Monitor buying guide (mega-thread)

Peter Rodriguez10 said:the GPU is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

Look, that card isn't exactly built for 1440p gaming—maybe some light stuff, but honestly? It’s already pushing its limits at 1080p.

I wouldn't bother with a massive 1080p monitor. Everything looks grainy regardless of whether you're gaming or just browsing. A 32" 1440p setup doesn't cost much more than a 1080p one, plus you won't be swapping monitors for years. Besides, 1440p is actually decent for watching 4K movies if you're sitting at your desk.
If you're watching from bed, it doesn't matter as much, but for me, 32" is the floor. 27" feels way too small for movies.

Right now, I’m working with a 13" laptop paired with an HD monitor. I've been wondering—does it actually make sense to pick up a 4K monitor and mount it vertically? My thought process is that it would essentially function as two HD screens stacked on top of one another.

To be honest, I generally lean toward smaller displays—I prefer a smaller font size so I can cram more content onto the screen and keep everything looking organized.
What kind of visual experience should I anticipate with that setup?

The monitor in question would be a budget-friendly Samsung $667 model.

nimblegull74 said:Right now I'm running a 13" laptop paired with an HD monitor. Does it make sense to grab a 4K monitor and mount it vertically just to get the equivalent of two HD screens stacked on top of each other?

Personally, I prefer smaller screens—smaller fonts mean more stuff fits on the display and everything stays organized.
What kind of image quality am I looking at here?

The monitor would be a cheap Samsung$667.

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It’d be more logical to just pick up another 1080p monitor for half the price if your laptop can handle it. Sure, you can rotate a 4K monitor vertically, but that isn't the same thing as having two 1080p screens. A 4K monitor packs four times the pixels of a 1080p one, so you're going to run into scaling headaches when trying to use them together with a small screen (not sure which monitor you're eyeing, but it's probably not the size of two 1080p monitors combined. You'd need at least a 32" screen for that setup).

Is there some specific reason why it has to be vertical?
And what laptop are you rocking? It might support dual video outputs.

wiredotter14 said:Is there some specific reason why it absolutely has to be vertical?
And what kind of laptop are we talking about here? It might actually support two video outputs.

My desk setup is a bit awkward—I'm working right into a corner. Since the depth is pretty shallow, a horizontal monitor would end up being way too close to my face. Right now, I’m running a 21" Full HD screen alongside my laptop display. If I pick up a 28" 4K model, I'll basically have double the resolution, and since it'll be sitting quite close, I don't think the text or image will look too small. My bigger concern, honestly, is the viewing angle—I'm worried about color shifting or a distorted image if the perspective isn't perfectly aligned.
The monitor in question would be the LU28E590DSL/EN

Currently, I've got about 22 inches between my eyes and the screen. This 4K unit would sit at roughly 25-27 inches.
I'm using a Lenovo ThinkPad X250 with VGA and miniDP. It handles 4K just fine.

nimblegull74 said:My desk faces a corner. It’s pretty shallow, so if I set it up horizontally, it’ll be way too close. Right now, I’m rocking a 21" Full HD monitor plus my laptop screen. With a 28" 4K setup, I’d basically have double the HD resolution, and since it’s so close, I figure the image won't look tiny. My main worry is the uneven picture quality due to the viewing angle.
The monitor would be the LU28E590DSL/EN

Right now, I'm sitting about 21 inches from the screen. This 4K one would be around 25-27 inches away.
Laptop is a Lenovo ThinkPad X250, VGA + miniDP. Supports 4K.

That works, but don't fall into the trap of thinking of it as just "double HD." You're looking at a 28" screen, which has 1.77x more surface area than your 21" and 4x the pixels. The width is going to feel significantly narrower than what you're used to—which might be fine for stuff like Microsoft Office, but it isn't the same as having two separate monitors. 25-27 inches is probably fine for a 28" display; depends on your eyes and what you're used to. Personally, I'd find that a bit cramped and would probably aim for a 32" 1440p monitor instead. At that distance, you don't really need 4K. You can find them for similar prices, though I'm not sure about the pivot function—looks like that Samsung you're eyeing doesn't have it either.
Also, that monitor uses a TN panel. What's your budget? An IPS panel is much better.

Let’s say you decided to skip $833 altogether.
Since this 4K monitor doesn't have a built-in pivot function, I’d probably just mount it on the wall in portrait mode.

nimblegull74 said:Let's say you don't go through $833.
This 4K doesn't have a pivot, so you'd just mount it on the wall in portrait mode.

That's plenty of cash. If it physically fits on your desk, I’d definitely pull the trigger on a 31/32".
https://www.amazon.com/monitors?searchterm=monitor

Some models have a pivot, some don't. 4K starts around $667, but honestly, at that distance, 1440p on a 32" is totally fine, and 1.5x scaling in Windows Display Settings works perfectly. Just make sure it's an IPS or at least a VA panel—buying a TN is a waste of money.

Kevin Clark51 said:His 24" monitor died, so he's looking for a replacement recommendation.
If he sticks with a 24", I'm thinking maybe up to $1,100-$400, but if there's a decent 27" option out there for around $1,600-$567, I’d probably just go for that instead.
It's mainly for photo editing, working in Microsoft Office, and watching videos.

Any suggestions?

Anyone else got a solid lead on this?

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/monitors/p...m_medium=click

https://www.newegg.com/p/mo...m_medium=click

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/p...

Does anyone here own a Samsung Galaxy A5 or an M7 smart monitor?
I’m wondering if it plays nice with an Android phone from a different brand.
Every review I’ve come across features someone using a Galaxy S21 (predictably), so nobody seems to mention how they work with other Android devices.
As far as I can tell, this is the only smart monitor on the market—or am I missing something?

From what I’ve managed to dig up, there aren't really any other real contenders in the smart monitor market here in the States.
I'm leaning toward either the Samsung Galaxy A5 27" or the 32" model, but I really need to see them in person first to figure out if that FHD resolution is going to be a dealbreaker for me. The upside is having built-in speakers and easy access to Netflix and YouTube, though it does feel pretty limited in other ways.

I strictly need a monitor, not a TV, which really narrows my options down.

I'm wondering if it might actually be smarter to just pick up a standard monitor with a higher resolution and pair it with a dedicated Android box. That way, I could essentially build my own "smart monitor" setup by hooking up some speakers along with a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Hey everyone! 🙂 I'm looking for some help picking out a new monitor with a budget of around $667. I'll mostly be using it for 3D design and modeling work, plus some light rendering here and there (think stuff like AutoCAD and Lumion), along with some 2D sketching in AutoCAD. Since I'm a bit lost on where to even start, I'd love some model recommendations or just some general tips on what specs to look for. I'm leaning towards a 27" screen, and I've been eyeing some Dell options, but I'm totally open to suggestions. Thanks!

Prices for monitors this size have shot up lately. For my own setup and the office (running AutoCAD and stuff), I’ve picked up a few 31.5" 1440p AOC monitors over the last year, and they’re perfect for the job.

Back then, they were actually $500.

This Dell 27" looks solid; the brightness is better than average at 350cd
.
https://www.nabava.net/monitori/dell...16-9-120725081

Or go bigger
.

Bottom line: stick to that resolution.

I was actually just going back and forth on the resolution—debating whether to stick with Full HD to save some cash or if it's worth splurging for something higher up... You totally helped me settle that dilemma, thanks so much for the advice and the tips! 🙂

FHD looks grainy to me, even on a 27" screen.
1440p on a 32" feels just right, since the pixel density ends up being similar to 1080p on a ~23" panel.

You don't need mind-blowing color accuracy for AutoCAD, but resolution matters.
That Dell seems like a solid choice if you're sticking to 27".

By the way, having a dual monitor setup isn't a bad move—it makes my workflow so much easier. The second one can just be some cheap 22" unit or whatever random monitor you've got lying around the office.

I’ve got a dual-monitor setup at the office which is awesome, but this one is specifically for my home office. For now, I'm sticking to just one to stay on budget, but I'll see what happens later on.
I think I'm going to go with the Dell, since I've always had great experiences with their monitors and their gear in general. Thanks again 🙂

Hello there,
I am currently on the lookout for some recommendations for a new monitor, ideally somewhere in the 22" to 24" range, specifically for my design work using software like Affinity Designer, Photoshop, and Publisher.
My budget falls somewhere between $333 and $600, and I will be paying in cash. For a bit of context regarding my current setup, I am working with an AMD Radeon RX 470 4, 16GB of RAM, and an Intel i5 processor.

Thank you so much for your help.
Best regards,

Anthony Davis7 said:Hello there,
I'm looking for some advice on picking up a new monitor, ideally somewhere between 22" and 24". My main focus will be creative work using software like Affinity Disagner, Penguin Random House, and Publisher.
My budget is roughly $333 to $600, and I'll be paying in cash. For my current setup, I'm running an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, 16GB of RAM, and an AMD Ryzen 5.

Thanks,
Best regards,

Actually, I made a bit of a mistake in my previous post—I wrote 1000 when I really meant 1500. After browsing through a few options online, I was wondering if there might be anything available in the $500 to $667 range instead.

Thanks again,

wiredotter14 said:Personally, I find FHD looks way too grainy on a 27" screen.
And 1440p on a 32" just feels too big—the pixel density ends up being about the same as 1080p on a 23" monitor, which isn't ideal.

I’ve wrestled with similar dilemmas myself. Honestly, I’m quite happy with my Dell P2421D. Having 1440p on a 24" display ($600) works perfectly for me. I don't do much heavy lifting in CAD, aside from some light work in SketchUp. Generally speaking, I prefer a tighter, more compact workspace; the standard setups most people use tend to look a bit pixelated to my eyes.

If you're diving deep into CAD—especially on a 32" panel—I'd strongly suggest going with a 4K resolution instead.

nimblegull74 said:I’ve dealt with similar dilemmas. Personally, I'm pretty happy with the Dell P2421D. 1440p on a 24" screen ($600). I don't touch CAD much, just a bit of SketchUp. Otherwise, I prefer a tighter display; the usual standard stuff looks grainy to me.

If you're doing CAD—especially on a 32" setup—you really should go with 4K.

SketchUp works fine enough 🙂

I don't use CAD myself, but the engineers I bought these monitors for are satisfied. It's definitely a massive step up from a laptop screen or those old 1050p monitors. In my view, the most important thing is having an appropriate diagonal size for the resolution (so, 1080p for smaller screens, 1440p for 27-32"). Extra resolution never hurts; if you're working with fine details, it's a huge plus.
That said, 4K is pricier. I think 1440p offers the best bang for your buck.