The best monitors: 4K, gaming, HDR, and more

Dell’s U3223QE is a premium monitor with 4K resolution and gobs of connectivity. 

The U3223QE has a cutting-edge IPS Black panel that roughly doubles the contrast when compared to other 32-inch IPS monitors. It provides a richer experience with a better sense of depth that’s especially noticeable when viewing in a dark room. The monitor also excels in color performance, brightness, and sharpness.

Connectivity is a highlight. This monitor offers USB-C with up to 90 watts of Power Delivery for charging a connected laptop or tablet. The USB-C port can drive a hub with a total of five additional USB-A ports, ethernet, and even DisplayPort-out (meaning you can daisy-chain video to a second monitor).

This monitor has a smaller sibling, the Dell U2723QE, which is less expensive. We did not receive it for testing but expect it to perform similarly, as it uses the same IPS Black panel technology. 

The Asus ProArt PA279CV is a solid choice if you want 4K for under $500. 

The Asus ProArt PA279CV is a 4K professional monitor and, as a result, it has excellent color performance and brightness. Photos, video, and games look crisp, lifelike, and vivid on this monitor. The PA279CV has a modest color gamut but, at this price, it’s a sacrifice worth making. It also has a good contrast ratio for the price.

Connectivity includes a USB-C port with up to 65 watts of Power Delivery for charging a connected laptop or tablet. The monitor functions as a hub for several additional USB-A ports. It has adaptive sync for smooth gaming, though its maximum refresh rate is just 75Hz.

Shoppers should keep an eye on the PA279CV’s price. Though often sold just below $500, it has dipped as low as $455, and tends to fluctuate over time. Sales make it even more tempting.

Need a monitor that works well at an extremely low price? The Acer K242HYL is our go-to pick.

The Acer K242HYL’s specifications are good for a budget display. It has a 24-inch screen with 1080p resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 75Hz. Adaptive sync is supported, so the monitor will function with AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync. Video inputs include HDMI and VGA. Build quality is good thanks to robust plastic panels that feel thick and durable when handled.

This monitor has a bright image with reasonable contrast. Color performance stands out, as the monitor can cover most of the sRGB color gamut and has extremely good color accuracy overall. Photos, videos, and games look close to what their creator intended. 

The K242HYL lacks a height-adjustable stand but offers a VESA mount that is compatible with most third-party monitor stands and arms. 

That aside, the K242HYL is an outstanding budget monitor suited for everyday use, casual gaming, and amateur content creation. This is all the monitor most people will ever need. 

Alienware’s AW3423DW is an outstanding PC gaming monitor. 

It stands out from the crowd thanks to its QD-OLED panel, which is similar to that used in top-tier OLED televisions. It has a nearly infinite contrast ratio, excellent color performance, and respectable brightness. The result is a punchy, vibrant image with an unparalleled sense of dimensionality. The monitor’s ultrawide aspect ratio only heightens the sense of immersion.

Motion clarity is superb. The monitor has a refresh up to 175Hz (though only over DisplayPort) and supports Nvidia G-Sync Ultimate. The OLED panel technology it uses has lower pixel response times than competitors, as well, so there’s minimal added blur and ghosting in motion.

The AW3423DW is expensive, but its performance justifies the price. In fact, it’s a surprisingly good value, as most large OLED monitors are sold for $2,000 to $3,000. Competing 34-inch and 38-inch ultrawides without QD-OLED technology are often just as expensive but have less-impressive image quality.

Do you need a monitor with exceptional color accuracy, contrast, and sharpness? The Asus ProArt Display OLED PA32DC delivers. It’s an impressive monitor that, in several respects, is the best we’ve ever reviewed.

The monitor’s key trait is its high-quality OLED display panel. It has excellent contrast, color accuracy, and a wide color gamut, all of which add up to a realistic and dramatic image. The monitor also has 4K resolution and a conventional RGB subpixel layout, which avoids the color fringing issues that are found in QD-OLED monitors like the Alienware AW3423DW. 

Image quality is superb out of the box, but experienced owners can go a step further. The PA32DC has numerous image quality options in its on-screen menu system and includes a built-in calibration utility for ultra-accurate results. Professionals can use these options to achieve the exact results their work requires. 

It’s a wonderfully robust monitor with chunky bezels, big menu buttons, and a sturdy chassis that includes a built-in handle. Asus supplies both a VESA stand for desktop use and flip-out legs for quick setup at a mobile studio or job site. The monitor has extensive connectivity including five video inputs.

The only downside? It’s expensive with a retail price of $3,000. Even that, however, is not so bad: Similar OLED and Mini-LED monitors, like the Apple Pro Display XDR and LG UltraFine 32EP950, are often even more expensive.

Asus’ ProArt PA348CGV is an ultrawide that targets professionals but throws in features to please gamers. 

Professionals will love the PA348CGV for its excellent color accuracy, wide color gamut, and healthy range of image quality adjustments. The monitor looks outstanding at default settings and can be tuned to fit a variety of color gamuts or meet specific color temperature and gamma targets. 

Monitors like this normally leave gamers in the cold, but the PA348CGV is an exception. It has a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz and supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. Its motion clarity can’t rival the best 144Hz or 165Hz ultrawide gaming monitors, but it’s a huge boost over a 60Hz panel.

The PA348CGV is built like a tank with sturdy plastics and a weighty stand that keeps the ultrawide panel planted. It also has good connectivity with a total of four video inputs, one of which is USB-C. The USB-C port drives a hub with four additional USB-A ports. 

And here’s the real surprise: the PA348CGV’s MSRP is just $729. That’s not cheap, but it’s close to the price of alternative professional monitors that completely lack an enhanced refresh rate or adaptive sync. That makes the PA348CGV an easy choice for ultrawide enthusiasts.

Okay, folks. Hold onto your butts, because we’re about to take a trip out to the cutting-edge of PC monitors: the Asus ROG Swift PG32UQX.

This monitor has a Mini-LED backlight with 1,152 zones that can adjust brightness independently. As a result, it can ramp up brightness to extremely high levels when required, or turn off zones entirely in dark scenes. This results in an excellent contrast ratio and superb brightness. 

These traits make the PG32UQX a standout in HDR games and movies. Bright, high-contrast scenes look amazing. You can almost feel the heat of an explosion and the intense glare of sun reflecting off a window or mirror. 

There’s more to the monitor than HDR, however. It scores extremely well in overall contrast, has class-leading color performance, and provides a crisp 4K image. The monitor supports G-Sync Ultimate for smooth gameplay with Nvidia hardware and has a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz. 

The only problem? Price. This monitor sells for around $3,000. Shoppers may want to consider the slightly less exorbitant Viewsonic Elite XG321UG as an alternative. It has a similar Mini-LED backlight.

The 27-inch curved AOC PD27 monitor designed by Porsche Design oozes class.

It offers buttery-smooth gameplay and near imperceptible input lag with a resolution of 1440p and a lightning-fast maximum refresh rate of 240Hz. While testing, we could find no onscreen issues with even the most fast-paced, graphics-intensive games. The display also comes with a ton of gaming settings to tweak and dial-in to your heart’s content.

The radius of the curved monitor is 1,000mm, which helps to support an immersive gaming experience. The display also comes with an excellent array of ports including two DisplayPort, two HDMI, and four USB ports.

The only downside to the AOC PD27 is that true to its designer’s name, it comes with a luxury price tag. But you get what you pay for and while it might not be for everyone, for those who can afford it, this is an outstanding monitor.

1.

What size of monitor should I buy?

2.

What display input is best? (HDMI vs. DisplayPort vs. USB-C)

3.

Are all monitors compatible with Windows and MacOS?

Modern monitors are compatible with all recent versions of Windows and MacOS. They’re plug-and-play, which means the monitor should display an image without the need to install driver software or mess with Windows or MacOS settings.