The 7 Best 4k TVs For PC Monitors - July 2018
Reviews
- Store-bought TVs; no cherry-picked units
- Retest after major updates
- Easily comparable results
- No ads; unbiased reviews
PC monitors (see our monitor reviews) and TVs are close relatives. Usually, they differ in design and image processing capabilities and connectivity. TVs usually have more advanced image processing capabilities than monitors and come equipped with TV tuners and integrated speakers whereas monitors usually have DisplayPort connections, that TVs still lack.
Most TVs offer a 'PC Mode' option, which removes the extra image processing and ensures the lowest possible input lag. The most important consideration when choosing a TV for PC monitor usage are: the TV's supported resolutions, the ability to display chroma 4:4:4, and the viewing angles that can cause uniformity issues when sitting close to the screen.
We've tested 66 TVs and here are our recommendations for the best ones to use as a PC monitor, updated for the summer of 2018.
Best TV to use as a PC Monitor (40"- 43"): Sony KD43X720E
Test Benches: test
- 1.2: Winter 2018
- 1.1: Summer 2017
- 1.0: Winter 2015
- 0.9: Winter 2014
- 0.8: Winter 2013
- 28% Inputs
- 14% Viewing Angle
- 13% Response Time
- 8% Permanent Burn-In Risk
- 6% Reflections
- 5% Temporary Image Retention
- 4% 4k Input
- 3% SDR Peak Brightness
- 3% 1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
- 3% 4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
- 2% Contrast
- 2% Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
- 2% Curved
- 2% Gray Uniformity
- 2% 1080p Input
- 1% Local Dimming
- 1% Black Uniformity
- 1% Flicker-Free
- 1% Pre Calibration
- 0% Post Calibration
The best TV for use as a PC monitor in the 40-43 inch size is the Sony KD43X720E. The Sony X720E supports most common resolutions and 4:4:4 chroma. It has an IPS panel with good viewing angles that will not cause any uniformity issues if you sit close to the TV, unlike the similarly priced Samsung NU7100. It has an excellent low input lag that makes it feel very responsive and the fast response time results in little blur for PC use or sports watching.
However, this TV is not good for those in a darker room since the IPS panel prevents it from displaying deep blacks and the image looks washed out.
Overall, this 43 inch TV is very good for use as a PC monitor.
Best TV to use as a PC Monitor (Large): LG 55SK9000PUA
Test Benches: test
- 1.2: Winter 2018
- 1.1: Summer 2017
- 1.0: Winter 2015
- 0.9: Winter 2014
- 0.8: Winter 2013
- 28% Inputs
- 14% Viewing Angle
- 13% Response Time
- 8% Permanent Burn-In Risk
- 6% Reflections
- 5% Temporary Image Retention
- 4% 4k Input
- 3% SDR Peak Brightness
- 3% 1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
- 3% 4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
- 2% Contrast
- 2% Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
- 2% Curved
- 2% Gray Uniformity
- 2% 1080p Input
- 1% Local Dimming
- 1% Black Uniformity
- 1% Flicker-Free
- 1% Pre Calibration
- 0% Post Calibration
If you are looking for a larger TV than the Sony KD43X720E to use as a PC monitor, then we recommend the LG 55SK9000PUA. Because of its large size, you will need a wide table to place it, unlike the 43” X720E.
The LG SK9000 has an excellent low input lag and it is very responsive. Its IPS panel gives it decently wide viewing angles, far better than most VA panels. Wide viewing angles are important because as you sit very close to the TV, you want to avoid having uniformity issues at the edges. It also accepts most common resolutions and can properly display chroma 4:4:4 so text will look clear. It cannot display deep blacks in dim environments due to its IPS panel, so it’s more suitable for average lit rooms where the TV's great SDR brightness becomes more important in picture quality.
Overall, the LG SK9000 is a very good TV to use as a PC monitor.
Alternative with deeper blacks: Vizio P55-F1
If you find the blacks of the LG SK9000 washed out, then get the Vizio P55-F1. You will not have the decent wide viewing angles of the SK9000 as the P Series 2018 has a VA panel. However, the Vizio has far better blacks and overall better picture quality. It has a very low input lag and feels very responsive. So, if you will not be sitting too close to the screen, where viewing angles are important, get the Vizio; it is an overall better TV.
Freesync Alternative: Samsung QN55Q8FN
If you are playing games that push your PCs graphics card to the limits and you're worried that the LG SK9000 will suffer from tearing, then we recommend the Samsung QN55Q8FN. It does not have the wide viewing angles of the LG SK9000. It is, however, a very good TV that supports the FreeSync Variable Refresh Rate feature for those gamers with AMD graphics cards. When used as a PC monitor, it is very responsive due to its low input lag and accepts most common input resolutions and supports 4:4:4 chroma so text is crisp and clear.
Best Budget TV to use as a PC Monitor (Large): TCL 55R617
Test Benches: test
- 1.2: Winter 2018
- 1.1: Summer 2017
- 1.0: Winter 2015
- 0.9: Winter 2014
- 0.8: Winter 2013
- 22% TV Shows
- 22% Sports
- 16% Movies
- 16% Video Games
- 10% HDR Gaming
- 9% HDR Movies
- 6% PC Monitor
- 20% Contrast
- 17% Local Dimming
- 12% 1080p Input
- 10% Black Uniformity
- 8% Gray Uniformity
- 8% 4k Input
- 6% 24p Judder
- 5% Motion Interpolation
- 5% Stutter
- 3% SDR ABL
- 3% Pre Calibration
- 2% Post Calibration
- 2% 480p Input
- 29% Reflections
- 16% SDR Peak Brightness
- 11% Viewing Angle
- 9% 1080p Input
- 7% 720p Input
- 5% Gray Uniformity
- 5% 4k Input
- 5% Sound Quality
- 5% Smart Features
- 3% Motion Interpolation
- 2% Permanent Burn-In Risk
- 2% Pre Calibration
- 2% Temporary Image Retention
- 1% Post Calibration
- 25% Reflections
- 20% Response Time
- 14% SDR Peak Brightness
- 11% Viewing Angle
- 10% Gray Uniformity
- 8% 720p Input
- 5% Sound Quality
- 4% Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
- 2% Permanent Burn-In Risk
- 1% Flicker-Free
- 1% Temporary Image Retention
- 33% Input Lag
- 22% Response Time
- 6% 1080p Input
- 6% 4k Input
- 4% Contrast
- 4% Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
- 3% Reflections
- 3% Gray Uniformity
- 3% Sound Quality
- 3% Local Dimming
- 2% Black Uniformity
- 2% SDR Peak Brightness
- 1% Flicker-Free
- 1% Permanent Burn-In Risk
- 1% Pre Calibration
- 1% Stutter
- 1% Variable Refresh Rate
- 1% 4k @ 60Hz
- 1% Temporary Image Retention
- 1% Post Calibration
- 1% 1440p @ 60Hz
- 22% Contrast
- 14% Local Dimming
- 12% 4k Input
- 11% Black Uniformity
- 6% HDR Peak Brightness
- 6% Color Gamut
- 6% Color Volume
- 5% Gray Uniformity
- 4% Stutter
- 4% 24p Judder
- 3% HDR ABL
- 2% Motion Interpolation
- 2% Pre Calibration
- 2% Gradient
- 1% Post Calibration
- 1% HDR10
- 1% Dolby Vision
- 25% 4k @ 60Hz + HDR
- 15% Response Time
- 8% Contrast
- 7% Color Gamut
- 7% Color Volume
- 5% Local Dimming
- 4% 1080p Input
- 4% 4k Input
- 4% Black Uniformity
- 3% HDR ABL
- 3% HDR Peak Brightness
- 3% Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
- 2% Gray Uniformity
- 2% Gradient
- 2% Reflections
- 1% Variable Refresh Rate
- 1% HDR10
- 1% Dolby Vision
- 1% Sound Quality
- 1% Permanent Burn-In Risk
- 1% Flicker-Free
- 1% Pre Calibration
- 1% Temporary Image Retention
- 1% Post Calibration
- 28% Inputs
- 14% Viewing Angle
- 13% Response Time
- 8% Permanent Burn-In Risk
- 6% Reflections
- 5% Temporary Image Retention
- 4% 4k Input
- 3% SDR Peak Brightness
- 3% 1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
- 3% 4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
- 2% Contrast
- 2% Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
- 2% Curved
- 2% Gray Uniformity
- 2% 1080p Input
- 1% Local Dimming
- 1% Black Uniformity
- 1% Flicker-Free
- 1% Pre Calibration
- 0% Post Calibration
If you find the LG SK9000 expensive, the best budget TV to use as PC monitor is the TCL 55R617. The 6 Series does not have the wide viewing angles, the excellent reflection handling or the good gray uniformity found on the LG SK9000.
On the upside, the TCL R617 is a very good TV with deep blacks that results in a very good picture quality. When used as a PC monitor, it has impressive performance. It accepts most common resolutions, including 4:4:4 chroma so text is clear and crisp. It has very low input lag and is very responsive. The TV has excellent brightness and thus can be placed in a bright office space.
Overall, the TCL 6 Series is a very good TV for many different usages and it is a good choice for someone who wants to use it as a PC monitor.
Alternative with Better Viewing Angle: Sony KD55X720E
If you find that the TCL R617 does not suit you because of the poor viewing angles, we recommend the Sony KD55X720E. It is similarly priced to the TCL but has a poor contrast ratio and no local dimming feature, so it will not perform as good in a dark room. It also cannot reach the brightness levels of the TCL. On the upside, the X720E has better viewing angles and fewer gray uniformity issues, which make it great for use as a PC monitor.
Cheaper Alternative: TCL 55S405
If you find the TCL R617 expensive, get the TCL S405. It is a worse TV than the TCL R617; it does not get as bright nor is it equipped with more advanced features. It is, however, a very good TV for use as PC monitor with excellent low input lag that feels very responsive. It will accept most common resolutions and text is clear and crisp as it can display properly chroma 4:4:4.
Notable Mentions
- Sony X900F. Versatile TV available in a variety of sizes, but more expensive than the Vizio P for a similar performance See our review
- Samsung Q9FN. An excellent TV, but more expensive than the Q8FN. Only available in 65 and 75" size. See our review
- LG C8. Exceptional TV, but runs the risk of temporary image retention or permanent burn-in when used as PC monitor. See our review
- Sony X900E. Decent choice for a PC monitor, but hard to find and the X720E does even more for less money. See our review
What is Chroma 4:4:4?
Every pixel in a screen is sent a brightness value, which tells it how bright or dark it should be. There is also a color value that is sent, which tells the pixel which color to be.
A common method of compressing a file is to make groups of pixels share color, or chroma, data. This reduces the size of a file significantly, and with most video, the difference in quality is minimal.
This type of compression, though, doesn’t look great on a computer monitor. In particular, the lack of specificity that you get by making pixels share chroma values leads to blurry text. That’s why, especially for productivity purposes, it’s desirable to have a TV capable of chroma 4:4:4, which is uncompressed.
Samsung UN55JU7100 4k @ 60Hz under PC modeChroma 4:4:4
Samsung UN55JU7100 4k @ 30Hz outside PC modeChroma 4:2:2
Samsung UN55JU7100 4k @ 60Hz outside PC modeChroma 4:2:0
Above, you can see images illustrating three levels of compression. You can see that from 4:4:4 (uncompressed) to 4:2:2 (compressed a bit), there is a bit of a loss of specificity in the lower text - it's not quite as sharp as with 4:4:4. It’s an even more noticeable drop in quality when you’re looking at 4:2:0 (the typical level of compression). Again, this is only really important for text. It’s very hard to spot this compression with normal footage.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best TVs to use as a PC monitor for most people in each price range. We factor in the price (a cheaper TV wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors and availability (no TVs that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here is the list of all our reviews of TVs. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no TV is perfect, most TVs are great enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.
Questions & Answers
Updated answer 2017/02/13: A PC with an HDMI 2.0 port can output 4K @ 60 Hz @ 4:4:4 to a TV without an adapter. A PC with a DisplayPort 1.2 port can output 4K @ 60 Hz @ 4:4:4 to a TV by using a DisplayPort 1.2 to HDMI 2.0 adapter. HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.0 ports can both output 4K @ 24 Hz @ 4:4:4 and 1080p @ 60 Hz @ 4:4:4.
Your Mac Pro has an HDMI 1.4 port and six Thunderbolt 2 ports that can output DisplayPort 1.2. You can use an adapter on one of the six Thunderbolt 2 ports to output 4K @ 60 Hz @ 4:4:4 to a TV.
Note about adapters: Many adapters marketed as DisplayPort 1.2 to HDMI 2.0 cannot actually output the full bandwidth of HDMI 2.0 and so cannot be used to output 4K @ 60 Hz @ 4:4:4 to a TV. We have had success with the Club3D CAC-1070 adapter.
One thing I would like to point out is that there are a few Korean companies that have slapped on a custom-made controller board on 4K LG IPS models - and possibly TN panels for other major brands - that can take in DisplayPort 1.2 signals that do 4k chroma 4:4:4 @ 60 hz as well. If you do search on eBay or YouTube you will see them. Just FYI for people who have laptops that have cards like the 970M with display port 1.2.
That sounds interesting. Would you be able to email us a link to one of the listings or videos?
Thanks for sharing!
Update: One of our visitor pointed out to the 'Wasabi Mango' and 'Crossover 404K' Korean TV/Monitor.
- Samsung UN40JU7100
- Samsung UN40JU7500
- Samsung UN40JU6700
- Samsung UN40JU6500
- Sony XBR43X830C
- LG 43UF7600
If you care more about contrast, the Samsung UN40JU7500 is the best choice. If you want a good viewing angle (so the corners don't fade out when sitting close for a PC monitor), then the Sony XBR43X830C.
Do you recommend switching between gaming mode and PC mode when gaming or using the desktop?
What is the difference between Input Lag and Response time?
If you really want the absolute lowest input lag for gaming, then yes, it would be good to switch back and forth. You might first want to try using PC mode for gaming and seeing if the higher input lag bothers you.
Input lag refers to the amount of delay there is between an input made on a game controller, mouse, etc, and the corresponding reaction onscreen, whereas response time refers to how much time it takes for a pixel to change colors.
I'm very interested in purchasing the Samsung UN40JU7500 for this purpose or possibly the JS9000. I have the Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 graphics card that supports 4K with HDMI 2.0. Is there anything else I should be concerned about with one of these TVs (which one would be best), or should I just try to find an equivalent 4K monitor?
Update: It does indeed support it, confirmed by the visitor that originally asked the question and bought it.
I'd like to buy a 40" 4K TV for my OPPO Blu-ray player, as well as streaming Amazon Instant Video and Netflix, plus it would be great if I could also use the TV as a computer monitor. I live in a "tiny home" with no room for multiple screens, and though my computer isn't new enough to output 3840x2160 resolution, I'd hate to replace it, because otherwise it is still performing admirably.
Is there a chance that my desktop would "play nice" with a 4K TV like the Sony XBR43X830C, utilizing a lower resolution? The image needn't be beauteous, just functional. Thanks for your help.
I still am lacking the answer to a fundamental question. If I don't care about the TV or gaming features of a TV as a monitor, but just want a bigger monitor that does 3840x2160 @60 hz with 4:4:4, dollar for dollar, am I better off getting a large monitor or a TV?
I am finding the choices of monitors that achieve these specs and that are over 32" to be sparse. The only one I have found in the sub-$1500 price range is the Philips BDM4065UC. Do have any information comparing monitors to TVs as monitors? Do you have any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.
If you're sure your computer's graphics card can output 4k @ 4:4:4 via HDMI (we list models that do at the bottom of the article), you'll be fine with a TV. If your card can't, but has DisplayPort, you should get a monitor instead.
For under $30, it seems worth adding to your article as an update at the very top, where people will see it before they read the whole article (HINT HINT!). Here's an Amazon link.
Most TVs don't go into standby when there is no signal like monitors do. As such, it is better to turn it off with your computer. We don't know how much damage this is likely to cause (if any) but consumer TVs aren't designed to be left on all the time.
CEC is used by TVs and home theater devices to turn off all of the connected devices when you turn off your game console or TV, as an example. Although most PCs don't support CEC, it is possible to buy a box such as this to send a CEC signal to your TV from your PC. As such, you can automate turning them both off at the same time.
-- Would you expect input lag to decrease/increase/stay the same if using a display port 1.2 to HDMI 2.0 adapter coming out later this year?
-- What method are you using to measure input lag, and is there a way to do it without expensive equipment?
-- How does your site make money? I'd like to support it in some way.
We use a Leo Bodnar Input Lag Tester. You can also do it yourself for cheaper by using the process outlined at the bottom of this article.
We make money from the Amazon referral links on our site. If you follow one of those links, we receive a commission on the money you spend on Amazon in the following 24 hours.
I then went to General>Info in the Denon and under video HDMI source info it says 1080p/24 YCBR 4:4:4 12bit, and then 4K/24 YCBR 4:2:0 8bit. This is obviously source dependent, and I was watching a Blu-ray.
It's different when I'm watching Comcast, but I guess my question is, should I turn off IP Scaler?
It's cool to see the UHD logo when I hit source on the JS9000, but am I hurting my picture quality?
If it's weaker, though, then yes, you're hurting picture quality. We don't know how good the Denon is at upscaling, but the JS9000 does a good job on its own. For a safe choice and good picture guaranteed, don't use the Denon's scaler.
1) If I am playing a PC game where the frame rate varies, say, between 70-90 fps (vsync is off), is the TV still running at 120 Hz refresh rate?
2) Can you set the TV's refresh rate to something else? For ex. 60 Hz?
3) You only mention 120 Hz for 1080p, what is the refresh rate if playing a PC game at 4k?
Thank you!
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