You probably don’t think much about your monitor, but whether you’re working from home or gaming at home, these pixel arrays will It’s important to have a dazzling glow on your face. If you’re currently working on a laptop, a monitor can greatly improve your productivity, and a dual-monitor setup can go even further. The folks at WIRED Gear use these large external screens in various ways every day as we write our reviews, and of course, we decided to review them as well. These are our favorite monitors — all under $500.
It’s hard to count the number of monitors out there, which means we’ll have more suggestions as we continue testing. For any jargon you might not know, we also have monitor buying advice at the bottom, be sure to check out our other guides, including the best WFH devices, the best laptops, and our guide on how to use a second monitor with your laptop Recommended.
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photo: ASUS
A reliable, cheap monitor
ASUS 24″ Full HD Monitor
WIRED Review Editor Julian Chokkattu has been using this 24 for years inch ASUS IPS monitor without any issues, which is the best compliment you can get from a monitor at this price. The 1080-pixel resolution is perfect for a 24-inch screen size, so it looks sharp. Colors may look a little oversaturated, but you can adjust that in your monitor’s settings. The included adjustable tilt stand will do the job, but since it supports VESA mounting standards, I recommend placing it on an arm stand to free up some space on your desk. If you have an AMD graphics card on your computer, it even supports AMD’s FreeSync, so you can take advantage of the panel’s 75-Hz screen refresh rate for smooth gaming.
Photo: Dell
Budget Gaming Monitor
DELL 27″ Curved Gaming Monitor
Some of our favorite keyboards and mice carry the “gaming” moniker, but this It doesn’t mean only gamers can use them. This curved gaming monitor from Dell features a 1440p LCD TFT display, which is about the minimum you need for a 27-inch screen. This is great for anyone looking for a higher resolution without spending a fortune. The stand isn’t too obtrusive here, and while you can mount it via VESA, you’ll need to do some work since the mounting holes are recessed.
YesYes Gamer-friendly features such as 165-Hz refresh rate (using AMD FreeSync support), which will make games look smoother and smoother on screen, provided your computer is powerful enough to output the necessary frames per second. It lacks HDR support, which is a shame, but if that’s not a must for you, this is a great gaming monitor for the price. It’s usually on sale for $300 or less, so try to grab it on sale.
Picture: BenQ
For Creative Professionals
BenQ 27″ QHD HDR Monitor
If you work in any type of visual creative work, such as graphic design, video editing, or VFX, then color accuracy is more important to you than most. That’s where a monitor like the BenQ can excel. WIRED senior editor Michael Calore said the 2K resolution display is beautiful and the color reproduction is very accurate. It covers 100% of the sRGB color gamut with a color accuracy of Delta E ≤ 3. If you know what that means, you probably already know if this monitor is right for your needs.
To everyone else, it’s still really beautiful. The stand is versatile, you can rotate the screen to portrait orientation, or you can mount it via VESA.
