Articles about Monitor

I'm a big fan of value. Is that because I'm not a wealthy person? Partially. Even when I can afford something, however, I don't necessarily buy it. When buying a car, for instance, I try to get the most bang for my buck while getting a reasonable vehicle -- my only new car purchase was a Ford Focus priced below invoice. Could I have gotten a better vehicle? Sure, but the Focus provided value.

When it comes to monitors, I am the same way. My main computer these days is a 2016 MacBook Pro. Now, the obvious choice of a monitor wold be a fancy 5K variant from a company like LG. And yeah, I am sure a 5K display looks brilliant with macOS. But guess what? It is expensive. Instead, 4K is more than enough for my needs. When I want a monitor, I usually turn to AOC. Why? Its products are very good and budget-friendly. I've been testing the company's U3277PWQU 32-inch 4K UHD Professional Monitor lately, and I have some definitive opinions.

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While the benefits of a curved television screen are negligible (if not totally non-existent), having a curve on a computer monitor is seriously amazing. Since you sit closer to it, it creates a more immersive experience -- especially when gaming. Unfortunately, such displays can be rather pricey, making them impossible to achieve for many.

Thankfully, prices for quality curved monitors are dropping, and today, budget-friendly manufacturer, AOC, launches a very affordable such model. The AG322QCX, as it is called, is part of the company's "AGON" line of gaming displays. This 32-inch monitor features a 2560x1440 QHD resolution. Gamers will appreciate the integrated headset holder. Despite its low price tag, it even supports AMD FreeSync technology.

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While many consumers are going gaga over high-resolution monitors, let's be honest -- 1080p is still great. For those that want to save money and don't need the latest-and-greatest, a Full-HD offering can be a great way to stay on budget. For gamers in particular, a lower-resolution can allow you to squeeze more performance from a meager graphics card.

Today, AOC unveils a beautiful 1080p monitor designed by Studio F. A. Porsche. It offers 250 cd/m2 brightness in a choice of two sizes -- 24-inch (PDS241) and 27-inch (PDS271). It features a beautifully designed stand and extremely thin bezels. What really makes it stand out, however, is the breakout box that houses the HDMI (no DisplayPort) and power ports; there are no connection options on the monitor body itself.

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A laptop can make it easier to get work done on the go, but there are limitations compared to a desktop. One of the biggest pain points is that you are forced to use a single display when away from home. A dual-monitor setup can be very beneficial for productivity, and being limited to one can be frustrating.

Luckily, there are portable external monitors designed for laptops. Yes, you can use a dual display system at, say, a Starbucks for added productivity. Today, AOC announces its latest such offering for both macOS and Windows. The 16-inch (15.6-inch viewable) display (model number I1659FWUX) uses USB 3.0 for both video and power, meaning you can easily pack it into your backpack or other laptop bag when needed -- there is no additional bulky power cable to remember.

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If you are a PC gamer, you probably own a hardcore graphics card and fancy mouse, am I right? Some of you will even have a mechanical keyboard and premium headset. Here's the question, though -- how's your monitor, bro? Are you still gaming on a small 1080p display with poor viewing angles? We are in 2017 -- it might be time to upgrade.

If your computer is powerful enough, and your pockets are deep enough, Acer has a new monitor that will make you drool. Called "XR382CQK," it is a 37.5-inch 21:9 ultrawide QHD (3440x1600) monitor. It even features a 5ms response and 75Hz refresh -- nice! AMD fans will particularly want this display as it supports FreeSync. There is one huge problem, though -- the price.

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The LG UltraFine 5K is supposed to be the monitor to get if you're a MacBook user wanting a modern, high-resolution Thunderbolt display. On paper it certainly looks like it. It even has Apple's endorsement, being presented by the company at its October event last year, alongside the latest MacBook Pros.

But, as we just found out, the UltraFine 5K has a serious problem: it can't deal with Wi-Fi interferences, which makes it unusable around routers. For a device that costs almost $1,000, that is a serious issue. The good news is that LG has come up with a fix. The bad news is that existing owners are not going to like it.

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4K and 5K displays are all the rage nowadays, but as far as I am concerned, they aren't always worth the money. With the exception of macOS, these expensive high-resolution displays don't perform well with scaling on Windows 10 and Linux. With that said, 1080p is too low in 2017. It is for this reason that I tend to prefer 2560 x 1440 resolution -- it is usable on Windows, Fedora, and macOS without breaking the bank. The sweet spot.

Today, AOC unveils a new monitor with that resolution. This company is known for budget offerings, but its newest model aims more for elegance. The 27-inch Q2781PQ is what the company calls "frameless," which is really just marketing-speak for very thin bezels on all four sides.

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Tech companies use CES to launch a ton of products. Most of them are boring, but some are actually quite interesting. Dell's new 27-inch Ultrathin monitor falls in the latter category, thanks to a very slim profile, sleek design, and some pretty attractive specifications.

The appeal of the 27 Ultrathin, as it's officially called, obviously comes from its thin side profile, which Dell has managed to achieve by having the components that are traditionally placed behind the screen moved to the base of the monitor. That's an elegant solution, which makes the 27 Ultrathin a pretty appealing option for a home office.

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CES 2017 announcements have already started to pour in, as tech companies are trying to get our attention before the trade show kicks off early next month. Samsung is one of the latest players to reveal a new product, the CH711 Quantum Dot curved monitor.

The monitor is aimed at gamers and other demanding consumers, being offered in two sizes, 27-inch and 31.5-inch more exactly. There are some pretty interesting specifications, that should appeal to prospective buyers, and, quite likely, a pretty steep price involved as well.

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1080p monitors are a dime a dozen nowadays -- the market is saturated with them. Heck, many people are opting for displays with much better resolution too. In other words, it is virtually impossible to have a 1080p monitor stand out from the crowd.

And yet, AOC has managed to do so. How? The company has integrated a Qi charger into the base of its newest 27-inch monitor -- the P2779VC. If you own a compatible smartphone, you can charge it wirelessly by placing it on the monitor. That unique feature aside, this PLS display has other cool aspects too, such as 8-bit color depth and 178-degree viewing angles.

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Buying a computer display nowadays is both easy and hard. It is easy as it is difficult to go wrong, but it is also hard as there are so many good choices. Ultimately, your budget and needs will guide you to the best option.

Today, Philips releases the all-new 'Crystalclear' 32-inch Quad HD display (model number BDM3270QP2). Not only does the beautiful monitor have a respectable resolution (2560x1440), but it is chock-full of features and connection options too.

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Today was Apple's big October event, and I came away impressed. The new MacBook Pro is both drop-dead gorgeous and super-powerful. The Touch Bar is revolutionary, bringing touch functionality to an operating system that isn't designed for a touch screen.

Unfortunately, the prices for the New MacBook Pro models are quite high, starting at $1,800 for one with the Touch Bar (a neutered non-Touch Bar model can be had for $1,500). If you are going to invest in such a pricey laptop, you will probably want it to double as a desktop too. Luckily, LG has two new Thunderbolt 3 monitors (one is 27-inch 5K, the other is 21.5-inch 4K) that will make it so. Dubbed "UltraFine", they double as single-cable docking stations. In other words, when paired with the MacBook Pro (or non-Pro MacBook), you will have a very rewarding macOS experience.

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While 4K displays are popular nowadays, 1080p variants are still wonderful. Quite frankly, depending on your needs, a 1920x1080 display could even be preferable. Gamers, for instance, may not have the GPU required to game on 4K. Not to mention, on Windows 10, some legacy programs and settings can look pixelated and blurry when up-scaling above 100 percent. 4K with Linux is even worse, but I digress.

Today, ViewSonic announces an absolutely gorgeous 24-inch 1080p monitor. The "VP2468" display has incredibly small bezels and professional-grade color accuracy. This monitor should prove brilliant for both home and business users, not to mention gamers too. But is the price too high?

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Buying a monitor can be quite the daunting affair. Not only are there many styles to choose from, but various resolutions too. While 4K monitors are all the rage, some operating systems, such as Windows 10 and some Linux distros, are not optimized for higher resolutions. Text and icons will appear small, and increasing sizes in the OS can cause some programs to display blurry text. In my experience, only OS X scales well to high res monitors.

Keeping that in mind, it is understandable if you are willing to put up with those concerns, as images, movies and games can be absolutely gorgeous on high-resolution screens. Today, Philips announces a beast of a monitor -- 34 inches, curved, with a resolution of 3440 x 1440. While less than 4K, this resolution offers a very wide view.

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Even though CES 2016 is not for another month, LG today announced some of the products that it will showcase at the upcoming consumer electronics trade show. Among them is Gram 15, which is claimed to be the "lightest 15-inch laptop in the world".

But just how light is it? LG says that Gram 15 only weighs 980 grams, or 2.16 lbs. To put things into perspective, it is considerably lighter than Apple's 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, and more than twice as light as the 15-inch version of aforementioned laptop.

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