display, which Apple recommends for Macs that use Thunderbolt 3 ports. It also costs more than our other picks.

One of the best 4K monitors is probably going to be a must for anyone working in visual design these days. Ultra high-definition (UHD) provides increased pixel density for a cleaner, sharper image with more detail, making it especially sought after for those working in photography and video.

UHD, or 4K as it"s most commonly known, means a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. That"s four times as many pixels as full HD (FHD), providing more desktop workspace and a more detailed image, provided your using at least a 27in monitor (the extra detail isn"t really notable on small screens). The good news is that the best 4K monitors have become a lot more affordable. In fact, 4K is almost the norm these days, so deciding whether to go for 4K or not is no longer much of quandary.

The range of 4K monitors now available is huge, with plenty of budget options around as well as high-end screens aimed at professionals. The vast range of displays available can make it hard to know which is the best 4K monitor for your needs, so that"s what we aim to help resolve in the guide below.

We"ve made our own pick of the best 4K monitors based on our own reviews, on recommendations from working creatives and a full comparison of their specs. We"ve weighed up the pros and cons of each screen and evaluated them for build, ergonomics, image quality, useful features, brightness colour coverage and accuracy and connectivity options. We"ve also considered value for money to provide options for different budgets.

If you"re a professional photographer or video editor who needs the very best, jump down to the Eizo ColorEdge CG319X at number 4 or the Asus ProArt PA32UC-K at number 6 in our list. The reason they"re not at the top of the list because of their price and that they"re overkill for many people. When we factoring in value, cheaper 4K monitors like the Dell S3221QS and Samsung U28E590D have made it higher since they meet most people"s needs at a much more accessible price.

If you"re looking for the best 4K monitor for a specific task, also check our guides to the best monitor for photo editing and the best monitors for video editing. And if you work with multiple monitors daisy-chained and fancy an alternative, see our pick of the best ultrawide monitors.

Pro features for under a grand put this at the top of our list of the best 4K monitors. Following in a long tradition of fine displays from Dell, the UltraSharp U3219Q offers full sRGB covering, 95 per cent DCI-P3 and exceptional colour uniformity, making it ideal for all types of creatives, including those working in photo and video.

Dell takes second place on our pick of the best 4K monitors too, but this time with a much more affordable display. So OK, perhaps it"s not exactly cheap, but it"s a lot more affordable than most good 4K monitors. It looks stunning too. Dell monitors aren"t known exactly known for their sleek looks, but the curved S3221QS is a lot more elegant than its name, standing out from all those black and grey business monitors with its white back and base.

Professional 4K monitors can be massively expensive (just see the stunning Eizo ColorEdge CG319X and the Asus ProArt PA32UC-K below), but there are now some fantastic UHD screens that strike a great balance between specs and price. Our favourite, certainly for photography, is the BenQ SW321C PhotoVue. When we reviewed it, we found it to be the perfect (reasonably) affordable 32in 4K monitor for photo editing for performance and usability.

The Eizo ColourEdge CG319X is the connoisseur’s choice in high-quality displays. Eizo displays are a very familiar sight in professional video and photography studios – and this 31-inch 4K monitor, with a 10-bit display and 24-bit colour look-up table, is a stunner. The CG319X also boasts one feature that sets it apart from competing high-end 4K screens: 4096 x 2160 resolution rather than 3840 x 2160. This reflects the slightly taller 4K standard used in digital video production.

For a more compact 4K monitor, this 28-inch Samsung 4K display follows very closely on the heels of the Dell 4K S3221QS at number 2 on our list of the best 4K monitors above in terms of value. It lacks pro features but there"s still 100 per cent support for the sRGB colour space, a high 300cd/square metre brightness level and support for 60Hz 4K.

Asus"s flagship ProArt PA32UC-K boasts a premium appearance, 10-bit colour, a range of inputs (including Thunderbolt 3), 1,000-nit brightness and great colour accuracy, using a 14-bit look-up table (LUT). Hardware support for colour calibrators is also included out of the box and accuracy can hit 100 per cent of sRGB, 99.5 per cent of Adobe RGB, 95 per cent DCI-P3 and 85 per cent Rec.20. So basically, it"s a solid screen for those who need accurate colours for photo or video editing.

Most displays are 16:9 or 16:10 format, so the 3:2 Huawei Mateview immediately got our attention when we tested it out. This slightly squarer format is good for viewing certain types of content – viewing images and documents in portrait format is easier, and a picture taken on a standard camera can be displayed full bleed. Of course, the flip side is that widescreen video will have big black bars on the top and bottom – so it’s probably not the best choice for movie-watching

The MateView is firmly pitched at working creatives. Its IPS panel is capable of displaying 100 per cent of the sRGB colour gamut, and 98 per cent of the DCI-P3 video colour space. It also has a maximum brightness level of 500 nits, and a 1200:1 contrast ratio. The sleek, slim-bezel design is a nice addition too, and we found the touch-sensitive smart bar to be an ergonomic way to control the monitor. It"s available at a tempting price (although there are some stock issues in the US), and we reckon it"s a solid choice of monitor for creatives.

The BenQ EW3280U is a great all-round display with impressive colour accuracy and coverage is enough and an attractive price. It may be part of BenQ"s entertainment line, but we tested the monitor for different tasks over several days and found it to be good at handling productivity and creative workloads, as well as gaming. The screen size and resolution make it a great option for designers and creators who aren"t ready to commit to splashing out something like the Eizo and Asus options above.

The Samsung M8 is a somewhat novel proposition. It feels almost like its aiming to be an Apple all-in-one, but without quite having the all-in-one bit. I say quite because the monitor can perform some tasks without a PC attached, including browsing, emails, gaming and Smart TV streaming.

Why would you want such features? Well, the Smart TV functionality could save your from buying a TV (it comes with a remote and all major streaming apps already come preinstalled and work like you"d expect on a Samsung TV). You can do quick tasks like send an email or use Microsoft 365 without booting up your PC, saving a bit of time, and you can play games via the Xbox Game Pass if you don"t have gaming-capable PC. There"s also voice assistant functionality, not Google Home Assistant or Siri, unfortunately, but we found that Alexa and Samsung"s own Bixby work well.

As for screen quality, its peak brightness is only 400 nits but we found that the dynamic HDR10+ works well to recover detail in dark and light areas. The contrast ratio as stated is 3,000:1, though the highest we measured was 2,530:1. But based on our test results, the screen offers 100% sRGB, 89% AdobeRGB, and 94% DCI-P3 colour gamuts – pretty good for creative work, although pro video editors and digital artists will be better served with one of the pro-level monitors above. After calibration, we got an impressive Delta-E average of 0.89 for colour accuracym and uniformity was also good.

This 4K display also benefits from an attractive, thin, light design (although the ports and OSD button could be better located and the mount doesn"t offer full articulation). The biggest disappointment is the sound quality – it seems they decided you"ll be using speakers or headphones, so why bother? That aside, there"s plenty here to make this a very interesting 4K monitor.

Compared with some of the pricey high-end colour-accurate Eizo and Asus screens above, the Philips Brilliance 328P (another really catchy name, right?) is an excellent alternative, as it’s great value for money while still offering solid visuals. It’s a 31.5-inch IPS panel with measured 99 per cent sRGB and 73 per cent AdobeRGB coverage, a thin-bezel design and a few extras such as a pop-up webcam that works when the built-in USB hub is connected.

Photographers and videographers who need high resolution may also want to consider this more compact LG option, which offers a 98% DCI-P3 colour gamut, great colour accuracy and typical brightness of 540 nits. The stand is height-and-tilt adjustable so you can find the right position for you, and the Thunderbolt 3 port supports 4K Daisy Chain so you can set this up with another monitor.

Viewsonic has a few colour accurate displays on the market, and the VP2785-4K is the most high-end model in its catalogue. It"s a 27-inch 4K IPS screen, sporting 100 per cent sRGB and quoted 99 per cent AdobeRGB coverage. It’s a bit fiddly to put together, requiring a screwdriver to attach the panel to the stand, but the overall design is extremely svelte, with a thin and light build, near edge-to-edge screen, and only a small bezel at the bottom that accommodates touch-sensitive controls.

With a 14-bit LUT, 700:1 contrast ratio and 375-nit brightness, the picture quality of the VP2785-4K won’t disappoint, although it doesn’t quite deliver the same eye-popping colours of the most high-end 4K displays money can buy.What is a 4K monitor?4K, also known as ultra-high definition or UHD, is a measure of a screen"s resolution. 4K monitors have a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, which compares to a resolution of 1290 x 1080 for full high definition (FHD). This means that it"s almost four times FHD resolution. What that means in practice is that images look sharper and tighter, which is great for viewing HD video and higher quality video game graphics.Do I need a 4K monitor?There are a couple of main reasons that you might benefit from a 4K monitor. Firstly, for your own enjoyment. Even if you"ll be using your screen purely for entertainment purposes rather than for work, 4K offers a notably sharper picture, which can enhance the enjoyment of watching films, series and playing games. That said, when it comes to PC gaming, 4K UHD resolution is very demanding and many will find that the improvement in image quality isn"t worth the drop in performance.

The other reason you might want one of the best 4K monitors is for work. If you work in any visual creative area, a 4K screen can improve your experience by allowing you to see your work in more definition. If you work in video, you"ll almost certainly need at least a 4K monitor since 4K video has almost become the norm. If you"re producing 4K video for a client, then you really need to be able to view it in 4K while you work.Is a 4K monitor worth it?Today, for most professionals it"s almost certainly worth investing one of the best 4K monitors. They"re still more expensive than 1080p displays, but they have come down in price a lot as they become standard, and they"re now so much more affordable than they were that it"s no longer such a big decision.

While 4K doesn"t make a lot of sense for a small monitor, from 27-inches and up, it makes a huge difference from FHD that will be immediately apparent to anyone. Gary Heiting, an optometrist and senior editor of the website AllAboutVision, even says that the increased screen resolution can reduce the risk of eye strain, so working in 4K over long sessions can be more comfortable even if you don"t need to produce 4K video.Is my computer compatible with a 4K monitor?You might hope that buying one of the best 4K monitors will automatically improve your viewing experience, but it"s important to know that not every laptop or PC can support 4K. Most recent PCs or Macs should have no problem displaying 4K resolution, but it"s a good idea to check your screen"s recommended display resolution before you buy a new screen. We have a guide to screen resolution that may help.

To check your device, Right-click your desktop and select “Screen Resolution”. Under display settings, you"ll find a range of screen recommendations. If 3840×2160 is listed, you can be confident that your computer will indeed support a 4K monitor. If not, then you"ll need to upgrade your computer as well as your monitor if you want to enjoy 4K video rendering.

There"s also the issue of ports. You’ll need to make sure your PC has either an HDMI 2.0 port or DisplayPort 1.4 port that can support 4K since earlier versions of these ports do not. Your CPU And GPU also have an impact on your device"s ability to run 4K, because 4K is more demanding.

If your device uses Intel integrated graphics, you"ll want to have at least a 4th generation (Haswell) processor core processor. If you have Ivy Bridge or earlier, you"ll need to have a recent graphics card installed (if you"re unsure, you can check your processor at ark.intel.com to find out what the motherboard or integrated CPU graphics is capable of.How do I choose the best 4K monitor?You can now go 4K without spending a fortune, but the best 4K monitors can still be very expensive if you want pro-level calibration and the best colour accuracy. If you"re going to be using your screen for any kind of colour work, then you want precise colour accuracy. Most entry-level 4K monitors actually do a fairly decent job, but the best 4K monitors for designers will have full coverage of the AdobeRGB or DCI-P3 colour space.

Investing in a colour-accurate display will get you an excellent screen for black levels and brightness that will serve you well whether you"re working on images or video. You"ll want to invest in the best monitor calibrator too unless the monitor you choose comes with one of its own.

After colour, size is obviously another major factor in choosing the best 4K monitor for you. The most popular choice is 27-inches but 32-inch screens are becoming more common and get the most out of the 4K resolution.

You"ll also want to check what ports a monitor has before you buy it. The two cheapest options in our list of the best 4K monitors don"t have a USB-C connection, something that many creatives will want for hooking up devices quickly and easily. Most monitors have DisplayPort and HDMI ports, but this can"t be taken as given either – the LG Ultrafine 24MD4KL is well kitted out with USB-C and the faster Thunderbolt 3 ports, but skips the older ports.

With a significant improvement of optical technology, 4K applications have become more and more popular. The 4K video has become synonymous with "high-definition."

The 4K LCD monitors are the most common 4K devices. Both professional video producers, as well as consumers, use 4K monitors.    However, there are many different types of 4K LCD monitors on the market. Many of us may ask why some 4K monitors offer a horizontal resolution of 4096 pixels, and some offer 3840 pixels? And what are the differences between "Real" 4K and "Fake" 4K monitors? In this article, we will answer all those questions.

4K UHD is the most common abbreviation for the 4K applications. But initially, 4K and UHD are two different standards developed for various industries. The term "4K" originally derives from the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), a consortium of motion picture studios that has developed a standard for 4K video content, applying 4096 x 2160 pixels as the resolution standard.

UHD stands for Ultra High Definition, a standard for broadcast and consumer display. UHD is four times the resolution of Full HD. In other words, compared to the Full HD resolution, which is 1920 x 1080 pixels, UHD features a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels.

The 4K in cinema standard (4096 x 2160 pixels) and the UHD in consumer display standard (3840 x 2160 pixels) are different in horizontal lines. The aspect ratio of videos for TV broadcasting is 16:9; however, the standard aspect ratio is 1.85:1, equivalent to 4096 x 2160 pixels in the cinema industry. Although the overall pixels of 4096 x 2160pixel and 3840 x 2160pixel are slightly different, the horizontal pixels are both close to 4000 pixels. Thus, 4096 x 2160pixel and 3840 x 2160pixel are generally referred to as "4K Standard ". Additionally, the 4K standard is more commonly known as 4K UHD to emphasize the difference between 4K and Full HD.

The RGB color space is a common technique applied in the panel. The RGBW technology is another technique that uses four sub-pixels comprising red, green, blue, and white in the panel. In an RGB panel, each column has 3840 pixels, and each pixel consists of three independent sub-pixels – red (R), green (G), and blue (B), so there are 11520 sub-pixels (3840x3) in each column. The RGBW panel comprises four sub-pixels: red, green, blue, and white (W). Each pixel is made up of four sub-pixels: red, green, blue, and white. And for every pixel, there are only three-color pixels, thus resulting in 3840 x 3 x ¾ = 8640 color sub-pixels in an RGBW panel. The total numbers of sub-pixels are only 75% of the RGB panel. The competition among the panel manufacturers is very intensive, some RGB panel manufacturers would like to advertise their RGB panels as superior to the competitors" RGBW panels, so call the RGB panel is the "Real 4K" panel which compares to the RGBW panel as "Fake 4K panel".

Because the RGBW panel has the white color sub-pixel, the white-color light results in the image"s color saturation not being as high as the RGB panel. However, the RGBW panel also has features that the RGB panel doesn"t have. The white-color sub-pixels of the RGBW panel provide better transmittance, yielding a better color transparent image. Also, as the panel"s light transparency improves, the RGBW panel can achieve the same brightness as the RGB panel by using fewer backlight modules. As a result, the RGBW panel consumes less power, and the manufacturing cost of the RGBW panel is also lower than that of RGB panels.

The optical technology keeps on improving, and the 4K displays are not the final milestone for the optical industry. The new 8K applications have been on the way. The technical roadmap of the optical industry goes toward higher resolution. The digital resolution will sooner or later go beyond the limit of human eyes. Here we suggest that consumers do not fall into the "Real 4K" or the "Fake 4K" myth when choosing a 4K monitor. Resolution should not be the only determining factor for purchasing a monitor. More essential elements such as screen size, color presentation, viewing experience, price, warranty etc. should be considered before making the purchasing decision.

The companies that manufacture computer monitors and high-end televisions are actively seeking ways of increasing the average selling price of flat-panel screens. The recent trend, however, has been going in the opposite direction, with large TVs and a wide range of computer monitors becoming cheaper and cheaper via economies of scale derived through mass production.

New technology often paves the way for increasing prices and profit margins. The first flat-panel computer monitors and TVs were made available roughly 10 years ago and consumers were willing to pay the premium for technology that, compared to traditional CRTs, saved space and offered higher resolutions. A few years later, technology dubbed "Full-HD" or "1080p" became the central message, enticing consumers to spend more for potentially higher image quality.

The next evolution in flat-panel image quality - be it a TV or computer monitor - is known as "4K" or "Ultra HD." The industry hopes that the introduction of such screens will reinvigorate the premium market and convince consumers to spend more for cutting-edge technology, just as they did for Full-HD.

Modern LCD monitors work by packing in a large number of pixels on the screen and then generating the appropriate colours by shining light, usually from LEDs, through colour filters. Each pixel can therefore be set to a different colour, and the combination of different-coloured pixels make up the image you see. Text tends to use black-coloured pixels, the background is usually set to white, and menus are often grey. Look very, very closely at the text and you may be able to identify individual pixels.

A typical Full-HD or 1080p screen has a total of 2,073,600 pixels (1,920x1,080). These are usually present on computer monitors ranging from 22-27in or TV screens from 32in to 60in. As you sit closer to monitors than to the living-room TV, the pixel density - just how many pixels you can fit into a given size - is necessarily higher for the PC monitors, which makes it nicer and easier to read text and view high-quality images.

4K is the industry buzzword that encapsulates greater detail and more lifelike images and video on the next generation of TVs and monitors. An increased number of pixels are at the heart of 4K, too. TVs and computer monitors tend to regard 4K, or Ultra HD, as a screen possessing a 3,840x2,160-pixel resolution - or exactly 4x the available pixels on a Full-HD display. This means there are 8,294,400 pixels (8.3MP) on the screen.

It"s generally accepted that perceived image quality improves as the pixel-count is increased, so having more pixels, if possible, is advantageous. Drawing an obvious analogy, an 8MP digital camera tends to take more detailed, lifelike pictures than a 2MP one; the same is true in terms of display, because an 8MP screen can provide more vibrant and realistic images.

If it is clear and obvious that more pixels make for a better viewing experience, why isn"t the market awash with 4K screens, you may ask? There are significant manufacturing complexities in ensuring screens with 8.3-million pixels are produced in a cost-effective manner. 2013 appears to be the year of 4K, though, as the major TV producers are likely to have premium 4K sets available in the next few months.

The other wrinkle to significant 4K adoption is content. 4K screens work best when fed with video recorded and transmitted in a native 4K format. This is still relatively thin on the ground, especially for live-sports events, and most expert commentators agree that it will take two or three years until there is widespread transmitted and pre-recorded 4K available.

And just as the manufacturing complexity increases with 4x the number of pixels, 4K introduces bandwidth limitations with respect to transmission, as pushing that much data - 4x Full-HD, remember - puts a strain on current compression techniques. New video-compression techniques, such as HVEC (aka H.265), will help in ensuring that 4K transmission is possible without overburdening networks.

While it can be argued that 4K for TVs is still in its infancy, the high-resolution technology does make immediate sense for computer monitors. The extra pixels, over and above Full-HD, enable more applications to be opened and viewed at the same time, which is a definite plus for power users who need multiple programs running concurrently.

Component giant Asus is one of the very first to put its name behind 4K computer monitors. Touted as the "world"s first consumer 4K monitor" and initially available as a 31.5in unit with a 39in model to follow, the Asus PQ321QE was officially released in July 2013, with a shipping date of August 2013.

The 31.5in screen is built using Sharp"s anti-glare, LED-backlit IGZO panel technology. The use of Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) in the LCD panel enables the PQ321QE to be quite thin, measuring only 35mm at its thickest point, and the technology helps reduce energy consumption, which is less than 93W when in use. As well as the vast number of pixels on show, the monitor uses "deep" 10-bit RGB (over a billion colours).

Driving 8MP can also cause potential issues from a connectivity point of view, so Asus uses either two dual-link DVI ports (ganged together) or the very latest DisplayPort technology, one that can drive the 4K resolution from a single cable.

The cost of such pixel luxury and cutting-edge technology isn"t cheap, as you would expect, with the 31.5in monitor retailing for £3,000. But the lure of running the same resolution as present four regular monitors ganged together, on one screen, is sure to tempt the deep-walleted enthusiast.

With all the major industry TV and monitor manufacturers and a large number of broadcasters and content providers putting their collective weight behind 4K it is only a matter of when, not if, the new resolution becomes the standard for premium displays. It is estimated that 62,000 4K-compatible displays were sold in 2012, rising to 780,000 in 2013 and a staggering 22 million by 2017.

Asus has already jumped on the 4K bandwagon by offering technology aficionados the possibility of running an ultra-high-resolution display right now, with the PQ321QE on pre-order from the following retailers:

Let"s say you have $1,000 to burn on a desktop PC gaming monitor. You could buy a brand-new 4K display with quantum dots, high dynamic range, and a fast refresh rate, or splurge on a curved QHD monitor so wide that it stretches into your peripheral vision while playing.Alternatively, you could venture onto eBay and spend similar money on a CRT monitor from 20 years ago.The latter option might not be as ill-advised as it seems. Within PC gaming circles, some people insist that cathode ray tube monitors, despite their lower resolutions, smaller screens, and considerable bulk, are superior for games because they respond to input faster and have less motion blur than LCDs. Although this argument"s been floating around for years, it just got a new wave of attention from Eurogamer"s Digital Foundry, which recently created a video extolling the outdated display tech.Advertisement"Today"s premium-priced gaming LCDs are trying very hard to recapture CRT"s major benefits—low latency, high refresh rates and reduced input lag—but as good as many of these screens are, for our money nothing beats a good old-fashioned cathode ray tube display for desktop gaming—not even the very best LCD screens on the market," Digital Foundry editor Richard Leadbetter wrote.

Unfortunately, getting a CRT monitor that works well with modern PC games is a lot harder than buying a 4K LCD monitor on Amazon. While CRT TVs and monitors are readily available on Craigslist or your local thrift store (sometimes even for free) only a handful of models support the widescreen aspect ratios that some modern games require. The most prized CRT monitor of them all, Sony"s GDM-FW900, recently sold for $999 on eBay, and buying a compatible graphics card or video adapter could raise the final cost even further.The payoff, however, will be imperceptible input lag and no motion blur, along with a feeling, perhaps, that you"ve kept another aging monitor out of an e-waste graveyard. PC gamers have arguably spent more for less before.

The case for CRT gamingOn a CRT monitor, the screen is coated in millions of phosphor dots, with one red, green, and blue dot for every individual pixel. To light up each pixel, an electron beam scans across the screen, focusing electrons on individual phosphor dots and causing them to emit photons. Applying more voltage to the system generates more electrons, in turn causing each dot to emit more light.That"s a lot to wrap your head around, but the thing to keep in mind is that the electron-to-photon exchange happens instantly. While CRTs do have some sources of lag⁠—namely, the time spent buffering each video frame and scanning each line of the frame from top to bottom on the screen⁠—those delays are on the order of microseconds. When you move your mouse or press a button on the keyboard, the response time is imperceptible.Advertisement"It"s the chemistry of the phosphors," said Barry Young, a longtime CRT display analyst who is now the CEO of the OLED Association. "You hit it with an electron, and it creates a photon immediately."By contrast, an LCD requires physical movement on the part of every pixel. On an LCD, the back of the display emits a constant stream of white light, which passes through a polarizer and onto an array of liquid crystals. Applying voltage to each crystal causes them to twist, altering the amount of light that comes through the screen"s front polarizer.Compared to electron-photon conversion, the physical movement of liquid crystals inside an LCD display takes a lot more time, introducing input lag. It also creates blurriness when there"s a lot of motion happening across the screen.Raymond Soneira, the president of display research firm DisplayMate, has found that this issue even persists on panels with faster refresh rates than the usual 60 Hz. This may explain why Digital Foundry"s John Linneman described the CRT experience as "cleaner, smoother, [and] nicer" compared to even the best LCDs."The issue here is that you"re comparing an electronic conversion—that is, from an electron to a photon—with physically twisting the liquid crystal," Young said. "The faster something moves across the panel, the less capable an LCD is with keeping up with the movement."In fairness, LCD panel makers have done a lot to close the gap with CRTs. Young points out that liquid crystals twist faster than they used to, and LCD panels can further reduce latency and motion blur by buffering an additional frame in their timing controllers or inserting artificial frames.AdvertisementAs the CEO of the OLED Association, he also argues that OLED displays provide the same responsiveness as CRT monitors because they also involve electron-to-photon conversion, only with organic chemicals (the "O" in OLED is for organic) receiving the voltage instead of phosphor dots."There"s really no difference between OLEDs and CRTs," Young said.Still, large-screen OLED panel makers to date have focused nearly all their energy on televisions, so the only OLED monitor on the market today is a 22-inch panel from Asus that costs $4,000. Young said the manufacturer of those panels, JOLED, is building a larger factory next year, bringing down costs, It may be a while until OLED monitors can compete with even the best LCDs on price.

Hunting for the CRT holy grailIf you"re convinced that a CRT monitor is the way to go, you"ll still have a lot of competition in finding a great one.Adam Taylor, who creates educational tech videos under the name EposVox on YouTube, has spent years trying to find a Sony GDM-FW900 in decent condition. He"s set up multi-keyword searches on sites like eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace, and regularly puts out feeler posts in his area to see if anyone might have any leads. For a monitor that doesn"t need any repairs and doesn"t have any major cosmetic issues, Taylor said in an interview that he"s willing to pay up to $500.The FW900"s big selling point, Taylor said, is its 16:10 aspect ratio, which is much wider than the 4:3 aspect ratio of most CRT monitors. Although a 16:9 aspect ratio is more common among LCD monitors today, most games still support 16:10, which would fill the entire screen on a FW900. The monitor also has a maximum resolution of 2304x1440 at a refresh rate of 80 Hz—pretty good even by modern standards—and it can hit a super-smooth refresh rate of 160 Hz when the resolution is cut in half.Advertisement"It can do ridiculous things while still supporting a modern workflow, because it"s 16:10," Taylor said.Beyond the FW900, Taylor said the same monitor has sold under different makes and models, including the HP A7217A, SGI GDM-FW9011, and Sun GDM-FW9010, but those are no easier to come by. A couple 16:9 CRT monitors also exist, including the Intergraph InterView 28HD96 (famously used by John Carmack to code Quake) and 24HD96, but they"re even rarer.Even if you can find one, you"ll need a graphics card with an analog output, such as Nvidia"s 900 series and AMD"s 300 series cards, or a digital-to-analog converter. You"ll also have to go in knowing the monitor may not last. As the phosphor inside a CRT ages, it will naturally lose its luminance, and that"s assuming it doesn"t suffer any other issues along the way. Repairing a CRT can be tedious and dangerous, Taylor says, and repair shops are practically nonexistent."It"s one of those things, you don"t get to keep it forever," Taylor said. "You know that getting into it, because it"s very old technology that is very prone to problems and needing maintenance."Still, Taylor is he"s glad to see CRT monitors getting another round of attention. That"s not always the case with some of his fellow CRT enthusiasts, who fear that more media coverage will inflate prices and bring in too many newbies, Taylor said. But outside of some occasional instances of people capitalizing on the hype (like the FW900 that sold for $999 on eBay) he hasn"t seen much evidence of price gouging. Most CRT monitor sales, he said, come from people who"ve hoarded them in garages and basements and just want to get rid of them.Besides, getting CRTs into the hands of people who want to play with them is better than having them wind up in warehouses, waiting for a recycling solution that never comes."We have no way established, at least in the U.S., to get rid of these things, and so to see people use them and have fun with them in a way that keeps them from just being destroyed pieces of glass and lead in the streets is a super good place for me," Taylor says. "There"s a whole elitist, "This is better," aspect to it, but just using the screens and having fun, I think, is really important."

The shift to remote work has sent millions scrambling to improve their home office. There are many ways to do this, but the most important upgrade is the most obvious: the monitor.

A monitor is key. You’ll use it hour after hour, day after day, year after year. Monitors even have the audacity to resist obsolescence, so the monitor you buy today might be the one you’re still using in a decade. (My editor and I both have decade-old Dell U2412 monitors that are still going strong.)

It’s an important decision, but not a difficult one, as there are dozens of great monitors to choose from. This guide will help you pick the best for your home office.

I’ve reviewed monitors and laptop displays for over a decade. While different monitors suit different owners, I believe the idealhome office monitor has a 27-inch screen and 4K resolution. It uses an IPS panel, reaches a brightness of at least 250 nits, and can display 99 percent of the sRGB color gamut. Around back you’ll find a USB-C port that can deliver enough power to charge a laptop, along with HDMI and DisplayPort, plus an ergonomic stand that can adjust for height and attaches to a VESA mount.

Finding a monitor that ticks most of these boxes won’t be too difficult. LG’s UltraFine line, Dell’s USB-C hub monitors, BenQ’s PD2720U and PD2725U, and HP’s U28 can check them all. Only the price may be higher than you hope; snagging any of the above will cost at least $450.

But like I said, different monitors suit different owners. These monitors are ideal for work, but they’re expensive. They also lack features you’ll crave when it’s time to clock out and fire up a round of Valorant. This guide will help you navigate the monitor world’s many caveats and find one that’s a fit for you.

Most standard-width monitors come in one of three sizes: 24-inch, 27-inch, and 32-inch. Bigger is not necessarily better. A large display may look more impressive, but I find it uncomfortable when placed close to my eyes. There are also practical considerations like perceived pixel density. A big monitor will look fuzzier than a smaller monitor of the same resolution unless you move it further away — which isn’t always an option.

That’s why a 27-inch monitor is my go-to recommendation. It’s large enough to look impressive on a typical home office desk but isn’t excessive. In my experience, 32-inch monitors should be reserved for unusually large and deep desks, or corner setups where it’s possible to position the display around four feet away from your face. This is especially true for 32-inch monitors with a resolution below 4K, which look grainy to me at a distance of three feet.

For the same reasons, 24-inch monitors work better if you have a small, slim desk (say, around 24 inches deep or less) or otherwise bring the monitor closer to your face. A 24-inch monitor may sound small, but it’ll look reasonably large because it’s so close. They’re also a great way to save money. You can buy a decent all-around monitor like the HP 24mh for less than $200. It won’t wow you, but it works in a pinch.

You can be creative with size if you mount a VESA-compatible monitor to an arm, as this will let you move it to your preference (including the proper ergonomic height). If you’re just doing it to move a large monitor farther away, though, give it a second thought. Why spend more for a larger monitor, and a monitor arm to position it farther away, instead of buying a smaller display to start?

If you’re looking to stretch more screen across your field of view for multitasking, you might consider an ultrawide monitor instead. There, I think the choice is clear: go for a 34-incher.

Smaller models lack vertical space. A 29-inch ultrawide has less vertical display space than a 24-inch widescreen. Larger models generally have the opposite problem. Many are too big for a typical home office desk, not only because of their screen size, but because of the large stands used to stabilize them (some are several feet wide). You might need to rearrange your desk around a 38-inch or 43-inch monitor or add a top-tier monitor arm to make it work.

What about super-ultrawides, like the 49-inch Samsung Odyssey G9 series? These monitors can offer a commanding view and are a good alternative to a double or triple monitor setup but, like big ultrawides, you’ll need to build your setup around it.

Resolution is key. A higher resolution means more pixels, and more pixels means a sharper, crisper image. More pixels also adds flexibility. You can use scaling features in Windows and MacOS to increase content size for readability, or crank it down to show more content at once.

4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160) looks fantastic and is widely available on 27-inch and 32-inch displays. It’s not that expensive, either. Budget 4K 27-inch monitors like the Dell S2721QS can get you 4K for $350 or less.

With that said, settling for 1440p (2,560 x 1,440) can save money. It’s a bit disappointing on a 32-inch display, unless you move it far away, but it’s workable. A 27-inch 1440p display can look reasonably sharp and is a good choice if you personally don’t care about having the sharpest picture possible.

You should probably avoid 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) in a 27-inch or 32-inch monitor, however. It will look grainy and pixelated. Small fonts and interface elements (such as buttons) can become difficult to see.

Twenty-four-inch monitors are a different story; 4K is rare, and 1440p is often the premium option. In fact, most monitors of this size are 1080p. It’s not ideal but it’s acceptable, as decreasing size increases pixel density. A 24-inch 1080p monitor is noticeably sharper than a 27-inch 1080p monitor.

Want a 34-inch ultrawide? Look for 3,440 x 1,440 resolution. This leads to a pixel density nearly identical to a 27-inch 1440p monitor (about 109 pixels per inch). A handful of super-budget ultrawides use 2,560 x 1,080 resolution which, like 1080p on a large monitor, isn’t pleasant. LG’s 5K Ultrawide line is the sole option if you want 4K-equivalent pixel density in a 34-inch ultrawide, but you’ll typically pay $1,500 or more. LG’s well-reviewed 38-inch with 3,840 x 1,600 resolution costs even more at $1,600 and, though it might offer more screen, is equal in pixel density to a 3,440 x 1,440 ultrawide.

Super-ultrawides also don’t offer much choice. All 49-inch super-ultrawides I’m aware of use the same 5,120 x 1,440 resolution which, again, roughly equals the pixel density of a 1440p 27-inch display.

Most monitors have HDMI and DisplayPort. There’s no great reason to prefer one over the other for remote work. The huge majority of monitors sold today offer both, so the port you use will likely come down to what’s available on your PC.

What about HDMI 2.1? It’s not necessary for remote work, and productivity monitors with HDMI 2.1 aren’t yet a thing. Be warned that HDMI 2.1 could get messy in 2022 due to the standard’s lax certification. It’s key only if you want to connect a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X game console.

If you’ve got extra cash to spend, the galaxy-brain move is to ignore HDMI and DisplayPort entirely and leap to USB-C and/or Thunderbolt. USB-C and Thunderbolt are great because they allow a single-cable solution for modern laptops that support the standard. You can plug in the laptop and charge it from the monitor while sending video to the monitor simultaneously. The best USB-C monitors even act as a hub with multiple extra ports like USB-A, USB-C, and ethernet.

The underside of this 27-inch Dell USB-C Hub Monitor is bristling with connectivity, much of it accessible via a single USB-C cable that also provides 90W of charging. Image: Dell

Just make sure you check the fine print. Look for USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and Power Delivery, or Thunderbolt with Power Delivery (the standard has DisplayPort baked in). Those sorts of USB-C ports aren’t exactly uncommon on laptops: even the modest ThinkPad E545 I bought a few years back includes them.

But you’ll also need to make sure the monitor you buy provides enough electricity. Power Delivery currently maxes out at 100 watts, so even the most powerful monitors can’t fully power laptops like a top-spec Razer Blade or high-end MacBook Pro 16, but a monitor that delivers 60 watts or even 45 watts might be enough if you have a thin-and-light laptop like a Dell XPS 13 or MacBook Air. The higher the better, but if the USB-C monitor doesn’t deliver as much power as your laptop’s power brick, your battery might only charge when it’s idle or even powered off.

USB-C monitors are also expensive. The benefits often add several hundred dollars to the price when compared to an otherwise similar monitor that lacks USB-C. It’s worth the money, though: in 2019, I purchased a Viewsonic VG2455-2K for a sweet one-cable connection to USB-C capable laptops, and find it ideal for swiftly connecting my laptop to a larger screen.

Any monitor worth your attention will have a stand that at least adjusts for height, usually along a range from 100 to 150 millimeters. Sure, you can stack it on books or buy a plastic riser, but that’s added hassle and clutter.

Many monitors also adjust for tilt and swivel, and some pivot 90 degrees into portrait orientation. That can be particularly handy when a monitor is used as a second display. For example, you could swivel a monitor to directly face you while doing detailed work, like editing a photo, and swing it away when it’s just displaying Slack or Discord. Tilt is similar but on the vertical axis, and especially handy if you have a standing desk, as you may need to tilt the monitor up while the desk is standing.

But if your monitor doesn’t have enough range of motion, or you want to free up space on your desk, you could instead add a VESA-compatible monitor arm to get it off the ground. Look for monitors with a 100mm x 100mm VESA spacing pattern. This is an extremely common feature found in all but the most affordable monitors, and you only need to worry about the 100mm spacing pattern. Others exist, but are relevant to other types of displays (like televisions).

A monitor arm is rarely a necessity, but it’s great for multi-monitor setups that place secondary displays around and above your main monitor, or for positioning an especially large and bulky monitor. Unfortunately, monitor arms can also be a bit expensive. A basic monitor arm off Amazon can run $30 to $50, but I’ve been burnt on their quality in the past. A good arm like those from Jarvis or Ergotron will start around $130.

Larger, heavier monitors will need a beefier, more expensive arm: the model Ergotron recommends for the 49-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is currently $379 (and, at the time I wrote this, sold out!)

Color accuracy is critical to image quality. An inaccurate monitor will look unnatural, flat, and dull, with strange swings in quality depending on what you’re viewing and the precise colors that are inaccurate (it’s common for monitors to be less accurate in blue or cyan than other colors, for example). A monitor with terrible color will disappoint you every time you sit down to use it.

The good news? Accuracy is low-key the greatest advancement in monitors over the last decade. Noticeably inaccurate displays were common when I began testing monitors well over a decade ago. Today, most midrange monitors have reasonable accuracy straight out of the box.

Still, there is a difference between midrange and premium monitors. Those who want great color accuracy should look for a “factory calibrated” monitor, which typically includes a calibration report in the box. This doesn’t guarantee color accuracy is perfect, but it at least shows the company put the monitor through an extra layer of quality assurance. Also check reviewers to see if the monitor lives up to its claims.

Color gamut, which describes the spectrum of colors a monitor can display, is also good enough on most monitors. The majority of content on a computer targets a color gamut called sRGB. Modern monitors display at least 95 percent of this gamut, and many display it all. Other gamuts also exist. DCI-P3 is the most advertised, though you may see Rec.709 or Adobe RGB as well. These gamuts are important if your work requires them, though if that’s the case, I’m guessing you know that. As with color accuracy, buyers concerned about gamut should read reviews to verify a monitor lives up to its claims.

Odds are your home office has some form of light control, whether it’s shades or simply a room that’s naturally a bit dim. The ideal brightness will vary based on the lighting in your home office, but a monitor’s brightness rarely needs to exceed 200 nits. In fact, most monitor calibration tools (like a SpyderX Elite I use) have a built-in luminance sensor used to recommend a brightness based on ambient light. I’ve never seen it recommend more than 200 nits.

That’s not a big ask, but budget monitors can’t always manage it, so be careful if you’re shopping on a tight budget. Manufacturers also tend to choose a best-case scenario when quoting brightness, so the listed brightness may not always be available. Buy a monitor that promises a maximum brightness of at least 250 nits (aka cd/m2).

Why would you want a brighter monitor? Well, if you’re viewing SDR content, there’s no particular reason (aside from using a monitor in a very, very bright room which, though rare, does happen). Viewing SDR content at a high brightness (say, 300 nits or more) might look nice at a glance, but can cause image quality issues like disappointing dark levels and reduced overall contrast.

High Dynamic Range, aka HDR, is a different story. This standard supports a way higher range of luminosity than SDR. HDR10, the most common standard, technically allows for a peak brightness up to 10,000 nits. Brightness does matter for HDR because the content includes additional luminance data that only HDR-compatible displays can show.

If you are looking for an HDR monitor, DisplayHDR certification labels could help, but know that “peak luminance” means “a tiny region on screen can get that bright,” and DisplayHDR 400 is barely HDR at all. Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

However, HDR is a bit of a minefield on the PC and can be counterproductive for work. Turning on HDR in Windows will often block a number of monitor controls you may need, including brightness, color gamut, and color temperature settings. The resulting image can appear eye-searingly bright and you’ll have less leeway to adjust it to your preferences.

Also, most content viewed in Windows or MacOS is not designed for HDR. You can still view it, but the result will be less accurate than if you stuck with SDR.

Entertainment and gaming is where HDR redeems itself. Most streaming platforms now offer a method for viewing HDR content on a PC and many new 3D games include HDR support. Windows 11 even has an auto-HDR feature that can add HDR to games that don’t officially support it. This makes HDR a nice addition to a monitor that you’ll use for work and play — though I’d recommend leaving HDR off until you clock out.

Nearly all monitors sold today use an LCD panel based on one of three technologies: twisted nematic (TN), in-plane switching (IPS), and vertical alignment (VA).

The least expensive monitors often use a TN panel. Avoid them. TN panel monitors will display an image, but that’s about it. They look achingly dull next to IPS and have astoundingly bad viewing angles.

Here’s a rough sense of how colors can shift off-angle with a TN panel,from an earlier Verge review. Photo by James Bareham / The Verge and Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

A majority of monitors use IPS. Monitors based on IPS have very accurate color and can support a wide color gamut at a reasonable price. IPS struggles with dark scenes, however, because it can’t achieve a convincing shade of black. This is the dreaded “IPS glow” you may have heard of, which can look unappealing when watching movies or playing games. However, gamers still enjoy IPS monitors because some IPS panels have low response times and very high refresh rates.

What about VA? This panel type has the best contrast ratio and dark scene performance of the three, which makes VA a great go-to choice for entertainment and gaming. This is especially true of high-quality, modern VA panels, which have mostly solved the color accuracy and motion smearing issues of some past VA monitors.

The choice between IPS and VA has no clear answer, as both have their perks. When it comes to work, though, you may find the choice is made for you. A huge majority of productivity monitors use an IPS panel. VA is an option, but you’ll want to lean your search toward gaming monitors if you crave the high contrast a quality VA panel can provide.

AMD and Nvidia have successfully convinced gamers that a 360Hz monitor is ideal. But what if your day includes more Excel than Counter-Strike? You might still see some benefits from a refresh rate higher than the traditional 60Hz.

Gaming is often thereason to buy a monitor with an enhanced refresh rate. Higher refresh rates lead to smoother, more fluid motion and reduces input lag. That said, the benefits of refresh rate are not restricted to games. Higher rates make motion feel more fluid on the desktop as well, which is why Apple’s newest MacBook Pro 14 and 16, and many Windows laptops, now offer a refresh rate of 120Hz or more.

I feel it’s nice to have, but far down on the list of features you need to consider. Also, you probably shouldn’t pay extra for a 75Hz monitor — it’s not much gain over 60Hz.

High-refresh gaming displays aren’t especially expensive, with 24-inch, 144Hz models sold for as little as $200. But you’ll typically trade something away for refresh rate: that $200 monitor might use an iffy TN panel (rather than IPS or VA) or feature a low resolution. It’s possible to snag a 4K display for a reasonable sum, or one with a high refresh rate, but going for 4K at 144Hz means looking at monitors that cost as much as big televisions.

Also, USB-C with Power Delivery is rarely found in gaming monitors, and I haven’t seen a USB-C gaming monitor that doubles as a USB-C hub. That could be an issue if your work setup involves a lot of wired peripherals.

Mini LED adds a twist. The fundamentals remain similar, but the backlight is divided into hundreds of zones that can turn on and off independently. This allows extra brightness but also convincing contrast in shadowy scenes. Mini LED is also outstanding for HDR movies and games, where its class-leading brightness provides an edge.

OLED? It flips the table, using an array of organic elements that create their own light. This provides pixel-level lighting control for truly unparalleled contrast you have to see to believe. OLED is also susceptible to burn-in, though there are ways to mitigate it from affecting a display prematurely.

Neither of these are necessary for working from home, and you’ll likely have to spend thousands to snag a monitor with either tech. Alternatively, you could buy a television with Mini LED or OLED technology, but televisions s