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Wednesday, 30 March 2016

Updated: Buying Guide: 10 best monitors and displays on the market 2016

Updated: Buying Guide: 10 best monitors and displays on the market 2016

Introduction

Ten years ago, monitors were nothing more than necessary accessories. Today, they can be luxury items that dramatically improve all aspects of computing and content consumption. There are so many types of monitors that suit so many different needs.

Screen resolution, response time, panel weight: everything should be considered when choosing a personal device or an enterprise fleet. Unfortunately, all of these specs can be confusing. We've compiled this roundup to help you sort through the abundance of options available.

Philips Brilliance BDM3490UC

1. Philips Brilliance BDM3490UC

Screen size: 34-inch | Aspect ratio: 21:9 | Resolution: 3440 x 1440 Brightness: 340 cd/m2 | Response time: 14ms | Viewing angle: 172/178 | Contrast ratio: 1000:1 | Colour support: SRGB 100% | Weight: 7.9kg

Super build quality
Great picture
Relatively good value
No G-Sync or FreeSync

The Philips Brilliance's BDM3490UC is the best cinematic monitor we've tried yet. This massive panel has a bright and attractive IPS display with wide viewing angles, which makes it great for watching movies or being productive on the desktop. Its extra-wide 21:9 curved form factor is especially great for gaming even in the absence of G-Sync or FreeSync frame-smoothing tech. The Brilliance is also a little cheaper than rival cinematic 21:9 panels, which certainly doesn't hurt.

Read the full review: Philips Brilliance BDM3490UC

Display

2. Acer Predator X34

Acer Predator X34

Screen size: 34-inch | Aspect ratio: 21:9 | Resolution: 3440 x 1440 Brightness: 300 cd/m2 | Response time: 4ms G2G (grey-to-grey) | Viewing angle: 178/178 | Contrast ratio: 100 million:1 | Colour support: SRGB 100% | Weight: 9.9kg

Aggressive design
Perfect color accuracy
Limited port selection
Underpowered speakers

Cinematic monitors are a great alternative to 4K ones when it comes to gaming. In fact, you might say they're even better due to their ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio. The Acer Predator X34 certainly looks the part, featuring an eye-catching aluminium bezel and angular, crow's foot-shape stand. It comes with a number of gaming mod cons in tow, including Nvidia's G-Sync frame-smoothing tech, an immersion-boosting curved shape and fantastic color reproduction that brings games to life. Short of strapping on a virtual reality headset, the Predator X34 is about as immersive as gaming gets.

Read the full review: Acer Predator X34

Philips 2586QJEB

3. Philips 258B6QJEB

Thin bezels feature on this well-connected QHD monitor

Screen size: 25-inch | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 2,560 x 1,440 | Brightness: 350 cd/m2 | Response time: 14ms | Viewing angle: 178/178 | Contrast ratio: 1000:1 | Colour support: SRGB 87% | Weight: 15.4 pounds

Image quality
Adjustability
Small footprint
High response time
Tinny speakers

In terms of price, size and sharpness, QHD often hits the sweet spot, and Philips' 258B6QJEB is one of the most stylish 25-inch models arouund. Packing a pixel-resolution of 2,560 x 1,440, it provides more than enough room on the desktop to get productive, and because the monitor is compact it won't take up much room on your desk. It's versatile too thanks to its built-in rotate and height adjustability

Philips loaded the 258B6QJEB with an abundance of connectivity options that include two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports (one with a high-current output), VGA, DVI-D, DisplayPort, HDMI, a 3.5mm audio-in and headphone output sockets.

Read the full review: Philips 258B6QJEB

Samsung UD970

4. Samsung UD970

Get ready for ultra high-def on your desktop

Screen size: 31.5-inch | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Brightness: 280 cd/m2 | Response time: 8ms | Viewing angle: 178/178 | Contrast ratio: 1000:1 | Colour support: SRGB 100% | Weight: 30.14 pounds

Colour accuracy
Landscape/portrait rotation
Hardware button menu navigation
Cost

A 4K display that's factory-calibrated for great colour accuracy and image quality, which makes it ideal for digital designers, CAD/CAM engineers or videographers who aren't put off by the high-price tag.

Read the full review: UD970

LG UltraWide 34UC97

5. LG UltraWide 34UC97

Great for work, games, and movies – but it's costly

Screen size: 34-inch | Aspect ratio: 21:9 | Resolution: 3440x1440 | Brightness: 300 cd/m2 | Response time: 5ms | Viewing angle: 178/178 | Contrast ratio: 1M:1 (DFC) | Colour support: SRGB 99% | Weight: 19.8 pounds

See the best LG UltraWide 34UC97 deals

Good speakers with bass
Great contrast and colour reproduction
Expensive

The LG's curved design, high resolution and huge diagonal make it a high quality replacement for single 4K panels or a pair of 1080p screens, and the form factor means it's tempting for work, games and movies.

Read the full review: 34UC97

Best monitor

6. Acer S277HK

A bezel-less beauty

Screen size: 27-inch | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Brightness: 300 cd/m2 | Response time: 4ms | Viewing angle: 178/178 | Contrast ratio: 100,000,000:1 | Colour support: SRGB 100% | Weight: 11.9 pounds

See the best Acer S277HK deals

Bezel-less design
Refresh rate
No USB ports
Height not adjustable

A gorgeous IPS screen and bezel-free design make the S227HK a stunning display by itself or an even more impressive and immersive member of a multi-monitor setup.

Read the full review: S277HK

ViewSonic VP2772

7. Viewsonic VP2772

What this professional monitor lacks in style it makes up with exceptional picture quality

Screen size: 27-inch | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Brightness: 350 cd/m2 | Response time: 12ms | Viewing angle: 178/178 | Contrast ratio: 1000:1 | Colour support: SRGB 100% | Weight: 18.8 pounds

Bezel-less design
Refresh rate
No USB ports
Height not adjustable

A rich set of features, great picture quality out of the box and hassle-free setup make the VP2772 an attractive monitor.

Read the full review: VP2772

Dell Ultrasharp UP2414Q

8. Dell UltraSharp UP2414Q

A superb display, but you're paying through the nose for a mere 24-inches

Screen size: 24-inch | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Brightness: 350 cd/m2 | Response time: 8ms | Viewing angle: 178/178 | Contrast ratio: 1000:1 | Colour support: SRGB 100%; Adobe RGB 99% | Weight: 10.58 pounds

Super display
Great features
Very expensive
Just 24-inches

A fantastic monitor that's a little ahead of its time in terms of GPU and operating system support.

Read the full review: UltraSharp UP2414Q

Acer B276HUL

9. Acer B326HUL

Big, bold and accurate colours from a TV-sized monitor

Screen size: 32-inch | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Brightness: 300 cd/m2 | Response time: 6ms | Viewing angle: 178/178 | Contrast ratio: 100,000,000:1 | Colour support: SRGB 100% | Weight: 15.35 pounds

Colour accuracy
Port selection
No MHL
Viewing angles

Acer's larger-than-life B326HUL comes with great colour accuracy out-of-the-box, easy-to-use menu controls and good build quality, but its above-average response time, lack of MHL and price point may make you want to look elsewhere.

Read the full review: B326HUL

BenQ BL2710PT

9. BenQ BL2710PT

Aimed at CAD/CAM professionals, this feature-packed 27-inch monitor delivers

Screen size: 27-inch | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 3440x1440 | Brightness: 350 cd/m2 | Response time: 12ms | Viewing angle: 178/178 | Contrast ratio: 1000:1 | Colour support: SRGB 99% | Weight: 23.8 pounds

Port selection
Flicker-free backlight
Design
Touch controls

A feature-packed and well-connected monitor that offers plenty for the asking price. It may not be exciting to look at and the menu controls suffer from a lack of labeling, but these are minor caveats that don't detract from an overall worthy investment.

Read the full review: BL2710PT










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