Learn About Desktop Monitors

What is it?

It is an output device that displays all the visuals generated by your computer. It is also known as screen or display. The monitor is one of the most important parts when choosing your PC.

How does it work?

Monitors work by doing the following (over simplified) steps:

1. Receive instructions from GPU
2. Render visuals on the display

Look for

• Pixel Density

  The higher the pixel density the better

  It is usually measured in Pixel Per Inch (PPI), bigger displays should have higher resolutions to keep the pixel density high. PPI must be high if you plan on sitting close to the monitor.

• Contrast Ratio

  The higher the contrast ratio the better

  Also known as "Typical Contrast Ratio". It is the difference between the darkest blacks and the brightest whites the display is capable of producing. Do not confuse it with dynamic contrast ratio.

• Brightness

  The higher the brightness the better

  It means how bright can the display get. Brighter displays are easier to see in brighter environments or in direct sunlight. Some displays have different peak brightness and sustained brightness specs.

• Sustained Brightness

  Check if the monitor sustains peak brightness

  Modern monitors with HDR advertise very high peak brightness, unfortunately, many cannot sustain the peak brightness for long. Also, some monitors have Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL), which makes the monitor brighter when most of the display is dark, but when all the monitor is white, the peak brightness will be much less.

• Colour Accuracy

  Make sure the monitor is colour accurate

  There are many colour spaces such as sRGB, Adobe RGB and DCI-P3. Make sure your monitor is capable of representing the colour space you need accurately.

• Viewing Angles

  Check viewing angles

  Viewing angles are very important when the display is used with multiple people viewing it at the same time.

• Reflectivity

  Check how the monitor reflectivity

  Anti-glare monitors can look hazy, but are much easier to look at in very bright environments. Make sure to get an anti-glare display if you cannot control your lighting environment. The best anti-glare monitors reduce glare without any noticeable haze.

• HDR

  Check the HDR type if any

  HDR (High Dynamic Range) is one of the greatest things that happened to monitors recently. Unfortunately, not all HDR are equal. Make sure the monitor has high peak brightness and high contrast ratio so that it can output good HDR.

• Compatibility

  Check compatibility with GPU

  Make sure you have the required display ports with current version or newer.

• GPU Performance

  Check if your GPU performance can handle the monitor

  Monitors have many different resolutions based on their size, use, and quality. If you have a monitor with 4K resolution, and you have a weak GPU, your GPU will not be able to run games well on native resolution. You need a monitor with lower resolution to work better with your GPU. The best thing to do is to make sure the GPU can handle your monitor.

• Refresh Rate

  Check the monitor refresh rate, and if your GPU can handle it

  For most people, 60Hz is more than enough. For fast games, 120Hz is the sweet spot. Faster than 120Hz is not very noticeable, on top of being very difficult for GPUs.

• Variable Refresh Rate

  Check if it has variable refresh rate

  Variable refresh rate is very useful when you have a GPU that cannot run your monitor at native resolution and native refresh rate. It helps reduce stuttering while gaming.

• Response Time

  The lower the better

  Response time is very important for fast games. Make sure to check trusted monitor reviews, because some manufacturers don't report it properly.

• Aspect Ratio

  Get a monitor that has an aspect ratio most suitable for your needs

  There are mainly 3 aspect ratios for desktop monitors:
  
  16:9 (Widescreen) is the best if you mainly watch videos or play games.
  
  16:10 is very similar to 16:9, but slightly taller, which makes you see more content vertically.
  
  21:9 (Ultrawide) is good if you create content because it allows you to put more things side by side, also, some games take advantage of it.

• Desk Size

  Get a monitor that can fit on your desk

• Viewing Distance

  Get a bigger monitor if you plan on sitting far from it

• Adjustability

  Make sure the monitor has good Adjustability for your needs

Avoid

• Dynamic Contrast Ratio

  Ignore dynamic contrast ratio

  Some monitors support dynamic contrast ratio, however, when enabled, it makes the display perform much worse. The real contrast ratio of a display is usually marketed as "Typical Contrast Ratio". Unfortunately, some manufacturers like to focus on dynamic contrast ratio instead of the typical contrast ratio to confuse consumers that their displays perform much better than they really are.

• Low Brightness HDR

  Avoid HDR monitors with low brightness

  One of the most important metrics in producing good HDR is high brightness. If the monitor is not very bright, HDR output will be very poor.

• Low Contrast Ratio HDR

  Avoid HDR monitors with low contrast ratio

  One of the most important metrics in producing good HDR is high contrast ratio. If the monitor does not have high contrast ratio, HDR output will be very poor.

• Low Pixel Density

  Avoid monitors with low pixel density, especially for short viewing distances

• 3D

  Avoid 3D monitors

  3D can cause dizziness

• Low Refresh Rate

  Avoid monitors with refresh rates below 60Hz

• Burn-In

  Avoid monitors that can burn-in

  Some monitors can burn-in if they keep the same content on the display for extended period of time.

• Curved Monitors

  Avoid curved monitors for content creation. Curved monitors can make it difficult to draw straight lines when creating content