Choosing the right monitor can significantly impact your productivity, comfort, and overall experience. Whether you're a gamer seeking fluid visuals, a content creator pursuing colour accuracy, or a professional looking for a versatile setup, there's no one-size-fits-all solution.
Since a monitor will likely last for years, it may be worth investing extra upfront. This guide may help you navigate the intricate landscape of monitor options, focusing on what to look for or avoid for your ideal setup. No monitor is perfect, but your budget and tastes may determine the best.
Sizes
When it comes to monitor sizes, there's no shortage of options available. The most popular monitors come in 24, 27, and 32 inches, with some now available in 43 inches. Among all the available sizes, the 27-inch monitor stands out as the most popular choice due to its perfect balance between being large enough for work and entertainment while compact enough for most desktop setups.
A 32-inch monitor with excellent scaling and resolution enhances productivity and reduces eye strain. You can go smaller— like 24 inches, but when it comes to a decent resolution, options are slim in that size.
If you want more horizontal screen real estate for content creation, immersive gaming or multitasking, consider ultrawide monitors with a 21:9 aspect ratio. These monitors come in sizes like 29, 34, and even 38 inches. They provide more horizontal space than standard 16:9 monitors.
Some of the largest and most niche monitors are 40 or 49-inch super ultrawide monitors with a curved design. They might not fit on your desk or your budget.
Size really does matter when choosing a monitor, as the bigger the screen, the more space you have to work with.
A 27-inch monitor provides 25% more area than a 24-inch one, and a 21:9 ultra-wide monitor offers 30% more width than a 16:9 standard one. However, size is not the only factor to consider.
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a monitor significantly influences its shape and substantially impacts your computing experience. The 16:9 aspect ratio has long been the classic and most common format in standard monitors, but it may not be the most productive option for tasks requiring extensive horizontal screen space.
The 21:9 aspect ratio offers a panoramic and cinematic view, resembling wide movie screens, making it ideal for work and immersive gaming. The 16:18 aspect ratio, resembling a vertical dual monitor setup without a horizontal bezel in the middle, optimizes vertical screen real estate, making it incredibly productive for tasks involving extended vertical scrolling or coding.
Resolution and pixels per inch (PPI)
The distance between you and the monitor also matters a lot, as the size should match the distance you keep from it. For instance, A 24-inch iMac with a 4.5K resolution provides a sharp image, while a lower resolution 43-inch monitor can also be good if placed further away.
PPI is a key measure of monitor resolution and a higher PPI means a sharper and more detailed image. For tasks requiring precision and clarity, a display with a PPI above 110 is ideal, with closer to 200 is even better.
For example, the iPhone 15 Pro has 460 PPI, while a 27-inch 4K display has around 160 PPI. Anything below 110 PPI will look dull and outdated. For instance, a 24-inch 1080p monitor has a sharper image than a 27-inch 1080p monitor due to smaller pixels.
In simple terms, if you are looking for a 24-inch monitor, 1080p is good, and for a 27-inch, 1440p is better. For a 32-inch or larger, 4K is best. 4K offers higher quality and features like HDR. For ultra-wide, a 5K horizontally and 2K vertically is optimal, balancing screen real estate with visual clarity.
Panel types
Monitors come in various panel types, and the choice of panel type can significantly impact your visual experience. There are four main panel types: TN, VA, IPS, and OLED.
TN (Twisted Nematic) panels are the oldest type of LCD panels, known for their low input lag, low viewing angles and cost-effectiveness. They have less accurate colour reproduction and are mostly extinct now, except for high-end gaming monitors for eSports due to their fast response times.
IPS, or in-plane switching panels, despite lower contrast and brightness, are characterized by their superior colour accuracy and wider viewing angles, making them a popular choice for LCD displays.
VA or vertical alignment panels balance between TN and IPS and provide excellent contrast and vibrant colours for HDR content at a reasonable price, making them an attractive choice for budget-conscious users. They support higher refresh rates in gaming monitors and ultrawide screens but have less accurate colours and narrower viewing angles than IPS panels.
Oled or Organic Light-Emitting Diode panels are the pinnacle of display technology. They emit light from each pixel on the screen. They have perfect blacks, infinite contrast, wide viewing angles and superfast response times.
Oled monitors have accurate colours and high brightness levels, but they are darn expensive and have drawbacks like burn-in risk and lower lifespan.
Depending on your budget, start from VA and go up to IPS. If you can afford it, Oled is awesome.
Monitor panel bit
Graphic design, photo editing, or media creation require colour accuracy. A 10-bit panel is the best choice for achieving the highest level of colour precision.
However, not all 10-bit panels are created equal, and the degree of colour accuracy is assessed against established colour gamuts like sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI P3.
Monitors closer to 100 in these measurements have more precise and vibrant colours. Some monitors labelled as 10-bit are, in fact. 8-bit with Frame Rate Control (FRC), which approximates colours by switching between adjacent shades. This technique can improve the colour quality, but it can cause artefacts and inconsistencies. For serious professionals, you can consider a 12-bit panel monitor, which can display more colours and nuances, but it is rare and darn expensive, and it may not be worth the extra cost.
Therefore, the best option is a 10-bit panel with 100% colour gamut coverage.
High dynamic range
HDR is a standard for all 4K TVs, but it's still a bit iffy regarding monitors. HDR enhances the contrast, brightness and colours, making images more detailed and realistic.
It is suitable for various content types, including movies and games, and can show more colours that are closer to real life.
There are two main HDR standards: HDR10 and Dolby Vision, with Dolby Vision being more advanced and dynamic. Monitors come with different levels of Display HDR certification, from 400 to 1000+, indicating brightness levels and local dimming.
Meanwhile, OLED panels also have their own HDR certification.
Refresh rate
A monitor's refresh rate, measured in hertz (Hz), indicates how often the screen updates its image per second. Most productivity monitors, even the expensive Apple Pro Display XDR, have a standard 60Hz refresh rate.
However, the influence of the gaming community has started to blend with the productivity sector, leading to ultrawide, colour-accurate monitors with refresh rates from 75Hz to 144Hz, with some reaching up to 360 or even 500 Hz.
A higher refresh rate means smoother and more fluid visuals, ideal for long screen time and gaming. For those trying to ease eye strain, a refresh rate of 120 Hz or above is optimal. However, there is a point of diminishing returns regarding refresh rates, and 144Hz strikes a good balance between smoothness and cost.
Higher refresh rates not only benefit gamers but also enhance the overall experience. Lower latency also means faster and more accurate reactions, giving gamers an edge in gaming.
However, if your PC cannot output enough frames per second (FPS) to match your monitor's refresh rate, you are not getting the full benefit of it.
Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and adaptive sync
Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Adaptive-Sync technologies are critical for gamers to enhance their gaming experience. VRR and Adaptive Sync synchronize the monitor's refresh rate with the frame rate output from the gaming laptop or graphics card, reducing screen tearing and stuttering.
There are two main types of VRR technologies: Nvidia's G-Sync and AMD's FreeSync. Historically, G-Sync was exclusive to Nvidia GPUs, while FreeSync was for AMD GPUs. Nvidia and AMD now support both formats, ensuring compatibility with both GPUs. Both technologies have multiple tiers, from basic to advanced. For serious gamers, having a monitor with VRR is a game-changer, especially when the game's frame rate fluctuates.
However, a powerful gaming machine is essential for fully utilizing VRR technology.
What to avoid
When choosing a monitor, be cautious about features that may not provide real value or be overhyped. Many monitors have built-in speakers, but their sound quality is often subpar.
Avoid falling for the marketing lingo of monitors with speakers tuned by an in-house tuning company. Unless it's a costly Apple Studio display that is famous for its sound, it's recommended to invest in external speakers for better audio quality. Avoid built-in RGB advertising, which often adds to the price or hides flaws. Hardcore gaming monitors are the exception, of course.
Additionally, don't fall for the "future-proof" trap, as no monitor can guarantee all the necessary features you will need in the next five years. Understanding the fundamentals of the monitor can help in making a more logical decision.
Md Zahurul Al Mamun is a tech enthusiast and writer
