Monitor buying checklist
Open a section, slide each spec to what you want, and print your own monitor wish list at the end.
Measured corner to corner in inches. Pick by desk depth: you sit about an arm's length away from most monitors.
24″29.9 x 53.1 cm27″33.6 x 59.8 cm32″39.8 x 70.8 cmDrawn to the same scale. The coloured area is the screen.
The sweet spot for work and gaming at 1440p.
Ultrawide monitors are much wider than usual, like two screens without the gap. Some games and video calls do not fill the width.
Works with every game, video and app as intended.
How many pixels the screen has. What matters is pixel density: the same resolution looks softer on a bigger screen.
AaSmall text on the screenand even smaller details in photosMagnified to show the difference.
Sharp at 27 inches and easy for a graphics card to drive. The sweet spot.
The screen technology. It decides contrast (how deep blacks look), viewing angles and motion clarity.
Steady colours from any angle and quick enough for games. Blacks look a bit grey.
A curve wraps the screen around you. The R number is the curve's radius in mm: a smaller number means a stronger curve.
Best for design work and straight lines. Works with any setup.
How many times a second the screen redraws. Higher looks smoother, as long as your computer or console can send that many frames.
Slowed down so you can see it. Each dot is one frame.
Smoother scrolling. Common now even on budget office monitors.
How fast pixels change colour, in milliseconds. Slow pixels leave trails behind moving objects. Compare GtG (grey to grey) figures.
Clean motion for most games. Ignore "1 ms MPRT", which is a different, flattering figure.
Lets the monitor match the frame rate of your graphics card, so games do not show tearing (a split line across the picture) or stutter.
Works with AMD cards, recent consoles and usually Nvidia cards too.
HDR shows brighter highlights and deeper shadows. The DisplayHDR badge says how well. "HDR10 support" alone only means it accepts the signal.
Fine for work and most games.
How much of a standard colour range the screen can show. sRGB is the web standard; DCI-P3 is the wider range used for film and HDR.
Photos and websites look as intended. Enough for most people.
How bright the screen gets, in nits. Monitors sit indoors, so you need less than a phone or laptop.
Your bank OTP is 482913
Can you read this in a bright room?
How the screen reads under bright light, roughly.
Comfortable in most homes and offices.
Some screens dim by flickering, which can cause eye strain. Low blue light modes cut harsh blue light for late evenings.
No flicker at any brightness. Most good monitors have it.
HDMI connects laptops, PCs and consoles. The version limits how sharp and smooth the picture can be.
4K at 60 Hz or 1440p at high refresh rates.
The main port on PC graphics cards. It usually unlocks the highest refresh rate a monitor offers.
Enough for 1440p and 4K at high refresh rates.
One USB-C cable carries video, data and charging from a laptop. The watts show how much charging power the monitor gives back.
Use HDMI and your laptop's own charger.
Extra USB ports on the monitor for a keyboard, mouse or webcam. A KVM switch lets one keyboard and mouse control two computers.
Plug accessories into your computer.
How you can move the screen. Raising the top edge to eye level saves your neck over long work days.
Raise it to eye level. The most useful adjustment.
A standard set of screw holes on the back for monitor arms and wall mounts. 100 x 100 mm is the common size.
Fits standard arms and wall mounts, freeing desk space.
Small speakers inside the monitor. They are usually weak, but save desk space.
Use headphones or desk speakers for better sound.
Your wish list
MONITOR WISH LIST
by TechPP Insights
Your next monitor should have these minimum specs
Your picks will print here.
Scan to make your own wish list
techpp.app
Choose at least one spec to print your wish list.
Pairing it with a new computer? Laptop checklist, Nvidia laptop GPUs or more tools
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