Choosing the best 4K monitor for your computer is no easy task. We probably spend more time looking at our screens than we do sleeping. Especially if you work on your computer. And then we might even relax by doing other things on the same screen, like gaming or watching movies. So we need to choose carefully.
We’ve looked through the best 4K monitors to help you make the choice. We’ve considered features such as size, brightness, contrast, and usability. There should be something in this review for everyone. Our top pick is the Philips Brilliance 279P1 27″ Frameless Monitor. It has USB-C connectivity, an excellent color gamut, and a four-year warranty. All for a very attractive price.
What is the Best 4K Monitor?
There are many features to consider when choosing the best 4K monitor. These include brightness, contrast, and connectivity. Before we look at our recommendations in detail, here is a summary of our choices.
- Single cable USB-C connection with power delivery up to 65 W
- SmartErgoBase for ergonomic adjustments
- Light sensor and TUV Rheinland Eye Comfort to reduce eye strain
- Duo built-in 3W stereo speakers
- IPS 4K Display with 144Hz Refresh Rate
- 1ms (GTG) Response Time
- 10-bit color / 90% DCI-P3 / 123% sRGB / VESA Display
- KVM for connecting and controlling multiple devices
- Ultra-thin bezel design, 4K UHD resolution, 4x Full HD
- Modern and elegant design
- AMD FreeSync technology
- Height adjustable stand, tilt, swivel, and pivot features
- Quantum Matrix Technology, HDR 2000, and UHD resolution
- 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time
- CoreSync technology and Auto Source Switch+
- Matte display
- Height-adjustable for an ergonomic workstation
- 178-degree viewing angle
- 95% DCI-P3 Color Gamut with HDR 10 for vivid colors
- USB-C with 60W PD for efficient charging
- Factory calibrated for color accuracy and comes with report
- AQCOLOR Technology for accurate colors
- 100% sRGB, 95% P3, 99% AdobeRGB color gamut
- Hardware Calibration and Paper Color Sync technology for screen-to-print consistency
The Best 4K Monitors in Detail
Starting with our top pick, here are our suggestions.
1. Philips Brilliance 279P1 27
| Brand |
Brand
Philips
|
| Screen Size |
Screen Size
27 inches
|
| Refresh Rate |
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
|
| Aspect Ratio |
Aspect Ratio
16|9
|
| Brightness |
Brightness
350 cd/m2
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
USB-C with up to 65 W power, built-in speakers
|
| Best For |
Best For
People looking for a 4K monitor at a reasonable price
|
The Philips Brilliance 279P1 27″ monitor can help you clear your desktop clutter. A single USB-C cable can deliver video to the monitor and power to your laptop. It’s not the only thoughtful feature either.
The SmartErgoBase stand allows height, tilt, and rotational adjustment. It also can be rotated by 90 degrees so you can have a portrait-oriented monitor. A portrait monitor is a game changer in a multiple monitor setup. The 60 Hz refresh rate means that video editing should be a breeze.
That refresh rate is probably not enough for a hardcore gamer. But for photographers, it is plenty. And it means you can get the benefit of not paying for speed you don’t need.
On the downside, there is no HDR. Perhaps that’s not surprising at this price, but it’s worth being aware of. This Philips monitor does most things very well. It is a good choice if you don’t want to sink a fortune into your computer display.
2. GIGABYTE M32U 32
| Brand |
Brand
Gigabyte
|
| Screen Size |
Screen Size
31.5 inches
|
| Refresh Rate |
Refresh Rate
144 Hz
|
| Aspect Ratio |
Aspect Ratio
16|9
|
| Brightness |
Brightness
400 cd/m2
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
Curved display, high contrast and Adaptive-Sync
|
| Best For |
Best For
Anyone looking for a multi-purpose monitor for editing and gaming
|
The GIGABYTE M32U 32″ monitor is a good compromise if you want to edit photos and indulge in some gaming. It’s not a hardcore gaming display but it performs well enough to be perfectly usable. The 144 Hz refresh rate can be overclocked to 160 Hz. But if you use Adaptive-Sync, you lose that at a faster speed.
Color calibration seems accurate right out of the box. The on-screen menus allow for plenty of adjustment to meet your needs. The stand is not as versatile as the Philips. You get just over 4 inches (10 cm) of height adjustment and it tilts from -5 to 20 degrees. But there’s no swivel and you can’t choose portrait orientation.
The curved screen brings everything into focus nicely. And it won’t strain the eyes so much. The contrast of this monitor is very good with rich, dark blacks. The only weak point here is that these are less impressive with the HDR engaged.
Overall, the GIGABYTE M32U 32″ monitor is an impressive display. It will serve you well as an editing monitor and allow you to kick back and play some games at the end of the day.
3. Dell S2721QS 27-Inch 4K UHD Curved IPS Monitor (3840 x 2160)
| Brand |
Brand
Dell
|
| Screen Size |
Screen Size
27 inches
|
| Refresh Rate |
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
|
| Aspect Ratio |
Aspect Ratio
16|9
|
| Brightness |
Brightness
350 cd/m2
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
Dell Display Manager, Picture-in-Picture and dual HDMI inputs
|
| Best For |
Best For
Anyone on a tight budget looking for a 4K monitor
|
The Dell S2721QS is starting to show its age a little bit. There’s no USB-C port, but there are two HDMI ports. And it does allow the simultaneous display of two computers via DisplayPort connections.
There are other strengths too. The stand is versatile, offering tilt adjustment from -5 to 21 degrees, swivel, and up to 5.5 inches (14 cm) of height adjustment. And you get the option to turn it into a vertical monitor. That’s impressive at this price.
How does the display perform? Well, with a 60 Hz refresh rate, you’re not going to find gamers lining up for this. But the brightness is good and contrast is more than enough to keep most photo editors happy.
If you have a little more space on your desk, then you might want to consider the bigger 32″ variant of this Dell 4K display.
4. SAMSUNG 32-Inch Odyssey Neo G8 4K UHD
| Brand |
Brand
Samsung
|
| Screen Size |
Screen Size
32 inches
|
| Refresh Rate |
Refresh Rate
240 Hz
|
| Aspect Ratio |
Aspect Ratio
16|9
|
| Brightness |
Brightness
2,000 cd/m2
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
Curved HDR monitor, Vertical Alignment (VA) panel
|
| Best For |
Best For
Anyone looking for a display with high contrast and excellent brightness
|
The SAMSUNG 32″ Odyssey Neo G8 4K monitor delivers excellent brightness and contrast, but at a price. It has a set of features that makes it a good choice for both creatives and gamers. The 240 Hz refresh rate is attractive for gamers. The HDR capability and brightness will appeal to both gamers and photographers.
The excellent >80% coverage of DCI-P3 gamut is probably of most interest to photographers. The refresh rate is adjustable. So if you’re mainly editing photos, you might want to save on processing power if you don’t need that speed.
This is not a gently curved monitor. Its circle radius is just 39 inches (1 m), so it makes quite a statement on your desktop. The stand allows 4.75″ (12 cm) of height adjustment and -9 to 13 degrees of tilt. As you’d expect of a monitor at this price, you can choose portrait orientation. Although I feel it looks a little weird with the curve when it is vertical.
So, the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 is a fully specced, impressive piece of hardware. It will serve well across a range of uses. And videographers especially will appreciate its speed, sharpness, brightness, and contrast.
5. LG 32UN880-B 32-Inch 4K UHD IPS Monitor (3840 x 2160)
| Brand |
Brand
LG
|
| Screen Size |
Screen Size
31.5 inches
|
| Refresh Rate |
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
|
| Aspect Ratio |
Aspect Ratio
16|9
|
| Brightness |
Brightness
350 cd/m2
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
Versatile desk-clamp stand, HDR
|
| Best For |
Best For
Creatives looking for a good value 4K monitor
|
The LG 32UN880-B is an IPS monitor with 4K and HDR at an affordable price. One of its most useful features is the desk-clamp stand. It doesn’t just reduce the display’s footprint. It behaves more like an aftermarket monitor arm. You can rotate or offset the monitor, making it easy to show your work to colleagues.
The stand is a really well-thought-out piece of kit. It is easy to position it well. There is more than 5 inches (13 cm) of height adjustment and 6.25 inches (18 cm) of front-to-back movement. Plus, you can rotate it 280 degrees, tilt it from -25 to 25 degrees, and rotate it to portrait orientation. Finally, it has a concealed channel for your cables. It is a really neat (literally!) solution.
The visual performance is nothing to sneeze at either. The 350 nits brightness won’t excite gamers. But then at 60 Hz, they won’t be too interested anyway. What will interest photographers, though, is the decent HDR and impressive color fidelity.
There’s lots to like about the LG 32UN880-B. At the price, it has great performance and is reassuringly well-made.
6. BenQ SW321C 32-Inch 4K UHD IPS Monitor
| Brand |
Brand
BenQ
|
| Screen Size |
Screen Size
32 inches
|
| Refresh Rate |
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
|
| Aspect Ratio |
Aspect Ratio
16|9
|
| Brightness |
Brightness
250 cd/m2
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
USB-C connections, HotKey Puck
|
| Best For |
Best For
Anyone looking for a display with super-accurate color
|
The BenQ SW321C is unashamedly geared toward photographers. It has a wide gamut performance, with 99% Adobe RGB, and Paper Color Sync to maximize consistency with printed output.
The monitor comes with BenQ’s HotKey Puck. This is a wired remote that allows you to easily adjust settings without messing about with fiddly buttons on the monitor itself. The glare shield hood will also help you get the best from the display whatever the ambient lighting.
You’ll get a lot of solid, reliable, and dependable performance from the SW321C. It should appeal to photographers and videographers alike. Hardware calibration, which works irrespective of graphics card capabilities, ensures greater accuracy.
The BenQ SW321C provides reliable, consistent, and easy performance for photo and video editors. And it does this very effectively.
Choosing a 4K monitor
Do you Need a 4K Monitor?
This isn’t a stupid question. Pretty much every TV these days is 4K, so it seems obvious that your computer display should be too. If you’re replacing your monitor or starting from scratch, it makes sense. And if you want the best detail you can get for photo editing, then yes, you will need a 4K monitor.
In these situations, it makes perfect sense to get a 4K monitor. And the good news is, there are plenty to choose from.
What Features Should you Look For?
The world of 4K monitors can be a little bewildering. There are so many technologies involved, and they change all the time. These are the main ones to look out for.
Brightness: this is measured in cd/m2 or “nits.” The bigger the number, the brighter the image. The importance of brightness is as much to do with enabling contrast variation as it is with, well, brightness. A screen with low brightness will struggle to create enough difference across a wide range of contrast. All the displays in this review have enough to work well as 4K monitors for photo editing.
Color Gamut: Even 4K monitors can’t display the full range of colors detectable by the human eye. You will mainly find manufacturers talking about sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3. Most monitors should cover the whole sRGB gamut. But Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 are wider. The latter is catered toward video creators, so it might be worth looking at if video is your thing.
Refresh Rate: How quickly the image on your 4K monitor updates is determined by its refresh rate. 60 Hz is the minimum in this review and works just fine for photos, video, and watching TV. Gaming, detailed video work, and maybe some movies will look better with a higher refresh rate. You just need to pick what suits your needs and fits your budget.
Connectivity: There are many ways to connect your 4K monitor to your computer. USB-C is becoming more and more important, and it offers useful features. Some of these 4K monitors will use a single USB-C cable to receive the signal from your laptop while charging it at the same time. On the other hand, you might need HDMI or DisplayPort to work with your current computer.
Conclusion: The Best 4K Monitor
There are so many variables to consider when choosing a 4K monitor. And it’s a decision that has a big impact on many of our day-to-day lives. If, like me, you spend a minimum of nine hours a day staring at a screen, then making the right choice is vital.
We think that the Philips Brilliance 279P1 27″ Frameless Monitor offers a great blend of value for money and performance. It should make your everyday viewing easier.
