Best monitor: Top PC screens for every budget

The Samsung Smart Monitor M7 is a versatile choice to pair with your PC, and represents one of our favourite all-round monitors.

What’s especially clever about the Smart Monitor M7 is that it’s not only a monitor, but also is able to be used like a 32-inch 4K smart TV, complete with Tizen OS. We found this to be an especially useful function during testing, and offered an excellent user experience in line with Samsung’s full-fat smart TVs, as opposed to this quasi-monitor-television.

We found the 32-inch 4K panel to offer up a decent all-round experience to offer up good brightness and colours, as well as dynamic imagery, which will definitely suffice for generalists wanting a versatile and capable monitor. In addition, the fact it features HDR10 causes supported content to look noticeably punchier.

Where the Smart Monitor M7 really shines though is with that versatility, and the wealth of features on offer alongside the fact this is a multi-function panel. The integration of both Samsung SmartThings and DeX for Galaxy phone owners was especially welcome, and unlocked the potential of the Smart Monitor M7 even more so than before. SmartThings is handy for streaming your phone screen to the monitor, while DeX allows you to use your Galaxy phone as a portable computer of sorts in a desktop-like fashion.

The design of the Smart Monitor M7 is nice too, with an understated look that’s helped along by the thin bezels. It looks to have been designed to be as innocuous as possible, so as to fit in with practically any setup. This could also be seen to contribute to the monitor’s wide appeal, given it’ll look great wherever it’s placed.

The new Samsung M8 Smart Monitor is now available with a more glamorous design and brighter panel, but we still think the M7 represents better value at its current price.

Reviewer: Alastair Stevenson
Full review: Samsung Smart Monitor M7 review

The Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 is the world’s first 4K gaming panel with a 240Hz refresh rate.

We found it to offer an immersive gaming experience thanks to a 1000R curve that matches the rest of Samsung’s Odyssey monitor line-up. The fact this is also a mini LED backlight panel made for some incredible brightness, which we measured to be 1411 nits, providing marvellous contrast and a great HDR performance.

A 240Hz refresh rate also means the G8 impresses with incredibly smooth motion that we found to be better than other 240Hz screens thanks to only minor bouts of ghosting. In addition, we found there to be superb colours thanks to support for 10-bit colour and measured colour accuracy of 99% sRGB and 92% DCI-P3. Even if this isn’t meant to be used for colour-sensitive work, the G8 is still an excellent choice for media professionals.

This is also an excellent-looking monitor with similar cues to the larger Odyssey G9, complete with glossy white plastic and a sandblasted metal base that we found to be sturdy. In addition, we found there to be loads of adjustment as well as VESA mounting.

All of this does come at a price though, and the G8 is quite an expensive beast. In addition, you will need some top-level hardware to get the best out of it, but if money is no object and you want one of the best gaming monitors money can buy, this is an outstanding choice.

Reviewer: Mike Jennings
Full review: Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 review

If you’re hunting for a monitor to use with your Mac or MacBook, then the Apple Studio Display is a logical, and indeed powerful, choice.

We found it to be one of the best-looking monitors we’ve ever reviewed, thanks to an professional aesthetic that sits well alongside Apple’s equally pro-grade laptops and desktops. It features an aluminium construction, complete with the typical Apple-like precision we’ve come to expect. There aren’t any controls on the monitor though, which means you have to control the Studio Display using the connected device.

The Studio Display is a feature-packed panel, complete with some fantastic sounding speakers, a built-in webcam and even the internals of an iPad with an A13 Bionic chipset and 64GB of storage. We did find that connectivity to Windows laptops to be difficult, which presents the idea that the Studio Display is only designed for Mac users. If you want a Windows-based equivalent, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

As for the display itself, the Studio Display offers up sharp images thanks to a 5K resolution. We found it’s an adequate LCD panel for Mac users that offers similar tech to pro-grade offerings from a few years ago. With 600 nits of brightness, this is a vibrant panel with great colour accuracy too. But it lacks the punch of a Mini LED display, as well as the powers of Apple’s ProMotion tech that offers up a 120Hz refresh rate to ensure smoother scrolling.

At $1599/£1499, this is an expensive choice, but if you’ve got your heart set on having a capable panel to pair with your Mac, then the Apple Pro Display should serve you well.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: Apple Studio Display review

The Samsung M8 Smart Monitor is the more expensive sibling to the M7 Smart Monitor. It shares the same 32-inch screen size and 3840×2160 resolution, as well as all the excellent smart features, but comes with a more glamorous design.

The M8 looks similar to Apple’s iMac, with a stylish, sturdy stand and a range of colour options including Blue, Green and Pink. It has tiny screen bezels, and even comes bundled with a detachable webcam in case you need to jump into a Zoom meeting.

Our tests proved that the M8 does have superior brightness and colour coverage compared to the cheaper M7, but we’re still disappointed by the lack of a QLED or Mini LED upgrade which would have justified the big price difference.

It’s the smart features that impressed us most during testing, allowing you to watch the likes of Netflix and Disney Plus, or even play Google Stadia or Xbox Game Pass, all without the need to plug into a PC. A remote control and support for Alexa and Bixby also make navigation seamless.

We were really impressed with the M8 during the review process, but it’s hard to recommend over Samsung’s more affordable M7 monitor unless you really like the look of the luxurious design and colour options.

Reviewer: Ryan Jones
Full review: Samsung M8 Smart Monitor review

The HP E27d G4 is one of the best monitor options if you’re somebody that needs a shedload of ports.

We found its connectivity options to be excellent, with DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C, USB-A, Ethernet and audio jack connections all featuring. This provides plenty of ports for you to connect up to more than one device, as well as for the sake of charging the likes of laptops if you wish to.

In addition, the HP E27d G4 features a sleek design with slim bezels around the display. We also found there to be superb adjustability with 150mm of height adjustment, as well as a great set of tilt and swivel options. If you want, you can even put this monitor into portrait mode. Do note though, the plastic frame means build quality is only mediocre.

In general, we found the image quality offered up by this HP monitor to be good for everyday usage, with a brightness level of 281 nits offering a good level of vibrancy on its 1440p panel. The underwhelming 73% Adobe RGB and 78% DCI-P3 colour coverage means this isn’t the best for complex design work that requires perfect colour accuracy, but it’s still perfectly fine for general office work.

Backing up the point of every-day workloads being this monitors forte is the fact this monitor features a 60Hz refresh rate, as well as 5ms response time, and an 8-bit depth. This isn’t designed as a gaming panel, nor a panel exclusively for graphic design, but if you want a generous number of connectivity options, the HP E27 G4 is a superb choice. 

Reviewer: Mike Jennings
Full review: HP E27d G4 review

Ergonomics are a very important part of modern workspaces, and getting a monitor that’ll be comfortable to use for extended periods is vital. We reckon the LG UltraWide Ergo 34WN780-B is the best monitor option in terms of ergonomics.

We found its versatile arm to offer excellent adjustability with 130mm of height adjustment, 25 degrees of tilt and a mighty 280 degrees of swivel. It’s an easy monitor to get comfortable with, which means it’s sure to suit pretty much anyone in practically any workspace. The actual arm itself feels robust and sturdy, especially since it’s designed to hold a 34-inch ultrawide panel. 

During testing, we found the LG UltraWide Ergo 34WN780-B to offer solid brightness levels for office situations, although its image quality and colours were a little middling. They’re sure to be fine for most office based productivity tasks, but you’ll be pushing the boundaries with anything more intense. 

LG has focused on making this monitor as versatile as possible, especially given it’s an IPS panel which should give you great viewing angles, and features a 75Hz refresh rate for smoother on-screen motion. The port selection isn’t bad either, with a couple of USB-As, DisplayPort and HDMI all represented, and they all face outwards for convenient access. 

All in all, the LG UltraWide Ergo 34WN780-B is a great choice for those who want plenty of adjustability and an exemplary ergonomic monitor. It may not be the best for colour sensitive applications, but if you need something comfortable for general working, you won’t go wrong here.

Reviewer: Mike Jennings
Full review: LG UltraWide Ergo 34WN780-B