How to choose the right monitor for your needs?

How to choose the right monitor (Image via Sportskeeda)

Standalone monitors are the primary display output for desktop PCs. The hardware has made great technological advances, incorporating different panel types, latency reduction, and color accuracy. However, not every consumer has the same needs and can afford to compromise on a few aspects. The display tech field has grown exponentially in recent years due to the presence of various competing companies.

The market is flooded with compelling products and caters to a wide variety of customers. The price range also affects the product lineup for various companies as some tend to introduce only top-shelf hardware.

This article will outline some of the most important points that can help users choose the best monitor.

A short guide to choosing the perfect monitor

The rapid development of display technology has been revolutionary. The screens have become brighter, more resilient, and even more flexible. Modern monitors take advantage of the best available technologies and feature lower latencies, more accurate color reproduction, and economic utility.

It's important to note that the choice of monitors can be affected by the customer’s total budget. The best displays on the market come with a hefty price tag and features that may not be an absolute must-have for most users. With that in mind, let us look at the points to consider before spending money on a brand-new display.

Display type

The most commonly available monitors utilize the following display technologies:

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED)

Apart from these, displays also have another list of categories - Twisted Nematic (TN), Vertical Alignment (VA), and In-Plane Switching (IPS). These classifications are usually the most advertised by companies when releasing new products. Each of these has its own specialty and excels in certain areas.

The TN panels have an excellent response time that measures less than a millisecond. The VA panels showcase great statistics for contrast ratios and viewing angles. The IPS category features the best vibrancy with a wide color gamut coverage.

Refresh rate

The refresh rate of a monitor is a significant factor for those who wish to use it for gaming purposes. The higher refresh rate of displays eliminates artifacts that can distort images and create a nuisance in visual clarity.

The response time of the panel is also important in such situations but can be trumped over with the necessity of vibrancy. This would be a helpful tool when choosing between an IPS and TN panel.

Advanced technology

There are various monitors in the modern market which can support features like High-Dynamic Range (HDR) and G-Sync. HDR is a standard technology that can provide better color contrast with higher brightness and deeper black levels. It is also a great advancement that can use increased bit depth to reproduce more colors and smoothen hue transitions.

A list of such supported techs could prove to be a deciding factor for content creators and professionals involved in the graphics field. It is important to note that these products may be priced higher than others.

Budget

The available pool of capital is the biggest thorn on the customer’s side. While money can buy the best and greatest gear, some features would be wasted if the PC cannot take advantage of it. The market recently received some monitors that can ramp up their refresh rates by up to 500 Hz.

The offer may seem tempting, but it's not viable for those who have normal gaming rigs with hardware that cannot even push past 500 Frames Per Second (FPS). Such constraints make some features of the displays useless as the user either cannot capitalize on them or simply does not need them.

Conclusion

There are many more factors that can affect one’s choice in purchasing a monitor like design, manufacturer bias, regional support, and service availability. The economic utility of a product is bound to be different for every individual. Therefore, most users would be better off getting their hands on mid-range models as they can provide an ample amount of features with little to no compromises.