The 7 Best Computer Monitors - Spring 2021 Reviews

The best monitor for office use that we've tested is the Dell UltraSharp U2720Q. It's a 27 inch 4k monitor that delivers incredibly sharp text and provides plenty of space for multitasking. The stand allows for height, tilt, and swivel adjustments, and you can also rotate the screen to portrait mode. It has an IPS panel with wide viewing angles, ideal for sharing work and content with coworkers.

It has full sRGB and great Adobe RGB coverage, making it a good choice for content creators working in those color spaces. However, color accuracy is only decent out of the box, so you may have to calibrate it before doing any color work. It has good peak brightness, but it doesn't handle reflections all that well, so it's best to avoid placing it opposite bright lights. It has good response times to deliver reasonably clear images in fast-moving scenes, fast enough for gaming casually, but the refresh rate is limited to 60Hz, and there's no variable refresh rate (VRR) support.

There aren't many extra features, but you do get a very generous port selection. It has three USB 3.0 and two USB-C inputs. One of the USB-C inputs supports DisplayPort Alt Mode, which lets you dock a laptop and charge it with a single cable, and the other is on the side of the monitor for easy access. The backlight is flicker-free, and there's also a blue light filter to help reduce eye strain. Overall, this is a great office monitor that should make most people happy.

The best monitor for office use that's available in an ultrawide format is the Dell U3818DW. Although the market for high-resolution, 38 inch monitors is limited, there are a few good options, but they can get expensive, and this one offers the best value for its price. Its unique 3840x1600 resolution results in about the same pixel density as a 27 inch, 1440p monitor, so text is fairly sharp and legible. 

It's packed with office-oriented features to help with productivity. It has a USB-C input that supports a Power Delivery mode with 95W of power, so you can charge your laptop. With the DisplayPort Alt Mode, you can also display an image from a compatible device. It has USB-B upstream ports, so if you connect the monitor to your computer with it, you can use the monitor's KVM feature, allowing you to connect your mouse and keyboard directly to the monitor instead of the PC. It also has Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture modes, so you can display images from two sources at once.

Sadly, it has a slow response time, so motion looks blurry. It can be noticeable while scrolling through long documents, and because of it, this monitor isn't the best choice for gaming. It's also limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and lacks VRR. It has wide viewing angles, great gray uniformity, and decent peak brightness, but its reflection handling isn't the best. This is still one of the best monitors we've tested.

The best monitor for gaming that we've tested is the Samsung LC32G75TQSNXZA. It's an excellent gaming monitor with great overall performance that should make most people happy. It's packed with gaming-oriented features, including an RGB lighting ring to set the mood in your gaming setup. It's available in both a 27 and 32 inch size, and we tested the 32 inch model; they each have a high 1440p resolution to deliver crisp images.

It has a high 240Hz refresh rate with native FreeSync support and G-SYNC compatibility. Motion looks smooth whether you're gaming at its max refresh rate or 60Hz, thanks to its outstanding response time. It also has a Black Frame Insertion feature, but you can't use it with VRR enabled. Input lag is incredibly low to deliver a responsive gaming experience. Thanks to its VA panel, it's a good choice for dark room gaming as it displays deep blacks and has okay black uniformity. If you want to use it for HDR gaming, it displays a wide color gamut and has alright HDR peak brightness.

Sadly, even though it has a local dimming feature, it performs terribly and doesn't improve the contrast. The VA panel has narrow viewing angles, so the image looks inaccurate if you want to share your screen with others or if you sit too close, as the edges of the screen may look darker. On the plus side, it performs well in bright rooms thanks to its high peak brightness and very good reflection handling. Overall, this is one of the best monitors we've tested.

If you're in the market for a large screen display, then the best monitor with a large screen that we've tested is the LG OLED48CXPUB. Although it's a TV, LG advertises it for monitor use, and we tested it as such. It provides a large 48 inch screen, which is fantastic for multitasking while still maintaining a standard 16:9 aspect ratio. However, it doesn't have an ergonomic stand because it's a TV, so you can't easily adjust it.

The advantage of an OLED panel over its LED competitors is its ability to individually turn off pixels, resulting in perfect blacks. It's great for dark room gaming, and there's no blooming around bright objects either. If you also want to use it for co-op gaming, it has wide viewing angles. Unlike most monitors, it doesn't have a DisplayPort input but instead has HDMI 2.1 support, allowing you to play 4k @ 120Hz games with compatible HDMI 2.1 devices. It has a near-instant response time and very low input lag for gaming.

Sadly, OLED panels are prone to permanent burn-in with constant exposure to static elements, like the user interface. If you plan on using it as a monitor, we suggest watching varied content, like movies or shows to avoid the burn-in. If that's the case, it comes with a built-in smart system that features many apps, including Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video. All in all, if you don't mind the risk of permanent burn-in, the LG is the best monitor with a 48 inch display that we've tested.