What to consider when buying a new monitor

If you sit in front of one all day, your monitor is not a luxury; it’s the engine that drives productivity. Choose wrong, and you’re stuck with eye strain, cramped layouts and constant window shuffling. The right one will make you faster, more accurate and less tired. Before you order another display, here is the focused, data-driven advice that really makes a difference.

Size & Resolution Are What Real Productivity Is About

That means everything else you do with the screen is built on top of two concepts: screen size and pixel density. For general knowledge work, a 27-inch display at 1440p resolution still nails a tested sweet spot around 108 pixels per inch — it’s sharp enough for text but roomy enough for several documents open at once, and heavy enough in its pixel density to please both Windows and macOS without getting fussy about scaling. If you spend most of your time in a dense timeline or giant spreadsheet, a 32-inch 4K screen nudges pixel density to about 137 pixels per inch, moving more rows, tracks and toolbars within the frame at once.

Consider your viewing distance. OSHA and ISO 9241 ergonomics guidance recommends placing the display about arm’s length away. At that viewing distance, 27-inch 1440p or 34-inch ultrawide at 3440 x 1440 (around 110 PPI) don’t force you to magnify text to keep it sharp. A 27-inch 4K display can be lovely, but if you have to scale the UI to 150%, there’s a decent chance that you’re paying for detail that just isn’t practical.

It’s All About Panel Tech And Color-Accuracy Over Hype

IPS panels are still the best all-around choice for office and creative work. You’ll receive consistent colors, wide viewing angles and only minimal motion smearing. Ideally, you want 99% sRGB for web content, or 90%+ DCI-P3 if you work in video and modern design pipelines. A factory calibration with Delta E under 2 can shave time off color correction — a silent win in the productivity department; see color management pros at EIZO.

OLED brings with it best-in-class contrast and response times, which can make grading or UI work feel second nature. But static interfaces and luminous toolbars raise long-term uniformity worries, even with modern burn-in mitigations. If you live in Excel or an IDE all day, a fine IPS with some beefy uniformity compensation could be the safer long-haul tool.

Ignore entry-level HDR labels. VESA DisplayHDR 400 almost never changes anyone’s workflow in a meaningful way. For real HDR advantages with video or photo editing, go for a DisplayHDR 600 or higher certification along with local dimming and at least 10-bit processing.

Refresh Rate Makes a Bigger Difference Than You Think

Gamers aren’t the only ones who benefit from high refresh. That 60‑to‑120Hz jump cuts cursor latency and scrolling blur — the micro-friction you notice every minute. Human factors researchers and various display labs (see Blur Busters) have already emphasized the higher comfort from increased refresh for constant pointing and reading. If you sling code or click mail and dashboards all day, 90–120Hz is a meaningful quality-of-life bump.

Ergonomics and connectivity for a smarter desk setup

Ports are a one-to-one translation into fewer adapters and smoother handoffs. USB‑C with DisplayPort Alt Mode and power delivery of 90W or higher allows a single cable to charge a laptop, drive the panel, and pass data through peripherals via a built-in hub. DisplayPort 1.4 continues to be the most reliable route out there for high refresh at 1440p and 4K on PCs; HDMI 2.1 is beneficial if you also plug in consoles.

If you are someone who switches back and forth between a work laptop and a personal desktop, built-in KVM can be life-changing. With a single button, you move keyboard, mouse and camera to whatever device is active. Check VESA mountability, the height and tilt of the monitor stand and how much desktop space it will occupy. In general, avoid hot spots and too-bright centers; uniform brightness is better than a high-contrast screen unless you are really prone to glare at work, in which case find an anti-glare coating (and 250–350 nits of brightness should provide good enough anti-reflectivity for most offices — possibly more if it’s particularly bright).

Choosing between ultrawide displays and dual-monitor setups

Multiple displays can be a force multiplier. Studies at the University of Utah presented at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society indicated productivity increases ranging from 10% to 44% with large dual-screen configurations, while Jon Peddie Research has quoted average performance improvements of about 42%. But two mismatched panels can cause bezel gaps, uneven heights and color variances that whittle down those advantages.

A single 34-inch ultrawide at 3440 x 1440 is a far better use of space and much nicer for ergonomics than dual 24s. You get one unbroken horizontal space for timelines and two whole documents side by side, with no bezel seam. If you absolutely must have separate screens (for video calls on one and work on the other), then shoot to install identical models and align them carefully.

Key monitor features to prioritize based on your workload

• General work: 27-inch 1440p IPS, 90–120Hz, USB‑C with 90W PD, and an ergonomic stand. That keeps things neat and comfortable on email, files, dashboards… anything!
• Creative professionals on Mac or PC: 27–32-inch 4K with 10-bit support, DCI-P3 color gamut of 95% or better, hardware calibration, and DisplayHDR 600 or greater if you are delivering HDR content. For this reason, Apple’s 5K‑class and pro monitor makers’ color‑accurate displays exist — every pixel, every tone counts.
• Hybrid work and light gaming: 27-inch 1440p or 34-inch ultrawide 3440 x 1440 at 120–165Hz with Adaptive Sync. You receive the smooth motion for after-dark play, genuinely better scrolling and windowing by day.

The bottom line: what to check before you buy a monitor

Take your desk-surface dimensions, choose a size that fits without overwhelming, then match resolution to a pixel density you can actually use at your viewing distance. Go with IPS for the best no-compromises all-day work, or OLED for market-leading contrast if you’re mindful of static UI usage. Prefer 90–120Hz for comfort, USB‑C with plenty of power so the cables are simpler, and either a dual setup that mates well or a well‑considered ultrawide.

If your screen makes you squint, scroll excessively or juggle cables, it is costing you minutes each hour. Fix that one time, and you are multiplying the return by every working day.