The 8 Best Computer Monitors - Spring 2022 Reviews

Choosing a gaming monitor can be extremely difficult. There are so many different choices out there, with various refresh rates, native resolutions, and gaming features that each target a different audience. There's no perfect monitor, either, as the best one for you depends on the types of games you play, and even what you plan on playing them on. So before you start shopping for a new monitor, think about how you plan on using it, and what level of performance your source(s) can achieve. There's very little point in spending a lot of money on a high refresh rate monitor if your PC can't keep up.

The best PC monitor for gaming we've tested is the Samsung Odyssey G7 LC32G75T. It's an amazing gaming monitor overall, with a fast refresh rate, crystal-clear motion, and incredibly low input lag. It's great for PC and console gamers alike, as it's nearly fully compatible with everything the Xbox Series X and PS5 have to offer. The 1440p native resolution is great for PC gamers, as it's easier to achieve high frame rates with modest hardware than it would be with a 4k monitor. It looks great in bright and dark rooms, with high peak brightness, great contrast, and very good reflection handling.

See also our other recommendations for the best gaming monitors.

Monitors are no longer just for PC gaming, as more and more people are choosing monitors for their game consoles, including PS5 and Xbox Series X gamers. Many recent monitors have new features designed for console gamers, including support for HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, as well as built-in "Console" modes that allow monitors to accept resolutions higher than their native resolution. Looking for a monitor for console gaming is a bit easier than PC gaming, as you don't really have to worry about the framerate your console can support, but it's important to know how you plan on using your console, including if you prefer gaming at high refresh rates with lower resolutions, or if you prefer a more visually impactful experience at the expense of motion handling.

The LG 27GP950-B is the best console gaming monitor we've tested. It delivers an excellent gaming experience, with a fast response time and clear motion handling at both 120Hz and 60Hz, as well as long input lag for a responsive gaming experience. It's fully compatible with everything the PS5 and Xbox Series X have to offer, including support for 4k @ 120Hz gaming, as both of its HDMI ports support HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. It's also one of the few monitors on the market that natively supports nearly the full bandwidth of HDMI 2.1, without the need for compression, so you don't have to worry about any compatibility issues with certain devices.

See also our other recommendations for the best PS5 monitors and the best Xbox Series S|X monitors.

If you spend most of your time working from a laptop, portable monitors are a great way to increase your productivity. Although they typically perform worse than their desktop counterparts, the extra screen space makes it easier to see more of your work at once or to work with multiple windows open, like you would with a full desktop environment. Most of them support USB-C connectivity, allowing you to power them with a single cable going to your laptop, and some even have built-in batteries, so you can work on the go without draining your laptop battery. Although most portable monitors have a 1080p native resolution since they're so small this still results in great text clarity.

The ASUS ROG Strix XG17AHPE is the best portable monitor we've tested. It's a surprisingly powerful portable display designed for productivity and gaming on the go. It has a built-in 7800mAh battery, about the same as a high-end laptop, so you can use it for hours without having to worry about a power source. It's one of the few portable monitors that perform almost as well as full-sized models, offering a great gaming experience, an amazing SDR color gamut, and great accuracy out of the box. It also has great connectivity, with two USB-C ports (one just for power), and a micro-HDMI port for older devices that don't support USB-C.

See also our other recommendations for the best portable monitors.

Although most monitors work just fine with recent Mac Minis or MacBook Pros, some monitors are just a bit better-suited for Mac users. USB-C connectivity is a definite plus, especially if it supports USB-C Power Delivery, as this makes it much easier to connect your MacBook, with a single USB-C cable providing power to your laptop, while also delivering image and sound to your monitor. The pixel density can also play an important factor, as the macOS UI is designed for displays with a pixel density of either 110 or 220 pixels-per-inch, but there are no issues with using a monitor that doesn't meet this.

The Gigabyte M32U is the best MacBook Pro monitor that we've tested. It's an impressive monitor with a large, high-resolution screen. It supports USB-C, but unfortunately, its power delivery is too low to keep a MacBook fully charged while you're using it, which isn't ideal. The built-in USB hub simplifies your connections, though, as you can keep all of your peripherals connected to your monitor, leaving the USB-C ports on your laptop free for other things. It has excellent accuracy out of the box and an outstanding SDR color gamut, making it a great choice for content creators or professionals that require accurate colors.

See also our other recommendations for the best MacBook Pro monitors and the best Mac Mini monitors.

Ultrawide monitors are great for a wide variety of uses. For office users, the extra horizontal screen space makes it easier to work with multiple windows open. If you normally work with two windows open side-by-side with a standard widescreen monitor, you'd be able to work with three similarly-sized windows with an ultrawide. A wider aspect ratio is also great for certain games, as it delivers a more immersive gaming experience, delivering a wider field of view that makes it easier to feel like you're in the game.

The best PC monitor with an ultrawide format we've tested so far is the Gigabyte M34WQ. It's great for office use, with a great selection of additional features, including a built-in keyboard, video, and mouse switch that makes it easy to control and display two sources with a single set of input devices. It also delivers an impressive gaming experience, with an excellent response time at the max refresh rate, low input lag, and support for both FreeSync and G-SYNC Compatible variable refresh rates, ensuring a nearly tear-free gaming experience.

See also our other recommendations for the best ultrawide monitors.

Whether you're looking to equip an entire office or just a home office to work from home, office monitors come in many different shapes and sizes. From compact portable displays to the largest monitors designed for multitasking, there really is something for everyone. Recent office displays come with many different features available to make it easier to work from home, from keyboard-video-mouse switches to built-in USB hubs, it's important to know how many different sources you plan on connecting to your new monitor, how you plan on connecting them, and where you'll be using them.

The ASUS ProArt Display PA278CV is the best home office monitor that we've tested so far. It's a versatile display with fantastic ergonomics, so you can easily adjust it to an ideal viewing position. It looks great in most viewing environments, with impressive peak brightness, decent reflection handling, and wide viewing angles. It's great for color-accurate work, as it has fantastic accuracy out of the box and an incredible SDR color gamut. It also has a few extra office features, including USB-C connectivity and better power delivery than the Gigabyte M32U, so it's also a great choice for MacBooks.

See also our other recommendations for the best office monitors.

Whether you're an amateur photographer or a professional video editor, you want your content to look its best. High-resolution screens make it easier to see more of your work at once and spend less time scrolling through your timeline. Color accuracy isn't always important, but if you care about it, you'll want to consider the SDR color gamut, gradient handling, and overall accuracy of the display, both before and after calibration. Many monitors now include an sRGB mode, ensuring your colors are displayed accurately and aren't oversaturated, so that's also something to look for if you care about accurate colors.

The Dell S2722QC is the best content creation monitor that we've tested. Its large, high-resolution screen delivers incredibly sharp text and images, and makes it easy to see more of your work at once. It has a superb SDR color gamut, with complete coverage of the most common sRGB color space as well as remarkable gradient handling, so you don't have to worry about banding. It has decent accuracy out of the box, but colors are a bit over-saturated, and there's no sRGB mode to limit them to the sRGB color space, so if you care about accuracy you might want to have it calibrated. It has a few great extra features for creators, including a built-in USB hub as well as USB-C connectivity, great for MacBook owners.

See also our other recommendations for the best photo and video editing monitors.

When it comes to technology, budget models usually offer very limited performance and reduced feature sets, but that's not necessarily true for monitors. Budget monitors typically have smaller screens and lower native resolutions, but many cheap monitors still offer impressive performance overall, depending on how you plan on using it. When shopping for a budget model, it's more important to keep in mind how you plan on using your new display, as budget models typically aren't as versatile as more expensive models. The Acer Nitro XF243Y Pbmiiprx is the best budget monitor we've tested so far. It's a basic 24 inch monitor with a 1080p resolution, which is okay for day-to-day work.

It's a great monitor for gaming, with an extremely fast refresh rate and a surprisingly great response time at the max refresh rate. It also has a good selection of additional gaming features, including a backlight strobing feature to improve the appearance of motion, and FreeSync variable refresh rate support, which helps reduce tearing in games. Finally, it has exceptionally low input lag, as good as high-end gaming monitors, ensuring a very responsive gaming experience. Unfortunately, the relatively small size isn't ideal for multitasking, as it doesn't give you much screen real estate to work with, but it's a good monitor overall for most uses.

See also our other recommendations for the best budget monitors.