How I Chose the Perfect Monitor
Despite the billion options, there are to choose from when deciding which monitor to buy for your set-up, I found 3 monitors that take the cake in their respective categories(1080p, 1440p, and 4k). These monitors perform excellent in gaming and color-critical work and they are for a fairly reasonable price too. It is important to note that there are better monitors out that cost a lot more. I picked monitors that I felt balanced price to performance fairly well. Let’s get to it!
How to Choose the Perfect Monitor for your Set-Up
When choosing the monitor for your set-up, you need to consider a couple of questions.
- Are you going to use the monitor for color-critical work?
- Do you plan to use the monitor for gaming?
- What is your budget?
- Does PPI matter to you?
To choose the perfect monitor you need to answer those 3 questions. Those three questions will decide for you which monitor you need.
If your answer to the first question was yes, then you will need a monitor with an IPS or OLED panel and something that has a wide color gamut.
If your answer to the second was yes then you need a monitor that has less than 5 ms response time and a 144hz refresh rate at least.
If your budget is from $150–$300, then scroll down to the 1080p option. If your budget is $300-$600, then scroll down to the 1440p option. If your budget is $600-$1000, then go down to the 4k option.
PPI is pixels per square inch. The higher the PPI the clearer the image. I chose monitors with a high PPI instead of monitors with a large screen and a low PPI. I feel like image clarity is more important than screen size.
The 1080p Option
The Asus TUF Gaming VG259QR is an excellent 1080p 165hz gaming monitor. It’s a pretty well-balanced monitor with an IPS panel and a 1 ms response time. It has a 24.5-inch screen and it’s G-sync compatible. If you are trying to use this monitor for color-critical work like photo editing, just upgrade to 1440p. It was a couple of hundred dollars extra, but it’s well worth it.
See Amazon for the latest pricing and availability.
The 1440p Option
The MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD is an excellent 27-inch 1440p gaming monitor. It has a 165 Hz refresh rate and a 1 ms response time. Its IPS panel can display a very wide color gamut although sometimes colors appear over-saturated. It’s FreeSync and G-Sync compatible. It uses quantum dot technology to provide a crisp display. If you want to get into gaming, this is the perfect monitor for you.
See Amazon for the latest pricing and availability.
The 4k Option
The LG 27GP950-B is an amazing gaming monitor. With a fast 160 Hz refresh rate and a 1 ms response time, this monitor is awesome. It’s a 27-inch screen with an IPS panel. Being not only Free-Sync and G-Sync compatible, but it also has HDMI 2.1 ports for your PS5 or your Xbox Series X. It has a pretty good color gamut although it isn’t the largest we have seen.
See Amazon for the latest pricing and availability.
4k Alternative
Conclusion
If you’ve read till here, congrats. You’ve lasted longer than most people and are now part of a select few. The monitors listed are the ones I would choose for my set-up. They aren’t necessarily the very best in their category, but they balance price to perform fairly well.
I’m sure you noticed that I didn’t cover office monitors or monitors specific to color-critical work(although all these monitors would work fairly well with color-critical work). I focused more on gaming because that is what most people are most interested in but if you were hoping to see other options not related to gaming, let me know in the comments(I read them:) ).
Personally for me, my favorite monitor would be the MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD. This is the monitor that will be taking a place on my set-up. Being a 27 inch monitor it has a very good PPI(more on that in a later post.)
Upcoming Posts
My next post is going to be about resolution doesn’t matter when talking about monitors. It will probably post sometime next week, fingers crossed.
I am open to suggestions as to what I should write next.
Signed,
Sam Mishin
Links to articles I used:
- https://hungrygeeks.com.ph/asus-tuf-vg259qr-review-feature-filled-165hz-gaming-monitor/
- https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/msi/optix-mag274qrf-qd
- https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/lg/27gp950-b
Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.
