* size (>=32", preferably ultrawide, currently using 38" UW)
* resolution (I am fine with >=1440p)
* USB-C or Thunderbolt with sufficient power to charge notebooks, so you only need to connect one cable to your notebook
* at least 4 USB ports (so keyboard, mouse, camera, speakerphone can be connected to monitor and it acts as a switch when using more than one notebooks)
* viewing angle / display type (image should look the same no matter which angle - but shouldn't be a problem in the price range of monitors that fulfill the previous points)
* High-ish DPI is desirable. 27" 4K displays are a good start and look pretty sharp at 150% scaling. 5K screens were still pretty overpriced last time I looked, and there weren't many options available, but you can use them at 200% comfortably. Avoid monitors that would require you to use fractional scaling if you're running NVIDIA on Linux
* even for non-gaming uses, high refresh rates are comfortable, IMO. 120hz or higher is fine. Going higher has diminishing returns.
* OLED panels are desirable.
* if you're making a multi-monitor setup, avoid introducing displays that require different levels of scaling. You'll avoid headaches, though KDE improved that drastically in recent years.
Is it even possible to have 5K, 120 Hz and HiDPI together? I also want all three, but the last time I checked, literally the only 5K 120 Hz monitor you could buy was Dell’s 40-inch curved UltraSharp. Which does look nice and has gotten rave reviews, but 5K at 40” just seems too low density for what I want, and there’s literally no other 5K 120Hz monitor out there, unless I’m overlooking something.
I’ve been carefully watching CES hoping someone would announce another one, but so far no dice - Dell did bump their 27- and 32-inch 4K UltraSharps to 120Hz, which is a welcome development, but if you want more than 4K you’re still out of luck.
EDIT: The next hope if that doesn’t happen is that Apple refreshes their 5K and 6K displays with 120Hz when they update the Mac Studio, which is supposedly happening this spring. It would be a logical time for it now that the latest Macs have Thunderbolt 5 (TB4 literally didn’t have enough bandwidth to do 5K@120, much less 6K), but so far there don’t seem to be rumors to this effect, and historically Apple waits a very long time between monitor updates.
- ~160 dpi or higher. Note that some people here are going to rage about non-integer scaling and they're right. But I'm older with less than 20/20 vision and an Apple Silicon device, so it looks sharp enough to me and I don't have any performance issues under any circumstances.
When I last refreshed, a couple years ago, I knew I wanted 32-ish inch 4K displays and then looked for something solid on sale. I ended up with a pair of Dell displays, I got the S3221QS. Largely, since I was purchasing myself, I optimized for price, within those parameters.
* size (>=32", preferably ultrawide, currently using 38" UW)
* resolution (I am fine with >=1440p)
* USB-C or Thunderbolt with sufficient power to charge notebooks, so you only need to connect one cable to your notebook
* at least 4 USB ports (so keyboard, mouse, camera, speakerphone can be connected to monitor and it acts as a switch when using more than one notebooks)
* viewing angle / display type (image should look the same no matter which angle - but shouldn't be a problem in the price range of monitors that fulfill the previous points)
* High-ish DPI is desirable. 27" 4K displays are a good start and look pretty sharp at 150% scaling. 5K screens were still pretty overpriced last time I looked, and there weren't many options available, but you can use them at 200% comfortably. Avoid monitors that would require you to use fractional scaling if you're running NVIDIA on Linux
* even for non-gaming uses, high refresh rates are comfortable, IMO. 120hz or higher is fine. Going higher has diminishing returns.
* OLED panels are desirable.
* if you're making a multi-monitor setup, avoid introducing displays that require different levels of scaling. You'll avoid headaches, though KDE improved that drastically in recent years.
Is it even possible to have 5K, 120 Hz and HiDPI together? I also want all three, but the last time I checked, literally the only 5K 120 Hz monitor you could buy was Dell’s 40-inch curved UltraSharp. Which does look nice and has gotten rave reviews, but 5K at 40” just seems too low density for what I want, and there’s literally no other 5K 120Hz monitor out there, unless I’m overlooking something.
I’ve been carefully watching CES hoping someone would announce another one, but so far no dice - Dell did bump their 27- and 32-inch 4K UltraSharps to 120Hz, which is a welcome development, but if you want more than 4K you’re still out of luck.
EDIT: The next hope if that doesn’t happen is that Apple refreshes their 5K and 6K displays with 120Hz when they update the Mac Studio, which is supposedly happening this spring. It would be a logical time for it now that the latest Macs have Thunderbolt 5 (TB4 literally didn’t have enough bandwidth to do 5K@120, much less 6K), but so far there don’t seem to be rumors to this effect, and historically Apple waits a very long time between monitor updates.
I look for non fire sale prices and non bleeding edge prices.
Things going for 150-200 is old tech. Things in the $500+ is fomo new tech.
Exactly 350-400 is the correct price for a balance of new and legacy tech (best value).
It’s the only way to not get screwed on something that takes up real estate, hard to resell/ship.
This is a niche coding monitor I’m considering: https://www.amazon.com/BenQ-RD280U-Programming-Fine-Coated-E...
- 27" or higher.
- 4K or higher.
- 1440p effective resolution or higher.
- 120 hz or higher.
- ~160 dpi or higher. Note that some people here are going to rage about non-integer scaling and they're right. But I'm older with less than 20/20 vision and an Apple Silicon device, so it looks sharp enough to me and I don't have any performance issues under any circumstances.
If you want a more stringent look at monitor's, check out Niki Tonsky's posts: https://tonsky.me/blog/monitors/
What is "effective resolution" and what is the difference between that and the other resolution requirement?
The highest PPI with the highest text clarity and the highest refresh rate I can get. 27-32"
OLED and HDR are nice, but I don't do anything at work that requires them, and burn-in is still a concern.
I love ultrawides rather than the standard 16:9s. You can put two windows side by side and each is still usable.
You should probably say what kind of work you do. A photographer has different needs than an journalist.
I'm gucci with 1440p, 60hz and 27". Two of them.
I have a 165hz screen at home and don't notice much when coding.
I don't care for high refresh rates or high DPI, but:
- matte surface
- effective* vertical res >= 1200 px (*: meaning that, for instance, 1440 with 2.0 scaling counts as 720 px only).
- ability to rotate (not a must, but nice to have).
Over 200 DPI is non-negotiable.
Integrated webcam and speakers are a near-must.
High refresh is a nice to have.
Ideally minimum 30 inch, 16:10 ratio and OLED (I'm not worried about burn-in personally).
I always look for an integrated usb-c / thunderbolt Dock. Really convenient to have only one cable
5k resolution, >= 220 ppi. Everything else is secondary.
Make sure your computer supports it/them.
When I last refreshed, a couple years ago, I knew I wanted 32-ish inch 4K displays and then looked for something solid on sale. I ended up with a pair of Dell displays, I got the S3221QS. Largely, since I was purchasing myself, I optimized for price, within those parameters.