Frequently asked questions

It depends on the depth of the desk, which sets the viewing distance. As a rule: a 24-inch monitor for a 24-inch-deep (60 cm) desk, a 27-inch for 28 in (70 cm), a 27 or 32-inch for 31.5 in (80 cm), a 32-inch or an ultrawide for 35 in (90 cm) and more. A monitor arm adds about 4 in (10 cm) of distance and allows one size more. Details in screen size and desk depth.

Between 0.9 and 1.2 times its diagonal for a 16:9 screen: 22 to 28 in (55 to 72 cm) for a 24-inch, 24 to 32 in (60 to 82 cm) for a 27-inch, 28 to 38 in (70 to 96 cm) for a 32-inch. Workplace guidance gives 20 to 40 in (50 to 100 cm) overall. See viewing distance.

Not if you can sit 28 in (70 cm) or more from it, which requires a desk about 29.5 in (75 cm) deep with the monitor on its stand. At that distance it fills the same share of your vision as a 27-inch at 24 in (60 cm). On a 24-inch-deep (60 cm) desk it is too large.

If you turn your head to read the corners, if the top of the screen is above your eyes, or if you find yourself leaning back, it is too close or too large for the distance. Measure: a 16:9 screen should fill no more than about 53 degrees, which means a distance of at least 0.9 times its diagonal.

Its top edge, yes; its center, no. The center belongs 15 to 20 degrees below the horizontal line of the eyes, with the screen tilted back. A screen placed too high tires the neck and dries the eyes.

Two screens give more pixels for the price and separate tasks naturally; one ultrawide gives an uninterrupted surface for timelines, wide tables and games. See ultrawide or two monitors.

For text, yes: 73 pixels per degree at 26 in (65 cm) against 49 for 1440p, a visible gain in the crispness of characters. For games it requires a far more powerful graphics card. Both resolutions show the same workspace, since 4K is used at 150% scaling.

The one that gives 50 pixels per degree or more at your distance, 60 if you read all day: 1440p on 24 inches, 1440p or better 4K on 27 inches, 4K on 32 inches. Check any screen with the PPI calculator.

On 24 inches, for games, video and occasional office work. For hours of text it is coarse (35 to 40 pixels per degree at desk distance), and on 27 inches it is clearly insufficient.

PPI = √(width² + height²) ÷ diagonal, with the resolution in pixels and the diagonal in inches. A 27-inch 2560 × 1440 screen has 2937 pixels on its diagonal, hence 109 PPI.

The distance between the centers of two neighboring pixels: 25.4 mm divided by the PPI. 0.233 mm at 109 PPI, 0.156 mm at 163 PPI. It expresses the same thing as density, in reverse.

150% on 27 inches and 125 to 150% on 32 inches, on Windows. On macOS, the “looks like 2560 × 1440” setting on 27 inches. See resolution and scaling.

It is the best choice: stable colors and brightness over the whole surface and clean text. VA is acceptable and offers deeper blacks; TN should be avoided. See panel types.

On ultrawide screens, a gentle curve keeps the edges facing you and is a real comfort. On 16:9 screens up to 32 inches it serves no purpose, and tight curves bend the straight lines of spreadsheets and plans.

60 Hz is sufficient; 100 to 120 Hz makes scrolling and pointer movement visibly smoother for a small price difference. For games, 144 Hz is the base. See refresh rate.

No. HDR concerns films and games made for it, and requires a screen with local dimming at 1000 nits or an OLED panel. For office work leave it off.

They are color spaces of increasing size. sRGB is the standard of the web and office work; DCI-P3 extends it for video and recent phones; Adobe RGB extends it toward greens and cyans for print. Choose according to where your images go: see color, gamut and HDR.

To make it display the colors a file actually contains. A colorimeter measures the screen, corrects its white point and tone curve and records a profile. Indispensable for paid image work and prints; unnecessary for office use.

On a computer, DisplayPort 1.4 carries more than HDMI 2.0 and is the safer choice; full-rate HDMI 2.1 is equivalent. Use the more recent port common to your computer and your monitor. See connections.

Yes, if the USB-C port of the computer outputs video (DisplayPort Alt Mode or Thunderbolt) and the monitor has a USB-C input with power delivery. One cable then carries image, peripherals and charging. Check that the monitor supplies the wattage your laptop needs.

A DisplayPort 1.4 cable (with DSC on the monitor and the graphics card), an Ultra High Speed HDMI cable for HDMI 2.1, or a DP80 cable for DisplayPort 2.1. Use the cable supplied with the monitor when possible.

No lasting damage has been shown. Long sessions cause temporary fatigue, mostly through dryness (we blink less) and sustained near focus. Breaks, a well-placed screen and adapted brightness prevent most of it. See eye comfort.

Not for eye strain, according to a 2023 Cochrane review. Warming the screen in the evening can help sleep. Blue light from screens is not known to harm the retina.

Matte in a room with windows or ceiling lights: it scatters reflections. Glossy gives deeper blacks and more vivid colors in a room whose lighting you control.

It computes, for each format, the viewing angle and the pixels per degree at your distance, the workspace after scaling, and scores for motion, color and price weighted by your use. The full reasoning is on the method page.

Because size and resolution are the decision that depends on you, your desk and your eyes, and it stays valid for years. Models and prices change every month; once the format is known, any store filter lists them.

Yes. Recommendations are computed from the published method, before any link is added. One sponsor card, marked as sponsored, may appear on pages; it never influences a result.