Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Best 4K Monitor Overall
Dell UltraSharp 27 4K USB-C Hub Monitor (U2723QE)
- IPS Black technology deepens black levels, improves contrast
- 4K resolution with sharp high-pixel-density image
- Extensive ergonomic features
- Dual DisplayPort connectors let you daisy-chain monitors
- Mini-joystick controller for OSD
- Pricey for a 27-inch monitor
- No webcam
The Dell U2723QE has a prodigious feature set, including a full range of ergonomic adjustments and all the ports we expect from a “docking station” monitor. It can charge a laptop over its USB-C connection, and it even provides Ethernet connectivity should you be in an office with spotty Wi-Fi. Its 27-inch 4K UHD screen, with a high pixel density and wide color gamut, is one of the first to incorporate LG’s IPS Black technology, which provides far better contrast than standard in-plane switching (IPS) displays. The only common business feature it is missing is a webcam, but only a select few desktop displays have one.
The U2723QE sells at a high enough price that you’re not likely to outfit a whole office with them. It would be a good choice for meeting-heavy managers (or other critical workers), especially ones involved in dealing with creative content as one aspect of their job. It’s not a full-on graphic arts monitor, but its sweet 4K IPS Black screen is fine for photo and video work in a pinch, and it’s an easy attach/detach for a frequently toted laptop.
Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner)
27 inches
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Screen Technology
IPS Black
Rated Screen Luminance
400 nits
Rated Contrast Ratio
2,000:1
Pixel Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Adaptive Sync
NA
Video Inputs
HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C
USB Ports (Excluding Upstream)
6
VESA DisplayHDR Level
DisplayHDR 400
Dimensions (HWD)
15.2 by 24.1 by 7.3 inches
Weight
14.6 lbs
Warranty (Parts/Labor)
3 years
Learn More
Dell UltraSharp 27 4K USB-C Hub Monitor (U2723QE) Review
Best Giant-Screen 4K Productivity Monitor
Dell UltraSharp 43 4K USB-C Monitor (U4323QE)
- 43-inch IPS screen in UHD (4K) resolution
- Plenty of ports, including Ethernet, DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB-C
- Supports tiled windows from up to four input sources
- Excellent sRGB color coverage
- Mini-joystick controller
- Stand offers only modest ergonomic adjustments
- Most ports are tricky to access
Large 4K monitors have the advantage of providing massive amounts of both vertical and horizontal screen space. If you’ve got the space in your home office for a TV-sized monitor (and a pocketbook nearly as large), you’ll want to check out the Dell UltraSharp 43 4K USB-C Monitor (U4323QE). It’s the 4K productivity monitor to beat, with an enormous 43-inch display that can be divided into quadrants (each with its own input). Such a giant monitor begs to be used with more than just your PC, so Dell includes plenty of input/output options: a total of five USB-C ports, in addition to HDMI and DisplayPort connectors. All of this will cost you a cool $1,300, but productivity fiends may find that sum worth it.
Large-screen productivity panels, especially at 4K resolution, are a luxury, to be sure. If you’re in the market, you’ll want to select one that offers more than just a big screen, and thanks to the UltraSharp 43’s unique input options, it fits the (enormous) bill.
Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner)
42.5 inches
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Screen Technology
IPS
Rated Screen Luminance
350 nits
Rated Contrast Ratio
1,000:1
Pixel Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Adaptive Sync
N/A
Video Inputs
USB-C, HDMI (2), DisplayPort (2)
USB Ports (Excluding Upstream)
5
VESA DisplayHDR Level
N/A
Dimensions (HWD)
25.8 by 38.1 by 10.1 inches
Weight
40.9 lbs
Warranty (Parts/Labor)
3 years
Learn More
Dell UltraSharp 43 4K USB-C Monitor (U4323QE) Review
Best Budget 4K Monitor
MSI Modern MD271UL
- Modestly priced for a 4K monitor
- Above-average (and above-advertised) contrast and brightness
- High pixel density
- Unusually frustrating OSD controls
- Ergonomic features limited to tilt adjustment
Coming in at a budget price for a 27-inch 4K IPS display, the MSI Modern MD271UL is enjoyably bright, with above-average contrast and great color coverage (the full sRGB space, and very good Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 coverage as well). Inputs include two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort connector, and a USB-C port that supports DisplayPort over USB Alternate Mode and up to 65 watts of USB power delivery. We wish it offered more ergonomic adjustments (it’s limited to tilt control) and had a better OSD control system, but if you can live with those foibles it’s a great value.
The MD271UL is a good fit for a small or home office, for someone who at least occasionally works with photos, digital art, or video. Its brightness, good contrast, and stellar color coverage make it a good option for entertainment as well, though you’ll have to use your computer’s audio, headphones, or powered external speakers for watching movies.
Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner)
27 inches
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Screen Technology
IPS
Rated Screen Luminance
300 nits
Rated Contrast Ratio
1000:1
Pixel Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Adaptive Sync
NA
Video Inputs
HDMI (2), DisplayPort, USB-C
USB Ports (Excluding Upstream)
0
VESA DisplayHDR Level
DisplayHDR 400
Dimensions (HWD)
18.6 by 24.2 by 7.8 inches
Weight
12.7 lbs
Warranty (Parts/Labor)
3 years
Learn More
MSI Modern MD271UL Review
Best 4K Gaming Monitor
HP Omen Transcend 32 OLED
- Excellent color range
- Stylish design with RGB lighting
- Wide I/O port variety
- Great sound from built-in speakers
- Expensive
- Massive power brick
The HP Omen Transcend 32 OLED is a 32-inch QD-OLED display that elevates what we can expect from a premium gaming monitor. It is one of the best multipurpose OLED monitors we have encountered, with excellent color range, color accuracy, and gaming performance that justify its high price if you’ll leverage most of that. It combines a strong gaming and content-creation solution in a single 32-inch 4K panel.
It’s expensive for a panel of its size, but buyers looking for a strong gaming and content-creation solution in one 32-inch 4K monitor will find the HP Omen Transcend worthy of worship. It earns an Editors’ Choice award for covering both of those areas with great skill. If you’re future-proofing for a gaming rig or even building a professional workstation that will serve double duty for entertainment, the Omen is well worth the high asking price. (Photographers and videographers who use Macs and who aren’t interested in gaming will prefer a model like the BenQ PD3225U instead.)
Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner)
32 inches
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Screen Technology
QD-OLED
Rated Screen Luminance
250 nits
Rated Contrast Ratio
1,500,000:1
Pixel Refresh Rate
240 Hz
Adaptive Sync
VESA Adaptive Sync
Video Inputs
HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C
USB Ports (Excluding Upstream)
6
VESA DisplayHDR Level
DisplayHDR True Black 400
Dimensions (HWD)
24.4 by 28.3 by 9.5 inches
Weight
19.4 lbs
Warranty (Parts/Labor)
3 years
Learn More
HP Omen Transcend 32 OLED Review
Best Extra-Large 4K Gaming Monitor
Samsung Odyssey Ark
- Immersive panel curve
- Wide color coverage
- Fantastic sound quality
- Extensive port selection
- Packed with cloud gaming options
- Too expensive for most gamers
- Color accuracy needs adjustment
- Ark Dial remote is a bit clunky
- Very heavy
A massive (55-inch) and highly curved gaming monitor that maintains 4K resolution in a standard widescreen aspect ratio, the Samsung Odyssey Ark is impressive as all get-out. A gorgeous picture, a fantastic 1000R curve, and a surprisingly immersive sound system make the Ark an easy buy for gamers who have a couple grand to shell out for it. It’s a good choice for flight-sim fans, multi-taskers, or even as a TV replacement.
Only gamers for whom price is no object can reserve a place on this Ark, as it will cost you at least a couple thou. It’s a conversation piece to anchor a home entertainment setup, or you can open a zillion windows on it and read your Slack messages while you’re trying to solve the latest Wordle while in the midst of a Zoom call—the possibilities are endless.
Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner)
55 inches
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Screen Technology
IPS
Rated Screen Luminance
1000 nits
Rated Contrast Ratio
100M:1
Pixel Refresh Rate
165 Hz
Adaptive Sync
AMD FreeSync Premium Pro
Video Inputs
HDMI
USB Ports (Excluding Upstream)
2
VESA DisplayHDR Level
HDR10+
Dimensions (HWD)
43 by 46 by 14.9 inches
Weight
91 lbs
Warranty (Parts/Labor)
1 year
Learn More
Samsung Odyssey Ark Review
Best 4K Monitor for Console Gaming
Sony Inzone M9
- Eye-catching design
- Exclusive features for PlayStation 5
- Very low input lag
- HDMI 2.1 and USB-C ports included
- Expensive
- Sound quality is unremarkable
Coming from the makers of the PlayStation itself, the Sony Inzone M9 gets a lot right as a console-friendly 27-inch 144Hz 4K gaming monitor. The slick, sexy monitor has tons of forward-thinking automation features sure to pique the interest of gamers, especially those lucky enough to be gaming on a PS5. Its Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) panel technology makes for better depth perception, highlights, and deeper blacks. It also supports DisplayHDR, and packs plenty of custom features exclusive to the PS5. It does trip up on a few of the basics, but it mostly offers a quality gaming experience, and one tailored for those who jump often between their PC and their console on the same panel. Low input lag will captivate the competitive crowd, while solid brightness and color results will please casual viewers looking for a clean picture while binging TV shows.
If you’re a gamer who flips between a PC and a console constantly, you’ll find a lot to love in the Inzone M9, especially if you have a PC video card amped-up enough to push decent frame rates at 4K.
Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner)
27 inches
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Screen Technology
IPS
Rated Screen Luminance
600 nits
Rated Contrast Ratio
1,000:1
Pixel Refresh Rate
144 Hz
Adaptive Sync
Nvidia G-Sync Compatible
Video Inputs
DisplayPort, HDMI
USB Ports (Excluding Upstream)
3
VESA DisplayHDR Level
DisplayHDR 600
Dimensions (HWD)
18.2 by 24 by 8.9 inches
Weight
15 lbs
Warranty (Parts/Labor)
1 year
Learn More
Sony Inzone M9 Review
Best 4K Monitor for Content Creators
BenQ PD3225U DesignVue Designer Monitor
- 32-inch 4K UHD screen
- IPS Black tech means high contrast
- Thunderbolt ports let you daisy-chain a second monitor
- Supports Mac-friendly color spaces like Display P3 and M-book
- Stand offers height, tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustments
- Mediocre Adobe RGB coverage
- Uniformity setting significantly reduces brightness and contrast
Designed for creative professionals, the 32-inch BenQ PD3225U monitor has a 31.5-inch, 10-bit IPS panel with 4K UHD resolution (3,840 by 2,160 pixels). It provides a wealth of ports, including a pair of Thunderbolt connectors that enables daisy-chaining monitors. The PD3225U showed overall excellence in our testing; its color accuracy out of the box easily bests BenQ’s rating, and it covers nearly the full sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces.
As a professional monitor for creators, the BenQ PD3225U is primarily geared to Mac users—its color spaces include Display P3, the native space for most recent Macs—though it works well for Windows PCs, too. This 32-inch 4K monitor’s resolution, pixel density, brightness, color accuracy, and color coverage all put it in good stead as a creator monitor for both photo and video work, although if you work in Adobe RGB you will want to look elsewhere.
Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner)
31.5 inches
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Screen Technology
IPS Black
Rated Screen Luminance
400 nits
Rated Contrast Ratio
2000:1
Pixel Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Adaptive Sync
NA
Video Inputs
HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C, Thunderbolt 3
USB Ports (Excluding Upstream)
4
VESA DisplayHDR Level
DisplayHDR 400
Dimensions (HWD)
18.8 by 24.7 by 10.8 inches
Weight
18.1 lbs
Warranty (Parts/Labor)
3 years
Learn More
BenQ PD3225U DesignVue Designer Monitor Review
Best Thunderbolt/USB Hub 4K Monitor
Dell UltraSharp 32 4K Thunderbolt Hub Monitor (U3225QE)
- Dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, one with 140-watt power delivery
- 4K UHD resolution with great color coverage
- Seven downstream USB-A and USB-C ports
- IPS Black panel with 3,000:1 rated contrast ratio
- Pricey
- Lacks built-in speakers
Dell calls its UltraSharp U3225QE a Thunderbolt hub monitor, but in addition to its downstream Thunderbolt 4 port (to go with an upstream one), this display is a formidable USB hub, with seven USB ports (two USB-C and five USB-A). It can substitute for a laptop docking station, providing power, Ethernet, and all the ports you could hope for, plus a few extras. The U3225QE is an exemplary 32-inch panel with 4K UHD resolution, great sRGB and DCI-P3 color coverage, and a 120Hz refresh rate. Plus, its 3,000:1 rated contrast ratio is the new vanguard for IPS Black, and the U3225QE has all the ergonomic features you would expect from a high-end productivity monitor.
The Dell UltraSharp 32 4K Thunderbolt Hub Monitor (U3225QE) doesn’t come cheap, but it’s on the bleeding edge of the company’s growing family of Thunderbolt-equipped Dell elite productivity monitors. It distinguishes itself from similar displays by its unusually high contrast ratio—even for an IPS Black panel—and its exceptionally generous downstream port selection. It’s a great pick for managers and elite workers, especially ones who occasionally work with photos and graphics.
Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner)
31.5 inches
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Screen Technology
IPS Black
Rated Screen Luminance
450 nits
Rated Contrast Ratio
3000:1
Pixel Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Adaptive Sync
NA
Video Inputs
USB-C, Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort, HDMI
USB Ports (Excluding Upstream)
8
VESA DisplayHDR Level
DisplayHDR 600
Dimensions (HWD)
24.4 by 28.1 by 8.5 inches
Weight
20.6 lbs
Warranty (Parts/Labor)
3 years
Learn More
Dell UltraSharp 32 4K Thunderbolt Hub Monitor (U3225QE) Review
Best Ergonomics on a 4K Monitor
BenQ PD2706UA
- Exceptional ergonomic versatility thanks to ergo-arm mount
- Wide selection of ports
- Virtual KVM switch
- Good color coverage, especially for sRGB
- Decent built-in speakers
- Measured contrast ratio well below BenQ’s rating
- On the pricey side for what it offers
The BenQ PD2706UA takes ergonomic friendliness to a new level. This 27-inch 4K display attaches to its stand via a hinged “ergo-arm” that allows a wide range of fluid motion toward or away from you, or to the side. The PD2706UA is not freestanding; the base includes a clamp that you fasten to a desk or table. There are plenty of capable 27-inch UHD monitors for less money, but the PD2706UA’s mobility puts it in a class by itself.
The BenQ PD2706UA is primarily for businesspeople who want or need the comfort that the ergonomically exceptional clamp-on stand can provide. It’s a great choice for people rehabbing from an injury, or who just like the ease with which they can adjust and relocate the monitor.
Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner)
27 inches
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Screen Technology
IPS
Rated Screen Luminance
350 nits
Rated Contrast Ratio
1200:1
Pixel Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Adaptive Sync
N/A
Video Inputs
HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C
USB Ports (Excluding Upstream)
4
VESA DisplayHDR Level
DisplayHDR 400
Dimensions (HWD)
27.7 by 24.2 by 18.2 inches
Weight
20.1 lbs
Warranty (Parts/Labor)
3 years
Learn More
BenQ PD2706UA Review
Best 4K Touch-Screen Monitor
Alogic Clarity Pro Touch
- 27-inch touch screen
- 4K UHD resolution
- Full sRGB and Adobe RGB color coverage
- Contrast ratio considerably better than its rating
- 8-megapixel webcam
- On the pricey side for a display of its capabilities
- Poorly responsive control buttons
- Awkward, icon-based OSD menu system
The Alogic Clarity Pro Touch is a rare 27-inch 4K UHD monitor that features 10-point gesture-based touch support. Our testing showed the panel to be bright, with excellent contrast, full Adobe RGB and sRGB color coverage, and suitable color accuracy. It packs in a webcam, a solid stand with good ergonomics, and a USB-C port that provides up to 65 watts of power delivery. Downsides include poorly responsive control buttons and a wonky, icon-based menu system. It is an excellent (albeit pricey) way to add a touch screen to your desktop setup.
The Clarity Pro Touch is primarily for designers seeking a display with touch functionality but who prefer a monitor in a traditional form factor rather than an interactive pen display. Although it’s pricey compared with similar non-touch panels, it costs far less than a pen display with a similar screen size.
Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner)
27 inches
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Screen Technology
IPS
Rated Screen Luminance
400 nits
Rated Contrast Ratio
1000:1
Pixel Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Adaptive Sync
AMD FreeSync
Video Inputs
USB-C, DisplayPort, HDMI (2)
USB Ports (Excluding Upstream)
3
VESA DisplayHDR Level
DisplayHDR 400
Dimensions (HWD)
22.2 by 24.6 by 8.7 inches
Weight
16.8 lbs
Warranty (Parts/Labor)
2 years
Learn More
Alogic Clarity Pro Touch Review
Get Our Best Stories!
Lab Report
By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
The Best 4K Monitors for 2025
Compare Specs
Buying Guide: The Best 4K Monitors for 2025
Ready to buy a 4K monitor? Let’s define 4K first. Most 4K monitors have 16:9 aspect ratios with a native resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 pixels (horizontal by vertical). That’s four times as many as a full HD or 1,920-by-1,080-pixel panel—and that’s a lot of pixels. Some other resolutions with approximately 4,000 pixels across—most commonly 4,096 by 2,160—are also considered 4K. All these panels remain premium choices, but they’re becoming increasingly common on desks at work, at home, and in gamers’ frag dens.
(Credit: Molly Flores)
But before we get too deep into details, we should help you answer a fundamental question: Is a 4K monitor right for you in the first place? Depending on what you do most with your monitor and where you’ll place it, the extra money you’d pay versus a lower-resolution display may not be necessary.
Should You Buy a 4K Monitor for PC Gaming?
For starters, if you want a huge 4K monitor solely for home entertainment purposes that don’t center on PC gaming, a 4K TV would likely be a cheaper option. That’s because many 4K TV sets aren’t beholden to the same standards that 4K monitors are, such as the need for boosted refresh rates (for gaming models), elite or specialized color accuracy (for content creators), or low input lag. (See our picks for the best TVs, now uniformly 4K models.)
Gaming at 4K is a demanding task that requires relatively powerful hardware inside your PC. In particular, you’ll need a fast graphics card. If you’re looking to run games with maxed-out graphics settings at 60fps or better, you’ll need one of the most expensive graphics cards money can buy. The immensely powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 is currently best suited for this task, though at $1,599 it’s also prohibitively expensive.
Though you may not sail past 60fps on every game with maxed settings, you can competently run most if not all modern titles at that (or close to that) with several less-expensive GPUs. Nvidia has several upper-end GeForce RTX 40-series cards capable of gaming at 4K, and AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 graphics cards are similarly capable. If you drop the graphics settings down, some older graphics cards, like many of those at the upper ends of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 series and AMD Radeon RX 6000 series, are also perfectly capable of providing a smooth 4K gaming experience in many games.
Gaming at 4K resolution isn’t strictly about your hardware nowadays. A crop of software technologies (image sharpeners, upscale, and super samplers) from both AMD and Nvidia have recently hit the market. In a nutshell, these aim to allow PCs with midrange graphics cards or lesser integrated graphics (and gaming-console GPUs) to run at higher resolution while minimizing the performance hit and loss in visual quality.
Can You Actually See the Difference With a 4K Monitor?
When shopping in the TV aisle, the answer as to whether you should opt for a 4K model today is almost always yes, because it’s hard to find TVs with lower resolutions these days. It’s not quite as simple with computer monitors. Getting serious about the question comes down to algebra and raises issues like pixel pitch, pixels per inch (ppi), and something called angular resolutions. Let’s try to keep it simple, however.
An excellent example of the pixel-pitch problem arises with virtual reality (VR) headsets and an issue known as the screen door effect. In essence, the lower a display’s maximum resolution and the closer you sit to it, the easier it is to see its individual pixels. In the case of VR headsets, this can make the image look as if it’s seen through mesh, and it’s why headset resolution has grown steadily—when something’s that close to your eyes, you can more clearly see the difference.
The same considerations apply to monitors, just across a viewing distance measured in feet instead of inches. The tricky bit is that viewing distance isn’t fixed but depends on the size and layout of your desk, your chair position, and so on. Whether you can make out the difference in image quality between a 4K display and, say, a 1440p panel (2,560 by 1,440 pixels) depends on the distance, your eyesight, and the screen size. The last calculates out to a certain number of pixels per inch, in essence the screen’s pixel density. You can see how it scales here at each common resolution.
(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Luckily, we don’t have to do the math on our own. Workstation vendor Puget Systems has designed a helpful Google Sheet that will automatically help you determine the optimal display size and resolution depending on your visual acuity. All you have to do is plug in your target screen size and resolution, the distance between your eyes and the screen, and the specifics of your eyesight. You can then try different numbers and see how the output changes, helping you determine if a specific size or distance makes more or less sense. (If you haven’t been to the eye doctor lately and don’t know your prescription strength, a few more calculations using some of the formulas on this page are all you need.)
Of course, less scientifically, you can look at 4K panels of various sizes in a local store to see if you can tell the difference between them and similarly sized 1440p or 1080p monitors. But ideally you’ll want to observe the same screen image, scaled the same amount, to get a meaningful comparison, and that may not always be practical.
Still, to summarize: Before you buy a 4K monitor, make sure you’ll actually be able to see the benefit of the increased pixel density given your seating setup. If you have 20/15 vision, sit three feet from the screen, and already own a 27-inch, 1440p display, you probably can’t justify the cost of a 27-inch, 4K monitor. It all depends on how big your screen is, how close or far away you’ll sit, and your eyesight.
What Type of Screen Should You Buy in a 4K Monitor?
Before you buy a new 4K monitor, you should know the pros and cons of the display technologies available. Most of the time, it’s easy to find what type of panel a monitor has simply by looking at the manufacturer’s spec sheet. Let’s run through the most common kinds.
VERTICAL ALIGNMENT (VA). VA panels are some of the oldest in the game, but they’re still around because despite better, newer display technologies, they “just work.” VA screens offer some of the highest contrast ratios apart from OLED models (more about them in a moment), and better viewing angles and color reproduction than TN panels. However, VA is the slowest of all display technologies, offering the pokiest response times and highest input-lag numbers. That makes them a bad bet for gaming.
TWISTED NEMATIC (TN). TN displays, on the other hand, boast speedy pixel response times, averaging anywhere between 1 millisecond (ms) and 5ms, and they’re relatively inexpensive to produce, making them ideal for gamers. The tradeoffs with TN? Uneven color reproduction, limited off-center viewing angles, and mediocre contrast ratios. That’s a lot to give up for the sake of speed, which means that you’ll typically see 4K TN panels only in gamer-centric monitors, and we’re seeing fewer and fewer of them each year.
(Credit: Molly Flores)
IN-PLANE SWITCHING (IPS). IPS panels are the most common of today’s 4K displays. They tend to cost slightly more than VA or TN screens, but they offer the best all-around experience for most users: strong color reproduction, moderately quick response times, and the widest viewing angles of any display type except for OLED. The penalty? Prices range from $50 to $300 higher than their non-IPS counterparts at a given screen size.
Since 2021, we’ve seen a host of monitors with tweaked panel types dubbed Fast IPS, Rapid IPS, Nano IPS, and IPS Black. The first three variants boost screens’ gaming capabilities and overall color vividness, while the latter produces deep black tones and a contrast ratio that is much improved versus standard IPS panels.
ORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE (OLED). Familiar from high-end HDTVs, OLED is the newest technology in computer monitors. OLED basically sounds like the ultimate display technology, offering a theoretically infinite contrast ratio, gorgeous color for film and TV, and unbeatably dark black levels. The TVs look stupendous, and you’d think monitor manufacturers would be pumping out OLED models in droves.
Although 4K OLED panels have been all the rage for several years in the TV market (and are increasingly popular laptop displays), it’s only recently, as the price of this technology has begun to come down, that OLED computer monitors have started to make a splash. We’ve seen OLED-based gaming, professional, and even portable monitors in the past year.
MINI LED. Finally, there’s mini LED. Rather than edge-lighting an LCD-based panel with a ring of LEDs that sits around the display and lights the picture globally, this tech embeds hundreds or thousands of tiny LEDs behind the panel itself. This allows a lighting technique known as full-array local dimming (FALD), getting you close to OLED’s infinite contrast at a lower cost.
What Else to Look for in a 4K Monitor for PC Gaming?
Though 4K displays are still far from the norm in the gaming monitor market, the top models are adopting rapid pixel-response times and blisteringly quick refresh rates. As the technologies in the panels (and the GPUs needed to power them properly) advance, which features should a potential 4K gamer look for? Let’s lay them out.
INPUT LAG. In broad strokes, input lag is measured as the time it takes for your monitor to display an external action. For example, if I click a button on my mouse, the input lag (measured in milliseconds) expresses how long it takes for something to happen on screen. Some of the best gaming monitors boast input lag below 2ms, though this is often slower with 4K displays because the number of pixels redrawn in each pass is greater at higher resolution.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
REFRESH RATE. Gaming-monitor refresh rates have skyrocketed in recent years, especially at resolutions below 4K. While flat-panel displays seemed stuck at 60Hz for ages, it’s easy to find 144Hz, 165Hz, or even 240Hz or 360Hz models in the esports arena, while a few recent monitors have reached the 500Hz mark.
Like so much else, it’s more complicated with 4K. Due to the bandwidth limitations of the HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4b interfaces and cables, early 4K monitors were limited to 60Hz. More recently, however, models have appeared that take advantage of HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.0, and DisplayPort 2.1 to push that ceiling to 120Hz and beyond.
(Credit: Zlata Ivleva)
RESPONSE TIME. Not to be confused with input lag, response time refers to the time it takes for a pixel to change from black to white or from one shade of gray to another. In practical terms, you should expect a response time of under 20ms in even the slowest 4K monitors, and when shopping for a gaming panel it’s better to aim for 5ms or lower to stay competitive in the long term.
ADAPTIVE-SYNC TECH. Nvidia’s G-Sync and AMD’s FreeSync and FreeSync2 are all flavors of adaptive sync technologies. Without getting too deep into the weeds, they’re designed to prevent stuttering and screen tearing (screen draws with parts of the image misaligned). These maladies can occur on monitors—gaming-focused or otherwise—in fast-moving action scenes.
Adaptive sync aligns the monitor’s refresh rate with the video card’s frame-rate output on the fly, drawing a frame only when a full one is delivered rather than at a fixed rate. Though it’s not essential for gamers who mostly play single-player, slow-paced titles, adaptive sync is great for anyone daring to take their skills into the online multiplayer arena in serious competition.
You need a compatible monitor and graphics card to enjoy G-Sync or FreeSync (for the GPU, a late-model Nvidia GeForce or AMD Radeon RX card, respectively). Note that Nvidia has designated a subset of monitors as G-Sync Compatible; these work with the adaptive-sync tech of its cards despite not having the specific, exclusive G-Sync-enabling circuitry of earlier G-Sync displays.
What to Look for in a 4K Monitor for Pro Graphics Work?
With the monitor industry ramping to 4K and consumers adding millions of such screens to their desks, digital content creators can hardly be expected to stick with 1080p. Professionals were among the first users to splurge on monitors with native 4K resolution, and these buyers continue to drive the market forward with 5K, 6K, and even 8K displays beginning to appear.
Recommended by Our Editors
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
A 4K monitor is an excellent addition to any amateur or professional creator’s toolkit. However, we should note that in terms of color reproduction or accuracy, 4K screens have no inherent advantages over lower-resolution models. Instead, their main benefit is displaying higher detail in photography, 3D visual arts, or cinematography. Having more pixels gives you a greater level of accuracy, whether you’re adding angel wings to an image of a fashion model, making vector art, mastering a movie, or doing anything that requires zooming in and retaining as much visual fidelity as possible.
Another benefit is extra workspace. Even if your ultimate output isn’t in 4K, working on a 4K panel can let you see your content at full resolution while leaving screen space for control menus, color palettes, video timelines, and other creation tools. Of course, you could relegate that stuff to a second monitor, but a 4K panel can enable single-display workflows that were impossible or awkward before.
Color-gamut coverage is a key spec for many visual professionals. Several elite 4K monitors cover 100% of the sRGB color gamut used online, as well as scoring nearly that high with the Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 gamuts used for photo and video imaging respectively.
What to Look for in a 4K Monitor for the Office?
Keeping busy on a 4K monitor isn’t much different from doing general work on a lower-resolution screen, but there’s one key difference: effective screen space. Since a 4K monitor has four times as many pixels as a 1080p panel, this gives you, in theory, four times the elbow room to show application windows side by side.
We say “in theory” because it’s almost impossible to make out the same text scaled 1:1 at 4K versus 1080p at the same screen size. This is why both Windows PCs and Macs come with a feature known as DPI (dots per inch) scaling. For example, when you switch your display resolution in Windows from 1080p to 4K, the operating system will, by default, scale your content to 150% of its standard DPI.
This increases the size of all rendered elements on the screen by that percentage. At 150% scaling, it’s more likely that you’d be able to fit two or three standard app windows side by side and still clearly read their text. With four windows in different screen quadrants? Not so likely.
(Credit: Molly Flores)
To help simplify your workflow even more, some 4K monitors come with built-in features like an automatic window-sizing tool. (It sections off parts of your screen that Windows programs will resize to on their own.) These monitors can also accept video signals from multiple sources and display them side by side (“picture by picture”) or inlaid in a larger window (“picture in picture”). This can be useful if, say, you’re working on a PC, but you need to test your changes on a separately connected Mac at the same time.
What Connections and Controls Should a 4K Monitor Have?
Some specs are not as front-and-center as the display type or the refresh rate, but they’ll affect how you work with your 4K display day to day.
The stand’s adjustability might seem trivial, but it can affect your comfort depending on where and how you use your panel. A range of forward and backward screen tilt is pretty standard (usually listed in degrees), but you’ll want to look for the ability to swivel the panel left and right on its stand or rotate it between landscape (horizontal) and portrait (vertical) modes. The last is less common and mainly for serious photo editors, and is most likely to be found on 32-inch or smaller monitors.
Connectivity is another thing to check, though for most folks, it comes down to HDMI, DisplayPort, or USB-C if it supports DisplayPort over USB Alternate Mode. Most 4K monitors will have two or more of these inputs. Look for a match with your video source. A few panels support input via Thunderbolt, suitable for Macs and high-end Windows laptops.
(Credit: Molly Flores)
One note: To get a 4K display running above a 60Hz refresh rate (primarily of interest to gamers or game developers), you’ll need a graphics card capable of outputting its signal over a DisplayPort 1.4b, 2.0, or 2.1 cable; or an HDMI 2.1 cable.
Finally, there’s the issue of HDR. High dynamic range is a color specification common in current 4K HDTVs, but it’s also made inroads into monitors. (See our HDR primer for much more background.) Of course, you’ll need content or media recorded in HDR or games supporting the HDR spec to enjoy it. That said, if you have a monitor that also plugs into an Xbox One X, for example, that console will display all kinds of HDR content as a plug-and-play experience without issue.
Ready to Buy the Best 4K Monitor for You?
As you can see, upgrading to a 4K monitor entails much more than just a simple step up in resolution. But now you’re ready to shop. We’ve tested a host of 4K monitors and gathered a selection of the very best in all the main usage classes: business monitors, gaming screens, and creative or visual professional panels. We broke out our favorites and have included a detailed spec breakdown. Dig on in.
