The computer monitor is a very important component for those who spend a lot of time in front of the computer, not only for the well-being of the eyes, but also to find work more pleasant. Since in many offices you are forced to work on old or small monitors, at least at home it would be ideal to be able to enjoy a higher level, quality screen. When going to buy a new monitor it is important to check the key features it must have, not be satisfied with what costs less or what is on offer and choose the best based on personal economic possibilities.
READ ALSO: Best PC monitors to buy between 100 and 200 Euros
Article Index
- New monitor features
- Buying Guide
- Conclusions
New monitor features
Before choosing the new monitor, let's make sure we know all the features that the latter must have in order to use it very well with all modern fixed PCs.Monitor connections
On the new monitor you need to check the ports available on the back, so you can easily connect it to any computer. The ports that can be found to connect the monitor to the PC can be:
- VGA port or Video Graphics Array is the oldest video output standard, which may still be present on some motherboards and old monitors. The VGA cable is trapezoid shaped with 15 pins and colored blue, which carries only video signal (no audio). If on the PC we have other outputs for the monitor, the VGA socket is no longer a requirement that must be sought because it is very limited compared to the other types of connection. In general, VGA connections are recommended only for screens below the standard 1080p resolution, which excludes most new monitors on the market today.
- DVI port or Digital Visual Interface is the digital successor of the analog VGA standard. Although present for several years, it is still present on high-level monitors, desktop motherboards and dedicated graphics cards, but due to its size it is rarely present on portable PCs. Dual-link DVI connections and cables support resolutions up to 2560 × 1600 at 60 Hertz, which is sufficient for most modern small and medium-sized monitors. DVI carries only the video signal.
- HDMI or High Definition Multimedia Interface is a digital standard that carries both audio and video, good if your monitor includes built-in speakers or a headphone jack, so you don't have to use a separate audio cable. HDMI is probably the most popular video connection standard on the market and in the latest versions it supports 4K resolutions and the updating frequency up to 120Hz. On very high resolution or very high refresh rate monitors, a latest generation HDMI connection is generally the best choice.
- DisplayPort : on the gaming and high-end monitors you can also find the DisplayPort port. It is very similar to the HDMI port, but with different angles and how it can handle both video and audio on a single cable. DisplayPort is a connection designed specifically for computers that also includes other features: for example, some DisplayPort compatible monitors can be connected to each other in a chain, allowing two or more monitors to be connected to a PC with a single cable that goes from the last monitor to the computer. DisplayPort supports resolutions up to 4K with a refresh rate of 240 hertz. On some laptops you can also find the Mini DisplayPort connection, to save space.
- USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 on the latest laptops we can find a USB-C connection that can manage both video and audio through an interface called Thunderbolt. The third revision of Thunderbolt uses a USB-C port and, given its convenience of having a single cable for data, video, audio and for charging the device, it will become the reference cable on notebooks and on new generation monitors.
Screen size
The size of the screen is a personal choice, and it is perhaps the feature that most influences the cost: the larger the monitor, the higher the price. What is not subjective is that larger monitors are better for almost any purpose : playing games, watching movies and videos, watching and editing photos and also for working. Those who work a lot on the PC will find that a bigger screen (and even using more than one monitor) can improve productivity and tire less.
Obviously for those who use little PC and especially in case of problems of desk space, a large monitor may not be necessary. But how big a big monitor must be ">
The monitors can be different from each other for the relationship between width and height. Virtually all high definition monitors use the 16: 9 ratio, but we can also find higher displays, with a 16:10 ratio; the old "square" monitors with the aspect ratio 4: 3 have practically disappeared from circulation. In recent years, wide or ultrawide 21: 9 monitors to which we have dedicated a special article have gained popularity.
Screen resolution
Modern LCD screens display images in pixel grids. The meaning of resolution for a monitor refers to the total number of pixels, expressed as a horizontal numerical value for vertical. The standard resolution size is 1920 × 1080, or 1080p, which includes over two million single pixels and is also the standard called "Full HD".
In general, higher resolutions are better and you can find:
- 1920 × 1200 slightly higher than 1080p.
- 2560 × 1440 for higher resolution monitors, sometimes called "2K".
- 2560 × 1600 for the 16:10 variant of the 2560 × 1440 resolution.
- 3840 × 2160 "4K" resolution, four times sharper than 1080p.
Update frequency
The refresh rate of a monitor describes the frequency with which the image on the screen is updated, expressed in hertz. The standard for LCD screens is 60 Hertz and for most users there is really no need for a higher frequency monitor. Only players can choose a monitor with a faster refresh rate, to have more fluid and dynamic animations, if the PC is powerful enough to push the higher frame rate.
Gaming monitors can go up to 120, 144 or even 240 Hertz. Some of these high-end gaming monitors may also have a technology known as variable refresh rate (NVIDIA calls it G-Sync while AMD calls it Freesync ).
This causes the monitor to update at the same frequency as the game if it jumps from one rendering speed to another.
Screen type
Modern LCD screens can be divided into two main types: TN (TN (Twisted Nematic) monitor and IPS (In Plane Switching) monitor .
The differences between these types of screens are specifically technical, the important thing is to know that the LCD-TN ones cost less while the LCD-IPS have a better color reproduction and more viewing angle, even if they also tend to have a response time. slower, making them less suitable for players. There are also LCD-VA monitors, which aims to combine TN's fast response times with the superior quality colors and viewing angles of IPS.
Among the Samsung monitors we can also find the abbreviation PLS or SuperPLS, that is the IPS produced with special technologies that offer a greater viewing angle and constant brightness wherever you look at it.
OLED panels are becoming increasingly popular in phones and televisions and are also starting to spread among gaming and high-end monitors.
Other features to look for
Below we have collected other minor features that we can view before purchasing a new monitor:
- Contrast Ratio: The contrast ratio is the difference between the luminance of the brightest white and the darkest darkness that a screen can produce. The higher the contrast in these two extremes, the more subtle the color differences that a monitor can display. The contrast ratio, however, is a specification that is difficult to quantify and also difficult to notice by eye. Many professionals recommend a minimum contrast ratio of 350: 1.
- Colors : Any self-respecting monitor displays the 16.7 million colors (24 bits) possible from an RGB color space.
- Viewing angle is an important feature for televisions, not for monitors that are always viewed from the front.
- Response time is not something important to check when you go to buy a new monitor, unless you buy a game monitor, where it takes on great importance to be able to see images without slowing down and without jerks. Players may need a screen with a faster response time (less than 5 ms).
- Curvature : the curvature of the screen is a non-essential stylistic choice.
- Rotating support bracket : the ability to turn the monitor vertically is a not too common premium feature, however important for those who work with photographs.
- VESA allows you to attach the monitor to the wall with a standard bracket.
- Built-in speakers or cameras are good for avoiding buying dedicated peripherals, but in most cases the quality leaves something to be desired, so better not to rely too much on it.
Best monitors to buy
In conclusion, we see some of the best monitors on sale on Amazon, which often has discounts and clearly offers more variety of choice than shopping malls.Samsung S24D330
If we want to save as much as possible we can focus on the Samsung S24D330 monitor, which has a 24-inch display with Full HD resolution, 60 Hz refresh rate, 1 ms response time, Game Mode and HDMI cable included.
We can view this monitor from here -> Samsung Monitor S24D330 (96 €).
Samsung C24RG50
One of the best monitors to work on PC and to support a good home computer is the Samsung C24RG50, which provides a 27-inch screen with Full HD resolution, IPS technology, ultra-thin edges, 250 NIT brightness, 4 ms response time, frequency d Up to 144 Hz update, HDMI port and VGA port.
We can view this monitor from here -> Samsung C24RG50 (149 €).
HP 27FW
If we are looking for a good monitor to play and work we recommend the HP 27FW, which has a 27-inch Full HD screen, IPS technology, integrated audio speakers, support for AMD FreeSync technology and tilting monitor support.
We can view this monitor from here -> HP 27FW (149 €).
LG 29WK500-P
If we want to try an ultra-wide monitor with a 21: 9 aspect ratio, we recommend the LG 29WK500-P, which has a 29-inch UltraWide LED display, IPS technology, Full HD + resolution, support for AMD FreeSync, frequency update up to 75Hz, 2 HDMI sockets and audio output.
We can view this monitor from here -> LG 29WK500-P (199 €).
Acer Predator XB271HU
We are great gaming enthusiasts and we are looking for a high quality monitor to combine with our powerful PC "> Predator XB271HU (€ 519).
Conclusions
By carefully reading all the chapters of the guide, we will have realized that it is not enough to enter an electronics store or a supermarket and buy the first monitor that we find: we will have to look carefully at some features and carefully choose the monitor suitable for us. If we do not want to go around shops we can focus our eyes on the models indicated, confident that they will be able to adapt to all usage scenarios.Still on the theme of monitors, we can continue reading our articles. Better a curved monitor or a flat-screen monitor and Use the TV as a PC monitor .
If we don't know how to calibrate our monitor on Windows, we recommend you read our article on How to calibrate the screen in Windows 10, 7 and 8 .
To find other lists of PC monitors, we saw in other articles about 21: 9 wide monitors (ultra wide screen) and how to choose the LCD monitor and screen resolution .
