Resolution and size, together
Resolution and Size only make sense as a pair. The same resolution spread over a bigger screen looks softer, because each pixel is larger. These pairings are the common ones, and look sharp at a normal desk distance:
- 24 inch at 1080p: the most affordable, and the easiest for a graphics card to drive.
- 27 inch at 1440p: the popular middle ground, noticeably sharper than 1080p.
- 27 or 32 inch at 4K: very sharp, but needs a powerful graphics card for games.
1080p on a 27 inch screen works, but looks soft up close. Higher resolutions also ask more of the graphics card, which is why the graphics card guide starts with the monitor.
Refresh rate
Refresh Rate, in Hz, is how many times a second the screen updates. 60 Hz is fine for office work. For games, 144 Hz and above feels much smoother, and fast competitive games benefit from higher still.
Careful: A high refresh rate only helps if the graphics card can produce that many frames per second. A 240 Hz screen fed 70 frames a second looks like a 70 Hz one. What will it run? shows how graphics cards handle 1080p, 1440p and 4K.
Panel types
The Panel spec names the screen technology, and it shapes the picture more than any other spec.
- IPS: good colours and viewing angles, and quick enough for most games. The most common choice.
- VA: deeper blacks and better contrast than IPS, which suits dark games and films. Some VA panels smear in fast, dark scenes.
- TN: fast and cheap, but with weaker colours and viewing angles. Now mostly found at the budget end.
- OLED: each pixel makes its own light, so blacks are perfect and motion is very sharp. More expensive, and static images left on screen for long periods can cause burn-in. Check what the warranty says about burn-in.
Some LCD monitors use Mini-LED backlights, with many small zones that dim separately. They get closer to OLED's contrast while staying bright, at a higher price than ordinary LCDs.
Tip: Most monitors have a matte coating that cuts reflections. Some, often OLEDs, are glossy, which looks punchier in a dark room but reflects windows and lamps. Think about where the desk sits.
Response time
Response Time, in milliseconds, is how quickly a pixel changes colour. Lower is better, because slow pixels leave a blur behind moving objects.
Careful: Makers measure response time in different ways, often in their fastest setting, which can add bright outlines around moving objects. Treat the figure as a rough guide and do not compare it across brands. Independent reviews that measure it themselves are far more reliable.
HDR
The HDR spec says whether the monitor accepts high dynamic range video. Accepting the signal is not the same as showing it well: good HDR needs high brightness and the ability to dim parts of the screen separately.
VESA's DisplayHDR labels help. DisplayHDR 400 is the entry level and often looks little better than standard mode. Higher tiers such as 600 and 1000, and the True Black tiers on OLED screens, are where HDR starts to look like HDR.
Adaptive sync
The Sync spec covers FreeSync and G-Sync. Both let the monitor match its refresh to the graphics card's frame rate, which removes tearing and stutter when the frame rate dips. Most gaming monitors have it, and most work with both AMD and NVIDIA cards over DisplayPort, but check the listing if your card's brand matters to you.
Connections
High resolutions at high refresh rates need a lot of bandwidth. 4K at 120 Hz and above usually needs HDMI 2.1, or DisplayPort with compression (DSC) or a newer DisplayPort version. Check the monitor and the graphics card both have a port that can carry what you want.
Consoles connect over HDMI, so a monitor shared with a console needs HDMI 2.1 for 4K at 120 Hz. A USB-C port that carries video is handy for laptops.
Ultrawide and aspect ratio
Aspect Ratio is 16:9 on a standard monitor, 21:9 on an ultrawide and 32:9 on a super ultrawide. A wider screen is immersive in racing, flight and many single-player games, and useful for work. Some games do not support it and show black bars instead, and the extra width asks more of the graphics card than a 16:9 screen of the same height.
The stand
A stand that adjusts for height and tilt makes a real difference to comfort over long sessions. If the included stand is basic, a VESA mount lets you fit a monitor arm instead.
How much to spend
- Entry level: 1080p at a high refresh rate, usually on an IPS panel. A good match for an entry or mid-range graphics card.
- Mid-range: 1440p at a high refresh rate. The best fit for most gaming PCs.
- High end: 4K at a high refresh rate, or OLED. Pair it with a graphics card that can drive it.
A monitor often outlasts several graphics cards, so it can be worth buying one step above today's card if you plan to upgrade the card later.
Using VantaSpec to choose
- The monitor picker asks what you play or do, the size, resolution and budget, and gives a shortlist of in-stock monitors with why each one fits.
- The monitors category can be filtered by Size, Resolution, Refresh Rate, Panel, Aspect Ratio and HDR.
- The best-of lists rank monitors under each budget by how many pixels they draw per second, resolution times refresh rate.
- Compare puts two monitors side by side.
Each product page shows the price at the shops we track and its price history, with a bell to set a price alert.