LG 27UD88-W 4K Monitor – (Best USB Type-C Monitor) The first external monitor we have on here for MacBook Pro Retina is the model 27UD88-W produced by LG. If you have a retina laptop, you'll definitely enjoy the 4k monitor. I have a 1080p monitor and I can't even use it anymore. As for the choice of monitors, I think Dell has a pretty trustworthy lineup. Re: best external monitor for retina macbook? In reply to MasterPhotog • Apr 18, 2013 I agree that Dell monitors are quality and work great with mac set ups.

Improve Your View: The Right LCD Monitor

The monitor you're using right now might have come bundled with your desktop PC, or maybe you bought it back when 1,024 by 768 was considered 'high resolution.' Since you spend a huge part of every day looking at your screen, it pays to be picky when buying a new one—this is tech you buy that you'll stay with for years to come. And nowadays, you get a lot for your monitor money. Even many low-end panels utterly blow away models from a decade ago.

Gaming screens, business monitors, pro-content displays: The prices for panels even of the same size vary widely, as does the quality of the screen itself. Let's take a walk through the latest trends in display technology, as well as the specific features to look for when shopping for your next desktop monitor. We'll top off the discussion with our 10 current tested favorites.

The Basics: Pricing, Panel Types, and More

Regardless of the type of monitor you're in the market for, some general factors are worth considering. Here's a rundown of the key areas to keep in mind.

Price

Monitor prices depend on the target audience, size, and features of the display. For around $100 to $150, you can pick up a no-frills 22-inch or 23-inch model, but don't expect niceties such as a wide variety of portsand a height-adjustable stand at this price. But these panels do use LED backlighting, require little power, and are often bright. Performance is adequate for most entertainment or basic business and productivity purposes, but not well suited to tasks where color and grayscale accuracy are key.

At the other end of the spectrum are your high-end models that are geared toward graphic design professionals and photographers. Most of these are 27-inch to 38-inch high-end panels that support 4K (3,840 by 2,160 pixels), capable of displaying four times the resolution of a typical full HD (1,920-by-1,080-pixel, or '1080p') monitor. Moreover, they offer such features as a highly adjustable stand, a range of ports including HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB (often including USB-C), and a wealth of advanced image settings, including calibration hardware and software. Expect to pay $1,000 and up for a fully loaded, high-performance 4K or Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) monitor like this.

Bottom line: Be prepared to pay for extras, but don't overspend on features you will never use.

Panel Size

Desktop monitors generally fall between 14 and 38 inches, although for those with wide desks, the past year has brought the first 49-inch displays. (The smallest ones will be USB-connected panels meant for mobile use.) The size of the panel is measured diagonally.

While it's always nice to have as big a viewing area as possible, it may not be practical, given your desktop space constraints. Plus, the bigger the screen, the more you can expect to pay. A 24-inch monitor is a good choice if you wish to view multipage documents or watch movies but have limited desk space. But there's nothing like watching a movie or playing a game on a large screen, so if you have room on your desktop, a 27-inch or larger display delivers a big-screen experience for a reasonable price. If space is not an issue, consider a massive, curved-screen model to bring a true movie-theater experience to your desktop. If you're looking to replace a dual-monitor setup with a single display, check out one of the ultra-wide, big-screen models. They are available in sizes ranging from 29 to 49 inches with curved and non-curved panels, have a 21:9 (or wider) aspect ratio, and come in a variety of resolutions, including Wide Quad High-Definition (WQHD) and UHD.

Pixel Response Rate

Measured in milliseconds (ms), this is the time it takes for a pixel to change from black to white (black-to-white) or to transition from one shade of gray to another (gray-to-gray). The faster the pixel response rate, the better the monitor is at displaying video without also displaying artifacts, such as ghosting or blurring of moving images. Monitors with a fast 1ms (gray-to-gray) pixel response are very good for gaming, but even monitors with a higher 6ms (gray-to-gray) pixel response can display games without much blurring or ghosting.

Most users won't notice input lag, which is the time it takes for the display to react to a command, but hard-core gamers consider this a key factor when choosing a monitor and typically seek out the fastest models available. The fastest monitor we've seen has a lag time of less than a millisecond, but for everyday use, you can get by with up to around 25ms before lag becomes a problem.

Native Resolution

This is the maximum number of pixels a monitor can display, both horizontally and vertically. For example, a monitor with a 1,920-by-1,080 native resolution can display 1,920 pixels across the width of the screen, and 1,080 pixels from top to bottom. The higher the resolution, the more information can be displayed on the screen.

These days, most monitors in the 22-to-27-inch range have a native resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 and are referred to as full HD or 1080p monitors. You'll also see plenty of displays from 24 to 32 inches that offer a WQHD (2,560-by-1,440-pixel) native resolution. Stepping up to a UHD or 4K (3,840-by-2,160-pixel) monitor usually means a 27-inch or larger screen, although we have seen a few 24-inch UHD models. UHD monitors are ideal for viewing highly detailed images or looking at multiple pages in a tiled or side-by-side format.

Extra Features

If you have to share a monitor with a co-worker or family members, consider a model with an ergonomic stand that lets you position the screen for your most comfortable viewing angle. A fully adjustable stand offers tilt, swivel, and height adjustments, and you can rotate the panel for portrait-mode viewing. If you tend to attach and detach USB devices often, look for a monitor with built-in USB ports. Ideally, at least two of these ports will be mounted on the side of the cabinet, making it easy to plug in thumb drives and other USB peripherals.

Most monitors come with built-in speakers that are adequate for everyday use but lack the volume and bass response that music aficionados and gamers crave. If audio output is important, look for speakers with a minimum rating of 2 watts per speaker. As a general rule, the higher the power rating, the more volume you can expect, so if you want a monitor with a little extra audio pop, check the specs. Some monitors lack speakers altogether, but you can add external speakers that may give you better sound than typical monitor speakers. A display with a built-in card reader makes it easy to view photos and play music without having to reach under your desk to plug in a media card.

Finally, glossy-surfaced screens can provide very bright, crisp colors, but they may also be too reflective for some users. If possible, compare a glossy screen to a matte screen before you buy to decide which works best for you.

Display-Tech Trends

The key panel types used in desktop displays are twisted nematic (TN), in-plane switching (IPS), vertical alignment (VA), patterned vertical alignment (PVA), Super PVA (S-PVA), and multi-domain vertical alignment (MVA).

Up until the last few years, most desktop displays used TN technology. It is the least-expensive panel type to manufacture, and it offers superior motion-handling performance. But affordable IPS monitors are out in force; plenty of 27-inch IPS models cost well under $250 and offer very good color quality and wide viewing angles. VA monitors also offer robust colors, but viewing-angle performance, while better than on a typical TN panel, is not quite as sharp as what you get from an IPS panel.

Here in 2019, you'd be hard-pressed to find a desktop monitor that does not deliver a full HD image, at the minimum. To achieve this minimal mark, the panel must have a native resolution of at least 1,920 by 1,080 pixels, in a 16:9 aspect ratio to do it without stretching or cropping the p

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