They say that time is money. So, if you're keen to make the most of your limited budget for both, I'll say it up front: the MSI MP242PMG is a great value office monitor. It's nothing fancy, but it ticks all the boxes – and a few besides – for a budget model.

In fact, it's a box ticker's dream come true. The 24-inch Full HD panel sits atop a sturdy fully adjustable stand, and the 120Hz refresh rate both minimises eyestrain and boosts motion clarity for gaming. There's even a basic Full HD webcam and a two-port USB 2.0 hub.

With that specification list, the RRP of £130 sounds very reasonable indeed. With current street pricing putting it below the £90 mark, this is a budget office monitor that demands to make your shortlist.

MSI MP242PMG monitor: Design & Features

If you're expecting a cheap, nondescript display, then the MP242PMG may give you a pleasant surprise. This is a sturdy-feeling monitor with a solid stand and a thoughtful, understated design. It's all black plastic, granted, but I've handled monitors at five times the price that have felt more hollow and plasticky than this.

The essentials are all present, too. The adjustable stand has a nice, wide base that keeps the monitor steady even with one-handed adjustments, provides 130mm of height adjustment, and ample tilt and swivel. It also rotates into portrait mode in either direction.

There are other thoughtful little touches, too. A little cutout along the front of the monitor's base gives room to stow something useful – a thumb drive, pen, or office pass; maybe some snacks – and another oval cutout in the monitor's stand does an excellent job of keeping cables neat and tidy.

The webcam is on top of the panel, and this has a privacy shutter ready to go. It doesn't support Windows Hello, and in honesty, it's pretty terrible in low light, but with decent lighting, the Full HD sensor produces the kind of image quality that is perfectly serviceable for video calls.

Connectivity is great for the money. The major absentee is USB-C, but everything else is covered. Video inputs include HDMI, DisplayPort, and – in a rather quaint twist – VGA. The single USB-B input at the rear powers up the pair of USB-A ports at the rear and provides a connection for the integrated webcam. A 3.5mm audio output is present, too.

You do also get a pair of integrated speakers but these are typically mediocre – fine in a pinch for an unexpected video call, but not great. Naturally, there's a microphone too, and this is again good enough for video calls. It's not the last word in clarity, but it's useful and perfectly usable.

MSI's on-screen display deserves a mention. A clickable four-way joystick at the rear makes it simple to navigate, and the menus are clearly legible and well laid out. Click the joystick inwards and the full menu appears, but moving it in any of the four directions quickly accesses a selection of preset functions. Delve into the menus, and you can set these quick access functions in the Navi Key section.

The range of preset picture modes are actually quite useful. The User mode is arguably the most color-accurate of the bunch, but the softer, warmer presentation of the Black and White and Anti-Blue modes are great options to have for avoiding eyestrain during the working day. The Black and White mode is self explanatory, but the Anti Blue mode adds a warm orangey tinge to the display, which is quite pleasant in darker environments. One interesting addition is a trio of eye care tests found in MSI's Eye-Q section, which assists you in setting the optimal screen height and provides a couple of visual tests to check for eyestrain or fatigue – it's a really sensible idea.

MSI MP242PMG monitor: Display quality

The most glaring issue with the MP242PMG is the same for any 24-inch Full HD monitor – it's dramatically less crisp than most modern laptop displays or affordable 27-inch QHD displays. Text looks slightly pixellated, and images lack fine detail. That's just the price you pay with a Full HD monitor.

If that's not enough to make you want to upgrade to a QHD monitor, then the overall image quality here is good. Color accuracy in the default sRGB mode is perfectly acceptable – the average Delta E of 1.32 is very respectable for a budget display. The only obvious issue is that the white point is much too warm at 5,887k. This results in a clear orangey tint to whites. The gamma is a bit wayward, too, and this means that some tones look a tad more washed out than they should. In truth, neither will bother users working on non colour-critical desks, but it's worth knowing.

Personally, I preferred the User mode for daily use as this produced an almost perfect 6,445k white point. Color accuracy is a little worse with an average Delta E of 2.07, but this is less noticeable than the sRGB mode's overly warm tint. With User mode enabled, you do still get some over-brightening of tones, but again, for day-to-day work you're not going to notice.

The basics are all fine, though. Brightness tops out around 440cd/m2, which is way brighter than is comfortable for most offices, and contrast is a little bit better than average at 1,617:1. Backlight uniformity is good, too, with no more than a 9% variance in brightness around the panel's edges. For everyday use, the MP242PMG gets a clean bill of health.

Motion handling isn't going to challenge any gaming panels, but it's pretty good for the money. MSI claims a 4ms GTG response time and 1ms MPRT – pretty nippy for a budget display. Bumping up to the maximum Fastest response time caused some ugly overshoot in our testing, so we settled on the Faster setting. This delivers a welcome improvement over the standard Fast setting without the ugly artefacts.

The only thing to reiterate here is that this is an office monitor. Fast-moving action in darker scenes does start to look rather blurry and smeared. And while engaging the MPRT backlight strobing does help to sharpen up detail in brighter scenes, there's a downside: the strobing dramatically reduces overall brightness, so the panel's poor response time in darker scenes becomes even more prominent. My advice would be to leave MPRT off, stick to the Faster response time setting, and engage Adaptive Sync mode for the best clarity.

MSI MP242PMG monitor: Is it worth it?

Prices do tend to fluctuate quite a bit for budget monitors, so there's always an element of selecting a shortlist of competent models and shopping around. Two obvious alternatives are BenQ's GW2490 or GW2490C. Both lack the adjustable stand – and indeed some of the design niceties of the MSI – but if you need USB-C then the GW2490C is a good alternative for around £90. And if you just want a good budget display, the GW2490 often retails for around £75.

At the time of writing, however, the MSI MP242PMG was retailing for £90. At that kind of money, the combination of an adjustable stand, good design, and respectable image quality is hard to beat for the money. If you're looking to fit out a small office with good-quality monitors on a small budget, the MSI MP242PMG is just the ticket.

MSI MP242PMG monitor specifications

Acer is hoping to turn heads in the workplace with a stylish 32in OLED monitor that's being pushed at a fairly reasonable price. Aimed at creative professionals in particular, but usable by all, the CE320QK X (the European version of the PE320QK X) is engineered to deliver high levels of color accuracy for anybody regularly working with visual media.

On the surface, it certainly looks visually impressive, serving as a departure from dark and moody monitors with thick bezels. With a 4K resolution, quantum-dot OLED technology, and a maximum 240Hz refresh rate, it also competes with some of the best in the business – but also comes with a high-end £899 price tag. But does that mean it'll make a good addition to your workspace?

Acer CE320QK X monitor: Design & Features

Acer has adopted a visually striking design scheme for the CE320QK X, opting for a chic white finish for the monitor's rear, base, and buttons. While standout, the design also comes across as reserved, with this minimalist approach meaning it looks like it barely takes up much space on your desk despite being on the upper end of the spectrum for its screen size.

Putting the monitor together and hoisting it in place is as simple as it is to look at – and there are a number of features that make it an impressive device. For example, the base features a square-shaped swivel that's as smooth as butter with rounded corners and a notch so you can tell precisely how to center it. It's also easily adjustable with a maximum height of 150mm, along with as much tilt and swivel as you may need. This encompasses a tilt of -5° to +25° and a swivel of -178° to +178° alongside a pivot of -90° to +90°; in other words, the CE320QK X is highly flexible for its size.

There is, however, a tiny bit of wobble when you adjust the display, and the plastic finish is perhaps a little too much of a plasticky feel to the otherwise nice-looking white rear. That said, it's almost 2kg lighter than the Dell 32 Plus S3225QS – another 32-inch white monitor – and has far more flex and adjustability. There's also a portrait mode that you can flip the screen into, although there's a degree of stiffness in the rotation along the way.

The display's minimalistic qualities thankfully do not extend to the connectivity options on offer, with a degree of useful ports available. There are two HDMI 2.1 ports and two DisplayPort 1.4 options as well as two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a single USB-B 3.0 port, and a single USB-C port (with DisplayPort 1.4 compatibility and 90W power delivery and KVM support). That comes alongside an Ethernet port. Ideally, we'd have seen a handful more USB-C ports, but we can't complain when the likes of the Dell 32 Plus only have HDMI and DisplayPort 1.4, for instance. All ports are facing outward, rather than down, and are found in a neat row beneath the center of the monitor's rear. There's no cable management system built into the CE320QK X monitor, so you'll have to find custom solutions.

To adjust the display, you'll navigate with a four-way clickable wheel positioned on the bottom-right of the rear just above the power button. The monitor is rather large, so thankfully it's within reach. The menu, which is rather small and localized to the bottom-right of the display, is straightforward enough to follow, and there's no lag while you're using it. You can switch between different display profiles and flick HDR on/off, as well as adjust color spaces and settings like eco mode. As you'd expect with an OLED panel, there's also plenty of care options to reduce the risk of burn-in.

Acer CE320QK X monitor: Display quality

There's ample sharpness in the 31.5-inch panel thanks to a 4K (3,840 x 2,160-pixel) resolution, equating to a very high pixel-per-inch ratio of 140ppi – meaning you can enjoy images and text at utmost crispness. Thanks to a maximum 240Hz refresh rate, scrolling, working, or navigating through menus is utterly delightful and as smooth as silk.

We'd suggest it's difficult to find specifications that beat this Acer monitor for the money you pay – especially considering the (albeit basic) HDR10 support and compatibility with AMD FreeSync Premium (a feature normally used in gaming to reduce input lag). The response time, as a result of the built-in features, is an incredible 0.03ms. As with all OLED displays, you'll benefit from a 0cd/m2 black level as well as an infinity:1 contrast ratio.

The OLED panel offers a little more brightness than the manufacturer suggests, with a peak brightness of 299cd/m2 when HDR is activated (versus a stated 250cd/m2) when running stably and consistently. We say that because brightness is volatile when switching between display modes and inputs, although it settles at this level after a few seconds. Unfortunately, it isn't as bright as we'd have liked to see, with the likes of the BenQ MA320U hitting 527cd/m2 and the Samsung S8 ViewFinity S80D reaching 408cd/m2.

That's the only downside, however, as the color accuracy is excellent. Although the default settings may require some tweaking (with blues and reds slightly oversaturated and greens slightly undersaturated), we recorded a 100% coverage of the sRGB spectrum. This comes alongside an exceptional 93.9% coverage of the Adobe spectrum and 100% coverage of the DCI P3 spectrum – with scores approximately above 80% and 70% making a screen suitable for professional use. As you can see, they surpass that, and some. The average Delta-E color distortion, meanwhile, stands at an outstanding 0.4 with a maximum of 1.37.

Acer CE320QK X monitor: Is it worth it?

This 32in OLED monitor will grant not only creative professionals, but almost all kinds of users, everything they could possibly want from a high-end premium monitor – with a couple of exceptions. Although the color reproduction is brilliant and incredibly accurate, while elements like a really high refresh rate as well as HDR and AMD FreeSync Premium support, make using the monitor incredibly fluid, one more-than-minor grumble is the brightness. With a maximum luminosity of 300cd/m2, the monitor just doesn't reach the same blinding heights as the competition. We can also point out the lack of additional ports that could make life a little easier (say, a couple of USB-C ports), but there's still plenty to work with here. None of these downsides make this device unusable by any means, and at approximately £899, it would still make for a brilliant addition to your workspace, given its elegant frame and large widescreen display that takes up very little space.

Acer CE320QK X monitor: Specifications

The Dell UltraSharp U3226Q is not your everyday QD-OLED monitor. It's a self-calibrating 32-inch 4K professional display that's purpose-built for content creation duties. It's highly color accurate out of the box, and the integrated colorimeter means that it can test and calibrate itself automatically to maintain that performance day in, day out.

And yes, it's reassuringly expensive. That said, £2,500 is a mere snip in the realms of professional displays. So, if a true five-figure reference monitor is out of scope, and high-end models from rival manufacturers are stretching your budget, you'll probably want to know more.

Dell U3226Q monitor: Design

The centrepiece of the U3226Q is a 4th-generation Samsung QD-OLED panel. At first, you might not notice what all the fuss is about: 4K monitors are ten a penny, and the 120Hz refresh rate is a fraction of cheaper gaming OLEDs. Delve into the details, however, and there are plenty of interesting features.

Color accuracy is the first string to its bow. Dell claims 99% coverage for DCI-P3 and Display P3, and an impressive 94% of Adobe RGB. Those claims go hand in hand with a wide selection of factory-calibrated modes for DCI-P3, Display P3, sRGB, BT.709, BT.2020, and Adobe RGB with both D50 and D65 white points. HDR support is equally comprehensive with DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification and support for Dolby Vision (Bright and Dark modes), HDR 10, and HLG.

Dell claims impressive levels of color accuracy straight out of the box: an average Delta E of less than 1 for the DCI-P3, Display P3, sRGB, and BT.709 modes. In my testing, it also managed a very respectable 1.6 in the Adobe RGB mode. That's a good showing from the off.

Self-calibration is the next party trick. Select the relevant option in the menu, and the display runs through the validation or calibration process – and you can choose between Express and Comprehensive calibration modes depending on how accurate you want the process to be.

It's also possible to set up your own specific display profiles. Basic settings for these can be tweaked in the monitor's on-screen display, and if you need deeper customization, you can build your ideal display profile in Dell's Color Management software – or import one from a Calman profile – and upload it to one of the three CAL profiles on the monitor.

Both calibration and validation can be scheduled to run automatically. These can be performed together or individually on a schedule ranging from daily to quarterly, or after every 200 hours of operation. These can take place while the monitor is in standby, or you can ask to be prompted before each run.

The monitor's on-screen display relies on the usual four-way joystick hidden behind the lower right bezel, and this works well. Interestingly, though, Dell has also added a trio of touch-sensitive buttons, which it calls Direct Keys. Bring your finger close to the monitor's lower left bezel, and three little LEDs illuminate to help you locate the three buttons. The buttons default to selecting Color Space, HDR modes, and Input sources, but you can customise these to access other functions in the OSD.

The array of connectivity is equally helpful. The primary upstream USB-C port supports Thunderbolt 4 and offers 140 watts of power delivery. Alongside, a downstream Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port allows for daisy chaining a second display. This gives you the latitude to run two 4K 120Hz displays simultaneously, but bear in mind that your GPU will need to support Display Stream Compression (DSC). There is also a single DisplayPort 1.4 input and two HDMI 2.1 inputs.

An upstream 10Gbps USB-C port gives the option to connect a second PC or laptop, and the integrated KVM switch allows you to share devices connected to the U3226Q's other ports. A further two 10Gbps USB-A ports are located on the rear panel in addition to 2.5GbE Ethernet. Around the front, a little panel drops down from just underneath the monitor's front left bezel – this reveals two 10Gbps USB-C ports and a single 10Gbps USB-A port.

As ever, Dell hasn't forgotten the more practical aspects of the design. The stand provides 150mm of height adjustment, rotates into portrait mode in either direction, and has ample tilt and swivel. The cutout at the bottom of the stand does a neat job of cable management, too – it's not high tech, but it works. You also get a monitor hood in the box to minimise any glare from overhead lighting. This clips on magnetically and stays put even when you move the monitor.

If there's a complaint to be made here, it's that the build quality could be better. Reach out and adjust the monitor with a single hand, and the panel moves smoothly enough, but the hollow feel of the monitor's body and light creaks don't exactly match the sleek charcoal grey look. Compared to pricier professional panels we've handled, the U3226Q feels rather lightweight.

Dell U3226Q monitor: Display quality

The U3226Q looks great where it matters, though. This is in no small part due to Dell's decision to use an AGLR (Anti-Glare Low-Reflectance) screen coating to banish glare. With sunlight streaming in through a skylight, there was none of the usual magenta tint exhibited by other QD-OLED monitors I've seen recently. Blacks still aren't as deep and punchy as the best glossy WOLED panels, but the lack of tint and overall glare suppression is really impressive. What's more, there's still plenty of punch despite the matte anti-glare finish – it's more semi-matte than the grainier full matte coatings you may have seen on some LCD displays. For a professional monitor, it's a great fit.

Another routine complaint levelled at OLED monitors is text clarity – or more specifically, the lack thereof. This is caused by OLED panels having unusual subpixel arrangements – something which can cause fringing and fuzziness around text. Technically speaking, the 4th-generation QD-OLED panel in the U3226Q uses a far tighter subpixel arrangement. Practically speaking, the result is that text clarity is vastly improved. Set side by side with a previous generation panel, even image clarity looks very slightly more 'in focus'.

The subjective impression is that of a supremely color-accurate display. Colors look super saturated yet natural, and this was borne out by all of my testing. The average Delta E in the sRGB, Display P3, and DCI-P3 modes was less than 1, as claimed, and it reproduced the far larger Adobe RGB palette with an average Delta E of 1.6. If you need accurate results in SDR, the U3226Q delivers.

HDR looks great, too. Highlights have oodles of punch, and we recorded a maximum brightness of around 1,030cd/m2 on a small 2% window. This drops to around 550cd/m2 once you get to a 10% window, but this is still a very solid performance. Bear in mind that you'll need to use the standard HDR 10 or Dolby Vision profiles to achieve maximum peak brightness, however – as its name suggests, the DisplayHDR TrueBlack 500 mode limits peak brightness to 500cd/m2.

Uniformity is near perfect. Brightness and contrast varied by no more than 1.5% across the whole display. This is an order of magnitude better than LCD-based displays. Given that the colorimeter is measuring only one tiny spot on the bottom of the panel, it's reassuring to know that the panel response is so consistent from corner to corner.

You might think that motion clarity would suffer given the mere 120Hz refresh rate, but the U3226Q puts in an impressive performance nonetheless. There isn't the silky smoothness of displays with 240Hz refresh rates and black frame insertion features, but motion looked markedly cleaner and smoother than other 120Hz QD-OLED panels I've had on the desk. It is a shame there isn't an official AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync certification, but VRR is still there if you want it. Frankly, though, given the presence of VRR flicker, you may want to leave it off. Even with framerates remaining well above 90fps, I found the flickering distracting enough to prefer it disabled.

Dell U3226Q monitor: Is it worth it?

It's all a question of priorities. For more casual use, there's no two ways around it: something like Dell's £600 S3225QC provides a similarly large 32-inch 4K canvas, and its 3rd generation QD-OLED panel is color accurate enough for most users – amateur content creators included. If it's an affordable taste of QLED and Dolby Vision HDR you're hankering for, that's a great option.

What cheaper displays like the S3225QC don't do, however, is promise to maintain that out-of-the-box color accuracy over time – and this is where displays such as the UltraSharp U3226Q justify the outlay. The self-calibrating design offers a level of set-it-and-forget-it simplicity, which means you can just turn it on, get to work, and trust what you're seeing, day after day, year after year. If that level of accuracy matters to you or your business, then it's safe to say that the UltraSharp U3226Q is worth the investment.

Dell U3226Q monitor specifications

Dell makes some bold promises for the Pro 34 Plus P3425WE. It claims that the 34-inch, 3,440 x 1,440 resolution will enable you to "focus like never before" – something that will no doubt appeal strongly to the easily distracted – and that the IPS panel will make your work look better than ever. Unless your work happens to be solely spreadsheets or text documents, in which case they'll probably just look, well, wider.

Bold claims then, but the specifications for this business-focused ultrawide monitor do seem to pack in all the essentials. You get an adjustable stand and USB hub alongside 90 watts of USB-C power delivery and a handy KVM switch, and the display specifications look quietly promising. The whole package retails for a reassuringly expensive £440 at Dell UK, so the big question here is whether it justifies the relatively high price.

Dell P3425WE monitor: Design & Features

Turn the P3425WE on, and it's refreshing to find an on-screen display that immediately attempts to be helpful. It checks whether you want to enable always-on USB charging (and warns about the increase in power consumption), and also offers to guide you through the process of connecting two machines and setting up the KVM switch. Even if you don't want to do it right away, you can hop into the menus by pressing the four-way joystick at the rear and selecting the Show KVM Setup Guide option.

As usual, the menus are all fairly self-explanatory. If you need to adjust settings, then the controls are simple, and menu layout is logical. As usual, a quick click of the joystick in any direction brings up a handy quick menu which gives rapid access to the main features. Click upwards again, and you can delve into the menus proper.

One other option, however, is to install the Dell Display Manager (DDM) software, which is available for both Windows and macOS. This provides a useful added level of control and makes it much easier to both set up and use the KVM and various Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture features. It also adds a variety of quality-of-life and management features for good measure. It provides more flexibility in how you snap applications across the ultrawide panel, allows you to select specific color modes for specific applications, and you can set keyboard shortcuts to adjust monitor settings. Remote management is another plus point for IT teams, too, as it makes it easier to manage a fleet of compatible Dell monitors across the network.

In terms of looks, the P3425WE is classic Dell. That is to say, if you've seen any Dell Pro or UltraSharp monitor in recent years, you know what to expect here. The silver stand contrasts smartly against a black (or perhaps dark charcoal grey, depending on the lighting) rear panel, and the bezelless design looks clean and crisp, too. The Dell branding is subtle – there's a small logo on the bottom bezel and a slightly more prominent silver one on the rear of the panel. Build feels fine for the money, too. The rear panel feels a little rattlier than I'd like for a £400 monitor, but it's nothing serious.

The adjustable stand works well. There's 150mm of height adjustment, ample amounts of side-to-side swivel and fore and aft tilt, and the only obvious omission is a pivot mode for portrait operation – something which just isn't very likely for a 34in ultrawide panel. The stand moves fairly smoothly throughout its range of motion, and you'll only need one hand to make adjustments as the wide, flared base keeps the monitor safely planted even at full extension.

Connectivity covers all the essentials. All the ports are downward-facing, and you get HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, and an upstream USB-C port that carries DisplayPort Alt video inputs, data, and 90 watts of power to compatible devices. There's also a USB-B upstream port for connecting a second machine, and both upstream ports are able to share the four downstream USB ports. You'll find a pair of 5Gbps USB-A ports at the rear, and a single USB-C and USB-A port are hidden in the little drop-down panel underneath the monitor's lower bezel. Click it, and the panel drops down into view.

Dell's stand includes some basic cable management. All of the P3425WE's connectivity can be routed through the oval cutout in the stand, and as this is angled downwards to the rear, it does a good job of allowing the various cables to slide through without getting pinched when you adjust the stand. The only slight moan here is that you may struggle to fit all the cables through – and if you need to swap the mains cable, you'll need to remove the other cables to slide the IEC plug through.

Dell P3425WE monitor: Display quality

One key difference worth noting here is that the P3425WE's panel opts for a noticeably shallower curve than some rivals. The 3800R curve is very gentle and gives a far less pronounced wraparound effect than monitors with more aggressive 1500R and 1800R curves. This makes the P3425WE a little more flexible when it comes to positioning. Where more aggressive curves work well for sub-1-metre viewing distances and deliver greater immersion in games, you may – like me – prefer a shallower curve for everyday work. With the P3425WE mounted at my usual 1.2 metre viewing distance, the P3425WE does feel a tad more at home.

The P3425WE is aimed purely at a work audience, so it's no surprise to find a fairly modest set of specifications. The IPS panel promises a sensible 99% of sRGB coverage, a contrast ratio of 1,500:1, and a maximum brightness of 350cd/m2. The 100Hz refresh rate is a pleasant upgrade over the standard 60Hz, though – it's not going to excite gamers, but the extra fluidity is noticeable even when scrolling up and down documents. Set side by side with older 60Hz displays, it's also easier on the eye for all-day work, too. And the same goes for the matte anti-glare coating, which, in my very bright office with two skylights (and some unseasonably summery UK weather), did a great job of minimising reflections.

As ever, it's reassuring to find that image quality looks 'right' straight out of the box. Brightness is set to 75% by default, which equates to around 200cd/m2, and this is a little bright for office lighting, but about right for brighter rooms. Crank it to maximum, and it reaches just shy of its claimed 350cd/m2. Contrast is clearly a cut above basic IPS panels – measurements put it at around 1,400:1 in my tests – and colors look natural to the naked eye.

In our tests, the panel covered around 94% of the sRGB color gamut, but the panel is actually capable of reproducing a range of greens, yellows, and reds that are outside of the usual sRGB palette – and that means that the color reproduction isn't strictly accurate. It doesn't put in a bad performance overall, though. Greyscales look clean, and the measured white point of 6,412k is so close to the ideal 6,500k that whites look nice and pure, too. The issue is that a wider color palette means that some tones are a little brighter than they should be, and this makes for a slightly underwhelming average Delta E of 2.3. It looks good in everyday use, but perfect it is not.

This might not be a gaming display, but the P3425WE handles movies and games with aplomb. Crank the overdrive settings up from the default Normal to Fast, and the result is much cleaner detail on fast-moving objects. That does also adds a little inverse ghosting in some conditions, but it's nowhere near as intrusive as we've found on some other models. If it's the odd lunchtime game of Arc Raiders you're after, then the P3425WE will multitask with ease.

Dell P3425WE monitor: Is it worth it?

Value is the only major issue for the P3425WE. With prices varying between £410 and £450 at the time of writing, the P3425WE is substantially pricier than less fully featured 34-inch ultrawide monitors. The USB-C connectivity and KVM switch adds a hefty premium. If you have a tight IT budget to manage, you'd be advised to spend substantially less on a model from any of the big brands.

For users and desks that will benefit from the P3425WE's talents, however, it's a much more attractive prospect. The combination of an ultrawide format with a softer curve is a natural fit for work, and the image quality is more than good enough for all but the most colour critical desks. It even manages to put in a good performance outside of work hours, if that's a consideration. If that sounds like the position you're hiring for, then the Pro 34 Plus P3425WE is a safe pair of hands.

Dell P3425WE monitor specifications

The BenQ RD280UG is the second generation of BenQ's RD280U programming monitor. That may, admittedly, sound torturously dull to some readers, but wait – don't click the back button quite yet. Even if you don't count coding amongst your talents, the RD280UG's very particular set of skills makes it a superb monitor for serious work.

This 28.2-inch monitor has a 4K+ (yes, 4K 'plus') resolution with an unusually square 3:2 aspect ratio, and if your idea of perfection is superlatively crisp text, rich colors, and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, as well as useful USB-C connectivity, then this unconventional display may be just what you've been waiting for. It's rather brilliant in its own unique way.

BenQ RD280UG monitor: Design & Features

Within a few seconds of turning the RD280UG on, it's quite clear that it isn't your average PC monitor. The large 28.2in panel's 3:2 ratio brings back memories of square, old-school CRT monitors, and that, combined with the 3,840 x 2,560 pixel resolution, makes for a wonderfully large, crisp desktop.

The 163ppi pixel density makes all the difference here, but BenQ has also used a more upmarket IPS panel with a claimed 2000:1 contrast ratio. It lacks the IPS Black label of similarly specified monitors, but it does the same job: black looks much less grey than it does on lower contrast IPS panels.

This combines with rich, saturated colors and an effective matte anti-glare coating, which adds just a slight subtle grain to the image. The result, though, is a monitor that's great for poring over text. Characters are perfectly crisp and precise – almost like perfect print on a page – and if you do need to work with images, the high pixel density provides oodles of crisp detail.

It's the extra vertical resolution which is most prized by programmers – more vertical space means more room for code – but the combination of a 4:3 panel and a high pixel density means that it's a great fit for productivity-focused and creative desks, too. Personally, I loved the ability to pin desktop browser windows to each side of the screen – it's like having two pixel-dense portrait displays side by side, as it's perfect for editing and writing documents on one side while researching and checking over test data and reports on the other.

In the world of programming, choosing the right monitor can allow you to work longer without risking eye strain. BenQ's RD family goes a little further than most, however, with a handful of picture modes designed to maximise text and code legibility, which work in tandem with various features designed to boost eye comfort for long days in the saddle.

Some are pretty familiar: the Low Blue Light mode softens the white background to a gentle yellowish shade, the Eye Reminder feature can be set to tell you to take a break from the screen in 30, 45, or 60-minute increments, and the Color Weakness option dials up the red or green bias to better suit the user's specific red-green color blindness.

The most unusual addition here is BenQ's MoonHalo. This ring-shaped LED light illuminates the rear wall behind the monitor – a technique known as bias lighting. This both helps to reduce eye strain from sudden brightness shifts on the monitor and also serves to boost the monitor's perceived black depth. For monitors or TVs with limited contrast, it can make a huge difference – and it's more comfortable for working late nights or (very) early mornings, too.

The MoonHalo works in tandem with the RD280UG's light sensor. The sensor detects both the ambient light levels and the color temperature of the surrounding light, and this allows the RD280UG's Visual Optimiser feature to automatically adjust both the brightness and color temperature of both the display and the MoonHalo light.

The Night Hours Protection feature also harnesses the brightness sensor and, when enabled, automatically dials the screen brightness right down when it detects low light conditions. Use this alongside the Local Contrast feature, which raises the brightness of darker tones to boost legibility, and this makes it possible to use the RD280UG at far lower brightness levels than most monitors. If you prefer working in very low light conditions, then this works really well in tandem with the MoonHalo light providing a gentle glow at the monitor's rear.

Our one piece of advice here is to turn off the color temperature control in the Visual Optimiser settings. The automatic color temperature adjustment seems to just dial up the low blue light mode, so makes the onscreen image look too yellow during daylight hours. Thankfully, it's not a global on or off control for Visual Optimiser, so you don't need to be constantly turning it on and off: you can enable or disable it on each of the monitor's picture modes if you prefer to set the brightness and MoonHalo color temperature manually.

It sounds a tad silly, but one of our favourite features of the RD280UG is a single button – BenQ calls it the hotkey. Just like the previous RD280U model, a little glossy function bar sits on the bottom bezel. Prod the embossed hotkey at the centre of the bar, and a quick menu pops up on screen to show you the current picture mode settings, and little backlit icons on the bar itself indicate which of the current Eye Care features are active. Press the hotkey again, and it cycles through the four picture modes, allowing you to quickly and lazily flit between picture modes for daytime and low-light coding, the paper color mode for reading, and the more vibrant, color-accurate User mode.

Connectivity is slightly improved over the RD280U. The DisplayPort 1.4 input remains the same, but you now get an HDMI 2.1 port which, with the appropriate hardware, is able to deliver the panel's full 3,840 x 2,560 resolution at 120Hz. The upstream USB-C port still supplies 90W of power and supports DisplayPort Alt mode, so you can pass video and power via a single cable. The downstream USB-C port now supplies 15 watts of power – double the previous model – and also supports daisy chain operation so you connect a second monitor up to the full resolution and refresh rate of the RD280UG.

As before, you also get an integrated KVM switch. Connect a laptop to the primary USB-C port, and another PC or laptop to the USB-B input, you can share the peripherals connected to the RD280UG's USB ports.

It is a bit of an odd choice not to put more of these ports at the rear of the monitor, though. BenQ has opted to keep them more accessible by placing the two USB-A ports, single USB-C port and 3.5mm headphone output underneath the panel's front edge, too. This is handy, but the positioning may prove awkward for more unusual setups.

For instance, if you have your monitor raised up on a stand, you won't be able to lower the monitor to its lowest height as the cables will hit the monitor's base. And if you're using the ports to connect a mouse and keyboard, we do wonder why they need to be positioned where they are – surely a couple of ports at the rear of the monitor for peripherals and a couple of quick access ports at the front would make more sense.

BenQ RD280UG monitor: Display quality

The RD280UG takes everything people liked about the previous model and adds a variety of upgrades across the board. At the heart of the RD280G is an upgraded IPS panel. It lacks the LG-specific IPS Black trademark, but touts a similar upgrade in contrast over standard IPS panels – a claimed 2,000:1, which is a sizable jump from the 1,200:1 of the RD280U. The refresh rate has doubled to 120Hz, too, and this is why the RD280UG now comes with a prominent AMD FreeSync Premium logo on the box.

Other specifications are identical. You still get a claimed maximum brightness of 350cd/m2 (or nits, if you prefer) in SDR; a DisplayHDR 400 certification; a panel which reproduces 95% of the DCI-P3 color palette; and a 5ms response time. The screen still sports BenQ's Nano Matte anti-glare coating, too, and this is no bad thing. It does a great job of controlling glare in even the brightest rooms, and unlike some more aggressive anti-glare coatings, it only adds a very slight grain to the image.

The RD280UG might seem more focused on legibility and eye-comfort than eye-popping visuals, but it's capable of delivering bright and fairly color-accurate images if you want it to. The BenQ didn't match its claimed 95% DCI-P3 coverage in our tests – we saw a coverage of 87.5% – but its overall performance is still respectable.

If you want to take advantage of the RD280UG's wider color palette, then you can leave it in User mode. Tested against a Display P3 target, this achieves an average Delta E of 1.8 which is fairly middle of the road for this price point. It does ultimately look pretty accurate to the naked eye, but the low gamma (around 2.1 rather than the ideal 2.2) means that colors often look a little lighter and more washed out than they should. The 6,345k white point is a little closer to the perfect 6,500k, though, and the 1,829:1 contrast ratio gives a bit more punch than cheaper IPS panels. Brightness tops out around 345cd/m2, although you're unlikely to leave this anywhere near maximum for its intended usage.

Switch over to the panel's sRGB mode, and you'll see a very slightly more refined performance. The average Delta E drops slightly to 1.48, and the white point of 6,400k is closer again to the ideal 6,500k. Contrast and brightness are almost identical, but so too is the slightly low gamma. Again, colors look just a tad more washed out than they should, as a result – we do mean a tad, though. This is not something that most users will even notice.

HDR is an option, but the RD280UG's static backlighting and IPS panel aren't capable of showing it at its best. In truth, the DisplayHDR 400 certification isn't really worth the cardboard it's printed on, as it tells you that the monitor manages a peak brightness of just over 400cd/m2 (or nits) – and with most HDR content mastered with 1,000 or 4,000nit peaks in mind, the BenQ just can't get bright enough to do it justice.

We are really pleased to see that the RD280UG has upgraded to a 120Hz refresh rate, though. This is arguably slightly easier on the eye than 60Hz panels, and it also makes scrolling and window animations far smoother and more fluid.

Games get a welcome performance boost, too, and while the panel isn't anywhere near fast enough to rival dedicated gaming monitors, it's quite usable once you turn the overdrive up. By default, the RD280UG's AMA overdrive circuit is set to the High mode, one step up from off. This is a good do-it-all setting – and most users can leave it there – but gamers would be advised to crank it up to the maximum Premium setting to tease out a little more detail on moving objects. It does add a tiny little bit of inverse ghosting, but it's very subtle – and that's an acceptable price to pay for the extra clarity.

BenQ RD280UG monitor: Is it worth it?

The RD280UG is not a monitor for everyone. With £600 to spend, you can choose from a wide variety of more traditionally proportioned monitors. If you're on a budget, then a much cheaper 27in 4K display will provide the same pixel density, and similarly priced rivals deliver a wider color palette and greater accuracy.

The clincher for the RD280UG, however, is how elegantly it ties together all of its talents. The pin-sharp text clarity, the ever-handy hotkey, the automatic brightness sensor, and helpful connectivity are all huge plus points. The 3:2 ratio is a breath of fresh air, too, both for coding, document-based work, and video or audio production. If those strengths appeal to you, then the RD280UG isn't just a brilliant alternative to a more conventional monitor – it's pretty much one of a kind.

BenQ RD280UG monitor specifications

If you're tight on space in your office or home, then don't feel that you have to clear your desk to squeeze in a 27in or 32in monitor. Smaller models such as the Dell Pro 24 Plus P2425DE offer a compact and perfectly usable middle ground.

Take a good quality 24in IPS panel, sharp QHD resolution, a generous amount of connectivity, and 90W of USB-C power delivery, and you have the makings of a great business monitor with a dainty footprint. As long as you don't mind a slightly smaller portion size, you genuinely can have your cake and eat it.

Dell P2425DE monitor: Design & Features

If you've seen any of Dell's recent Pro series of monitors, then you know what to expect. Matte silver plastics contrast against understated charcoal grey, and the design is smart without being showy. If you have an open plan arrangement, the P2425DE looks good from any angle.

The P2425DE's smaller 24in panel means that it has a smaller footprint than its larger stablemates – and that works in its favour. It doesn't take up much room at all on a desk. You still get a fully adjustable stand with 150mm of height adjustment, plenty of tilt and swivel, and a smooth feeling 90 degrees of pivot in either direction. In our opinion, the P2425DE makes more sense in a portrait orientation than larger-panelled monitors – it's a brilliant size for a smaller secondary monitor dedicated to document editing.

If there's a complaint to be made here, it's that the monitor is a bit prone to wobbling. There's a bit too much flex in the head of the stand, so overenthusiastic keyboard bashing elicits a subtle wobble, which you may or may not find mildly annoying.

The rear panel feels more plasticky and hollow than I'd like, too, but that is nitpicking. Unless – like me – you're going to spend time tapping or grappling with your monitor, you'll be unlikely to care.

Indeed, you're far more likely to be pleased about the connectivity on offer. You do lose the KVM switch functionality from Dell's larger, pricier models, but you get full-sized HDMI and DisplayPort inputs, and a USB-C input which supports DisplayPort Alt and provides 90 watts of power delivery.

You also get a GbE Ethernet port, which supplies the USB-connected device with networking, which is handy for slimline laptops, and the USB hub gives you access to a pair of 5Gbps USB-A ports at the rear and a further USB-A port and USB-C port, which pop out from underneath the monitor's bottom left bezel.

It's good to find a bit of basic, elegant cable management, too – a small cutout in the stand guides the cables neatly down and behind the desk.

The on-screen display is similar to most of the recent Dell models, which is no bad thing. It's a sensible layout, and there's plenty of useful adjustability. The clickable four-way joystick at the rear is easy to get to grips with, too.

The issues with the OSD are twofold. The text in the menus is quite small and blocky, which makes it a little hard to read. It's a shame you can't increase the text size. One other issue is that the controls do feel a tad laggy, and this means you may have to prod the joystick a couple of times to get the desired response. It's not something we've noticed on other recent Dell models, so it is possibly just our specific review unit, but it's worth mentioning all the same.

Dell P2425DE monitor: Display quality

Despite the P2425DE's relatively dainty 23.8in panel, it packs in a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution. This makes for a relatively high pixel density of 123ppi. That's markedly higher than the 109ppi of a 27in QHD display and not far off the 138ppi of a 32in 4K display. This means that images and text look almost as crisp and sharp as a far pricier 4K panel – if you demand crisp text and image clarity but haven't got room for a larger monitor, it's a great combination.

The specifications are promising, too. The IPS panel offers a quoted 1500:1 contrast ratio, a maximum brightness of 350cd/m2, and 99% sRGB coverage. There's no HDR mode, nor any support for FreeSync or similar, but that's no loss for a monitor with its sights set on productivity.

In our tests, the P2425DE more than lived up to its claims. The Standard picture mode served up a maximum brightness of 365cd/m2, a contrast ratio of 1,509:1, and an sRGB coverage of 98%.

Image quality and color accuracy are good, too. The average Delta E of 1.78 isn't class-leading, but it's good enough to ensure that most colors look faithful to the sRGB standard. The panel doesn't quite cover the most saturated blues and cyans, hence the slight inaccuracy in blue tones, but you're unlikely to notice this just by looking. The overall image is bright, natural-looking, and there's enough contrast to give a nice punchy look.

Motion clarity is really quite good. The 100Hz refresh rate helps keep moving objects looking sharp, and with the panel's response time dialled up to Fast, everything looks pleasingly crisp and fluid. If you do intend to play the occasional game, the 100Hz refresh rate and decent response time combine to provide a big, noticeable boost over and above a standard 60Hz panel.

Even the backlighting – a common weak point for some panels – is acceptable for the money. The brightness drops by around 10% in the corners, and you can see that it's noticeably dimmer around the periphery of the screen if you're looking out for it, but it's not going to ruin your enjoyment. Or lack of, depending on what you're using the P2425DE for.

Dell P2425DE monitor: Is it worth it?

The Pro 24 Plus is a really good option for smaller desks. For £260, you get a compact 23.8in monitor that provides crisp, bright, and reasonably color-accurate images, and the ample connectivity seals the deal. If you're looking for a perfect partner to a port-starved ultraportable, and you either don't have the room, budget, or desire for a larger panel, it's a dependable and capable option.

Dell P2425DE monitor specifications

The BenQ GW2490 was a great budget monitor. It partnered a basic Full HD panel with good image quality and some useful features. The new GW2490C retains everything we liked about the GW2490 – mostly its price and decent image quality – and adds a USB-C input as well as an upgraded 144Hz panel. On paper, that looks like a great recipe for a budget business monitor.

BenQ GW2490C monitor: Design & Features

It's worth knowing that the GW2490C is one member of a small family. This model upgrades the old GW2490, but you can now also find the GW2490TC, which adds a height-adjustable stand and the ability to supply 20W of USB-C power delivery for about £20 more. As we'll explain later, our recommendation is to pick whichever is selling for the most appealing price.

The GW2490C makes do with a simple plastic stand with 25 degrees of tilt. The stand is a touch wobbly, but it's not terrible. There is a standard VESA 100 x 100mm mount at the rear, too, which gives you the option to use a monitor arm instead.

Around the back, you get one HDMI input, one DisplayPort input, and one USB-C input, which supports DisplayPort Alt. There's no power delivery here, though, and no USB hub. Still, it's nice to see that there's a 3.5mm headphone output – you'll want to use this as the tinny pair of internal speakers are best kept for emergency usage. It's also good to find that BenQ has used rear-facing ports, as this makes it far easier to slot cables in – and especially so in hot-desking scenarios where the cables often go walkabout. It's a shame that there's no cable management clip, though.

It's also worth reiterating that the USB-C port only supplies a small amount of power. With little more than 7.5 watts at its disposal, our laptop did show that it was connected to a power source, but it discharged faster than it could charge. With the laptop closed, however, it does trickle charge very slowly.

The on-screen display and controls are simple and well thought out. The buttons are all mounted under the panel's front edge, and the power button is backlit so you can tell when the monitor is plugged in or in standby mode. A little clickable four-way joystick navigates through the menus, and a further blue button toggles the automatic brightness sensor and automatic colour temperature settings on and off – you simply press the button, and it cycles through the various modes quickly.

Click the joystick, and a little mini menu lets you quickly switch between picture profiles, adjust brightness, dial up the low blue light mode, adjust the volume, or switch between the three video inputs. Scroll to the bottom of the mini menu, and you can access the full menu.

The main menus offer little more than useful day-to-day adjustments – you can't adjust contrast, RGB values, or fiddle with settings to subtly tweak the image quality. That's no bad thing, though. Instead, you can toggle the various Visual Optimiser settings, adjust the display to compensate for red or green color deficiency, and enable or disable features such as FreeSync, as well as cycling through the three overdrive modes.

BenQ GW2490C monitor: Display quality

No one is expecting miracles from a 24in Full HD monitor, but the GW2490 puts in a solid showing. Subjectively speaking, you will notice the drop in text clarity and image detail if you've spent any time with a 27in QHD monitor or any display with a higher pixel density. But that's not to say that the GW2490C is bad: it produces a very usable image for both productivity and entertainment duties.

It's nice to have a black and white ePaper mode for reading – this softens the white background to a warm pale sepia, which is much more comfortable for working on documents. We found it useful for reading, editing, and typing out this review under low-light conditions. It's easy on the eye after a long day.

For pure productivity, the narrow gamut panel is a good fit. We measured it as covering around 98% of the sRGB colour gamut – which is the palette of colors used across the internet, games, and SDR video content. It's relatively accurate, too, and despite a tendency towards slightly oversaturated reds, you're unlikely to spot the discrepancy without a colorimeter to hand.

The IPS panel delivers a clean set of results. Brightness peaks a little higher than its predecessor, with a maximum of 267cd/m2, and contrast is slightly improved, too, at 1,386:1. These are good figures for a budget panel, and they go hand in hand with natural-looking color reproduction. The white point is a touch too warm at around 6,100k, but both gamma and greyscales are reasonably accurate, and the average Delta E of 1 indicates very respectable colour accuracy.

In our testing, we tended to prefer the Game mode as it gave a more accurate white point – 6,381k – which translated into a more natural-looking image. Technically, color accuracy was worse with an average Delta E of 2.1, but this isn't noticeable for casual usage.

BenQ claims a 5ms GtG response time, and that seems just about on the money. And it's good to see that you get basic VESA MediaSync support for basic adaptive refresh rate support with Nvidia and AMD GPUs.

Motion clarity is very impressive for the money. At the panel's maximum 144Hz refresh rate and with overdrive set to its fastest Premium setting, games look crisp and clear. There is some inverse ghosting, but it's not horribly intrusive, and while the motion isn't as smooth as some of the Fast IPS panels we've seen in budget gaming monitors, it's more than good enough.

The backlighting is exactly what you'd expect for the money. The sides of the panel look a little dimmer than the centre once you start to pay attention, and in our testing were as much as 13% dimmer than the centre. That's nothing unusual nor particularly intrusive, though.

BenQ GW2490C monitor: Is it worth it?

If you're wondering why the GW2490C has only received 4 stars rather than 5, then the answer is simple: there's a lot of competition around the £100 mark.

For instance, its own stablemate, the GW2490TC, was retailing for £115 at the time of writing – and £15 is a small price to pay for an adjustable stand and 20 watts of USB-C power delivery. And then, once you're spending that much, it's only another £15 or £20 to upgrade to a budget 27in QHD monitor.

Admittedly, it's those small incremental price rises that can easily break IT budgets when you're buying in bulk. And if your budgets are tight, be in no doubt – the GW2490 is a good budget business monitor. It offers respectable image quality, useful productivity-focused features, and is versatile enough to flit between productivity and gaming without skipping a beat. For around £100, it's a dependable choice.

BenQ GW2490C monitor specifications

Sometimes it's not enough for a PC monitor to be big. Sometimes it needs to be beautiful and well-connected, too. And that's before you even consider the key elements such as image quality or color accuracy. HP's latest 32-inch business monitor, the Series 7 Pro 732xk, isn't content to simply tick every one of these boxes – this is one of the best value monitors I've seen in recent years.

Aside from a few quibbles, which will mostly irk the lunchtime or post-work gaming crowd, the spoiler here is that HP has done an amazing job. It delivers all the essentials and also goes above and beyond in one key way: it supports hardware calibration. For around £700, that's unheard of, and it allows you to calibrate and maintain its color-accurate performance for the entirety of its working career.

HP Series 7 Pro 732xk monitor: Design & Features

The 732xk is a 31.5in monitor with a standard 4K, 3,840 x 2,160 pixel resolution. The panel of choice is an IPS Black variant with a matte anti-glare coating, and this, according to HP, promises a peak brightness of 450cd/m2 in SDR mode, a 2,700:1 contrast ratio, and an unusually broad color coverage of 99% for both DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB. It also gets a VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification, which, as per usual, suggests that HDR is present, but the panel doesn't get bright enough to do anything exciting with HDR content. Still, for around £700 – these kinds of panel specifications are about as good as it gets.

It's really quite a striking model, too. The heavy metal base slots elegantly into the slender black and silver stand, and the panel itself both feels really solid and looks great. The acres of brushed silver, gentle curves, and relatively slender profile make for a really good-looking monitor. For the money, it's probably one of the prettiest we've had on our desk to date.

The adjustable stand is superb, too. It moves through its 150mm range of height adjustment smoothly, and you only need a single hand to get it just so – there's no wobble or unsteadiness at all. There's plenty of scope for tilt and swivel, and the panel rotates around into portrait mode in either direction. Even the cable management – a traditional afterthought for many manufacturers – is good. It's just a simple square of plastic though, which you have to slot the cables, but unlike other designs that snag or pinch the cables when you try to move the panel to the extent of its adjustment, this just works. Kudos, HP.

HP has more than just image quality on its mind with the 732xk, however. Connectivity is top of the agenda, and that's why you'll find a healthy supply of ports around the back in addition to a built-in KVM switch. All of the ports are rear-facing, so there's no scrabbling around – just rotate the monitor around a touch, find the port you're after, and slot the cable home.

The HDMI 2.1 and full-sized DisplayPort 1.4 inputs are flanked by a DisplayPort output for daisy-chaining a second monitor, and there's also a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C input, which supports DisplayPort Alt video inputs, Thunderbolt 4, and also provides 100W of power delivery. You also get a secondary Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port for daisychaining duties. A secondary upstream USB-C connects to a second computer, and both of the upstream USB-C ports power up 4 USB-A ports at the rear, and a single USB-C port.

It's good to see PBP and PIP functions, too. These make life easier when using two machines side by side – or just keeping up with the football while you work on a particularly pressing presentation.

The on-screen display is a really good example, too. The menus use simple, sensibly-sized light grey text on a dark background, and the directional buttons at the rear make it easy to delve through the menus and adjust the features as required. There's no show or pizzazz, just useful features and key information – current resolution, refresh rates, and enabled modes – exposed in a sensible menu system. There's lots of fine adjustability, too.

Install the HP Display Center software – this is Windows-only at the time of writing – and you can adjust the 732xk's features and swap between color modes without having to reach around behind the monitor and prod buttons.

It's here that you can also recalibrate the various factory presets or create up to three of your own. It's worth noting that this feature didn't work during our testing, but this is almost certainly because we use an OEM X-Rite i1Display colorimeter. We encountered similar issues with BenQ's calibration software, and support was added in a recent software update. We've emailed to check whether support is planned.

HP Series 7 Pro 732xk monitor: Display quality

The Series 7 Pro 732xk more than lives up to its quoted specifications. And in terms of color accuracy, it puts in an excellent performance. If you can't be bothered to read the whole of this section, then all you need to know is that the 732xk produces images that are sharp and color accurate in both SDR and HDR.

Turn on the monitor, and the default color space is Display P3 – but you can use the menus to quickly switch to any of the factory-calibrated color modes. HP provides Display P3, sRGB, and Adobe RGB. There's no DCI-P3 mode, but that will be no great loss for most users.

Gamut coverage is excellent. We tested the monitor in each of its factory-calibrated modes, and our colorimeter showed 100% Adobe RGB coverage, 96% P3, and 100% of sRGB.

Image quality is excellent across the board, too. The IPS Black panel keeps contrast over 2000:1, and color accuracy is excellent with an average Delta E of 1 or less in all of the factory-calibrated modes. Brightness tops out around 400cd. This is as good as we've seen from a sub-£1,000 monitor in recent times.

Backlight uniformity is a regular bugbear for these types of edge-lit IPS monitors, and the HP is no exception. We measured the panel's brightness and contrast across 25 points on its panel, and the result was that the panel's lower left corner dropped below the recommended tolerance levels. Look closely, and you can see that the lower left and right flanks of the monitor are dimmer than the central section. Even here, though, the deviations are relatively well controlled: brightness dips by no more than 12% in those areas, and that's better than some similarly priced monitors we've seen.

In terms of HDR performance, the VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification suggests that the 732xk might actually do a passable job with HDR – and it does. The lack of Mini-LED or full-array local dimming means that there isn't the dynamic range of pricier panels, but the 732xk offers a decent-looking HDR image nonetheless. Brightness peaked at around 670cd/m2 for smaller highlights, and combined with the panel's wide color gamut and accuracy, it produced a really watchable rendition of HDR content.

If there's a chink in the 732xk's armour, it's motion clarity – this just isn't a strong point of the IPS Black panel. It's the price you pay for the increased contrast ratio and improved overall image over standard IPS panels. That said, it's not something that will bother most users for everyday use – or for watching video content. Fire up a game, however, and the detail on moving objects is smeared and blurry even with the panel at its maximum 120Hz refresh rate.

Increasing the panel's overdrive settings does provide a subtle improvement, but in contrast to most overdrive settings we've seen on rival monitors, the 732xk's four settings only make a very subtle difference. This is sensible. HP has provided a maximum overdrive setting that doesn't absolutely destroy the image quality by adding lots of inverse ghosting – instead, it provides a usable range of overdrive settings that don't introduce excessive visual nasties. Kudos.

HP Series 7 Pro 732xk monitor: Is it worth it?

This is not a cheap monitor by any stretch, but the Series 7 Pro 732xk more than justifies its price. The only sticking point here is the motion clarity – but unless gaming is high up your list of priorities, you'll be unlikely to care. And if it's just for the occasional bout of casual gaming, you still may not be too bothered.

For the money, though, the overall balance here is incredibly well-judged. Balancing big-screen productivity needs with superb image quality, oodles of connectivity, and ample adjustability in a downright gorgeous package is no mean feat. HP has made it look easy.

HP Series 7 Pro 732xk monitor specifications

A 27-inch 60Hz 4K monitor for £1,499 might not sound like terrific value for money, but that's exactly what the BenQ PD2770U is. This professional-class monitor serves up a color-accurate IPS panel with a twist: its internal colorimeter allows it to self-calibrate for consistent color accuracy.

The feature list ticks most of the boxes for creative professionals. You get factory-calibrated modes for pretty much every color space you could ask for – sRGB, Adobe RGB, Rec. 709, DCI-P3, Display P3, and DICOM. Naturally, all of these can be checked and recalibrated automatically, and there are three user profiles which you can customise to your exact preferences, too.

Throw in a few extra niceties such as BenQ's super-handy little Hotkey Puck remote control, and a basic monitor hood, along with a few cables, and the £1,499 price starts to look very reasonable indeed.

BenQ PD2770U monitor: Design & Features

When it comes to monitors, color accuracy is often misunderstood. When you see a review talk about a monitor's color accuracy, that is purely a snapshot at a given point in time – not a guarantee of accuracy a year down the line. And the truth is that all monitors drift steadily away from accuracy as the panels and/or backlight age – some quickly, some not so quickly. The one thing you can guarantee is that they will, and if your job involves knowing with certainty that that specific on-screen shade is nigh-on perfect, then regular calibration is a must.

That's why self-calibrating monitors such as the PD2770U are so desirable. A little colorimeter is hidden in the upper bezel, and this is able to swivel down, measure a number of color swatches, and recalibrate any of the preset picture modes. You don't even have to have a PC or laptop connected, as the calibration process is performed single-handedly by the monitor.

Calibrations can be performed manually, and you can choose specific presets to calibrate or set it to perform the calibration on a regular basis ranging from daily to quarterly. Or you can set a more granular timetable in BenQ's DSM Local software, and manage scheduling for multiple monitors across a LAN network. And should the default profiles not be suitable, you can also choose to install BenQ's Palette Master Ultimate software package: this opens the door to custom calibrations with specific white points, color gamuts, luminance, and so forth.

One nice little discovery here is that BenQ's Palette Master Ultimate software has finally added support for OEM X-Rite colorimeters. Previously, these weren't recognised – as of the version 2.6 update, our OEM i1 Display Pro Plus puck works exactly as expected.

In fact, there's only one major annoyance here: it's not possible to use the PD2770U's internal colorimeter in the Palette Master Ultimate software. You can validate an existing internal calibration with a third-party colorimeter or high-end spectrophotometer – something you would be advised to do on a regular basis – but you can't use the internal colorimeter to produce a new custom calibration, or to subsequently validate it, which is a shame. From our testing, we also couldn't see a way to correlate the internal colorimeter against a reference meter, which feels like an oversight.

Connectivity is nicely balanced. BenQ's decision to use rear-facing ports means that it's easy to get everything plugged in without scrabbling around under the desk. It's good to find USB-C connectivity is present, and the primary USB-C port delivers 96W of power in addition to DisplayPort Alt and data. The decision to add a single DisplayPort input and a pair of HDMI inputs rather than the other way around seems a bit backwards, but it's not a huge issue.

Plug a laptop or PC into either of the two USB-C ports at the rear, and this powers up the pair of USB-A ports on the underside of the monitor. Both of these reach USB 3.2 Gen 1 transfer speeds. Sensibly, the 3.5mm headphone socket is just alongside, so you can plug headphones in without having to reach around the rear.

The fundamentals here are all sound. The mostly plastic construction feels solid, and the heavy metal base and adjustable stand provide a good balance of stability and adjustability. There's 115mm of height adjustment, plenty of tilt and swive,l and the only limitation is that the PD2770U only rotates clockwise if you want to use it in portrait mode.

You also get a monitor hood, which attaches magnetically to the monitor and feels nice and secure once it's in place. The black flocking on the inner side of the hood does a really good job of keeping the panel free from unwanted reflections, too.

As ever, the Hotkey Puck is a boon. This little circular remote control communicates via infrared and allows you to quickly adjust settings, swap between color profiles with a click of a button, or use the KVM switch to flick between connected machines. All of the controls can be customised to your specific preferences, too. It's a simple concept well executed, and it makes it far easier to take advantage of all of the PD2770U's features.

There was one relatively minor, but irritating issue with our review unit: it produces a quiet but noticeable, high-pitched whine. We presume this is emanating from the internal power supply or a noisy capacitor. We spent a while wondering where it was coming from, and if you're sensitive to high-pitched noise, it may prove irksome. Whether it's solely an issue with this unit or not is impossible to say, but it left us reaching for headphones.

BenQ PD2770U monitor: Display quality

On paper, there's nothing very exciting about the PD2770U's IPS panel. It's a 4K 60Hz affair, with entirely run-of-the-mill specifications. In practice, though, it puts in a really solid performance despite its limitations.

BenQ claims some impressive gamut coverage figures: 99% of Adobe RGB, 99% of DCI-P3, and a less surprising 100% of Rec. 709 and sRGB. It also guarantees that all of the preset modes achieve an average Delta E of less than 1.5, too. Brightness tops out at a claimed 400cd/m2, and native contrast is quoted at 1,000:1 – which hints at the fact that you can expect much lower with uniformity compensation enabled.

In our tests, we didn't quite achieve those kinds of numbers, but the PD2770U put in a very respectable performance. We saw a coverage of over 96% for Adobe RGB and 93% for DCI-P3 which is still very decent. And it's worth remembering that our X-Rite i1Display Pro Plus is a standard colorimeter, which only gives a rough measurement of wide gamut panels – more precise (and much more expensive) spectrophotometers are required to accurately assess color gamuts.

The big appeal here is color accuracy, and the PD2770U delivers. In Adobe RGB mode, with the white point set to 6,500k (it is possible to switch to 5,000k if preferred) we saw an average Delta E of 0.66, measured white point of 6,279k and a contrast ratio of 686:1. It was a shame to see that the white point was a touch out of whack, but again this may be due to discrepancies between our X-Rite colorimeter and the BenQ's internal one.

The sRGB mode measured well, too. We saw an average Delta E of 0.89, a white point of 6,369k, and near-perfect gamma tracking. Again, the biggest limitation of the panel here is contrast. The panel's uniformity compensation takes its toll and drops contrast down to 665:1. The 6,197k white point was also noticeably too warm with the factory calibration, but we recalibrated the monitor using the internal colorimeter, and it pushed the white point back up to 6,470k, which is far more acceptable.

There is HDR support here, too – HDR10 and HLG support are present – but the PD2770U's panel isn't capable enough for professional usage. To put it diplomatically, the panel's limited brightness and contrast will make grading HDR content something of a challenge.

Panel uniformity is perhaps the most obvious hint as to the BenQ's relatively affordable price. That's not to say it's bad, but we've seen pricier professional panels manage to keep brightness deviations across the panel down to just a few percent. Here, the PD2770U is a little more wayward. It manages to maintain good color accuracy across the panel up to around 75% brightness with brightness deviations of no more than 7%, but at 100% brightness the left and right flanks of the panel are as much as 15% brighter than the centre.

BenQ PD2770U monitor: Is it worth it?

If you're hoping for professional-class perfection for £1,499, then you'll need to self-calibrate your expectations. While pricier panels have better uniformity and more flexible self-calibration features, many people will be able to live with BenQ's limitations.

Frankly, the PD2770U does everything you could ask of it at the price. The image quality, accuracy, and array of calibrated modes are impressive, and the focus on usability – thanks to the clever little remote control – is something rivals would do well to emulate. Factor in all the little niceties, and the PD2770U is a capable package for relatively sensible money.

BenQ PD2770U monitor specifications

Unlike most monitors, the marketing for the BenQ RD320U doesn't lead with astonishing color accuracy or dazzlingly bright HDR. Instead, it rather quietly and enigmatically promises the "ultimate coding experience". Sadly, that doesn't mean it has a built-in fridge or integrated bean-to-cup coffee machine, but its 32in 4K panel does come equipped with a host of coding-focused features. And it's actually a very decent everyday monitor to boot.

At a glance, you'd mistake it for just another mid-range monitor. However, BenQ has opted for an upmarket IPS panel which delivers a 2000:1 contrast ratio and covers a claimed 98% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. It also employs a super sensible nano matte coating for glare suppression. With a fully adjustable stand and a built-in USB hub with USB-C and 90 watts of power delivery thrown in for good measure, there aren't many boxes left to tick.

The novel bit is that the RD320U is designed to minimise eyestrain in low lighting conditions. The Night Hours feature uses an auto brightness sensor to dim the screen as the sun goes down, built-in bias lighting – BenQ's magical-sounding Moonhalo – softly illuminates behind the monitor, and a little row of touch-sensitive buttons puts your preferred coding image settings at your fingertips.

BenQ RD320U monitor: Design & Features

The RD320U's design is subtle and understated. The body is finished in a reserved charcoal grey, and the rear's textured lines look smart. The construction does feel rather plasticky and hollow once you get your hands on it, but that's to be expected given the price – and it's sensibly designed in all the places that matter.

There's plenty of adjustability for starters. The broad, heavy base screws into a super solid feeling stand which provides 110mm of height adjustment as well as an ample amount of tilt and swivel. It also rotates into a portrait mode, but it only pivots clockwise.

We're super pleased to see that BenQ has dumped the usual plastic cable management clip. In its place, there's a slightly incongruous strip of rubbery plastic with a leather effect finish. Still, it's a definite improvement. Two small press studs give some adjustability, and it does a far better job of holding multiple cables neatly in place.

Given the amount of connectivity, this is just as well. You get one full-sized DisplayPort input, two HDMI, and a single USB-C port, which juggles both DisplayPort signals and 90 watts of power delivery. A USB-B port opens to the door to KVM functions – which we'll discuss shortly – and you get a further USB-C port at the rear, albeit limited to 7.5W of power delivery. Look underneath the monitor's front edge, and you'll also find a 3.5mm headphone socket, two USB-A ports, and another USB-C port, all of which operate up to USB 3.2 Gen 1 speeds.

Given the coding focus, it makes sense to find a basic KVM switch included as standard. Dab the function key on the monitor's bottom edge, and you can swap between the two connected machines. PBP and PIP support is present, too, so you can also display video outputs from both machines simultaneously.

The integrated speakers won't be something you'll want to listen to for extended coding sessions, however. They're acceptable for occasional use, but background music is a step too far – they're just not refined enough for that.

The RD320U's on-screen display is a little different from the usual BenQ design. A strip of touch-sensitive buttons poke out from the lower bezel, and these make it quick and easy to flick between display modes or adjust the Moonhalo bias lighting settings. This is actually rather handy: you can switch between one of the RD320U's color-accurate modes straight into a high contrast coding mode with a couple of taps – and without having to delve into the more complicated on-screen display menus.

BenQ RD320U monitor: Display quality

The RD320U's priorities are a little different to most monitors, but that hasn't stopped BenQ providing a selection of color-accurate picture modes in addition to the high legibility, high contrast coding modes, or the black and white Epaper preset. And when we say color accurate, we mean really, really color accurate. In fact, oddly enough, this is one of the most accurate out-of-the-box performances we've seen.

The IPS panel picks out around 95% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and this allows the RD320U to serve up an accurate Display P3 mode. The average Delta E of 1.28 is very respectable, and the white point is just a whisker away from perfect at 6,509k. The contrast ratio is excellent, at least by IPS standards, at 2,056:1. The only disappointment is that there's a little bit of black crush, and the gamma is a little lower than it should be, so some tones are a little darker or lighter than intended. Frankly, though, most people won't notice.

The RD320U also does a great job of clamping down that saturated color palette for a super-accurate sRGB mode. An average Delta E of 0.74 is superb, and this goes hand in hand with excellent greyscale and gamma tracking, and a nearly perfect white point of 6,540k. Contrast, again, is a respectable 1,990:1 thanks to the high-end IPS panel.

HDR support is present, too, as is VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification, but it's not proper HDR in any sense. The panel doesn't go bright enough to make highlights really pop, and there's no dynamic backlighting to tease out a little more contrast and pop for highlights. Although it's usable in a pinch, it's by no means an accurate HDR presentation – the RD320U is far more capable in SDR, so we'd leave HDR disabled.

The 2000:1 contrast ratio isn't likely to get OLED converts excited, but the flipside is that it's good enough – and the text clarity on the IPS panel is leaps and bounds better. The 4K resolution and matte panel deliver pin-sharp text, and that's arguably a bigger boost for coding and day-to-day productivity work than the near-infinite contrast ratio of OLED. BenQ's nano matte screen coating also does a very good job of minimising glare. It's not quite as effective as the best offerings we've seen – Samsung's recent coatings are just a cut above their rivals – but it does manage to diffuse bright highlights really effectively.

The quality of the images on offer is subtly improved by BenQ's Moonhalo bias lighting. This integrated ring light only produces white light – you may or may not be disappointed to hear that shimmering RGB light shows aren't an option – but it works really well, providing reduced eye strain and boosting perceived black depth. You can manually adjust the brightness and color temperature to match the onscreen white point and overall display brightness, and this serves to evenly illuminate the wall behind the monitor. Alternatively, you can set it to adjust the lighting level automatically in tandem with the display's automatic brightness adjustment.

As ever, it's the 60Hz refresh rate which is the biggest limitation for motion clarity. BenQ ships the panel set to its 'High' overdrive setting, and this is worth leaving well alone. Turning it off produces a noticeable drop in sharpness for moving objects, and cranking it to 'Premium' adds ugly fringes around the edges of moving objects due to excessive inverse ghosting. For movie watching or very casual gaming, it's fine – but if you want a monitor for both gaming and coding – or coding games, for that matter – then you'll want a more multi-talented monitor. BenQ's 144Hz PD3226G is a better bet here, although it's far more expensive at £1,099.

Panel uniformity is fine. We measure brightness and contrast across 25 points on the panel, and the RD320U puts in a solid performance here. The left and right hand flanks of the panel are as much as 12% dimmer than the centre, but contrast is nice and consistent.

BenQ RD320U monitor: Is it worth it?

BenQ has got pretty close to nailing the perfect productivity monitor template here. The big 32-inch panel and 4K resolution provide a big desktop area with crystal clear text, and the RD320U makes it refreshingly easy to rapidly flick between a high-contrast reading and coding presentation and highly color-accurate picture modes.

That basic suite of features would be enough to get a thumbs up from us, but add in the clever Moonhalo bias lighting and fully adjustable stand, and this is pretty close to perfection in our eyes. The only tiny criticism is the 60Hz refresh rate, but we can live with that at the price. For around £699, this is a great value monitor for productivity, coding, and almost anything else you care to mention.

BenQ RD320U monitor specifications

You can spend a small fortune on high-end monitors for content production, so it's no wonder that monitors such as the BenQ PV3200U look so very tempting. A color-accurate 4K panel with in-built 2.1 speakers for £700 looks like a bit of a bargain.

The specifications are quietly promising. The PV3200U partners a 32-inch 4K IPS panel with 95% DCI-P3 coverage and 100% Rec.709 coverage, an integrated set of 2.1 speakers, 65 watts of USB-C power delivery, and BenQ's helpful little Hotkey Puck controller.

The cherry on top is Calman Verified accreditation, which means that every monitor delivers a color-accurate performance straight out of the box. The question is whether it can compete with the new breed of OLED monitors, which are rapidly dropping in price – and only growing in appeal.

BenQ PV3200U monitor: Design & Features

BenQ has opted for an understated design that puts the spotlight on the screen. Every inch of the monitor is finished in a dark charcoal grey, and the result is a smart, unassuming monitor. The plastic construction does feel a bit lightweight, though. Drum the rear of the panel with your fingers, and it sounds hollow and rattly – that's a mild disappointment at the price.

There is ample adjustability, though. The tubular stand and wide base provide a super stable support for the 32-inch panel, and you get 115mm of really smooth-feeling height adjustment. There's ample tilt and swivel, and you can rotate the panel around clockwise into a portrait orientation if you need to.

Connectivity mostly hits the spot. DisplayPort is notably absent, but there are three HDMI 2.0 ports. You also get a downstream USB-C input, which supports DisplayPort Alt inputs and provides 65W of power delivery. This connection also powers the USB hub, which supplies one downstream USB-C port and three USB-A ports. There's a headphone output, too, if you need it.

One limitation here is that using the USB-C port for video means that you'll have to choose between 4K 60Hz images and USB 2.0 transfer speeds, and 4K 30Hz and 5Gbps USB transfer speeds. If you want 4K 60Hz and maximal USB throughput, then you'll need to use a USB-C cable for data and a separate HDMI cable for video.

We've moaned about the design of BenQ's cable management clip before, and for good reason. The PV3200U has the same plastic collar, which clips to the stand, and it's just as ineffective as always. It can't handle more than a few cables at once, and has an annoying tendency to allow cables to escape if you adjust the stand height or position. Hopefully, the next generation will address the issue.

The PV3200U makes the unusual choice of adding an integrated 2.1 speaker system. There are two high-frequency drivers that protrude from the bottom left and right of the monitor, and a small woofer is located at the rear. Compared to most monitors, the sound is a huge cut above – although that's not saying much. There's enough clarity and just enough midrange and treble to make music listenable, although there's no proper bass to speak of – the frequency response drops off like a stone below 300hz.

There are multiple sound modes to choose from – Studio, Voice, Music, Cinema, and Game. Studio is intended to be the most accurate of the lot, but this just reveals the limits of the PV3200U's audio. There's no bass, not a huge amount of volume, and clarity is very middle of the road – it's nowhere near good enough to master audio with any confidence. If you just want to use the PV3200U, then the Cinema preset is the most pleasant-sounding of the lot. It boosts what little bass there is and adds a little more warmth to the midrange.

We are pleased to see that BenQ's Hotkey Puck has made another appearance, though. This little round device – or puck, if you like – allows you to adjust the monitor settings or quickly toggle between settings and display profiles of your choice without having to reach out to the monitor.

Four quick-access buttons and a back button surround a little silver clickable dial – and it works well. It operates via infrared, so does need to have a line of sight to the IR receiver underneath the monitor's front edge, but that shouldn't be an issue for most setups. If we had to find fault, it's that there is a bit of lag between the puck and the onscreen display, but it's not hugely annoying. It would be nicer if it were a touch more responsive.

The key here is customisability. You can assign different preset picture modes to the numeric buttons, for instance, or choose to assign them to the various HDMI inputs instead, to allow you to quickly flit from one device to another. It's a really neat idea, and well executed, too. As ever, the on-screen display is fairly simple – it's easy to find your way around and customise the various features as you see fit.

Users who own a colorimeter will also be able to take advantage of BenQ's Palette Master Ultimate software. This allows you to create specific picture presets for specific color spaces and white points, which is handy for maintaining color accuracy over time. This relies on software calibration; however, the PV3200U doesn't support hardware calibration via its internal LUTs. You'll also need to have a first-party colorimeter from a limited range of X-Rite, Calibrite, or Datacolour. The OEM models, like the i1Display Pro Plus we have here, are not supported.

BenQ PV3200U monitor: Display quality

Straight out of the box, the PV3200U arrives in its Display P3 picture mode. Colors look rich, skintones are subtle and believable, and despite the relatively low contrast ratio, both images and videos look good – at least in SDR.

That natural-looking image quality turns out a strong set of color accuracy results. The Display P3 profiles achieved an average Delta E of 1.06. The white point of 6,636k is a touch too warm, but it's not far off. Both gamma and greyscale tracking are close to perfect.

In fact, all the preset modes perform similarly: Switch to DCI-P3 and you get an average Delta E of 1.4, but the white point of 6,533k is well above the ideal 6,300k. The sRGB mode is also solid, with an average Delta E of 0.86 and, again, an overly warm white point of 6,725k.

BenQ claims a DCI-P3 coverage of 95% but we couldn't replicate this in our tests. Across the various wide gamut preset picture modes, we saw DCI-P3 coverage of between 89% and 91%. That's not bad, but it's a long way off from pricier panels – or similarly priced QD-OLED rivals, for that matter.

The bigger issue here is that the PV3200U's standard IPS panel has very low contrast. BenQ states that the "native contrast" is 1,000:1, but as uniformity compensation is enabled in the preset modes, the actual contrast in the calibrated modes is closer to 600:1.

The highest contrast ratio we saw in any of the tested modes was 626:1, which is a long way behind the IPS Black panels we've seen in Dell's UltraSharp range, and several orders of magnitude worse than OLED. This isn't too intrusive in brighter lighting conditions, but the apparent black depth is clearly inferior to the OLED panels on our test desk. Once the lights go down, the greyish blacks become very apparent.

The uniformity compensation does do what it says on the tin – but at the expense of both contrast and peak brightness. We measured a peak of 392cd/m2 and a 996:1 contrast ratio with uniformity off, but these figures were slashed to 204cd/m2 and around 600:1 with uniformity enabled. The benefit is that the panel's biggest brightness deviations occur on the right-hand side, and these aren't intrusive – every single one of the 24 measured points on the screen looks fairly consistent to the naked eye.

HDR performance is limited. It lives up to the DisplayHDR 400 certification – we recorded a peak brightness of 447cd/m2 on a 10% window – but that's as bright as it gets. While HDR content does still look good thanks to the accurate color reproduction, the lack of really bright highlights means that the impact is lost.

Motion clarity is fine, but it's not going to win any awards. The 60Hz refresh rate is one major limiting factor, and the panel's modest 5ms GtG rating is likely measured with overdrive engaged. BenQ's AMA overdrive feature is set to High by default, and this does subtly improve motion clarity compared to turning it off. As usual, though, we'd advise against upping the AMA setting to Premium, as this amplifies the subtle inverse ghosting of the High setting and leaves a very obvious bright fringe around moving objects.

BenQ PV3200U monitor: Is it worth it?

The biggest misstep here, in our opinion, is the decision to add speakers. While they're better than most integrated speakers, they're still far too much of a compromise – we wouldn't want to rely on them for mastering audio. If you have room on your desk for a 32-inch monitor, then you'd be far better off making a little more room for a decent set of active monitors. Good quality budget options will give a far more accurate reference for mastering audio than any speakers integrated into a monitor.

Where the PV3200U gets its priorities right is with image quality. The color-accurate sRGB, Rec.709, DCI-P3, and Display P3 modes are a boon, and while the low contrast and very limited peak brightness will make HDR grading tricky, it might do at a pinch. It certainly is a solid choice for standard definition work if you need color accuracy on a relatively tight budget.

One alternative would be to buy a similarly priced OLED rival. For instance, at the time of writing, the Dell 32 Plus S3225QC was reduced to just under £550. It's not a no-brainer, though: you've got to factor in inevitable burn-in if you're going to spend long periods in editing suites, and – just like the BenQ – you'll need to have a decent colorimeter and calibrate it to get the best results.

The final word is that the BenQ PV3200U would be far better without the speakers – and with a lower price to match. If you can find it discounted online, then it's a solid buy. With 20% off, you could add another star to the rating, so pop it on the shortlist and shop around.

BenQ PV3200U specifications

This is the second Dell 32 Plus monitor we've reviewed in recent months, but this model is a little different. Whereas the Dell 32 Plus S3225QC partnered a gloriously vibrant QD-OLED panel with an almost sensible £800 price, the S3225QS has its sights on the other end of the market.

For around £300, the Dell 32 Plus S3225QS delivers a 4K VA panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a typically smart, stylish design. If you're looking for a big, affordable screen to maximize your productivity, then this looks to be a very capable – and rather handsome-looking – option that won't break the bank.

Dell 32 Plus S3225QS monitor: Design

The S3225QS is a really nice-looking monitor. The off-white stand and rear look great from any angle, and the tiny bezels around the display look really neat, too. The build quality is markedly more lightweight and plasticky than Dell's pricier 27-inch and 32-inch panels, which we've reviewed recently, though.

The adjustable stand provides 100mm of somewhat stiff height adjustment and the usual amount of front-to-back tilt. The stand is, again, quite lightweight and plasticky – and a tad wobbly at full extension – but it's fine for the money. The tiny amount of side-to-side swivel is entirely pointless, though. There's no portrait mode, and we're not really sure we see the need to rotate the display left or right by only 4 degrees.

Connectivity includes a single DisplayPort 1.4 input and two HDMI 2.1 inputs. There are two downward-facing ports, one DisplayPort and one HDMI, and another sideways-facing HDMI port, which is easier to access. We assume this is to make it easier for hotdesking, or just quickly plugging in a laptop.

Cable management relies on a little U-shaped plastic clip that simply clicks into place on the rear of the tubular stand, and this works pretty well. We had to first remove it, install cables, and then clip it back into place, though, as there wasn't room to slide all the cables through once our (admittedly oversized) DisplayPort cable was in place.

One genuine surprise here is that the integrated speakers are actually pretty decent. And loud, too, thanks to the unusually potent 10 watts of amplification. They're so loud, in fact, that the first time we plugged in the S3225QS, we had the absolute fright of our lives when a YouTube autoplayed at full volume. There's some semblance of bass, a full-bodied midrange, and while high frequencies are a tad muffled, the overall effect is really pleasant – if you wanted to listen to some music or watch a video in the background, then you can do so without hating every minute of it.

As ever, the on-screen display is both easy to navigate and sensibly laid out. If there is one criticism, it's that it is a tad small. Other recent models in Dell's monitor ranges have doubled the size of the on-screen display to make it more legible, and the S3225QS' would benefit from a similar approach. That aside, there are no issues. The little four-way joystick on the right-hand rear of the monitor makes it easy to dive in and out of the various settings menus, and the quick menu layout puts useful customizable controls at your fingertips.

Dell 32 Plus S3225QS monitor: Display quality

In terms of image quality, you need to set some realistic expectations. Although the 4K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate sound impressive, the VA panel has its limitations. In short, viewing angles are narrow in every direction, and response times are downright poor. If you're hoping for a do-it-all display for gaming and productivity for £300, then this is not it.

Dell's website incorrectly claims a 95% DCI-P3 coverage for the S3225QS – we assume this is an error on the website, though, as it measured closer to 82% in our tests. The panel's sRGB coverage of 96.5% is good, though, and this is more useful for everyday productivity work – the internet and most applications rely on the sRGB standard to ensure that colors look true.

If you're primarily looking for a large, crisp 4K monitor that's good for productivity work, then you may be more forgiving. In our tests, the Dell's Standard picture mode put in a fairly middling performance, with an average Delta E of 2.3, a too-warm white point of 6,261k, a default brightness of 221cd/m2, a peak brightness of 378cd/m2, and a contrast ratio of 2,543:1.

Switching to the sRGB mode dramatically improved matters, however, with the average Delta E falling to an impressive 0.97 alongside a slightly more accurate 6,346k white point. The result is vibrant yet natural-looking colors – impressively so, in fact.

HDR support is on the cards, too, but don't get too excited. Peak brightness is actually a tiny dimmer than in SDR mode, and we clocked a maximum of 350cd/m2. That's really not bright enough to see HDR at its best, but it's fine for watching the odd YouTube or Netflix video. In our opinion, though, you'll get a better image if you stick with SDR.

The S3225QS's semi-gloss screen coating does a decent job of controlling glare, but the VA panel has very narrow viewing angles. If you're sitting up really close, then you'll notice that the corners of the display look washed out, and if you're slightly away from a central position, you'll notice a similar effect. At sensible viewing distances, it's not an issue, however. And practically speaking, the narrow viewing angles may be beneficial in an office setting as the panel behaves a little like a very mild privacy filter.

Motion is another bugbear for the VA panel, however. For productivity use – and the occasional YouTube video – it's not too annoying, but once you start to notice the blur around moving objects, you'll find it hard to stop seeing it. And should you turn your attention to games, you'll notice smearing and blur to an irritating degree.

The final criticism we can level at the S3225QS is that the backlighting and panel uniformity is pretty mediocre. This will vary from monitor to monitor, but our review unit had a large strip along the left-hand edge, which was around 10 to 15% dimmer than the center of the screen. Display a solid color across the desktop, and you'll definitely notice it. It's not a deal breaker, not least as the rest of the panel has much lower single-figure percentage variances for brightness, but it's worth knowing about – if you end up with a particularly bad example, you may want to reach out to Dell, ask for a replacement, and cross your fingers.

Dell 32 Plus S3225QS monitor: Is it worth it?

The Dell 32 Plus S32225QS is not a perfect all-rounder, but at the price, it's fairly easy to overlook the S3225QS's flaws. And given that most of those flaws affect gaming more than they do productivity – and this is an IT Pro review – we're in a forgiving mood.

The combination of good looks, a basic adjustable stand, and respectable color accuracy is a pretty good combination for a £300 monitor – and especially one that offers a crisp 4K resolution on a big 32in panel. If big-screen productivity is on your wish list, the Dell 32 Plus S3225QS is a great buy.

Dell 32 Plus S3225QS specifications

If you've ever wondered what would happen if one of Samsung's high-end TVs had a fling with one of its PC monitors, then now you know: the result is the Smart Monitor M90SF.

The M90SF takes one of Samsung's own 32-inch 165Hz 4K QD-OLED panels and wraps it up in a suitably premium design. The novel thing here is that you also get Samsung's Tizen smart TV interface, a remote control, and built-in Wi-Fi to access all your favourite streaming services.

If you're short on space, big on budget, and need a monitor that can double as a TV, the Samsung M90SF could be just what you're looking for.

Samsung Smart Monitor M9 M90SF monitor: Design & Features

Or at least it might be if you're happy to sign up for a Samsung account. Turn on the M90SF, and softly inoffensive music fills the air while a QR code appears on screen. Point your phone at it, and you're sent to create a new account or log into your existing Samsung SmartThings account. You can use the M90SF as a computer monitor without signing in, but if you want access to the smart TV functions and streaming services, you'll have to hand over your details.

It's disappointing to see that the sign-up routine uses some deceptive patterns, too. If you're not careful to press the correct button to advance the process, it auto ticks all the privacy boxes which you manually unticked. And frankly, we think you should be able to use a monitor or TV without providing any personal information other than the sign-in details for specific paid-for streaming services. The SmartThings app does let you use your phone as a remote, though, so that's helpful.

Privacy moans aside, Samsung has opted for an everything but the kitchen sink approach. In addition to the superb QD-OLED panel that's front and centre, you get Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, a 12MP webcam with microphone, built-in 10 watt speakers (which aren't half bad), and a modest but ample amount of connectivity.

You also get a proper TV remote, so you can kick back and catch up on your Netflix (or any of the major streaming services) at the end of the working day – or use the M90SF's PIP functions to multi-task with shows playing in the background. And you also get voice assistant support – you can choose between Alexa or Samsung's own Bixby for voice control, if you like the idea of shouting at your TV.

Physical connectivity is okay. You get HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 inputs, an upstream USB-C port which supports DisplayPort Alt and 90W of power delivery, and a pair of USB-A ports which, in a mildly disappointing fashion, only meet USB 2.0 speeds. There's no aerial socket here, though, so you're limited solely to streaming services if you want to catch up with terrestrial TV.

In an unusual twist for a PC monitor, the M90SF uses an external power brick. A very large one. This is fine if you have somewhere to hide it, but more open plan arrangements may have to work hard to hide it.

That external PSU is due to vanity: Samsung clearly wasn't content with the M90SF looking like any old PC monitor. Instead, the M90SF blends the sharp, achingly thin profiles of Samsung's premium TVs with a variety of more desk-friendly design choices.

The slender metal-edged panel and rounded edges faintly resemble an outsized Samsung tablet. This giant lozenge is held up by an unusually wide, chunky L-shaped stand which neatly obscures the panel's fatter middle section which houses all the ports and speakers. Despite the pared-back design, however, you still get 110mm of height adjustment, a useful amount of front to back tilt and you can rotate the panel 90 degrees in either direction into portrait mode. VESA mounting is possible, too, if you prefer.

There are some minor quibbles with the design. First of these is that accessing the ports is fiddly. More so than any recent monitor we've tested, in fact. Even though they're rear-firing, the recessed ports, wide stand and large panel make it awkward to plug cables in.

Cable management could be improved too. A little oval hole is positioned quite high up the stand, and we found that some of our cables tended to catch and drag on the lip as we moved the monitor up and down – we needed to be careful to avoid yanking cables out entirely. The ferrite on the power supply cable has a habit of catching, too. A word to the wise: braided cables work better here as they slide more easily through the cut-out.

The presence of Samsung's Tizen OS is something of a double-edged sword. It's great that you get a usable standalone smart TV interface, and the remote control makes it fairly easy to navigate. Every major streaming service is available, in addition to a raft of more esoteric ones. If you've used any TV in the last few years, you should be able to find your way around. Not, however, that you'll always enjoy doing so – it is one of the more quirky TV interfaces we've encountered in recent years.

There is a litany of bizarre UI choices. Click the settings button on the remote, and it opens the Connected Devices page before the settings page. Click the settings button again, and then you're faced with the quick settings menu, which uses a small 2 x 3 panel of round icons – these are so crammed together that each icon requires a ticker to scroll the text so you can read it. Change any setting, and a notification pops up to warn you that you're about to increase power consumption. This can't be disabled without a trip into the service menu. For a high-end product, it all feels rather clunky.

Samsung Smart Monitor M9 M90SF monitor: Display quality

Thankfully, the QD-OLED panel delivers a typically refined performance. Samsung doesn't make any particularly bold claims for it, with a quoted typical brightness of 250cd/m2, a 99% sRGB coverage, and a 0.03ms grey-to-grey response time, but it put in some far more impressive numbers in our tests.

It's one of those displays that looks great straight out of the box. Colors are typically vivacious, and – while using the HDMI or DisplayPort connections – both SDR and HDR content looks great without any need to touch the settings menu. Granted, on paper, OLED isn't as bright as LCD rivals, but it's more than bright enough. And what's more, its ability to get really bright for smaller highlights gives it the ability to serve up the kind of stunning HDR that most LCD monitors can only dream of.

On that note, you'll want to delve into the settings menus if you want the best image quality. If you want the brightest HDR highlights, then you'll need to set the peak brightness control to High – with this enabled, you'll get small localised highlights which approach 1,000cd/m2. Left at the default settings, peak brightness for highlights was closer to 420cd/m2.

Also, like many TV manufacturers, Samsung has a habit of activating various picture and motion enhancement features by default. This doesn't affect the PC inputs, but straight out of the box, we noticed a fair bit of soap opera effect in video content on the various streaming services. We'd advise a quick trip into the settings menu to turn off the various picture clarity settings – or at very least, dial them right down. And similarly, you'll want to avoid using the AI Picture Enhancer settings – these activate the Dynamic picture preset, which turns every color from a natural shade to a lurid neon facsimile. For PC use, we'd recommend Graphic picture mode for everyday use, and for the streaming services.

It's also good to see a proper matte anti-glare coating on a QD-OLED panel, although – as we'll discuss shortly – it may not be to everyone's tastes.

Color coverage and accuracy is top-notch. We measured the panel covering 99% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and a respectable 93% of Adobe RGB. There are no preset color spaces to choose from as standard, but we tested the M90SF against a Display P3 target. It ships with the Eco picture mode enabled, and even this provides a decent, if modest peak brightness of 183cd/m2, and the average Delta E was a low 1.35. The white point was bang on, too.

Switch to the display's Graphic picture mode, however, and it puts in an even better set of numbers. Peak brightness rises to 213cd/m2, and the average Delta E drops down to 1.11. White point remains almost perfect at 6,423k, too. If you want a bit more punch, then this is the picture mode to use.

The M90SF's TV heritage brings with it some benefits. There are a wide range of image adjustments available in the settings menus, and you can select from DCI-P3, Rec.2020 and Rec.709 color spaces in addition to a variety of gamma curves. If you have the hardware to hand, you can achieve an even more accurate calibration with the help of the 20-point white balance adjustments in the menus. And in any case, the out-of-the-box performance is more than accurate enough for all but the most color-critical photo and video editing duties.

HDR performance is generally very good, but as this is a Samsung display you'll have to make do with HDR10+ support – there's no Dolby Vision here. And while the DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification sounds a bit underwhelming, that actually translates into a peak brightness of over 1,000cd/m2 on smaller highlights. This figure drops down substantially for scenes with a higher average brightness – such as bright outdoor scenes – but it's still bright enough to look good, if just not as bright as an LCD panel.

The M90SF's matte anti-glare coating does a fantastic job of flattening glare. Shine a bright light directly on the screen, and it diffuses into a soft reddish glow, and this translates into a screen that's great in brightly lit rooms. The side effect is that the coating does tend to make blacks look grey and washed out under bright lighting or sunlight. It also adds a noticeable graininess to images which is most pronounced on whites or light greys.

We tested the Samsung side by side with another QD-OLED monitor with a glossy anti glare coating, the Dell 32 Plus S3225QC, and black screens on the M90SF did look noticeably more washed out compared to the Dell's glossy panel. Both have their downsides, so it's a choice of minimal glare and greyish blacks in some conditions, or a clear reflection of your room and less glare suppression.

As per usual, the presence of a QD-OLED panel makes for super crisp motion. Samsung claims a 0.03ms response time, and this is backed up by AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and G-Sync compatibility. Whether it was Doom Eternal at three-figure framerates or the SmoothFrog testing application, the on-screen movement was unerringly crisp. It's a joy to behold. The only annoyance here is that you'll need to activate game mode to be able to activate adaptive sync and achieve the maximum refresh rates. You'll also need to use DisplayPort to get the maximum 165Hz refresh rate -- in our testing, the HDMI connection topped out at 120Hz.

Uniformity isn't worth mentioning as it's perfect. As each pixel on an OLED screen has its own backlight, there are no uniformity issues to be found at all – just crisp, saturated pixels from edge to edge.

Of course, using an OLED panel with a PC raises the spectre of burn-in – static on-screen elements such as taskbars can cause image retention after long periods of use. That said, Samsung guarantees against burn-in for the duration of the warranty under consumer use, albeit not for commercial usage, and the pixel refresh cycle is performed automatically when you power it off. The M90SF also has an Adjust Logo Brightness feature which automatically dims the screen when it detects a static onscreen element that might cause burn-in. You can access both of these features via the Panel Care menu if you need to.

Samsung Smart Monitor M9 M90SF monitor: Is it worth it?

The Samsung M90SF is handsome, versatile, and the image quality is excellent, but you really have to need the smart TV functions to justify the £1,199 price. If you're not too bothered about those, then bear in mind that the Dell 32 Plus S3225QC serves up a similarly glorious QD-OLED panel for £400 less. And it's a glossy panel, too, if the Samsung's matte panel is an issue for you.

If you only have room for one do-it-all display in your living space or home office, then the Samsung Smart Monitor M90SF is a tempting, stylish solution. It's certainly not the absolute best of both worlds, but it's close enough where it matters.

Samsung Smart Monitor M9 M90SF specifications

The Pro 27 Plus is Dell's idea of the perfect business productivity monitor. With a 27-inch 4K panel, ample connectivity, and a highly adjustable stand, Dell has taken the understated style of its recent UltraSharp designs and dressed it in a more office-suitable palette of greys and blacks.

Paring back the consumer-facing features to leave IT buyers with a simpler, more vanilla-flavoured package sounds like a recipe for success. The only disappointment? Dell hasn't trimmed the price to match.

Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE monitor: Design & Features

As business monitors go, the Dell Pro 27 Plus is a sharp looker. The slim bezels and subtle curves grow from the same genepool as the UltraSharp U2725QE, but here Dell has dropped the eye-catching expanses of off-white in favour of dark matte grey and silver. The result is a monitor that looks sharp and professional from any angle – exactly what you want in an office setting. The subtle, minimal branding is another boon too.

The good looks go hand in hand with a fully adjustable stand. You get 150 millimetres of height adjustment, and the monitor pivots easily into portrait mode in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. There's also more than enough front-to-back tilt and side-to-side swivel to make for quick and easy ergonomic adjustments. Naturally, if you prefer to use a monitor arm, there's a standard VESA 100x100mm mount at the rear.

The P2725QE is designed for the modern hotdesking office. Plug in the USB-C cable to your work laptop, and you get all the benefits of single-cable operation: the USB-C cable carries 90W of power delivery in addition to data and video.

There's a decent clutch of connectivity, too. The Gigabit Ethernet connectivity is a nice touch – although 2.5GbE would be even nicer – and you also get two 5Gbps USB-A ports at the rear. There is an HDMI and DisplayPort input, too, and only the lack of a daisy-chain port for the latter is a mild disappointment at the price. That would have made a nice, neat addition for rapid multi-monitor hotdesking.

It's nice to see that Dell has taken the little pop-out panel from the Dell UltraSharp U2725QE, though. Tap the little panel on the underside, and it drops down to reveal an extra front-facing USB-C and USB-A port.

You do also get a clutch of cables in the box. A 1.8m DisplayPort cable, a 1.8m USB-A to USB-C cable, and a short 1m USB-C to USB-C cable. And a power cable, naturally. These all slot neatly through the cable management slot on the bottom of the stand – and given the reduced number of ports on offer, this isn't as prone to getting jammed full of cables as the better-connected UltraSharp models we've tested.

One benefit of the Ethernet connectivity is that it opens the door to remote management. IT departments can lock down the control panel access to stop users mangling the image quality with manual adjustments and control a whole fleet of monitors using Dell's command line interface. Meanwhile, local users can take advantage of Dell's Display and Peripheral Manager software to adjust monitor settings from within Windows or access extra features such as tiling windows across the panel in non-standard arrangements.

In truth, though, the Dell's on-screen display and simple controls aren't hard to get to grips with. There's a power button and four-way joystick on the rear, and the joystick makes light work of navigating the various features. Tap the joystick once, and the quick menu gives rapid access to the main features – this quick menu is customisable, so you can ensure that only the most useful settings are exposed to the user. Tap upwards, and you can access the main menus to access the more advanced settings, or customise the quick menu options. It's all very sensibly put together.

Dell Pro Plus P2725QE monitor: Display quality

The Pro 27 Plus's specifications might not match the UltraSharp U2725QE, but they're a sensible compromise for most desks. The IPS panel offers a standard 4K resolution and provides a quoted 1,500:1 contrast ratio and peak brightness of 350cd/m2. There are no wide gamut modes on offer, but Dell claims that the P2725QE covers 99% of the sRGB colour space – exactly what you want for everyday use, in other words.

Subjectively, it's a joy. Images are bright and punchy, and colors and skintones appear natural. The matte anti-glare coating does a good job of battling bright direct lights, and the 4K resolution means that text is wonderfully crisp. If you're coming from a 27-inch WQHD panel, the increase in text sharpness may come as quite a surprise. For productivity work, it's a real boon.

In our more scientific testing, it certainly lived up to expectations. The panel covered 99.7% of the sRGB color space as promised, peak brightness slightly exceeded Dell's claims at 358cd/m2, and contrast was just marginally short of the promised 1,500:1 at 1,399:1.

The Pro 27 Plus also delivers for outright accuracy. At default settings, we tested it against an sRGB target and saw an average Delta E of 1.7 and a maximum of 3.9. The display white point measured at 6,265K, which isn't far off from the 6,500k ideal, too. All told, this is a monitor you can plonk on a desk, plug in, and expect pretty color-accurate performance with zero effort – exactly what you want from a business monitor.

Backlighting and panel uniformity has been disappointing in the recent Dell monitors we've tested, but the P2725QE bucks the trend. It's still not perfect by any means, but we measured brightness and contrast across 25 points on the display, and it was far more even than the UltraSharp U2725QE and its predecessors. Only two areas showed brightness variances of more than 10%, and even these received a passing grade for the ISO 14861:2015 standard. It's a good showing overall.

One nice bonus here is the presence of a 100Hz refresh rate. This isn't going to have a huge impact on the day-to-day, and there's no adaptive sync support for those sneaky lunchtime gaming sessions, but this creates a palpably slicker, smoother look to onscreen animations. Documents slide by that bit more smoothly, and while we can't speak to long-term eye comfort, it is more pleasant to work with than our standard 60Hz displays.

Motion clarity is very middle-of-the-road, however. Just like the UltraSharp U2725QE, Dell claims a standard response time of 8ms and 5ms with overdrive enabled. There's some obvious loss of detail on fast-moving objects in standard mode, although nothing egregious, but switch the Dell to its Fast overdrive setting, and the inverse ghosting is excessive. This results in ugly, bright fringing around moving objects. Our advice is to leave overdrive disabled.

Dell Pro Plus P2725QE monitor: Is it worth it?

The price is by far the pointiest thorn in the P2725QE's side. At the time of writing, it was retailing for £437 direct from Dell. If you're buying for a home office or a small business, you should consider whether you'd be better off with Dell's previous generation UltraSharp U2723QE. That's since been replaced by the ~£600 UltraSharp U2725QE, but you can still pick up the U2723QE for around £500, and it offers wide gamut support, improved colour accuracy, broader connectivity, and a KVM switch.

For IT buyers able to buy in bulk, however, the Pro 27 Plus's price may not be as off-putting. And moreover, the simpler, less fully-featured design brief may actually be a selling point. This is a very smartly attired monitor which offers a great balance of good-enough image quality, connectivity, and ergonomics. For businesses with a decent-sized IT budget, it ticks lots of boxes. Just be sure it ticks all of yours before buying.

Dell Pro Plus P2725QE specifications

As you can probably surmise from the name, the AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV is a 32in monitor aimed at design professionals. With a 4K Nano IPS panel, guaranteed color accuracy, hardware calibration support, and oodles of connectivity, it ticks pretty much every box for a professional panel. The big news is that it costs less than £600.

The specifications on offer aren't going to rival models at twice the price, but AOC has opted for a solid middle ground. The Nano IPS panel offers a claimed 98% coverage of DCI-P3, 100% of sRGB and Rec 709, and it also comes with a slew of factory-calibrated color modes, including DCI-P3, Display P3, and Adobe RGB, including both D50 and D65 white points. AOC also promises a colour-accurate average Delta E of less than 2. So far, so impressive.

It's the Calman Ready certification, which is the big draw for professionals, however. If you're feeling the pinch after shelling out four figures on a Calman subscription, the AOC U32U3CV offers hardware calibration support for a fraction of the usual professional panels. In fact, it's so affordable that, for the price of one $1,199 Calman Studio subscription, you could buy two U32U3CV. It's a bona fide bargain, in other words.

AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV monitor: Design & Features

AOC has put together a genuinely handsome package here. The black matte plastics of the panel do feel a tad cheap and hollow, but they contrast nicely with the brushed metal T-shaped base and unusual-looking stand. At this price, frankly, it's easy to forgive the more budget-conscious aspects of the build.

The stand works well, but we're not convinced that the T-shaped base is the best choice of design – it takes up a lot of space on the desk. It wouldn't look as good, but a smaller, less stylish design might be the more practical option. Quibbles aside, it keeps the monitor superbly stable even at its full 150mm extension, and the panel moves through its range of motion smoothly and easily. The slotted cutout in the stand does a decent job of guiding all of the cables neatly out of sight, too, even if it's not the neatest-looking cable management design we've ever seen. If you use all the connectivity, it doesn't do much to obscure the nest of cables exiting the panel.

And, talking of cables, there's a 1.8m DisplayPort cable, a 1.8m HDMI cable, and a 1.2m USB-C cable with an integrated USB-C/USB-A adapter included in the box. As usual, though, we wish manufacturers would supply longer USB-A cables. The 1.2 metre cables supplied are routinely too short to reach a desktop PC if it's positioned under the desk.

Connectivity is generous. It's great to find a USB-C input that accepts DisplayPort Alt inputs and provides 96W of power delivery, and a further two HDMI inputs are complemented by a single DisplayPort input. A second upstream USB-C connection at the rear handles the monitor's KVM functions – and it's nice to find PIP and PBP support, too.

What's more, you get an integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2 hub: there are two USB-A ports at the rear and two more USB-A ports on the left-hand flank alongside a USB-C connection and a 3.5mm headphone output. There's also a Gigabit Ethernet socket, but as usual, this is only available to one USB-connected computer at a time when using the KVM feature.

The Calman Ready certification is something of a coup for a monitor at this price, but bear in mind that the monitor is only one part of the overall package. Firstly, you'll need a version of Calman Ultimate to hand, and the yearly subscription costs alone are currently enough to buy you two AOC U32U3CV monitors. You'll also require a compatible colorimeter or spectrophotometer, and a hardware pattern generator would potentially yield improved accuracy. Add it all up, and the AOC monitor will be one of the cheaper items on your shopping list.

AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV monitor: Display quality

Even if you haven't got a copy of Calman and all the assorted hardware to hand, the U32U3CV provides factory-calibrated modes for a wide range of color spaces. You can pick from sRGB, Rec. 709, Display P3, DCI P3, DCI-P3 (D50), Adobe RGB, Adobe RGB (D50), and Rec. 2020.

In our tests, the AOC's Nano IPS panel reproduced 99.3% of sRGB, 93% of DCI-P3, and 86% of Adobe RGB. Those are very respectable figures for a £550 monitor.

We enabled the AOC's sRGB mode, and the results were a tad disappointing. The principal issue is that the white point is too warm at 5,948k. In our tests, whites and greyscales exhibited a clear yellowish tint. We recorded an average Delta E of 0.75 and a maximum of 3.81.

Contrast is fine for a standard IPS panel at 1,099:1, but it's miles behind the IPS Black panel in Dell's UltraSharp U2725QE, which soared over 2,000:1 in our recent review. Brightness reaches a sensible 178cd/m2 at default settings, and dialling it up to maximum sees it stop just short of AOC's claimed 400cdm/2 – our colorimeter measured it at 394cd/m2.

Moving over to the Display P3 mode saw a very similar performance. The average Delta E is a respectable 0.99, but the maximum peaks at 3.45, and the white point is similarly inaccurate. The result is that whites and greys have a noticeably yellowish tint compared to the other calibrated panels on our desk.

Thankfully, the U32U3CV has an ace up its sleeve. Connect the monitor to a laptop or PC running Calman Ultimate, and you can use the AutoCal feature to create calibrations for sRGB, Display P3, DCI P3, DCI P3 (D50), Adobe RGB, and Adobe RGB (D50) color profiles. Once done, you can swap between them in the OSD as required.

We calibrated the AOC for sRGB and Display P3 usage, and each calibration took around 15 minutes in total. The result, as you'd expect, is dramatically improved colour accuracy. For instance, after calibration, the sRGB mode dropped down to an average Delta E 0.7 with a maximum of 1.2. And crucially, the white point was now far closer to the 6,500k ideal at 6,600k. Our test images looked dramatically more natural as a result, with the greyish whites and greys replaced with a far more neutral balance.

HDR is on the cards, too, but given the DisplayHDR 400 certification, it's wise not to expect too much. The peak brightness of 434cd/m2 just isn't high enough to make HDR highlights really pop, and the result is that HDR content can look very dim. If you do want to make use of it, you'll need to do it in a darkened room to get the best effect – and even then, it's a far cry from the eye-popping HDR you'll see on QD-OLED or Mini LED screens.

Panel uniformity is pretty good for the money. There is a bit of a dim spot in the lower left corner where brightness drops by between 10 and 12%, but that aside the rest of the panel is fairly even. Any variances elsewhere stay in single figures, and that's pretty good going for a big monitor at this price.

Response times are fine, but the combination of a bog-standard 60Hz refresh rate and an IPS panel means that the U32U3CV isn't going to win any awards. Adaptive sync is present via the DisplayPort connection, and our AMD card reported a FreeSync range between 40Hz and 60Hz. There was some juddering towards the very lowest end of that range, though. In our testing, the best results for gaming were achieved with overdrive set to the lowest setting, as higher settings introduced unacceptable amounts of inverse ghosting.

AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV monitor: Is it worth it?

The U32U3CV is a big monitor with big potential that retails for a relatively modest sum. It's just a terrible shame that the factory calibration is so mediocre – if the white point wasn't so consistently off beam, this is a monitor that would have had broader appeal for all buyers. For those who just want a good out-of-the-box performance and who don't want to dabble with calibration, rivals such as the BenQ MA320U remain the better buy.

This isn't to say that the U32U3CV is a failure – thanks to the presence of Calman support, it's anything but. Partner it with a top-notch colorimeter or spectrophotometer, a Calman license, and a regular calibration routine, and the U32U3CV will deliver a solid, color-accurate performance for the entire working life of the display. If your business would benefit from consistent, calibrated displays, but hasn't got the four-figure budget for money-no-object alternatives, then the AOC U32U3CV may be exactly what you've been looking for.

AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV specifications

If you've daydreamed about sneaking your OLED TV into the office, then the Dell 32 Plus S3225QC may be just what your IT budget has been waiting for. Housing a 31.6-inch QD-OLED panel in a stylish consumer-friendly package, the S3225QC promises precise colour reproduction and stunning image quality for work and play.

Not to be confused with its IPS-panelled sibling, the Dell 32 Plus S3225QS, the S3225QC harnesses the power of the latest QD-OLED tech. You get a panel which covers a claimed 99% of the DCI-P3 color space, a peak brightness of 1,000cd/m2 for HDR content, Dolby Vision support, and a stunningly sharp 4K 120Hz panel with AMD Freesync Premium certification. The cherry on top? You also get a five-channel audio system that supports spatial audio for pseudo-surround sound.

On paper, the Dell looks like a monitor that's ready to straddle the office and gaming divide with ease. The issue, however, is that there are just enough flaws to make some buyers think twice.

Dell 32 Plus S3225QC monitor: Design & Features

The S3225QC's styling is a tad unconventional. In fact, it's more akin to a small TV with built-in soundbar than your usual PC monitor. The thin bezels, dainty off white stand, and smoothly curved rear look lovely, and a little plastic cover clips over the ports to give an even cleaner look from behind. A thick strip of fabric beneath its lower bezel hides the five speaker drivers and, in the centre, there's a presence sensor which, in tandem with Dell's Spatial Audio features, attempts to tailor the sound to wherever you're sitting.

It's clearly a design that's intended to look good from any angle – and it does. This is partially helped by the frugal amount of connectivity, though. The ports are located centrally at the rear, and all you get is a single HDMI 2.1 port, a single USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 upstream port with DisplayPort Alt 1.4 support, and a downstream USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port. The usual cutout in the stand combines with the clip-on cover to make the cables exit neatly from the rear.

If you're hoping for any USB-A ports, however, you're out of luck. Feel carefully under the monitor's front lip and – similar to the smaller Dell UltraSharp U2725QE – an upwards click sees a little panel pop out with a single front-facing USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port.

Needless to say, connectivity is probably the S3225QC's biggest weakness. With a panel this good, you'll definitely want to hook up more than just your PC. With only one HDMI input, you'll either have to spring for an external HDMI switch or just get used to plugging and unplugging cables. It's a frustrating compromise.

The speakers built into PC monitors don't usually warrant a mention – or any music, for that matter – but the S3225QC is a welcome exception. The five speaker drivers along the panel's front edge are powered with 5 watts of power apiece. They work in tandem with Dell's Spatial Audio feature, which uses AI-driven head tracking and advanced beamforming technology to simulate surround sound, and it's fair to say that the result is a far cry from the usual tinny noise produced by most PC monitors.

The sound is surprisingly spacious, especially so with game and movie soundtracks, and there's enough oomph to make everything from audiobooks to music to movies and games sound respectable. There's no deep bass, nor oodles of detail, but as long as you keep the volume level sensible, there's enough clarity and volume to mean that you won't be desperate to resort to external speakers or headphones.

The presence sensing sounds like a clever idea, but it was less impressive in practice – it didn't seem to do much other than move the audio to the left or right of the monitor. Audio does sound more full-bodied with the spatial audio feature enabled, though, so you're best to leave it on. We would advise disabling the notifications that tell you when the sensor can't detect where you're sitting, though. If you're regularly moving around your desk, the regular onscreen pop-ups are distracting.

Dell 32 Plus S3225QC monitor: Display quality

Given the presence of a QD-OLED panel, you may have assumed that image quality is a highlight – and you'd be right. From the off, the S3225QC's QD-OLED panel serves up perfect, inky blacks, near-perfect contrast, and a sumptuous palette of color. It looks stupendous. It is rather wasted on productivity apps, but photos, videos, and games look stunning. And frankly, even the Windows desktop looked amazing, with our familiar clusters of icons floating vividly on top of a black desktop background.

Dell claims that the panel covers 99% of the DCI-P3 color space – and our tests agreed. We measured the panel as covering 99% of DCI-P3, 95% of Adobe RGB, and 100% of sRGB. There are preset modes for sRGB, DCI-P3, and Display P3, but sadly not Adobe RGB.

The Standard picture mode provides a fairly close match for a Display P3 target. We measured an average Delta E of 1.26, a peak Delta E of 3.21, and our colorimeter reported an infinite contrast ratio. The only obvious image quality issue is that whites do look very reddish on the S3225QC: the measured white point of 6,076k is quite a way off the 6,500k ideal.

We also tested the S3225QC's Creator modes – these provide factory-calibrated settings for Display P3. DCI-P3 and sRGB color spaces, which is a nice touch. All of these presets improved color accuracy over and above the Standard mode, with an average Delta E of around 0.5 and maximum deviations of ~1.5. The white point remained noticeably too warm and reddish for the sRGB and Display P3 profiles, though, which is a tad disappointing. If accuracy is key, then you'll need to perform a software calibration with a third-party colorimeter.

As you'd expect for an OLED panel, Dell's HDR performance is good. You even get Dolby Vision support, which is something of a rarity, in addition to the usual HDR 10 compatibility. In the standard DisplayHDR True Black mode, we recorded a peak brightness of 451cd/m2. Switch to the HDR Peak 1000 mode, however, and – you guessed it – the peak brightness soars to 996cd/m2.

That said, you'll only achieve this peak brightness on very small, localised highlights. And only for a short time. In our testing, the brightness peaked at 996cd/m2 for a small bright spot, but dropped back to 848cd/m2 after a few seconds. That means you'll get really punchy highlights in darker scenes – such as the nighttime city vistas and fireworks displays you'll so often see in HDR demos – but in bright outdoor scenes, the overall image brightness will be far lower as OLED technology struggles with full-screen brightness levels.

Indeed, while OLED screens are brilliant at relatively small, localised highlights, they aren't that bright per se. For instance, the Dell's default brightness is set at 75%, and this provides a peak brightness of 163cd/m2. That's a little bright for all-day office usage, but it does look rather dim for movies and games. And especially so if, like us, you have daylight streaming in the windows.

Crank the Dell to maximum brightness, and it tops out at a modest 239cd/m2, which is dramatically lower than monitors that use traditional LCD backlights. What does this mean in practice? Well, if you want a monitor that'll handle bright rooms which get a lot of sunlight, then the Dell may begin to look a bit dim – and even more so with HDR content.

When it comes to motion clarity, however, the Dell's WD-OLED panel is glorious. The 120Hz refresh rate is matched with support for AMD Freesync Premium, and this provides an adaptive range from 48fps to 120fps. In our usual SmoothFrog tests, the Dell put in one of the cleanest performances we've seen. Motion was silky smooth throughout the framerate range, and the 0.33ms claimed response time translated to a perfectly crisp onscreen movement. We tested the Dell with a variety of games, and the result was stunning: no blur, no smear, no overshoot. In fact, it made the 120Hz IPS Black panel in the Dell Ultrasharp U2725QE look decidedly blurry and smeared.

Uniformity is a strong point for OLED panels, and the S3225QC is no exception. Every one of the 24 zones varied by less than 1% for both brightness and contrast. Absolute perfection, in other words. Unlike IPS panels, which vary by as much as 10-15% across the panel, the QD-OLED panel looks completely even and uniform from corner to corner.

We're reluctant to end on a bum note, but there are a couple of concerns. If you have the brightness set at 75% or above, the panel buzzes audibly when displaying white or light grey backgrounds across more than half the panel. This is because of the way QD-OLED works: to create white, it has to send maximum voltage to all the red, green, and blue subpixels, so we suspect that the noise is the power supply capacitors creating a common phenomenon known as coil whine.

You have two options to quieten the buzz. Either snap the offending app to one half of the screen, or drop the brightness to 50%. The former option may not be desirable, and the latter drops the panel's peak brightness right down to 130cd/m2. Admittedly, that's a sensible level for sensibly-lit offices, but it may not work for everyone. And frankly, there shouldn't really be any audible buzz in the first place.

The other key issue to consider with QD-OLED is the high likelihood of burn-in or image retention. This is where the shadow of static onscreen elements, such as menus, taskbars, desktop icons, and so on, can be permanently 'burned' onto the screen itself. Dell actually mentions the issue in the troubleshooting section of the user manual, where it advises users to set the screen to go into standby after a few minutes of idle time. It also recommends users use a dynamic rather than a static screensaver.

Like most OLED panels, the S3225QC has a panel maintenance option in the menus. A panel health indicator gives you some indication about when it's necessary to run the pixel refresh cycle: a green dot means it's healthy, a yellow dot means you should run the Refresh cycle, and a red dot means you've used the panel for 7000 hours without ever running one. That's unlikely to occur, though, as the panel runs the refresh after every 4 hours of use – once the panel goes into standby, or you manually press the power button, it'll automatically trigger the process.

Dell 32 Plus S3225QC monitor: Is it worth it?

We really wanted the S3225QC to hit an emphatic home run, to be honest. With one of Samsung's excellent QD-OLED panels housed in a typically handsome Dell design, we really didn't think the 32 Plus could put a foot wrong. In reality, though, it's not the perfect do-it-all monitor you might be hankering for.

The lack of connectivity is a huge blot on the S3225QC's copybook; the incessant buzzing with full-field white is hugely annoying for productivity; and the reality of OLED burn-in is a valid concern for long-term office usage. And frankly, we wonder how much value the speakers really add to the package. Cut the speakers – and the price – and it'd be even easier to overlook the flaws.

If this all sounds relentlessly negative, then let us be clear: the image quality is brilliant, and the price is really very reasonable. If you can live with the limitations, then your eyes are in for an absolute treat.

Dell 32 Plus S3225QC specifications

The design principle of 'less is more' is one that BenQ has taken to heart. Well, kind of. The PD2730S packs in more pixels than most with its 5K, 5,120 x 2,880 panel, but squeezes them into a desk-friendly 27-inch monitor. Add in Thunderbolt 4, a handy KVM switch, and a selection of factory-calibrated color presets, and you've got a fine recipe for pin-sharp image quality with a minimal footprint.

Connectivity is a big selling point. In addition to Thunderbolt 4, you get 90W of power delivery for USB-C devices, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 hub, and BenQ's brilliant little remote control – which we raved about in our recent BenQ PD3226G review. For a whisker under £1,000, the PD2730S appears to be a promising package.

BenQ PD2730S monitor: Design & Features

The PD2730S shares a strong family resemblance to BenQ's other recent monitors. It's nowhere near as slim and elegant as Dell's lovely-looking 27-inch models – the UltraSharp U2725QE's daintier stand and thinner panel easily take the win here – but the practical aspects are largely well thought out.

The tubular stand screws quickly into the large rectangular metal silver base, clicks home with a nice, solid thunk, and is superbly stable. You can adjust the monitor's position easily single-handed, and the 150mm of height adjustment is ample. There's no sign of any wobble even at full extension. The only minor criticism is that, unlike some rivals, the PD2730S' panel only rotates clockwise into portrait mode. That's unlikely to cause an issue for most desk arrangements, though.

One familiar criticism concerns the plastic cable management clip. We've encountered it a few times on the BenQ models with adjustable stands, and it's a mediocre design in our opinion. It doesn't do a good job of routing the cables neatly out of sight; it drops cables if you try to rotate the monitor into portrait mode, and if you do use all of the connectivity, it's quickly overwhelmed and struggles to hold all the cables in place.

And given the BenQ's ample connectivity, there may be many cables that require managing. Thunderbolt 4 connectivity is present (along with 90W of power delivery), and you also get HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, a second Thunderbolt port for daisy chain operation, and an upstream USB-C port for KVM duties. Peer underneath the monitor's front left edge, and there are a further three USB-A ports alongside a single USB-C and a 3.5mm headphone output. All of these ports reach USB 3.2 Gen 2 transfer speeds, which is a nice bonus.

The USB connectivity can be shared between two computers via the PD2730's KVM functions. The principal complaint here is more aesthetic than practical, but it's still a bit annoying: there are no USB-A ports on the rear of the monitor at all. Instead, all of the monitor's USB-A connections are positioned on the quick access ports underneath the panel's front lip, so you'll have to use two of those three ports for a mouse and keyboard. That means those cables will be permanently on show, which isn't the most elegant arrangement. It would have made much more sense to put at least a couple of USB-A ports on the rear panel, in our opinion.

One thing we're very glad to see again, however, is BenQ's Hotkey Puck G3. This little circular device is an infrared remote control powered via a pair of AAA batteries. The puck itself has a clickable rotary dial in the centre surrounded by five customisable buttons which give access to your preferred features. If you need to quickly cycle through different color profiles or video inputs with a single click of a button, you can. And if you want to assign buttons to oft-used features – such as KVM, PIP, or PBP functions – it's easy to do so.

Even if the Hotkey Puck does run out of battery – or go missing – the PD2730S also has a very usable set of controls on the bottom right edge. There's a dedicated power button and a little four-way joystick, and also a customisable function key which you can set to quickly change the color mode, input, DualView, KVM Switch, or Mute settings. As ever, though, BenQ's on-screen display is one of the better ones, with a well-laid-out and simple to use interface.

The cables in the box are less exciting, but they're nice to have. BenQ provides 1.8m HDMI and DisplayPort cables, a 1m Thunderbolt 4 cable, and a sensibly long 1.8m USB-C to USB-A cable, too.

BenQ PD2730S monitor: Display quality

Once you get past the 5K native resolution, the PD2730S' specifications don't really set it apart from cheaper competitors. The peak brightness in both SDR and HDR is quoted as a modest 400cd/m2, the 2,000:1 contrast is similar to other IPS Black monitors, and the color coverage of 100% sRGB and 98% Display P3 is actually slightly lower than the claimed 99% P3 coverage of the Dell UltraSharp U2725QE – a monitor which costs almost half the price.

It lives up to its claims, however. We profiled the PD2730S's colour response and it served up 100% of sRGB, over 98% of P3, and a very respectable 86% of Adobe RGB. Again, it's just a shame there isn't a factory-calibrated Adobe RGB mode to take advantage of – if you want one, you'll need to calibrate a profile yourself using a supported colorimeter alongside BenQ's Palette Master Ultimate software. It's worth noting that OEM X-Rite colorimeters – such as our X-Rite i1D3 – aren't supported, however.

Turn it on for the first time, and the PD2730S' defaults to a Display P3 profile. Color accuracy is impressive. The average Delta E of 0.7 and maximum Delta E of 1.76 are very respectable, and the color temperature is a near-perfect 6,566k, too. The only disappointment is the contrast ratio, which at 713:1 is a long way short of the 2,000:1 BenQ promises in its specifications. The culprit here is uniformity compensation – this is enabled by default in the preset color profiles. As the name suggests, this feature hugely improves the evenness of the colors across the panel, but contrast suffers as a result.

Flick over to the sRGB mode and you'll get a similar set of results. The average Delta E is 0.48, the maximum is 1.8, and again the white point is just a tad too cold and bluish at 6,666k (the ideal is 6,500k) – but it's not something most people are going to notice. Again, contrast is a very mediocre 707:1. If you want better, you'll simply have to turn off uniformity compensation.

This is where some users will run into a slightly annoying issue: uniformity compensation can not be disabled in any of the factory-calibrated color profiles. This means that the only way you'll be able to harness the IPS Black panel's maximum contrast is to select one of the two uncalibrated User modes and disable uniformity manually. You can then manually select from sRGB, Rec. 709, or P3 gamuts and still get a colour accurate performance, albeit one that isn't as consistent across the whole panel.

We retested the PD2730S with uniformity disabled, and the results were still very good – at least in the centre of the panel where our X-Rite colorimeter was positioned. Tested against a Display P3 target, the average Delta E was 0.78, and the maximum was slightly lower than the preset mode at 1.52. White point was a little higher at 6,626k, but still acceptable, and contrast soared to 1,774:1. Subjectively speaking, images looked vastly more punchy as a result. If you just want maximum punch at the expense of accuracy across the whole panel, this is your best option.

That said, the BenQ's uniformity compensation is quite effective. We measure brightness and contrast across 25 areas of the screen to check how even a monitor's colour response is, and here the PD2730S performed well. With uniformity enabled, most of the PD2730S' panel passes the recommended tolerance for the ISO 14816:2015 standard, with only a couple of sections along the panel's right-hand flank dropping down to a nominal passing grade. Look carefully, and you may notice some slight color variations in these areas.

Turn off uniformity, however, and that right flank stands out, as well as the top left corner. There's noticeable vignetting around those areas, and the measurements show that brightness is between 10 and 14% lower along the panel's top edge. That's still dramatically better than the Dell UltraSharp 2725QE, however, which varied by as much as 15% and had issues around several of the panel's borders. By contrast, the PD2730S' results, even with uniformity disabled, are better: only 3 of the 24 zones fail the uniformity test completely, and 10 still pass with flying colors.

HDR is on the cards, too, but it's of limited use. We measured a peak brightness of 438cd/m2, slightly higher than BenQ's claimed 400cd/m2, and despite the reasonably high contrast ratio, the BenQ just isn't able to do justice to HDR content. Bright highlights blow out quickly and lack detail, and darker areas tend to look a tad grey and washed out. If acceptable HDR performance is crucial, you should be looking for a monitor with at least a DisplayHDR 600 certification – or an OLED panel.

Another weak point is gaming – or more precisely, motion clarity. The 5K panel's principal limitation is its 60Hz refresh rate, and this combines with a claimed 5ms response time to produce a very middle-of-the-road performance once things start moving on screen. It's fine for movies and video content, but turn your attention to games, and it struggles to keep fast-moving objects looking as crisp and clear as we'd like. By default, the monitor is set to its High overdrive setting – you can either turn it off completely or bump it up to the maximum Premium setting. Choose the former, and you lose even more detail; choose the latter, and you'll be rewarded with prominent inverse ghosting around the edges of objects.

BenQ PD2730S monitor: Is it worth it?

The PD2730S' biggest problem is its niche appeal – it's a tricky sell. If you don't mind compromising on colour accuracy, for instance, then you could buy a couple of Dell's 27-inch UltraSharp models such as the U2723QE or U2725QE for the same money. Or if gaming prowess is non-negotiable, you could make room for BenQ's larger PD3226G, which provides a 4K 31.5-inch panel with a narrower color gamut, slightly inferior color accuracy, and vastly improved motion clarity thanks to its 144Hz panel.

It feels to us like the ideal audience for the PD2730S is anyone looking for a cheaper, more versatile alternative to Apple's Studio Display – or anyone who has a particularly tiny desk. If you're in either of those two categories, then the BenQ PD2730S delivers good image quality, high color accuracy, quick, easy adjustability, and a useful amount of connectivity.

BenQ PD2730S specifications

If you've found yourself staring wistfully at Asus' gorgeous (and outlandishly expensive) OLED portable monitors, then the ZenScreen MB169CK is an altogether more sensible proposition. This 15.6in portable monitor packs in a 60Hz Full HD display with USB-C connectivity and a simple, unfussy design. Best of all, it only costs around £100.

Asus ZenScreen MB169CK: Design and features

Open the box and you'll find yourself looking at a black rectangle which measures 361 x 229 x 12mm. The plastic build keeps weight down, with the MB169CK weighing just 780 grams without the stand, and 858g with it attached.

At this price, you can forget about sumptuous brushed metal, but Asus has done its best to make the MB169CK appear a little more luxurious than it is. The textured plastic rear and lower bezel is textured to look like black brushed metal, and it looks pretty convincing from a distance. Just don't let anyone look too closely, or the coarse, plasticky grooves will give the game away.

The plastic body doesn't feel particularly rigid. Twisting the panel elicits creaks and clicks, and there's a fair amount of give in the rear panel. Prod the rear of the MB169CK harder, though, and the pressure doesn't show through on the display itself which is positive – that suggests it offers at least a cursory amount of protection to the LCD panel.

Just to be on the safe side, Asus sensibly provides a basic padded sleeve to give the panel some added protection. The only mild annoyance is that there's no pocket for cables – you'll need to keep them somewhere else in your bag.

The MB169CK's stand is a simple hinged plastic arm which screws into the 1/4in tripod mount on the rear. This provides enough tilt adjustment to be useful in landscape mode, but it's a tad finicky in portrait mode. Our advice is to ensure that the stand is vertical or you'll risk it suddenly rotating left or right and allowing the monitor to flop back onto the table.

If you're wondering why there's a hole in the stand, then this isn't just for show or weight-saving. Asus' marketing materials illustrate the display hanging from a very sturdy-looking push pin on a notice board. We'd be inclined to test such an arrangement before trying it out, though.

Connectivity is useful. You get two USB-C ports, which both support DisplayPort Alt inputs and a mini-HDMI input, and Asus supplies a single braided 1m USB-C cable in the box in addition to a 1m mini-HDMI to HDMI cable. There are no integrated speakers, but you do get a 3.5mm audio output, which is handy.

The lower bezel has an on button with status LED and a little four-way joystick alongside. Dab the joystick, and a neat little quick menu pops up. Press the joystick in either direction and you can quickly adjust brightness, choose between the multiple (and slightly pointless) picture modes or activate the blue light filter. The quick menu can also be customised to launch different settings menus if you prefer. Press the joystick in a second time and you can access the full OSD and tinker with the more advanced options.

As usual, you'll need to install Asus' DisplayWidget Center software to get the most from the MB169CK. This gives quick access to the various display settings, but it also activates the auto pivot feature which makes it easy to switch back and forth between portrait and landscape modes. There are no PiP or PBP functions, though.

Asus ZenScreen MB169CK: Display quality

The MB169CK has a basic 6-bit IPS panel with a 1,920 x 1,080 Full HD resolution. Asus claims a peak brightness of 250cd/m2 and an 800:1 contrast ratio, which sounds moderately promising. The matte anti-glare finish is a good choice, too, and does a decent job of fending off glare and reflections.

The one major limitation here, however, is that the MB169CK's panel can only reproduce a very narrow range of color. It covered a mere 62% of the sRGB colour gamut in our tests. As this is the standardised palette of colors used across the internet and for most standard definition TV, you'll find that images look pale and washed out compared to any half-decent modern laptop or desktop monitor.

There is an sRGB mode, but it's pointless as the panel simply can't reproduce 38% of the colors required – it also dims the brightness to 136cd/m2. In our tests, that meant that the MB169CK achieved a very mediocre average Delta E of 4.5 and a maximum of 23. Suffice to say, what you see on screen is not accurate, as virtually every shade of colour is less vivid and saturated than it should be.

For everyday use, though, the MB169CK gets a relatively clean bill of health. Brightness tops out at a modest 205cd/m2, which is ample for indoor use under most sensible lighting. Contrast is a creditable 1,016:1, too, which is good for the money. The only issue you'll face is if you take it outside where it'll struggle to remain legible on brighter days. And if your laptop fails to produce enough power through its USB-C port, you may be limited to 50% brightness which measures at an even dimmer 114cd/m2.

The panel's quoted 5ms response time does a good job of keeping ghosting and blur to a minimum. In our SmoothFrog tests, the MB169CK managed to retain detail on the brightly-coloured scrolling amphibians with little in the way of visual nasties or blur. You're limited to 60Hz, but if you like the idea of hooking up a Steam Deck or a Switch outside of working hours, then it's actually quite usable as a mini gaming monitor.

Our only other issue with the MB169CK's performance is that viewing angles are rather narrow. Thankfully the stand makes it relatively easy to get the panel at a good angle, but move even slightly off axis in any direction and you'll notice that the image dims considerably.

Asus ZenScreen MB169CK monitor: Is it worth it?

If you just want a cheap, simple, and well-designed portable monitor, then the ZenScreen MB169CK ticks every box. Image quality is good enough for productivity purposes, and if you can live with the limited colour palette, the respectable response time means that it's fine for a cheap portable gaming monitor. Factor in the single cable simplicity and useful mini-HDMI connectivity, and you've got a wonderfully versatile little package for the money.

Asus ZenScreen MB169CK specifications

The UltraSharp U2725QE is designed to be the perfect 27-inch productivity monitor. Splicing the DNA of Dell's previous U2723QE and U2724DE models (both of which received glowing reviews here at IT Pro), the U2725QE extracts the best elements of both and adds a few upgrades for good measure. The result is another very creditable addition to the UltraSharp family – albeit one that's not without its flaws.

The good news, however, is that Dell has taken all the office-friendly features that we loved in the previous generation – the built-in USB 3.2 Gen 2 hub, integrated KVM switch, and PIP/PBP features – and made some very welcome upgrades.

The enhanced IPS Black panel touts an improved 3000:1 contrast ratio. The refresh rate has risen from 60Hz to 120Hz. Power delivery is up from 90W to 140W. Thunderbolt 4 is now present and correct, too. The old model's DisplayHDR 400 sticker has been replaced with an upgraded DisplayHDR 600 certification. On paper, it looks like Dell has granted our every wish.

Dell UltraSharp U2725QE monitor: Design & Features

Physically, little has changed. But that's no bad thing: the UltraSharp U2723QE was already a handsome, well-designed monitor. The slender silver stand screws into the base and secures to the rear of the panel with a reassuring click. There is a bit of wobble at full extension, but it provides 150mm of height adjustment in addition to the usual tilt and swivel, and you can also rotate the display 90 degrees left or right into portrait mode. A quick-release button underneath unlocks the panel should you prefer to use the VESA 100 x 100mm mount.

Cable management is handled by a simple slot at the bottom of the stand. It's an unfussy, effective solution with only one issue – it does get pretty tight if you're taking advantage of most of the U2725QE's many ports. If, for any reason, you need to remove the mains cable, you may need to temporarily remove a handful of the USB cables to get the IEC connector to slide through.

The far more exciting news here, though, is the arrival of 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. The U2725QE's predecessor, the U2723QE, had some limitations: if you wanted to enjoy single USB-C cable simplicity, but your device only supported DisplayPort 1.2, then you had to choose between maximal USB 3.2 data rates and a 30Hz refresh rate, or USB 2.0 transfers and 60Hz. Or, shock horror, you'd have to resort to using two cables – one USB-C cable alongside a dedicated HDMI or DisplayPort connection. Now, Thunderbolt 4-compatible devices can enjoy full-speed USB 3.2 Gen 2 transfers, 120Hz 4K images, and 2.5Gbe Ethernet via a single USB-C cable.

Connectivity is slightly improved across the board. The Thunderbolt 4 port now provides an improved 140W of power delivery for compatible devices. The HDMI port has been upgraded to HDMI 2.1, and this is allied with a single DisplayPort 1.4 input. And yet again, to avoid confusion, Dell has wisely placed orange bungs in the daisy chain outputs for the DisplayPort and Thunderbolt connections in addition to the second upstream USB-C port. Unless you're taking advantage of the daisychain or KVM features, these are left unused. Rounding off the selection is the upgraded 2.5BGbE Ethernet socket and a 3.5mm audio output.

You still get a further three ports at the front, but Dell has improved the design – the two USB-C ports and one USB-A port have been moved from are hidden on a little pop out panel. This makes it far less fiddly to connect devices than with the U2723QE's downward-facing ports. All three supply USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps transfer speeds, and while the two USB-C ports provide 15W of power delivery, the single USB-A port provides 10W.

One very minor point, but one that's welcome all the same, is that Dell has changed the rear panel design. Whereas the ports used to all be slightly recessed behind a lip, they're now flush with it, and this makes it just a tiny bit easier to slot the cables home. It's a little thing, but when it saves the irritation of frustrating scrabbling to insert a cable, it's one you may appreciate. We certainly did.

While it's always nice to find cables in the box – there's a 1.8m DisplayPort cable, a super-speed USB-A to USB-C cable, and a 1m Thunderbolt 4 40Gbps USB-C cable – we're still inclined to moan about the lengths. The 1.8m DisplayPort cable is sensible, but the 1m USB-A to USB-C cable isn't – it wouldn't reach the PC under our desk.

Dell has subtly improved the on-screen display for this generation, and it's a welcome upgrade. The menus are a tad larger and more legible. As ever, the four-way joystick at the monitor's rear makes light work of getting through the various menus. By default, pressing the joystick in any direction brings up the quick settings carousel, and you can choose which features are prioritized on the carousel, or assign specific features to any of the joystick's four directions. Dell has done a great job here.

Users who find themselves juggling multiple machines will appreciate the improved OSD when it comes to setting up Dell's KVM and PIP/PBP features. Previously, we advised users to download Dell's Display Manager software, as adjusting the settings in the OSD was fiddly. Now, however, it's no longer a necessity. The simple setup wizard leads users through the process of connecting a second PC or laptop to the second upstream USB-C port and even invites users to test the mouse to check it's working on both machines. Just as we found with the U2723QE, though, the Ethernet connection is only shared with the currently active computer – if you want both machines to have wired networking, a cheap Ethernet switch remains a better option.

Dell UltraSharp U2725QE monitor: Display quality

The U2725QE touts improved specifications almost across the board. The claimed contrast ratio rises from 2,000:1 to 3,000:1, peak brightness goes from 400cd/m2 to 450cd/m2, and the addition of HDR support pushes peak brightness up to 600cd/m2. Both the claimed color accuracy and gamut have improved, too, with a claimed average Delta E of less than 1.5 improving on the U2723QE's Delta E of 2, and the 98% DCI-P3 coverage increasing by a single percentage point to 99%.

In our tests, the U2725QE matched the U2723QE's 100% sRGB and 97% DCI-P3 coverage, but its Adobe RGB coverage was vastly improved, upping the U2723QE's 85% to a far more creditable 94%. At this kind of price, that's a good showing – it's just a shame there isn't an Adobe RGB preset.

The monitor arrives with its Standard color preset activated, and this defaults to a Display P3 color profile. Tested against a Display P3 target, the color accuracy is respectable but unimpressive: the measured average Delta E is 1.71 and the maximum is 4.14. White point is 6,205k (ideal is 6,500k), gamma tracks at around is 2.1 (ideal is 2.2). Both color accuracy and the measured white point are less accurate than the U2723QE, but contrast is a big step forward, leaping up from the U2723QE's 1,649:1 to an impressive 2,243:1.

Activate the U2725QE's sRGB mode and color accuracy is vastly improved. The average Delta E drops to 0.5 with a maximum of 0.9, and this is allied to a 1,993:1 contrast ratio and a sensible brightness of 177cd/m2. Judged in isolation, that's a very good result. Judged against the U2723QE, however, it's inferior: that monitor achieved a Delta E of 0.33 and a maximum of 0.99. The white point was closer to the 6,500k ideal on its predecessor, too: the U2723QE's 6,564k was nearly perfect, while the U2725QE's 6,284k is noticeably more reddish.

Flick over to the Display P3 mode, however, and the U2725QE redeems itself. Here we recorded an average Delta E of 0.43 and a maximum of 2.11, and these figures are a substantial step up from the U2723QE's 1.48 and 3.48. The other figures are all on the money, too: the measured white point is 6,458k, contrast is 2,027:1 and brightness is a sensible 180cd/m2.

We're especially pleased to find that Dell has dumped the U2723QE's semi-gloss screen coating – the U2725QE's matte anti-glare coating is a huge improvement. Strong light sources are softened and diffused really well, and the only downside of the matte finish is that it adds a slight, fine grain to the image. Given a choice between the old glossy panel and this slight grain, we'll take the latter every time.

The U2723QE was by no means top of the class for backlighting and panel uniformity, but the U2725QE takes a step backwards. Brightness dipped by as much as 15% in the bottom left and right corners, and the whole left and right flanks of the panel were between 7% and 15% dimmer than the center. You might not notice this in daily usage, but once you notice it you'll find it hard to ignore. If you tend to use a bright, solid color as your desktop background, you'll notice very clear vignetting around the panel's edges where the color tone darkens.

HDR performance benefits from the increased peak brightness on offer. The local dimming hasn't improved, however. You still only get 8 zones of edge-lit backlighting, and this means it's of very little benefit. Whole segments of the screen raise in brightness for even a small highlight, and it's especially intrusive with letterbox movie content that has black bars framing the image. Peak brightness reaches a respectable 658cd/m2 in the DisplayHDR 600 preset, though, and this combines with the improved contrast ratio to make a dramatically more impactful HDR performance – it's a big, big step up from the U2723QE. Frankly, though, this is a monitor crying out for Mini LED backlighting – and that's top of our wishlist for the U2725QE's 2026 refresh.

Despite the 120Hz refresh rate and upgraded IPS Black panel, the UltraSharp U2725QE is still saddled with a very average 8ms response time – and it shows. While the increased smoothness from the 120Hz refresh rate is noticeable, the panel's sluggish response time blurs detail on moving objects. Toggling the overdrive setting to High does sharpen things up a little – Dell claims a 5ms response time with it enabled -- but this is served with an unwelcome side of overshoot which is deeply distracting during gaming. So much so that we had to flick the overdrive setting back to Standard while gaming; the overshoot caused dark halos to trail behind the edges of shadowed objects framed against brighter backgrounds. If gaming is more a priority than work, this simply is not the monitor for you.

Dell UltraSharp U2725QE monitor: Is it worth it?

The UltraSharp U2725QE is a victim of its own ambition. Trying to be all things to all people isn't a trivial design brief and, ultimately, several of the most measurable improvements – the boosted peak brightness and increased refresh rate – have minimal to zero impact for the office-based audience. And if gaming performance really is non-negotiable for your role, then you have two options: buy a dedicated gaming monitor instead, or pay the premium for a more broadly talented alternative such as the £1,099 BenQ PD3226G.

We'd steer most work-minded buyers towards a third option, however: shop around for a discounted UltraSharp U2723QE. That monitor delivers most of the things we love about the U2725QE, and at the time of writing for around 20% less. Make no mistake, the UltraSharp U2725QE remains a very good monitor for both home and office-based work, but for all its talents, it still stops frustratingly short of the do-it-all dream.

Dell UltraSharp U2725QE specifications

Having refreshed its laptop lineup of Pro and Premium models, Dell has done the same with its monitors. The Dell Pro 14 Plus (P14250) is the company's latest portable monitor, and it packs quite a punch.

Now this isn't a portable monitor in the vein of the Asus ZenScreen Duo – it's not as functional or as expensive as that. It also isn't a monitor you should get if you work solely at a desk. It's far too tiny. But, if you work in random places, like trains, coffee shops, or airport waiting areas, then this might be the portable monitor for you.

Dell Pro 14 Plus monitor: Design

The Pro 14 Plus has a 14in WUXGA IPS display, with up to 60Hz refresh rate. You get an antiglare panel with a 1,920-by-1,200-pixel resolution at a 16:10 aspect ratio that's taller than the 16:9 you find on most widescreen monitors. This is all pleasingly incorporated into a slim and light chassis (4.60 mm and 0.56kg) with very narrow bezels. The whole device is so light you barely notice it in a rucksack along with a laptop.

It comes with a small, square stand that folds up and offers a 10-to-90-degree tilt. The stand features four physical – yes you heard us – physical buttons for brightness, screen lock, and power on. It's a total throwback and we love it. There are also two USB Type-C slots on either side with an L-shaped cable connector in the box. The connector is great; it keeps the cable from jutting out in the wrong direction and fits it smoothly around the back of your laptop.

Only having USB Type-C slots is limiting – we do love HDMI over here at ITPro – but both support DisplayPort and provide up to 65Wh of power delivery. The benefit of not having other slots is that the whole thing is nice and neat and svelte.

Now, the reason you have those physical buttons is because there is no screen menu. This would be fine if you used a Dell or other compatible laptop, but if you have, say, a MacBook, you are hampered by the macOS display settings (more on that later).

Dell Pro 14 Plus monitor: Image quality

For a portable monitor, the Dell Pro 14 Plus packs a surprising punch of color. It covers the full sRGB color space; with our colorimeter and DisplayCal is showcased 96.4% for gamut color coverage (98% for volume). Portable monitors, particularly those that are of this price level, rarely peak above 95% sRGB, so there is real value for money here.

While its size does lend itself to image editing, its Adobe RGB was 65.2% which is a little too low to make this a serious work monitor for a professional. Though we recorded its peak brightness at 486.75 cd/m2 which is very good – higher than the 400 cd/m2 that the Asus ZenScreen Duo achieved.

The screen is set to 960 x 600 by default, which is too chunky and odd. If you need to see more of your screen, a window, or another app, then you can change it. However, your choices are limited and also problematic. There's 1920 x 1080, which does show the whole screen, but it makes the font simply too small. You literally need a magnifying glass. Then there is 1920 x 1200 which is pretty much the same. The one that is big enough to read is 1024 x 640 but that's just silly; it looks like the biggest font setting on your phone.

And then we move on to a compatibility issue; the monitor can work in portrait mode simply by turning the device on its side. There are no extra clicks or fiddling through settings to make it work. However, with a MacBook Pro, the extra display only works as a small window. There's wasted space above and below and no way to make it fit the whole screen. On the Dell website, it shows the whole screen being taken up by the portrait mode, so we assume this is just a compatibility issue with macOS.

Dell Pro 14 Plus monitor: Is it worth it?

The first thing to say is that this is not an everyday display. You'd get really annoyed if you had to use this tiny screen for more than a couple of hours. But it is a fantastic backup for when you're on the move; light, simplistic, and generally of a high quality. It does what it is supposed to do, really well.

And, importantly, it's oh so cheap. Just $289.99 (£262.80). It would be an absolute bargain if there was more reason to use such a tiny monitor. But if you have a Dell laptop, a reason to need an extra screen on the go, there is few better than the Dell Pro 14 Plus monitor.

Dell Pro 14 Plus monitor specifications

You can pick up a portable monitor for pocket money these days, but what if you want something more capable? Like, say, an OLED display with professional-class color accuracy. Now, we'd understand if the £2,000 Zenscreen Fold MQ17QH – a foldable OLED marvel – is a stretch. But perhaps its far more affordable stablemate, the ZenScreen Duo MQ149CD, might catch your eye. It packs in dual 14-inch OLED displays with an enviable set of specs for just under £600.

The Zenscreen Duo's specifications are enticing by the standards of full-sized monitors, but by portable monitor standards, they're downright exotic. Asus claims 100% DCI-P3 coverage, guaranteed color accuracy with a Delta E of less than 2, and a peak HDR brightness of 500cd/m2. Factor in the ability to power both displays with a single USB-C cable, or use them with two separate devices, and Asus has served up a recipe for portable OLED nirvana.

Asus ZenScreen Duo OLED MQ149CD: Design & Features

There's every chance you'd take one look at the MQ149CD and think you were looking at a premium-priced ultraportable. Clad top to toe in brushed dark grey aluminum, it's a cut above your average portable monitor. It is a tiny bit chunkier than the most slender of modern ultraportables, but marginally so – it's still only 15mm thick.

With the displays closed, it measures 32cm by 21cm and weighs a modest 1.07kg. Slip it into the supplied padded carry case to keep it safe on your travels, and the little pocket in the front gives just enough room to stash the pair of braided USB-C cables – and maybe the single HDMI to mini-HDMI cable, too, if you're careful.

Unfold the Zenscreen Duo, and you're faced with two very glossy 14-inch 1,920 x 1,200 OLED displays. The design is impressively flexible. The OLED panels aren't quite literally foldable like the MQ149CD's outlandishly expensive stablemate, the ZenScreen Fold MQ17QH, but the 360-degree hinge allows them to contort themselves into multiple modes.

Fold the displays flat, or near enough, and the little angled kickstand at the rear allows you to use the MQ149CD in portrait or landscape orientation. Whichever way you position it, tiny rubber feet along both edges prevent it from sliding around. In landscape mode, you can fold the top-most screen all the way back into a tent mode. Do that, and – as long as you've installed Asus' Display Widget Center software – the auto rotation sensor flips the screen round 180 degrees so that someone sitting opposite can get a piece of the action.

Annoyingly, the auto rotation sensor didn't work as expected for portrait mode. The left-hand panel rotated as expected, but the right-hand panel refused to follow suit. The solution? You have to rotate it manually in Windows. Hopefully, this is resolvable via software or firmware updates.

Both displays can be powered via a single USB-C cable, and you can decide if they combine to appear as one larger display or two separate displays in the on-screen display menus. You can also use them independently, with two different devices connected to any combination of the two USB-C and single HDMI inputs. The menu and little jog wheel control on the side make it easy to adjust the various settings, so it's refreshingly easy to get things working how you want them to.

Asus supplies a 30W wall-wart charger in the box, but unlike some portable monitors we've tested, you're not tethered to it. We happily powered both displays at around 50% brightness with a single USB-C cable from our Dell Pro 14 Premium laptop while running on battery power. HDR worked fine, too, in this arrangement, but only the bottom-most display operates in HDR mode – you can use the topmost display in HDR mode, too, but you need to connect the HDMI input to provide another discrete video input. If that doesn't bother you, though, you can still use the topmost display in SDR mode while the bottom one is in HDR.

The problem arises when you try to crank brightness higher – or to its maximum settings. Do this with a single USB-C cable connected, and the MQ149CD tends to turn off once the power draw exceeds a set level. Once you hit this point, we found that the monitor would go into a loop of turning off and restarting until we reconnected a mains supply to its dedicated USB-C power input. The manual states that this shouldn't occur, as the MQ149CD should reduce the screen brightness to 20 or 30% of its maximum "depending on the detected input power", but it didn't behave like this in our testing. Our advice? If mobile operation is essential, then keep the brightness at 50% or below if you don't want to end up hunting for a mains socket.

Asus ZenScreen Duo OLED MQ149CD: Display quality

One of the biggest issues with having the Asus on your desk – or your café table – is that it'll make most laptop displays look very, very ordinary. The basic specifications start off modest, with a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, and a claimed SDR peak brightness of 400cd/m2. Delve deeper, though, and things only get better: Asus claims 100% DCI-P3 coverage and guaranteed color accuracy with an average Delta E of less than 2. Combine these numbers with the OLED screen tech, and you've got a recipe for sublime image quality.

In the default Standard mode, the MQ149CD covered 99% of DCI-P3, an impressive 97.5% of Adobe RGB, and an unsurprising 100% of sRGB. Brightness topped out at 372cd/m2 in SDR mode, a whisker short of the claimed 400cd/m2, but it's more than ample. Contrast is infinite as each pixel can turn on and off independently.

The MQ149CD is DisplayHDR 400 True Black certified, but it actually exceeds that certification by a fair bit. Asus claims a peak brightness of 500cd/m2 in HDR mode, and we recorded a peak brightness of 578cd/m2. Another 22cd/m2 and it would be worthy of a DisplayHDR 600 True Black sticker.

Although the peak brightness is relatively modest compared to top-end OLED monitors and TVs, the OLED talents of infinite contrast and per-pixel illumination mean that it looks far brighter and more impactful than LCD displays. Whereas the DisplayHDR 400 certification on a VA or IPS panel is a recipe for high dynamic disappointment, OLED provides a really potent HDR performance even at lower luminance levels.

The color accuracy is superb. In Standard mode, we tested the MQ149CD against a Display P3 target and it exceeded our expectations. The average Delta E of 0.87 is excellent, and the maximum Delta E of 1.81 means that it lives up to Asus's claims. The white point is a little too warm at 6,115,k but the gamma measures a perfect 2.2. The result is that colors look vibrant and well balanced and there are oodles of punch to the images.

There is an sRGB mode, too, and it's also pretty darn accurate. We saw an average Delta E of 0.74 and a maximum of 1.69. White point measured at 6,098k, which is a fair way off 6,500k, though. It's a shame this isn't adjustable in the on screen display – the color temperature adjustments are greyed out in either of the pre-calibrated sRGB or DCI-P3 color space modes. To the naked eye, though, the slight extra warmth to images isn't unpleasant, and colors appear natural.

OLED is well known for its near instantaneous response times, and the MQ149CD is no exception. There's no motion blur or smearing to worry about, and games look simply fantastic thanks to the superb image quality and great motion handling. Take advantage of the dual-input functions, and it's entirely possible to have documents or spreadsheets on one display via USB-C while a games console is connected to the other display via HDMI. It's really well implemented. The only mild disappointment is that you can't have the displays running in different color spaces or different settings – you just have to pick settings that work for both.

We suspect that not everyone will be a fan of the glossy anti-glare coatings on both displays – you'll often find a perfect reflection of yourself staring back at you, which can be distracting. The glossy layer does a good job of taming the brightest reflections, though. Shine a torch or bright lamp directly at it, and while you see a perfect pin-sharp reflection of the LED or bulb, there's no glare and its intensity is dimmed right down.

Asus ZenScreen Duo OLED MQ149CD monitor: Is it worth it?

It's easy to become blasé when it comes to tech, but the Asus Zenscreen Duo MQ149CD is a testament to how far display quality has come in the last couple of decades. Bland IPS screens with mediocre specs used to be the best we could hope for in a portable monitor. Now for under £600, you can pick up a pair of 14in OLED screens with stunning color accuracy, eye-popping HDR performance, and amazing response times in a package that weighs just over 1kg.

Suffice it to say, if you've been hankering after a stunningly capable portable monitor to accompany you on your travels, then there are a few options better than this. The image quality is superb, the build and design are great, and the clamshell design keeps both displays safe. If anyone is wondering what the ITPro team wants in their laptop bags for Christmas this year, then we'll give you one guess.

Asus ZenScreen Duo OLED MQ149CD specifications

DisplayDual 14in OLED panel

Panel resolution1,920 x 1,200

Refresh rate60Hz

Panel response time1ms GtG

Adaptive Sync SupportNo

HDR Support

Yes, DisplayHDR 400 True Black

Ports

USB-C power input, 2 x USB-C (DP Alt Mode), 1 x mini HDMI

Other features

Microfiber cloth, mini HDMI to HDMI cable, MTS02D tripod socket kit, power adapter, quick start guide, 2 x USB-C cable, warranty card, ZenScreen bag

Stand

Kick-stand, non-adjustable

Dimensions (with stand)

Folded: 319 x 212 x 15mm (WDH)

Weight(with stand)1.07kg

Ask us to recommend a monitor that's great for business, and we can supply a long list. Ask us to recommend a monitor that's both great for business and great for gaming, and the list gets a lot shorter. Demand a 4K resolution, ultra high refresh rate and pristine color accuracy to boot, and there isn't much of a list at all. Or at least there wasn't before the BenQ PD3226G landed at our door.

The PD3226G is a new addition to BenQ's Professional Design family that, notably, lays claim to being the world's first 4K 144Hz professional monitor. It's a 32-inch (31.5-inch, if you want to be pedantic) monitor with a 10-bit IPS panel and, in addition to the gaming-friendly refresh rate, promises the kind of picture performance which will satisfy the professional crowd. BenQ claims over 95% DCI-P3 coverage with a Delta E of less than 2, and that's a conservative estimate – our review sample came with a factory calibration report citing a Delta E of just 0.6.

There's more. You get Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, 90W of power delivery, an integrated KVM switch and an ingenious little remote puck which lets you adjust settings and switch colour profiles with the click of a button. The price tips just over the four-figure mark, but for those that crave the best of both worlds – pro-class color accuracy and gaming-friendly refresh rates – the PD3226G actually looks like rather good value for money.

BenQ PD3226G monitor: Design & Features

From the moment you start pulling it from its (mostly cardboard) packaging, the PD3226G has a nice heft to it. It's even fairly attractive. The weighty brushed metal base screws quickly into the cylindrical stand, and the silver bottom half slides into the fetching off-white upper section. Carefully slot the display on top and it clicks into place with a reassuring thunk. The palette of off-white plastics and silver metal contrast nicely, look good front and back, and the whole thing feels nice and solid.

Apart, that is, from the rather delicate-feeling cable management clip, which is plastic. It works to a fashion, but it feels out of place on a £1,000 monitor. It doesn't do a particularly great job of gathering the cables and neatly guiding them out of sight, either – as it's positioned half way up the stand, they just splay left and right unless you take the time to bunch them together yourself. It's definitely something for BenQ to improve for the next generation.

Adjustability is spot on, however. The stand provides 150mm of height adjustment, ample tilt and swivel and rotates clockwise into portrait mode, if you so require, and there's an auto-pivot sensor. One-handed adjustments are easy, and the stand holds the monitor steady even at full extension.

Peer around the back, and there's a decent amount of connectivity. Just like the BenQ MA270U and MA320U monitors we've reviewed recently, most of the ports are rear-facing, so getting everything connected is much easier than models with recessed, downward-firing connectivity. At the rear, you get five ports: there's one full-sized DisplayPort (albeit only DisplayPort 1.4, rather than the 2.1 standard), one full-sized HDMI 2.1 port, a Thunderbolt 4-compliant USB--C input which supports daisy-chaining via the second Thunderbolt USB-C port alongside, and a third data-only USB-C port – this gives you a USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection to a second computer, and also allows you to take advantage of the KVM switch features.

Peer underneath the PD3226G's front edge, and you'll find a few more ports. You get three USB-A ports, a single USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone output. The USB ports reach USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds, but only the right-hand two ports – one USB-A and the single USB-C – offer 7.5W of power delivery.

BenQ's Hotkey Puck is an novel little addition – but it's quite brilliant. Pop the two supplied AAA batteries in, and this little device uses IR wireless to provide quick access to a customisable variety of features. There are five buttons dotted in a circle with a rotary, clickable dial in the middle. By default, the top left button (the 'looping key') cycles through the input modes; the three numbered buttons are assigned to three different color profiles (sRGB, Display P3 and Rec.709), and the dial adjusts brightness up and down.

All of the buttons can be customized: a long click brings up the on screen display to customise the settings for that specific button. If you want the numbered buttons to activate specific color profiles of your choice, you can, and you can also have the looping key toggle the KVM switch between the two connected machines. It's just a lovely little concept, and well executed.

The PD3226G's on screen display is great. It's sensibly laid out, and there are physical buttons on the display itself – a power button, four way clickable joystick and a customisable function key. The function key can be set to cycle through color mode, input, DualView, KVM switch and mute functions. It's fair to say that the amount of adjustability here is superb.

As usual, you get access to a handful of BenQ software. We liked the Display Pilot 2 app on the MA270U and MA320U models, as it's a useful desktop widget (available for both Mac and Windows) for quickly adjusting the various monitor settings without delving into the menus. Here, though, it's not quite as useful, and probably won't get as much use – the Hotkey Puck does a far better job of giving quick access to key features. That said, you'll need it installed if you want to use the auto-pivot feature.

And as the PD3226G is one of BenQ's professional monitors, you also get access to the Palette Master Ultimate software, which allows you to perform software calibrations to specific color spaces, brightness levels, white points and gamma curves. You can also colour match between monitors, which is handy. Unfortunately, though, it didn't recognise our OEM X-Rite i1D3 colorimeter – even though it is basically identical to the X-Rite i1Display Pro Plus – so you'll need to ensure you have one of the official models on the compatibility list here.

BenQ PD3226G monitor: Display quality

BenQ claims that the monitor covers over 95% of the DCI-P3 color space, and it wasn't far off in our tests. We measured the PD3226G's panel as providing 99.1% coverage of sRGB, 93% of DCI-P3 and a very respectable 90% of Adobe RGB.

It's the accuracy which will really appeal to those who care, though. In the preset sRGB mode, the PD3226G achieved an average Delta E of 0.5 with a maximum deviation of 2.49. The measured white point was just a smidge away from a perfect 6,500k, too, at 6,557k. Switching to the Display P3 profile provided similar results: an average Delta E of 0.67, a maximum of 2.48 and a 6,546k colour temperature. The DCI-P3 mode is a little less accurate, but it's still decent: the average Delta E of 1.65 and maximum of 3.07 is respectable; the white point measured at 6,275k (ideal is 6,300k), and gamma was just a touch over the ideal 2.6. Sadly, there's no Adobe RGB mode as standard, so you'll need to calibrate your own with the Palette Master UItimate software (and a compatible colorimeter).

One disappointment here is a common one for IPS monitors: the contrast ratio in the preset color modes is low. In fact, it's very low: we measured 578:1 and 590:1 in the sRGB and Display P3 modes respectively. The reason for this is because the PD3226G employs uniformity compensation: this attempts to correct for any variations in brightness and contrast across the panel. As we'll discuss shortly, it does do a good job of it, but the downside is that it halves the contrast ratio. Turn off the uniformity compensation and the panel's native contrast ratio moves far closer to the claimed 1,200:1, with a result of 1,162:1 in our tests.

While contrast suffers, the benefits of uniformity compensation are clear. We measured the brightness and contrast across 25 points on the display, and the maximum deviation was no more than 10% with compensation enabled, with every single area barring one meeting the ISO 14861:2015 recommended standard. This is a decent performance for a £1,000 monitor, but it's a little way off from pricier professional panels – these routinely drop down to low single figures for variance.

That said, even with compensation off, the PD3226G's panel still looked nice and even to the naked eye, and in our tests only three patches measured between 10 to 13% dimmer than the centre of the screen. A reasonable 14 of the 25 patches met the Recommended tolerance levels, while the others achieved a nominal pass, which is respectable, if not particularly impressive.

As ever, don't make the mistake of thinking that the DisplayHDR 400 certification means you'll be getting a top-flight HDR performance. The relatively low contrast ratio and modest peak brightness (452cd/m2) means that HDR lacks the punch and vivacious presentation that you'd hope for. Highlights are dulled, and the greyish blacks make HDR content look flat. The PD3226G's accurate colour reproduction does save the day to some extent, but you're probably better off sticking to SDR content. If HDR is important to you, then frankly you should be spending your money on a Mini-LED or OLED monitor instead.

BenQ says that the 144Hz refresh rate is designed to benefit game developers, artists and animators, and naturally it's also a bit of a bonus for the lunchtime or afterwork gaming crowd. The claimed 1ms GTG response time goes hand in hand with VESA AdaptiveSync support, and AMD FreeSync Premium is officially supported, too, with a range from 48 to 144Hz. Nvidia G-Sync is supported on a purely unofficial level, however.

Testing on our AMD Radeon 9070XT showed that the PD3226G was surprisingly nippy for response times, and our usual SmoothFrog tests didn't exhibit any big issues either at 60Hz or 144Hz. There is a little bit of inverse ghosting visible if you really look for it, though, and we'd definitely recommend leaving the AMA overdrive mode on its standard setting – increasing it to the highest Premium mode created an ugly bright fringe of overshoot that was hard to ignore. Leave the settings as is, though, and gaming on the PD3226G is a genuine joy: we spent a bit of time in both Indiana Jones and The Great Circle and Stalker 2, and the combination of superb colour accuracy and silky smooth motion were just a joy. Going back to our usual 60Hz monitor came as a bit of a shock, to be frank.

BenQ PD3226G monitor: Is it worth it?

When you want a monitor that can do everything, you normally have to accept some pretty big compromises. That the BenQ PD3226G manages to do a lot of things well, and some things truly brilliantly, is testament to some excellent work on BenQ's part.

HDR performance is a major thorn in the PD3226G's side – game developers with aspirations of working effectively in HDR will want a high-end OLED TV as backup, in all likelihood – but there's still lots to love here. The design is excellent, the adjustability, connectivity and customizability is superb, and design touches such as the little wireless puck are ingenious – and genuinely helpful. We could ask for more – hardware calibration, better HDR performance and an IPS Black panel, for starters – but then we'd likely have to pay more, too, and sometimes good is good enough. And the BenQ PD3226G certainly is that.

BenQ PD3226G specifications

If you've often dreamed of carting your multi-monitor setup to the local coffee shop, then portable models have turned that from a pipedream to a possibility. If, however, you demand nothing less than pristine OLED perfection whilst on your travels, then Asus has answered your prayers: the ZenScreen Fold OLED MQ17QH packs a 17.3-inch folding OLED panel into a smaller footprint than your laptop.

Asus ZenScreen Fold OLED MQ17QH: Design & Features

Yes, you read that right: folding. This is a 17.3-inch, 2,560 x 1,920 OLED monitor that folds in half. As a result, you'd be forgiven for mistaking the MQ17QH for a rather chunky clamshell laptop – we certainly did. It's 20mm thick when folded, yet blessed with a surprisingly small footprint, measuring a dainty 180mm x 290mm. Weight is relatively high by portable monitor standards, though, at 1.17kg.

Connectivity includes two USB-C ports, both of which support DP Alt Mode, one mini HDMI, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. A supplied USB-C 30W wall-wart charger is accompanied by two nice-feeling braided USB-C cables, both of which have one right-angled connector and one straight. There's a full-sized HDMI to mini HDMI cable, too.

Prise open the solid-feeling aluminium clamshell and the glossy OLED panel reveals itself. The so-called "waterdrop" hinge allows the panel to curve around neatly inside, and that fold in the centre flattens out (well, mostly – but we'll moan about that later) as you open the two halves.

At the rear, a large metal flap folds out to form a kickstand. This allows you to position the monitor in either landscape (4:3) or portrait (3:4) modes. In landscape orientation, ridged rubber bumpers on the edges stop it sliding around on smoother surfaces, although there aren't any on the bottom edge when in portrait mode. An orientation sensor allows for automatic screen rotation, so Windows users will want to install the Asus DisplayWidget Center software to take advantage. Sadly, there's no Mac version.

The stand offers very little in the way of adjustability. In portrait mode, you can tilt the top half of the screen towards you a little, which does help reduce glare in some situations, but in landscape mode, it's fixed in an almost vertical position. This is fine if you can position the monitor slightly above your laptop, but it's not ideal.

Asus is clearly aware that the kick-stand won't be adjustable enough for many people, so it has added a single-threaded tripod mount to the rear panel. Attach the 1/4in thread to any standard tripod head, and you've got yourself a little (or comically large, depending on your tripod) adjustable stand. Should you prefer a more conventional (and more portable) monitor stand, then a small screw-in mount in the box allows you to connect to Asus' MTS02D stand, which provides height adjustment, tilt, and swivel. It'll relieve you of another £100 or so, though.

The four buttons on the display's edge allow you to toggle the display on and off, select from either of the three inputs, and flick through the familiar-looking Asus on-screen displays. There are no surprises here: you get eight preset image modes, most of which are fairly pointless. We'd leave the panel in Standard mode for most purposes. Activate HDR, and there are only two modes: Cinema HDR and Gaming HDR.

One important consideration is that the MQ17QH only performs to its maximum potential with its dedicated USB-C power supply. It will work with a single USB-C cable connected to a laptop, but brightness drops down to below 100cd/m2 – a dim 77cd/m2 with our Dell XPS 13 9340. If there are no mains sockets nearby, this may prove annoying. Another annoyance is that, even when the PSU is connected, it didn't charge either of our two test laptops. If you don't have two power sockets nearby, you'll need to swap the charger back to your laptop when the battery runs low.

Oddly, in some scenarios, excessive power draw saw the monitor turn off completely. For instance, with a USB-C connection to our laptop and using the mini-HDMI video input, the MQ17QH turned off and restarted itself when watching HDR content with intensely bright highlights. Clearly the power draw was too high for the wattage our laptop could supply. Again, though, this could be a bug with the brightness limiter not kicking in when it should. When we swapped back from the mini-HDMI connection to the USB-C input, the brightness limiter activated, dimming the screen and preventing the issue from occurring.

Asus ZenScreen Fold OLED MQ17QH: Display quality

The specifications are impressive. Asus claims a 100% coverage of DCI-P3 and a typical screen brightness of 350cd/m2 in SDR. The VESA DisplayHDR 500 True Black certification means that you can expect over 500cd/m2 in HDR mode. Contrast is a claimed 1,000,000:1 – as close to perfect as you could ask for, in other words – and the response time is a near-instantaneous 0.2ms.

In our tests, the MQ17QH delivered on all of those claims. Color coverage is exemplary, with a 100% coverage of sRGB and DCI-P3, and an impressive 90.3% coverage of Adobe RGB. Our colorimeter rated the contrast as being infinite, and the brightness peaked at 423cd/m2 in SDR and 526cd/m2 in HDR.

Color accuracy is a little harder to judge. Firstly, the sRGB mode doesn't seem to actually do anything – we enabled it, and the color response didn't change at all. Measurements backed this up, too, with the sRGB mode achieving a higher accuracy when tested against a DCI-P3 target than sRGB. Given that this looks like an early sample – one that's clearly done the rounds going by the scuffs on the display panel – it's possible that firmware updates may remedy the issue.

For SDR usage, the most accurate mode for DCI-P3 is the Standard mode. In this mode, we measured an average Delta E of 1.46, which is very respectable. The maximum Delta E of 4.23 was less impressive, but we have our suspicions that this may be a measurement error due to the spectral properties of the folding OLED panel. Our DisplayCAL software is too old to have correction matrices for this new breed of OLED panels. Subjectively, images looked accurate to the naked eye, with rich, believable colours and lifelike skintones.

HDR performance is genuinely eye-popping. The combination of OLED's per-pixel illumination, infinite contrast, and a respectable, if not dazzling, peak brightness makes HDR content look amazingly punchy and impactful. The 4:3 screen ratio means that gaming feels a little cramped, but you get used to it, and the only disappointment with movies is that half the screen is taken up by black letterbox bars.

There are no complaints with motion clarity here. Despite the 60Hz refresh rate, the OLED panel keeps moving objects looking crystal clear. Gaming may prove a little odd on a 4:3 ratio screen, granted, but you won't have any complaints about response time.

There are some negatives. One practical issue is that the panel is very, very glossy – to the point of being mirror-like. It still does a surprisingly good job of combatting glare – point a bright light at it and there's no glare at all, just a perfect, dimmed reflection of the light source – but it is a bit distracting looking at your own reflection. The other side effect of the glossy finish is that it draws attention to the ripples in the folding section of the display. Here, the wavy, distorted reflections highlight the not-quite-flat centre – it's not maddeningly annoying, but at the price, we suspect it may bother some users.

Asus ZenScreen Fold OLED MQ17QH monitor: Is it worth it?

This is where the MQ17QH takes a violent handbrake turn into la-la land. There's no argument that it delivers highly impressive OLED image quality in a compact package, but with an asking price of over £2,000, it's not good value in any sense. Even the three years of full warranty and burn-in coverage feels like the bare minimum you should expect given the price.

As a technical demonstration, there's no doubt that the MQ17QH offers a tantalising glimpse towards the future of high-end displays, portable or otherwise. Back in the present, though, it's just not a practical choice for 99% of users, and given the various quirks, it may not even appeal to that remaining 1%. As for us at ITPro? Let's be honest: a non-folding portable monitor at a tenth of the price will do just fine.

Asus ZenScreen Fold OLED MQ17QH specifications

BenQ's MA series of monitors are designed to make the perfect accompaniment to a MacBook. While Apple would have you believe that the £1,499 Studio Display is the optimal side to serve with freshly baked Apple silicon in a MacBook crust, the MA270U plates up a 27in 4K monitor with all the trimmings for £450.

And if you're suspicious that BenQ has simply given one of its standard 27in monitors an Apple-themed makeover, then that's not the case. In fact, BenQ has color-matched the MA270U with the most recent MacBook displays so that images look consistent from laptop to monitor. Covering a claimed 95% of Apple's preferred Display P3 color gamut, and with an average Delta E of less than 2, the MA270U should be as accurate as most people would ever need.

This focus on image quality doesn't come at the expense of connectivity, nor does it shut the door on Windows users. Regardless of your preferred OS, you get a slick desktop app in place of the usual fiddly on-screen display, single-cable USB-C simplicity, 90 watts of power delivery, and a useful USB hub to boot. The only difficult decision you'll face is whether you should make room on your desk for the larger 31.5in MA320U – or whether you'd be better off buying one of the MA270U's many rivals instead.

BenQ MA270U monitor: Design & Features

You'll be unsurprised to learn that the MA270U is a perfect scale replica of the larger MA320U. Naturally, though, this is all part of the appeal. While its features, resolution, and connectivity are all broadly similar to its larger stablemate, the 27in panel takes up considerably less space on a desk, and it's roughly 10cm narrower and around the same amount shorter when set to a comfortable height. For space-starved desks, it's an attractive compromise.

The large, square base and cylindrical stand are a familiar sight, and the plastics are covered in a silver shimmer which is designed to complement a metal-clad MacBook. Build quality might not scale the heights of Apple's stratospherically expensive displays, but everything feels sturdy and well put together. The only exception here is the plastic cable management clip which just feels a little too lightweight in our opinion.

The MA270U's slightly smaller panel perches on top of exactly the same stand as the MA320U. That's no bad thing as it provides 115mm of height adjustment, a 30-degree range of side-to-side swivel, and a pivot mode for using the best in a portrait orientation. The sturdy stand works really well, too, feeling nice and stable even at full extension, and allowing for fine adjustments with a gentle one-handed nudge in the right direction.

Connectivity is useful if not class-leading. There's no Thunderbolt 4 support for starters, which is a bit of a shame, but you do at least get a usefully speedy USB 3.2 Gen 1 hub. The primary USB-C port supplies 90 watts of charging, 4K 60Hz images via its DisplayPort Alt mode, and powers up a second USB-C port which supplies a more modest 15W of power. A single USB-A port is positioned at the rear, and a second USB-A port and 3.5mm headphone out are positioned just underneath the monitor's bottom edge for easier access.

DisplayPort is notably absent here, but you do get two HDMI 2.0 ports. This adds some welcome flexibility -- you can hook up a console or desktop PC to the monitor in addition to a MacBook or laptop via USB-C – and it's also handy if you want to make the most of the USB hub's full-speed USB 3.2 Gen 1 data rates. Just like all the other 4k monitors we've tested, you have to pick between maximal data rates and the highest refresh rates – you can't have both. You have three options: settle for USB 2 data rates and a 60Hz refresh rate; drop down to 30Hz and have full-speed USB 3.2 Gen 1 transfers, or use a separate HDMI connection for video and save the USB-C connection for data and power.

You do also get a pair of speakers with 3 watts of amplification apiece, but while they're slightly better than average, they're still best kept for emergencies. They go reasonably loud, reaching 66dbA from a meter away, but the bass and lower midrange are totally absent, and the high-frequency response is flat and muffled. There is just enough clarity in the midrange to add a little depth and interest to music, though, so you might find them acceptable for listening to podcasts or audiobooks.

One rather radical departure from the norm is BenQ's decision to dump the traditional on-screen display (OSD) in favor of a desktop app. The Display Pilot 2 software is available for both PC and Mac, and this provides easy access to all the monitor's features via a simple desktop widget. The app lurks in the system or menu tray when you're not using it, and a simple click pings it into view. That done, you can quickly adjust brightness, activate color profiles, toggle HDR or auto pivot, or delve into the more advanced settings menu, tweaking gamma, color temperature, and color gamut. In short, it works brilliantly and we wish more monitor manufacturers would provide similar functionality – if not replacing the OSD entirely, then at least providing it as a complement to a traditional monitor-side interface.

You can still quickly adjust brightness, volume, and input source via the little 4-way joystick under the monitor's bottom-most edge, but that's your lot. Scroll left and right through the minimalist menu, and one of the pages displays a QR code sending you to a download page for Display Pilot 2. The only downside of this approach? Well, you'll just need to cross your fingers that the app is updated regularly enough to work reliably for the monitor's likely lifespan.

Functionally, though, it's excellent. You can synchronize brightness settings between your laptop and monitor – adjust the relative brightness with the onscreen sliders, and then both displays will work in tandem when you adjust the brightness with the shortcut buttons or OS controls. It's also really easy to synchronize the OS-level and monitor color profiles: select between Display P3 or sRGB modes and, if you toggle the ICCsync button, the app will activate the same color profile on both devices.

MacBook users may appreciate the M-Book color profile. This preset was designed to mimic the color response provided by the 2022-era MacBook Pro panel so that colors look consistent across both displays. We didn't have a suitable MacBook available to test these claims, but as we'll discuss shortly, the MA270U's color accuracy is really very good indeed. Any laptop display that reproduces the sRGB and/or Display P3 color spaces accurately, and has a similar white point, should make a reasonably good match with the MA270U.

BenQ MA270U monitor: Display quality

The MA270U's display specifications are slightly inferior to that of its big brother. There are similarities: it's still a 4K 3,840 x 2,160 panel with a 60Hz refresh rate, and just like the MA320U, it uses a standard IPS panel, so the claimed contrast ratio is a modest 1,200:1.

However, quoted brightness drops from the MA320U's 600cd/m2 to 400cd/m2, hence the DisplayHDR 400 certification, and the MA270U's color gamut is just marginally inferior, matching the MA320U's 99% sRGB coverage while dropping a single percentage point to offer a 95% Display P3 coverage.

In our testing, the MA270U matched or exceeded BenQ's claims in most areas. We saw an sRGB coverage of 99.6%, and the DCI-P3 coverage reached 93.4%. Brightness peaked at 393cd/m2 in SDR mode, but pushed up to 440cd/m2 in HDR. Contrast was a little lower than claimed, with all of our measurements ranging between 1,100:1 and just shy of 1,200:1, but this is exactly what we'd expect from a standard IPS panel.

Color accuracy is really very good, however. In sRGB mode, we measured an average Delta E of 1.09 and a maximum of 2.12, which indicates that colors look pretty much tone-perfect to the naked eye. The only aberration here is that the measured white point is quite a way off the 6,500k ideal, with the MA270U opting for a much warmer 6,052k.

Switching to the BenQ's Display P3 preset provides a similarly refined performance. We measured an average Delta E of 1.19 and a maximum of 3.33. Contrast dips a little at 1,108:1, but the measured 6,275k color temperature is much closer to the intended 6,500k.

HDR is one area where the MA270U drops significantly behind its big brother. Whereas the MA320U has a basic 8 dimming zones and a peak brightness of over 600cd/m2, the MA270U's peak brightness is substantially lower and it only has crude full-screen dimming. In practice, this means that the backlight very slowly lowers or raises the brightness depending on the onscreen content, so it can't respond to rapidly moving HDR highlights like an OLED or Mini LED panel can.

Brightness is very slightly higher in HDR mode – we saw a peak brightness of 440cd/m2 in real content – but while the combination of high pixel density and good color accuracy make for pleasant-looking images, this isn't HDR in any meaningful sense. There isn't sufficient contrast or brightness to provide a true HDR picture and the sluggish dimming is anything but dynamic. If you prefer the look of games or movies in HDR mode, then the Display Pilot 2 app makes it incredibly quick and easy to toggle the feature on and off, but be in no doubt – this is HDR in name only.

Backlight and panel uniformity are mediocre. Display a solid color across the MA270U's panel, and it's obvious to the naked eye that the brightness and color tone varies around the panel's edges, mostly due to backlight leakage. This isn't egregiously bad, but it's a long way from perfect. We also measure brightness and contrast across 25 points on every monitor we test, and while the measurements varied quite a bit across the MA270U's panel, all but two segments showed a variance of under 10% which isn't too bad at all. In total, six areas failed to meet the nominal tolerance for contrast and brightness variances, which is disappointing but this isn't necessarily unusual at the price.

The MA270U's motion handling is equally unexciting. The monitor has three overdrive settings – off, High, and Premium – and the monitor is set to High by default. The 5ms response time sounds fine on paper, but the MA270U is among the more sluggish panels we've tested in recent months. Fine detail is noticeably smeared on moving objects, and – just as we found with the BenQ MA320U – engaging the Premium overdrive setting does very little if anything to sharpen things up. Suffice to say, this is not a gaming monitor.

BenQ MA270U monitor: Is it worth it?

The BenQ MA270U does a lot right. Color accuracy is good straight out of the box, and the design and features are both thoughtful and practical. The desktop app in particular makes life a lot easier – so much so that we hope other manufacturers begin to follow suit. Being able to rapidly switch color profiles, tweak image settings or enable HDR with just a couple of clicks of a mouse button is far more elegant than prodding buttons and battling with esoteric on-screen displays and little 4-way joysticks.

That said, there's a lot of competition at this end of the market, and by far the biggest challenger to the BenQ MA270U is the Dell UltraSharp U2723QE. Given that both monitors retail for a very similar sum, we'd say that the Dell is the better buy overall, offering subtly improved image quality, vastly more connectivity, and useful KVM and PIP/PBP features. It's by far the better-looking monitor, too. At the right price, we'd still be very happy to have the BenQ on our desks, but given the various image quality quibbles, it's just not quite good enough to lead the pack overall.

BenQ MA270U specifications

Samsung's ViewFinity S80D is the South Korean firm's latest refresh to its ViewFinity S8 lineup aimed at creatives and professionals. Alongside S80UD, the S80D offers a rich 4K HDR10 VA panel that provides consistent performance and satisfying build quality but lacks some of the connectivity options of its more premium counterpart.

Samsung S8 ViewFinity S80D monitor: Design

The S80D comes in a sleek, all-black design that avoids any gaudy gloss or silver. Overall, it makes for an understated package that we're big fans of. The display has no bezels around the top and sides. However there is a slightly chunkier chin along the bottom that has a notch featuring the Samsung branding which we found slightly detracts from the monitor's overall sleekness, breaking what would otherwise be a pretty uniform silhouette. It would be nice if Samsung gave users the option to remove this distraction, as even after using the monitor over the series of two weeks we still found our eyes were drawn to it.

As with other displays that opt for the chunky chin design, using the S80D in portrait mode gives the monitor a slightly lop-sided, asymmetrical look that is only exacerbated by the little notch. As such, users who are looking for a monitor to use in a vertical orientation may want to look elsewhere.

The other aspects of the S80D's design were impressive, such as its hefty, all-metal stand that feels premium and sturdy. The front of the stand sports a ribbed design that helps break up what could become a monotonous mass of smooth black metal. The stand is also offset by a fair distance behind the actual display which creates the effect of the panel almost floating mid-air which we like.

The base itself is very thin, and doesn't take up too much room on your desk, though it is large enough to prevent any noticeable wobble or instability.

Overall we think the S80D is one of the better-looking monitors on the market right now with the only drawback being the slightly thicker bottom chin and gratuitous Samsung notch on the bottom. We know this approach is relatively common from manufacturers but we prefer the uniform bezel arrangement found on the Dell UltraSharp U2724DE.

In terms of functionality, the S80D really excels. It was set up in just two steps and the mechanism attaching the panel to the stand feels very secure. As mentioned previously the screen can be pivoted into a portrait orientation, if you can put up with its lop-sided look. But the S80D also covers the full range of mobility with 30˚/-30˚ of left-to-right swivel, 25˚/-2˚ of up-down tilt, and height adjustment of 120 mm.

The mechanisms for all of these were nice and smooth and the tilt and swivel functions can be easily operated with one hand thanks to its sturdy design. The height adjustment did require two hands, however.

The S80D supports two different video connectors: DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0. It also a headphone jack and USB-B port that enables the monitor to act as a USB hub with its three USB 3.0 ports. Samsung provides all of these cables and it also includes a soft rubber loop for routing the cables to keep your workspace tidy. Unlike its more pricey stablemate the S80UD, however, there is no USB-C or ethernet on the S80D but perhaps this is a sacrifice some users might be willing to make for a saving on upfront cost.

Navigating through the on-screen menus is easy enough with the four-way joystick on the rear of the monitor, which is where you will also find the S80D's eye-saver mode.

Samsung S8 ViewFinity S80D monitor: Display

The ViewFinity S8 S80D has a 4K (3,820 x 2160) VA LCD panel with HDR10 that promises to deliver 1.07 billion colors with a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, 99% sRGB coverage, and a typical brightness of 350cd/m2.

In our testing, the S80D performed solidly with an impressive contrast ratio of 2,923:1 and 100% coverage of sRGB, although its coverage of other color standards like DCI-P3 and Adobe wasn't quite as good with 84.1% and 77.7% coverage in these areas respectively. The color accuracy of the S80D was something of a letdown with a Delta E average of 1.8 and a maximum of 5.1, which means the S80D falls behind other monitors we've tested.

The 5.1 maximum appears to have been skewed by poor ability with reds and darker grays. We should note that we couldn't notice any glaring discoloration in our daily use but this could be a deal-breaker for more graphically-oriented professionals.

On a more positive note, the peak brightness on the S80D was impressive measuring 408cd/m2 and the backlight was consistent across a number of testing points. The viewing angles on the VA LCD panel were also very impressive with Samsung's claimed 178˚ standing up to our in-house testing.

The S80D features a fairly standard 5ms response time, though nothing like that found on a decent gaming monitor but it is acceptable, nonetheless. Its 60Hz refresh rate does feel somewhat sluggish, however, when moving from panels with 90Hz and 120Hz refresh rates, some of which are available at a similar price point.

Using the S80D in our daily workflow was an enjoyable experience, it performed consistently well in a wide range of light and we couldn't notice its imperfect color reproduction with the naked eye.

The S80D feels particularly expansive given its high resolution and pixel density – you can really make the most of its 32in size and maximize your desktop real estate.

Samsung S8 ViewFinity S80D monitor: Is it worth it?

We were impressed with the S80D's solid all-round performance and well-thought-out design. Set up is a breeze along with a handy although not exhaustive array of ports and the adjustment mechanisms are up there with the best we've used on a monitor of that size.

Overall, the monitor would not be out of place on any desk, unless you plan on using it in its vertical orientation that is, and is not going to let you down on any core features. The display itself was rich, detailed, and easily bright enough to consistently access a range of lighting settings. Using the S80D day-to-day was a pleasure and watching any high-quality video really shows off the panel's gorgeous detail.

The only area where the S80D fell down was its color reproduction when tested under the microscope, and this was mainly limited to its handling of reds in particular. As such unless you need market-leading color accuracy then you will not be disappointed here.

Samsung S8 ViewFinity S80D monitor specifications

If you've ever wondered how little you can spend to get a decent everyday monitor, then you may be surprised to hear that it's less than £100. In fact, the BenQ GW2490 is a 24in Full HD monitor which will leave you enough change to buy two London-priced pints of beer. We'll have a pint of bitter, thanks.

There's understandably little in the way of luxuries, but what is surprising is that there are a few standout features. A height adjustable stand is unrealistic at this price – you'll just have to grab some of those dusty hardback reference books off the shelf instead – but BenQ softens the blow with a 100Hz IPS panel with adaptive sync, DisplayPort and HDMI inputs, and good image quality.

Suffice to say, if you're in the market for a cheap everyday monitor without spending the earth, then you can skip the rest of the review – we can confidently recommend this as the model to buy. If you want to know exactly why we like it so much, though, then read on.

BenQ GW2490 monitor: Design & Features

Pull the GW2490 from its eco-unfriendly polystyrene packaging, and setting it up is a doddle. The basic, plasticky stand comes in two parts and simply slots together, clicking into place with no tools or thumbscrews in sight. If you'd rather attach the GW2490 to a VESA desk or wall mount, then you can remove the plastic panel at the rear to expose the 100 x 100mm VESA mounting holes.

Once it's sat on the desk, it's fair to say this isn't a bad looking monitor. It is, top to toe, black matte plastics, and the combination of subtle curves and clean lines means that it looks pretty smart for a budget buy. The dainty bezel around the sides and top of the panel stops it from looking too frumpy, too. BenQ has done well given the limited budget at its disposal.

Naturally, there's no height adjustability or anything fancy, but the stand tilts back and forth by a useful amount. You'll need to adjust it two-handed, though. We had to use one hand to hold the base and the other to tilt the panel as the light plastic base lifts up easily when you push or pull the top of the panel.

The various ports at the rear are all downward-facing, with the power cable connecting on the right-hand side of the stand and all the other ports on the left. There are two DisplayPort 1.4 inputs and a single HDMI 1.4 input as well as a 3.5mm audio output. However, the fixed height stand means that it's tricky (read: virtually impossible) to connect the cables without lying the monitor down flat – the ports are annoyingly close to the stand's neck, so it's very hard to see what you're doing.

One rather nice surprise is that the BenQ's physical controls and on-screen display are well thought out; we've seen far cruder attempts on monitors at more than twice the price. The buttons are all positioned under the monitor's right-hand edge, and there are three clicky buttons alongside a four-way clickable joystick. Helpfully, the power button lights up with a faint white LED light when it's on, and this changes to amber when the PC is in sleep mode.

That joystick makes light work of navigating the on-screen display. The interface prioritizes quick access to the various picture modes, brightness settings, low blue light mode, and speaker volume. It's only two clicks to get into the menus proper, however, and there you'll find a decent amount of adjustability for all the usual features.

More unusually, BenQ has dedicated a button to the monitor's Low Blue Light Plus mode. While we're a tad cynical about the scientific benefits of such features, this is actually quite a handy implementation: tap the button and each tap takes you through the five strength levels before toggling it off again. Each tap makes the image look significantly warmer and more reddish – it's similar to the iPhone's Night Shift mode – and it's actually quite pleasant for working late at night as it is a little easier on the eye.

You can guess what we're going to say about the speakers. We can confirm that they're there. We can also confirm that they're bad enough to make the average smartphone speaker seem like an audiophile hi-fi system. If you can avoid using them, then that's for the best.

BenQ GW2490 monitor: Display quality

Once you've got used to larger displays with higher pixel densities, going back to a 24in Full HD may come as a bit of a shock. There simply isn't the pin-sharp text clarity of pricier displays. That said, the other aspects of the GW2490's image quality are very good for the money. So good, in fact, that you might just forget about the slightly fuzzy text and lack of overall crispness.

BenQ claims that the GW2490 offers a contrast ratio of 1,300:1, a peak brightness of 250cd/m2, and covers 99% of the sRGB color gamut, which are all good to see on a sub-£100 monitor. What's more, the 100Hz refresh rate is allied with VESA MediaSync accreditation, so there's basic support for AMD Freesync and Nvidia G-Sync.

In our testing, it's fair to say we came away impressed. Brightness reaches a maximum of 225cd/m2, which is about twice as bright as you'll need for office work – but home offices will appreciate having a bit of extra punch for games or movies. Contrast is exactly what you'd expect for a standard IPS panel, too, with a measured contrast ratio of 1,183:1.

Tested against an sRGB color target, the default Standard profile achieved an average Delta E of 1.54 and a maximum Delta E of 4.66. There were a few colors that exceeded a Delta E of 3, which means that they won't look accurate to the naked eye, but this isn't a bad result at all for a sub-£100 monitor.

Subjectively speaking, our test images looked good, and despite the slightly oversaturated reds, pinks, and greens, no one outside of the creative and photography departments is going to notice any issues. Colors are bright and skintones look natural – this monitor produces good-looking images. If anything, the most noticeable issue is that the measured 6,280k white point is just a tad warmer than it should be.

In fact, we managed to improve the color accuracy simply by adjusting the User profile's RGB controls and toning down the overexuberant Green and Red channels. Eyeballing one of our test images and notching down these settings by a couple of clicks improved the average Delta E to 1.16 and reduced the maximum Delta E from 4.66 to 3.9.

While you might miss the clarity of higher resolution displays, the fact that the BenQ's panel has a 100Hz refresh rate adds a welcome smoothness to the overall user experience. Scrolling is significantly silkier than on bog-standard 60Hz panels, and this means that text remains more legible as you scroll up and down longer documents. It's a small quality of life improvement, but it's welcome nonetheless.

In truth, there are no visible nasties to speak of whatsoever. The matte anti-glare coating isn't quite as effective at combating reflections as the best we've seen recently, but it's good. Shining a torch directly at the screen results in a noticeably dimmed bright spot, and the monitor did well to stay legible and glare-free even with our office's multiple spotlights pointing directly at it, and the two skylights above.

Even the backlighting and panel uniformity are respectable. Only one area out of 25 – the bottom right corner – failed to meet the ISO14861:2015 standard for consistent brightness and contrast, with the other 24 areas getting a passing grade. The backlight does get steadily dimmer away from the center of the screen, with brightness dropping by as much as 12% on the left-hand side, but it's not intrusive. Display a solid color across the screen, though, and you may notice that the left-hand side of the panel looks subtly lighter than the right. To be clear, though, this is nit-picking on an £85 monitor.

BenQ GW2490 monitor: Is it worth it?

If you're reading all this while cursing the lack of a height-adjustable stand, then the £140 BenQ GW2490T may just catch your eye. Frankly, though, once you're spending that much there are better value options to be had. For instance, the 5-star Recommended Philips 27E1N1600AE is currently retailing for around £180 and has a crisp WQHD resolution, better image quality, USB-C connectivity, and an adjustable stand.

If you can temper your upgrades, however, then it's the standard BenQ GW2490 that offers by far the best value for money. For the decidedly unprincely sum of £85, BenQ has served up respectable image quality, a slick 100Hz refresh rate, and a thoughtful all-around design. In these days of inflation-busting price rises, we'll drink to that.

BenQ GW2490 specifications

In most aspects of our daily lives, there's a lot to be said for simplicity. Indeed, if we gave most IT managers the choice between outfitting every employee's desk with multiple monitors, each spewing a spaghetti of cables, and a single, ultrawide monitor that does it all, we suspect that quite a few of them – budget-willing – would swiftly choose the latter. And to be quite honest, we wouldn't be surprised if many home workers feel exactly the same.

The Philips 34B2U6603CH fits that bill to a tee. It pairs a 34in 3,440 x 1,440 ultrawide panel with a huge amount of features, an adjustable stand, and the promise of factory-calibrated sRGB color accuracy. And whether you've got a whole fleet of port-starved laptops or just the one sitting on your desk at home, the single-cable USB-C simplicity is an easy sell.

Notably, Thunderbolt 4 makes an appearance along with daisy-chain support and up to 96W of power delivery, and you also get a USB 3.2 Gen 2 hub with a decent fistful of ports, a KVM switch, PIP/PBP functions, and presence and light sensors for ticking all the power saving boxes. Oh, and you also get a Windows Hello-compliant webcam. In other words, the only thing conspicuously missing here is the kitchen sink.

Philips 34B2U6603CH monitor: Design & Features

Sharing the same styling as its smaller 27in stablemate, the 27B2G5500, this is a smart-looking monitor. The same tool-free design means that the base screws easily to the stand with a captive thumbscrew, and the panel slots on with a reassuring clunk thanks to the quick release mechanism. If you prefer to use a desk or wall mount, then standard VESA 100x100 mounting holes are present, too.

The huge ultrawide panel means that there's no pivot mode, but that's to be expected. What you do get is 360 degrees of side-to-side swivel, a generous 180mm of height adjustment, and enough tilt to accommodate any normal desk arrangement. The leverage exerted by the wide panel means that it does wobble a little bit after each adjustment, but not worryingly so – the solid-feeling base stays planted on the desk even when you adjust the screen one-handed.

It's quite clear that the 34B26603CH is designed primarily for work. An adjustable, pop-out 5MP webcam peeps out over the top bezel and this is partnered with an integrated noise-cancelling mic and stereo speakers. The webcam is Windows Hello-compliant, and while the image quality isn't astonishing, it's fine. Colors are reasonably realistic, and while detail is smeared and indistinct, it's no worse than many laptop webcams. One bonus is that it provides a more flattering camera angle than a laptop, as it's positioned just above head height, and the auto framing works well, too.

Similarly, the integrated mic and speakers aren't the last word in clarity, but they work. The speakers are the worst of the two, however, and despite a claimed 5 watts of power per channel, the brittle, tinny sound quality robs both voices and music of any scale or depth.

This is probably the perfect time to mention that there is somewhere to hang your headset: just like the smaller 27B2G5500, there's a little fold-out arm that is hidden on the left-hand edge. This is located just above the easy-access USB ports and 3.5mm headset jack, which is convenient. If you are using a wired headset, though, then you'll need to be careful not to get all your audio and USB cables in a tangle.

It's also great to see the same power-saving features we encountered on the 27B2G5500. The PowerSensor feature dims the screen when it detects users have left their desks, and this has four sensitivity settings to account for how far the user is sat from the screen. This worked well during our time with the monitor, dropping the backlight right down to 1cd/m2 after a minute, and turning it off completely after two.

By contrast, the LightSensor feature is either on or off and this actively dims the screen's backlight to suit the ambient lighting conditions. The problem here is that the default settings are too bright. Even with the sensor covered completely, the panel's brightness never dipped below 200cd/m2, which is far too bright for even a normally lit office. To test the monitor's peak automatic brightness, we shone a torch into the sensor, which saw a peak reading of 315cd/m2.

Our advice here is to enable the monitor's SmartUniformity setting, as this lowers the overall brightness to create a more usable range from 144cd/m2 to 278cd/m2. It's a bit of a bodge – these automatic brightness modes need to be more customizable as standard in our opinion – but as the SmartUniformity setting also improves overall panel uniformity, as we'll discuss in more detail later, it's not a terrible compromise.

Connectivity goes above and beyond. There are two HDMI 2.0 ports and a single DisplayPort 1.4 input, and this is in addition to a Thunderbolt 4-compliant USB-C port which ferries data, video and up to 96W of power delivery alongside a second Thunderbolt 4 port for daisy-chain duties. The separate upstream USB-C port doesn't support video inputs but allows a second machine to utilise the USB hub's four USB-A ports, single USB-C port and 2.5G Ethernet connection.

Most of these ports are at the rear of the monitor, but you get a handful on the monitor's left-hand edge for easy access. There's a 3.5mm headset jack, one USB-A port with Battery Charging 1.2 support for fast-charging mobile devices, a standard USB-A data port, and a single USB-C port with a useful 45W of power delivery. All the USB ports support USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps data rates.

Users hoping to take advantage of the single-cable Thunderbolt 4 connectivity will need to check their system specs, however. Older laptops and graphics cards may not support the maximum 120Hz refresh rates, and this is dependent on whether the hardware supports the latest Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort 1.4 and HBR 3 standards. Even if your hardware is bang up to date, you'll need to make do with a 60Hz refresh rate if you want both the USB hub and Ethernet ports to run at their maximum speeds. Bump the refresh rate to 120Hz and you'll drop down to USB 3.2 Gen 1 data rates, and the Ethernet will fall back to gigabit speeds.

Our advice is simple: if you want maximum data speeds, then you can resort to using the dedicated DisplayPort or HDMI inputs alongside the USB-C or Thunderbolt 4 data connections. Two cables aren't necessarily better than one, but sometimes they're just much less hassle.

Philips has added both KVM switching and PIP/PBP functions (dubbed MultiView) to the feature list. Unlike Dell's similarly-equipped UltraSharp models, there's no dedicated desktop app for customizing the various features or creating specific keyboard shortcuts. For the KVM switch, you have two choices: you can either switch between devices by triple tapping the Ctrl button on any keyboard which is connected to the monitor's USB hub, or you can go via the monitor's on-screen display, which is less onerous than you might first assume. This is because the front panel's User button can be customized for quick access to either Volume, MultiView, Brightness, KVM, or PowerSensor settings. Set it to KVM, and you can swap between machines with two button presses.

One limitation is that only the active computer has access to the Ethernet connection. If you need the dormant machine to have internet access, then you'll need to make sure you have a Wi-Fi connection set up as a fallback.

Philips' MultiView PIP and PBP functions are pretty simple and straightforward to use, although they are limited to two sources at a time. In an ideal world, this is an area where we'd find it a little easier to manage the settings with a desktop app, as delving through the various settings in the on-screen display is fiddly. That said, if you tend to just choose your preferred settings and then enable or disable PIP or PBP when required, it's workable – it's just not particularly elegant.

Philips 34B2U6603CH monitor: Display quality

Philips has opted for an 8-bit, 3,440 x 1,440 VA panel with standard edge-lit backlighting. The specifications promise a peak brightness of 450cd/m2 in SDR mode and 550cd/m2 in HDR mode, and thanks to the use of a VA rather than an IPS panel, the claimed static contrast ratio is a creditable 4,000:1. There's no wide gamut support on offer, but Philips states that color accuracy in the sRGB color space is good enough to achieve a Delta E of less than 2 – you even get a factory calibration test sheet in the box. In layman's terms, that means that colors should look perfectly accurate to the naked eye.

The results in our testing were generally pretty close to Philips' claims – some better than claimed, some a little worse -- but the overall impression is of a monitor that provides good rather than great image quality.

Straight out of the box, the monitor's brightness is set at 40% which equates to a brightness of 165cd/m2, which is about right for brightly lit offices. Crank it up to 100%, and brightness peaks at 401cd/m2, a little lower than the claimed 450cd/m2. The measured contrast ratio is 3,664:1, which is only just a tad short of the claimed 4,000:1.

We recorded an sRGB coverage of 96% and an sRGB volume of 120%, the latter matching Philips's claims exactly. This proves that the monitor can reproduce some colors outside of the sRGB color space, but in our tests, it only managed to reproduce 83% of the DCI-P3 color space and 81% of Adobe RGB, which isn't enough for color-critical usage.

At default settings and tested against the sRGB color space, the panel's average Delta E was 2.5 and the maximum Delta E was 10.35. Tested against a Display P3 target, the results were very similar, with a lower Delta E of 2 and a maximum of 10. Looking at the results of both tests, the panel clearly struggles to reproduce the more saturated blue tones. What's more, we recorded a white point of 6,294k, which falls slightly short of the ideal 6,500k, and means that whites also look just a tad cold and bluish.

Activating the monitor's preset sRGB mode improves matters a lot, thankfully. The maximum Delta E drops down to 7.5, which is still a bit high – it indicates that the panel simply can't reproduce those shades of blue – but the average drops down to 1.38, with both greyscales and most of the tested colors looking to stay well under a Delta E of 2, which both matches Philips' claims and means they look accurate to the eye.

The Philips's HDR performance won't have much impact for office use, and it's not particularly exciting. We couldn't get anywhere near the claimed 550cd/m2 peak brightness, and we found that the brightest preset, HDR Premium, topped out at 459cd/m2 in static tests. We managed to squeeze 480cd/m2 out of it in HDR test videos, however. There's no local dimming on offer here, so it's thanks to the VA panel's relatively high contrast ratio that HDR content looks reasonably punchy. Dim the lights a little, and the modest peak brightness levels and strong contrast combine to make HDR images look surprisingly good.

The curved screen means that viewing angles are somewhat less of an issue than flat screen monitors. At least, that is, if you don't move your head too far from the center of the screen. VA panels exhibit something known as gamma shift, and this means that the darker areas of the screen look progressively brighter and more washed out as you move further away from head-on, particularly vertically. The curve of the monitor means that both this and color wash-out can be even more noticeable on the odd occasion you roll your chair away from a perfect head-on position.

Motion performance is actually rather good – and especially so at the panel's maximum 120Hz refresh rate. Basic AMD Freesync support is on the billing, and while the claimed 4ms GTG response time isn't going to keep any gaming monitors up at night, the panel puts in a decent overall performance. The Philips' overdrive feature, dubbed SmartResponse, is disabled by default, but there are four settings to choose from: Disabled, Fast, Faster and Fastest. I'd recommend upping that to the middle Faster setting if you want to reduce motion blur, whether that be for games or movies. The slower Fast setting doesn't have a huge impact, and the highest Fastest setting introduces too much inverse ghosting due to overshoot.

Panel uniformity isn't great at default settings – brightness dips by as much as 20% around the left and right corners of the panel – but activating the SmartUniformity setting works wonders. Peak brightness drops down significantly to 278cd/m2, and the brightness fluctuations drop from double figures down to a maximum of 7%. The only two areas of concern that remain are near the top edge of the monitor and we suspect this is where the backlight LEDs are positioned -- it's here that contrast varies by just a whisker more than the surrounding areas. These discrepancies aren't intrusive in daily usage, however.

It's worth noting that activating HDR disables the SmartUniformity feature as the panel needs all the brightness it can muster for high dynamic range content. For day-to-day use, however, we'd leave SmartUniformity enabled – especially if you're using the LightSensor feature, for the reasons discussed earlier.

Philips 34B2U6603CH monitor: Is it worth it?

Let us cut to the chase: If you prize image quality above all else, then this is not the monitor for you. The simple fact is that you can buy brighter, more colorful ultrawide QD-OLED or wide gamut IPS monitors for a broadly similar sum these days, and the Philips's image quality and limited color gamut are by far its least enticing qualities. It's more than good enough for everyday work and business duties, but we'd hesitate to recommend it for any roles that encompass creative work, and especially any of a color-critical nature. And if movies and games are a big part of your daily diet, whether that be for work or leisure purposes, you can get far more bang for your buck elsewhere.

If your needs are more productivity-focused, however, then the Philips' sheer breadth of talents is its strongest suit – it packs in a huge amount for the money. The feature list is ideal for the hot desking culture and home offices alike, and the styling, build quality, and general day-to-day experience of using the monitor all get a passing grade, too. It's not luxuriously fancy in any respect, but the Philips 34B2U6603CH allies ultrawide convenience with a resolutely useful feature list for sensible money. If that's the role you're hiring for, then it's fair to say that Philips has put together a very convincing CV.

Philips 34B2U6603CH specifications

If you are looking to buy an office monitor for less than £150 then traditionally the best you could hope for was something that produced a higher level of clarity than an Etch A Sketch and better colour accuracy than a Kaleidoscope. Thankfully times have changed and budget monitors are no longer a byword for visual disaster.

Lenovo's new L27i-4B 27in FullHD productivity monitor is one of the new breed and can be picked up for around £130 – £108 ex-VAT – and offers a competent, even enjoyable, visual experience and comes with some handy extras like a 100Hz refresh rate a pair of loud 3W speakers. This then is an office display that looks like it is both cheap and cheerful.

Lenovo L27i-4B monitor: Design & Features

Aesthetically the L27i-4B is rather more than you'd expect from a budget office monitor. The cabinet and stand are made from white rather than the usual black plastic and the bezels that surround the screen are narrower than the norm at 6mm across the top and sides and 12mm at the bottom. Lenovos describes this as "ultra-thin" and in this case, that's not just hyperbole.

For a 27in monitor, the L27i-4B is usefully compact the light measuring in at 611.5 x 181.5 x 474.5mm and weighing less than 4Kg, all measurements were taken with the stand attached.

Connectivity is limited to two HDMI 1.4 ports, a VGA connector, and a 3.5mm audio jack. VGA ports are becoming more and more rare on modern monitors and this makes the L27i-4B self-recommending to anyone who has PCs with this legacy video output in their workplace.

Given the price and market position of the L27i-4B, we think it unfair to mark it down for the absence of a DisplayPort or Type-C DP Alt Mode video input. Given the lack of any USB data ports, the L27i-4B obviously lacks anything in the way of KVM support but for that functionality, you need to spend rather more than Lenovo is asking here.

At 255mm x 170mm, the stand has rather a large footprint for a 27in monitor but there is a handy slot cut into it that you can use to house your phone – but only in landscape unless you have an unusually small smartphone – while working.

The stand is a basic affair that only allows you to adjust the tilt angle between -5 and 22 degrees. If you want any more adjustment you'll need to invest in a VESA stand or desk arm, which you can attach to the 100 x 100mm VESA mount on the back of the cabinet.

The monitor is managed via a small joystick and action button that along with the power button sits on the reverse of the cabinet in the lower left corner. Plenty of monitors regardless of price have very ill-thought-out menus and button systems but Lenovo's implementation is simple and very easy to use.

If you don't want to reach around the back of the cabinet to access the controls you can download Lenovo's Display Control Panel – we'd suggest using the one in the Microsoft Store as the one we downloaded from the Lenovo site refused to install – which lets you access all monitors settings and a few extra features like desktop partitions via a Windows app.

Buried inside the base of the cabinet is a brace of 3W loudspeakers. Given that monitors in this price bracket don't always have speakers you shouldn't expect a Hi-Fi experience and that's certainly the case here.

There's volume aplenty with a peak output of 77.6dBA measured against a pink noise source at a distance of 1m but the sound is rather brittle and lacks anything you could realistically describe as bass.

That said the sound they make is clear and spacious making them perfectly good enough for voice or video calls. Play music through them and the sound certainly isn't unlistenable though it is a little tiring at higher volume levels. In short, the speakers in the L27i-4B are considerably better than nothing.

Lenovo L27i-4B monitor: Display Quality

Judging the image quality of the Full HD 27-inch monitor must be done through the prism of knowing that we are dealing with a panel with a lowly 81.6dpi pixel density. This means that pixel construction is visible in text, far more so than it is on a 27in 2,560 x 1,440 109dpi monitor like the MSI MP273QP. Of course, more pixels mean more money, and the MSI costs around £190.

For what is a budget panel, the L27i-4B performed admirably during testing. Peak brightness was nothing to get too excited about at 270cd/m2 but the contrast level was good at 1,416:1 thanks to a low black luminescence level of 0.19cd/m2, an excellent level for an IPS panel at the lower end of the price spectrum.

Gamut coverage was also impressive with an sRGB coverage of 99.3% and volume of 114%. The DCI-P3 and AdobeRGB volumes were rather less impressive at 81% and 78.5% but we've seen worse on monitors costing more.

As well as the expected Warm, Cool, Neutral, and Custom colour profile the L27i-4B also has an sRGB lock. In sRGB mode, the average Delta E color accuracy measured at 1.8 which is another fine result for an entry-level productivity monitor and well below the score of 3 at which point anyone with even a half-trained eye will start to notice errors in color representation.

The upshot of all those measurements and numbers is that still images and videos look colorful and natural while blacks look as black as you can expect from any display that doesn't use OLED technology. For the price, this is a very solid performance.

As is becoming more common even at the bottom of the monitor food chain the L27i-4B supports refresh rates up to 100Hz. This doesn't just make this a good monitor for some surreptitious lunchtime gaming but also means that spreadsheets and CAD animations move just that little more smoothly than if they running at a mundane 60 or 75Hz.

Refresh rate aside the way the Lenovo's motion fidelity is worthy of mention. Running the tried and tested Blur Buster's UFO test showed an impressive lack of ghosting even with the Over Drive setting off. Upping the Over Drive to Normal and then Extreme doesn't have much of an effect but given there are no downsides to running the panel in Extreme we settled on that as the default setting.

You can further sharpen motion by engaging the Moving Picture Response Time or MPRT setting but this does knock the brightness down to 180cd/m2 which some users may regard as too high a price to pay.

Naturally, at this price point, you have to forgo support for HDR content or active synchronization in the form the Nvidia's G-Sync or AMD's FreeSync.

Running a colorimeter over the screen divided into 25 swatches proved that it's an impressively uniform display with all the swatches falling within the recommended tolerance for brightness and accuracy. Again, for such a cheap display this is a good showing.

Finally, we opened a full black image on the screen at maximum brightness to check for excessive backlight bleeding around the edges but found nothing worthy of comment. The Lenovo demonstrated none of the 'IPS glow' and limited viewing angles that spoiled the otherwise impressive Philips 27E1N900AE.

This then is a highly competent and well-engineered IPS panel with no weaknesses and that's not something you can often say of a monitor costing under £130.

Lenovo L27i-4B monitor: Is it worth it?

If you need a monitor with a VGA input the L27i-4B is self-recommending because it's a feature becoming harder and harder to find on modern monitors. But even if that's not a primary requirement the new Lenovo is well worth consideration assuming you aren't willing or able to pay the extra for a WQHD 2.5K display.

The L27i-4B's panel has no weak spots worthy of mention beyond the less-than-stellar maximum brightness though the peak of 271cd/m2 is more than adequate for indoor use in our experience. The good color gamut coverage, impressive contrast ratio, excellent motion fidelity, and far from useless built-in speakers make this a highly impressive budget monitor. We can't think of a better way to spend £130 on a FullHD office monitor.

Lenovo L27i-4B specifications

With energy costs weighing heavily on many businesses' bottom line, it's easy to see the appeal of a monitor such as the Philips 27B2G5500. This 27in monitor partners a WQHD panel with both presence and light sensors which automatically lower the screen brightness to suit the ambient lighting, or turn the screen off completely when users are away from their desk. Factor in a few other business sweeteners to whet your appetite – an adjustable stand, ample connectivity and TUV Rheinland certification for starters – and you've got a tempting package for the asking price.

Philips 27B2G5500 monitor: Design & Features

The first thing you'll notice about the 27B2G5500 is its eye-catching stand: the silvery grey finish and unusual loop design faintly resemble a giant paper clip. If you were so inclined, you could add a pair of googly eyes and stick on eyebrows from your local craft store and you'd have your own Clippy-themed monitor on your desk, which isn't something we could say about most monitors that pass through ITPro's doors.

Thankfully, though, you won't need to enlist the aid of a virtual assistant to help put the monitor together. The novel design goes hand in hand with tool-free installation: the base screws to the stand with a captive thumbscrew, and the panel simply slots onto the quick-release mechanism with a reassuring click. It takes less than a minute.

The stand provides 150mm of height adjustment, swivels a full 180 degrees left and right, and also pivots around into portrait mode in either direction. A word to the wise: you'll need to raise the monitor to full height before twisting it around into portrait mode, and be cautious doing so if you don't want to scuff the smart-looking base.

Look around the rear of said base, and you'll also find a little plastic clip for neatly routing the power and video cables behind the desk. As cable management goes, however, it's very basic: it's far too small to gather more than a couple of thick cables, and there's no way you'd be able to stuff a full complement of power, video, and multiple USB cables in there. In any case, the cables tend to unclip themselves when you swivel the monitor left and right. Thankfully, the slot in the monitor stand itself does a reasonable job of gathering the cables together and allowing them to neatly exit behind the desk.

The big omission on the specification sheet is USB-C, but the 27B2G5500 still provides a decent range of connectivity. There are two HDMI 2.0 inputs, one DisplayPort 1.4 input, and the USB-B input powers up the monitor's four USB-A ports. All of these provide USB 3.2 Gen 1 transfer speeds, with two ports positioned on the rear alongside the video inputs and a further two on the monitor's left-hand edge for easier access. One of these easy-access ports is highlighted in bright yellow and this signifies its 15W fast-charging capabilities. Just alongside is a 3.5mm audio output, and a fold-out arm above gives you somewhere to hang a headset, which is a thoughtful touch.

As usual, Philips provides most of the essential cables in the box. You get a 1.8m power cable, 1.8m HDMI cable, and a 1.8m DisplayPort cable, too. You're also meant to get a USB-A to USB-B cable, but someone had forgotten to put that back in our review sample's box.

The 27B2G5500 breaks from the current convention by swapping the increasingly common four-way joystick control for a simple, old-school row of four physical, clicky buttons on the bezel's bottom right edge. Each button has a simple, easy-to-understand shortcut icon alongside, so you can quickly prod a button and adjust brightness or select a video input. The on-screen display itself is simple and reasonably well laid out, so it's trivial to dive in and adjust settings if required, even for users who are unfamiliar with the monitor.

Straight out of the box, several of the headline power saving settings are disabled. The DPS (dynamic power saving) setting is on, and this lowers the overall screen brightness depending on the onscreen content. Businesses with an eye on energy efficiency will also want to enable the PowerSensor and LightSensor settings, however.

The PowerSensor feature has four sensitivity levels for presence sensing, with 1 being the lowest. Users who sit further away from their desks may need to use the higher sensitivity levels, but the lowest setting worked fine for our office setting. After a minute of being away from our desk, the monitor dimmed from its usual brightness level to under 1cd/m2. After another minute, the monitor's backlight turned off completely.

By contrast, the LightSensor feature is either on or off, and this means that its usefulness will be highly dependent on your office setting – and more specifically, how much natural lighting is present. Our office has a couple of Velux windows with multiple LED spotlights dotted around, and on an overcast day, the sensor kept the screen brightness at a very sensible 129cd/m2, which is just about perfect for all-day use. On a slightly less overcast day (this is British weather we're talking about, after all) the brightness shot up to 236cd/m2, which is far too bright for extended working periods. Unfortunately, you can't manually bracket the brightness levels to suit your specific ambient lighting conditions, as adjusting the monitor's brightness manually turns off the sensor.

Philips 27B2G5500 monitor: Display quality

The 27B2G5500's 27in IPS panel has a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, a 100Hz refresh rate, and offers a claimed contrast ratio of 1,500:1 and a maximum brightness of 300cd/m2. There's no wide gamut support, and the panel reproduces a claimed 108% of the sRGB color gamut.

Straight out of the box, the 27B2G5500 hits most of those numbers comfortably, and color accuracy is respectable, too. Brightness peaks at 301cd/m2, contrast tops out at 1,488:1 and the panel covers a creditable 96.9% of the sRGB color gamut. Color accuracy is good, with an average Delta E of 1.33, and while the maximum Delta E of 4.2 indicates that some green shades aren't faithfully reproduced, those differences weren't noticeable during our testing.

If you're tempted to explore some of the Philips' SmartImage picture modes, then save your time. We measured color accuracy across the various modes, but most make things worse – even the Photos preset doesn't actually do anything to improve image quality, and the Movies mode just crushes the shadow detail, turns on dynamic contrast, and adds an excessively blueish tint.

Backlighting is a typical stumbling block for more affordable panels, and the 27B2G5500 is no exception. We look for excessive variations in brightness and contrast across 25 points on the screen, and while every point passed the nominal tolerance levels to meet the ISO 14861:2015 standard, we've seen better at that price. Brightness drops off rapidly away from the center of the screen, and the left and right flanks fall in brightness by as much as 14% and 16% respectively. This won't bother most users for day-to-day tasks, but it is noticeable when displaying a solid color across the screen, where you'll see darker patches and unevenness around the edges of the panel.

The panel's 100Hz refresh rate goes hand in hand with basic AMD Freesync compatibility, which will be appreciated by the lunchtime gaming crowd. That said, the increased refresh rate is noticeable even with everyday productivity tasks, with smoother scrolling and more responsive mouse cursor movements. It's not going to send your productivity soaring, but it's a nice upgrade over a standard 60Hz monitor. The claimed 4ms grey to grey response time looks to be on the money, too, with reasonably clean, clear motion even without Philips' SmartResponse overdrive circuit activated. With SmartResponse off, the motion clarity is fine for business purposes but set the feature to its Faster or Fastest setting and the improvement is dramatic, with blurred details on moving objects seemingly snapping into focus. Gamers take note.

Philips 27B2G5500 monitor: Is it worth it?

Whether or not the 27B2G5500 is right for you depends entirely on which features you consider essential. If you're not too bothered about presence and brightness sensors, then Philips' cheaper 27E1N1600AE (£200) is the better buy. This eschews fancy design in favor of a basic height-adjustable stand (there's no pivot function), and you lose DisplayPort, the second HDMI port, and a couple of USB-A ports, but you gain USB-C connectivity with 65W power delivery which may arguably be more useful in many settings. Crucially, image quality is to all intents and purposes identical. Given that we've seen it retailing at a discount in recent weeks, it's hard to beat for value.

If, however, features such as presence sensing, automatic brightness, and a fully adjustable stand are non-negotiables on your shopping list, then the Philips 27B2G5500 pulls back into the lead. Image quality is firmly in the good enough camp, with sufficient sRGB color accuracy to tackle basic design and proofing work, and the unusual stand design is a plus point for open-plan offices looking to add a dash of design class to their desks. If you're seeking long-term energy savings with a relatively low upfront cost, that makes the Philips 27B2G5500 a very tempting option indeed.

Philips 27B2G5500 specifications

It's always tough to keep the audience's attention after a riotous main act, but the UltraSharp U2724DE is a suitably spellbinding performer. Riffing on the UltraSharp U2723Q's eye-catching performance and fixing the odd bum note along the way, this 27-inch monitor lowers the resolution, ups the refresh rate, and improves image quality where it matters. If you're looking for the perfect mid-sized monitor to accompany a frugally connected modern laptop – and a near-perfect premium business monitor at that – you can probably stop reading and hit the buy button now.

There's lots of good stuff to spotlight. The IPS Black panel serves up good contrast, brightness, and guaranteed color accuracy in both sRGB, DCI-P3, and Display P3 modes; the rear ports provide 90W of power delivery for both Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C devices in addition to full-speed USB 3.2 Gen 1 and 2.5G Ethernet connectivity, and the physical design marries a flattering silhouette with a stand that provides all the adjustability you could ask for. Tick, tick, tick, boon.

You could even argue that the WQHD resolution is actually a plus point. If you do fancy loading up the occasional game, then it's a far better match for the graphics chip in your average PC or laptop as you won't need a megabucks GPU to play at native resolution. Not that we'd dream of alt-tabbing between Microsoft Office and Call of Duty in our lunch break, of course.

Dell UltraSharp U2724DE monitor: Design & Features

There's precious little we'd change about Dell's styling. It treads that fine line between stylish and showy, and the combination of subtle branding, matte silver plastics with a light sheen, and a dainty bezel make for a handsome monitor. The great thing about the U2724DE, however, is that it doesn't just look good: it's shot through with practical design touches.

The slender adjustable stand doesn't have any fancy cable management – instead, it simply positions a little oblong slot towards the bottom which gathers cables neatly away to the rear. It's simple and works well without causing any bunching or tangling as you adjust the monitor's height or orientation.

And on that front, adjustability is excellent. You get 150mm of height adjustment which, while the mechanism is a little rumbly, works well enough to allow single-handed adjustment, and you also get enough tilt and swivel to get a comfortable viewing angle on any desk. You can quite happily tilt and swivel the monitor around with a single hand without worrying about it teetering on the base, and while there is a touch of wobble at full extension, it's nothing we'd worry about.

Connectivity is typically generous – you get a near-identical clutch of ports as the 4K Dell UltraSharp U2723QE. The big difference here is the addition of Thunderbolt 4 connectivity: the USB-C port at the rear is compatible with both USB and Thunderbolt devices.

The HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C inputs are all capable of carrying 2,560 x 1,440 images at up to 120Hz, and you also get DisplayPort and Thunderbolt 4 outputs for daisy chaining a second display, again at up to 2,560 x 1,440 resolution and 120Hz refresh rates.

The USB hub and KVM functions are more than welcome, too. The main USB-C port powers up a pair of USB-A ports on the back panel in addition to a more easily accessible USB-A and USB-C port on the monitor's bottom left-hand edge. Connect a second laptop or PC to the second upstream USB-C connection and you can also share a handful of USB devices between both machines.

When it comes to setting up the KVM and PBP/PIP settings, we'd urge owners to install the Dell Display Manager software which is available for both Windows and Mac users. While it's easy enough to navigate the on-screen display with the little four-way joystick on the monitor's rear, managing the various functions is far easier via the app.

Another helpful addition is the presence of a 2.5G Ethernet port. This is a boon for offices with the faster wired networking standard in place, and even more so for devices that have no Ethernet socket at all – which includes most mid – and lightweight modern laptops these days. As with the U2723QE, though, the internet connection isn't shared with both machines via the KVM switch – it automatically connects to whichever machine is currently active. This is worth remembering if you want the dormant machine to be downloading something critical in the background.

One less commonplace addition is the presence of an ambient light sensor. You can toggle the automatic brightness on or off, though, and we prefer it off in our home office. If you have Velux windows or a lot of natural light, you may prefer to set a static brightness level to avoid the screen brightness fluctuating every time clouds pass overhead.

You do get a handful of cables in the box, too, although you'll certainly need to dig out a few more to take full advantage of all the available connectivity. The 1.8m DisplayPort cable is a decent length, but the 1m USB-A to USB-C cable is unhelpfully short – it might reach a laptop or PC on the desk, but it's unlikely to reach a desktop PC on the floor. Thankfully, the included 1.8m Thunderbolt 4 cable is a more sensible length.

It's no great loss, but one thing you don't get is integrated speakers. There is a 3.5mm audio output, though, so you can use headphones or speakers instead. Given the quality of the speakers integrated into most monitors, this is vastly preferable.

Dell UltraSharp U2724DE monitor: Display quality

Dell's quoted specifications make for promising reading: the IPS Black panel promises a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, 100% coverage of sRGB and Rec 709, and 98% coverage of both DCI-P3 and Display P3 color spaces. Claimed color accuracy is good, too, with an average Delta E of less than 2 across all four of the preset color spaces.

The great news is that the U2724DE delivers on most of its promises. Our quick all-round health check revealed a clean bill of health, with a contrast ratio of 2,196:1, a modest peak brightness of 360cd/m2, 100% coverage of sRGB, and 95% coverage of DCI-P3, which is a little lower than claimed. Color accuracy is on point, though, with an average Delta E of less than 2 in both sRGB and DIsplay P3. In sRGB, we measured an average Delta E of 1.28 and a maximum of 2.6, and in Display P3 we measured an average Delta E of 1.49 and a maximum of 2.64, both of which are very respectable results.

It's great to see that motion handling marks a step up over its stablemate, the U2723QE. The 120Hz refresh rate helps here, and while the panel's 5ms response time looks decidedly sluggish when compared to the best gaming panels, it's good enough to keep moving objects looking pleasingly defined and sharp without creating any obvious visual artifacts. For office use, this makes for silky smooth scrolling and cursor movement, and it comes into its own in games where the high refresh rate both looks and feels noticeably more responsive than a bog-standard 60Hz panel. Gamers will want to enable the Fast response time setting – it subtly improves the clarity of moving objects without introducing excessive artifacts.

One thing the U2724DE doesn't have is HDR support – something its elder stablemate, the U2723QE, does possess. This is no great loss, however. HDR support is something of a tick-box exercise for any monitor that lacks effective local dimming, or that doesn't utilize a Mini LED or OLED panel, and this applies to the vast proportion of monitors at or around this price. As the U2724DE has a relatively low peak brightness and no local dimming, HDR support would be of little benefit.

VRR support is present and correct, too, but Dell doesn't advertise what flavor of VRR is supported. During our testing, it worked fine with AMD Freesync but we didn't have an Nvidia card on hand to test for G-Sync support. Reading around the web suggests that Nvidia G-Sync is supported, but the lack of official certification suggests that support may be partial rather than comprehensive.

The only blot on the U2724DE's copybook is the quality of the edge-lit backlighting – something we also criticized on the UltraSharp U2723QE. We tested brightness and contrast stability across 25 points on the display, and only 7 of those areas passed the recommended tolerance stipulated in the ISO 14861:2015 standard. All of the remaining areas passed the nominal tolerance levels, but it's worth noting that brightness dipped by as much as 12% in the lower left and right corners of the display, with noticeably dim sections along the left and right-hand flanks. This isn't very noticeable in everyday use, but it's more obvious when displaying solid colors across the whole screen – which admittedly we don't do very often except when testing monitors.

Dell UltraSharp U2724DE monitor: Is it worth it?

If there's a stumbling block, then it's the price – spending the best part of £500 on a monitor is by no small investment, especially not if you're looking to fit out an office. And if you simply have to have a 4K resolution, then you'll need to take the hit to refresh rates and motion handling (and forgo Thunderbolt) and opt for the still very lovely UltraSharp U2723QE instead.

There is a cheaper option, though. If you really don't need or want all that connectivity, you can save around £100 by opting for the cheaper UltraSharp U2724D (£343) which forgoes the KVM functions in addition to the Thunderbolt and Ethernet connectivity.

If you can and will take advantage of all the U2724DE's features, though, then it's hard to quibble with what you're getting for the money. Lacklustre backlighting aside, Dell has concocted a near perfect balance of image quality, connectivity, adjustability, and desk friendly dimensions. As do-it-all monitors go, they don't get much better than the UltraSharp U2724DE.

Dell UltraSharp U2724DE specifications

We know, we know. If you could afford it, you'd already have an Apple Studio Display on your desk. Hey, maybe you'd have two. But with the Studio Display costing the best part of £2,000 – as much as the base models of both Apple's Macbook Air and Mac Mini combined – there is a large, 16:9 proportioned opening in the market for a more affordable Mac-centric display. Enter BenQ's MA320U, a 4K 31.5-inch monitor that promises color-accurate performance and neat integration with your Macbook for a mere £550.

Yes, that's right – for the price of just one Apple Studio Display (£1,499) with its £400 optional adjustable stand, you could treat yourself to three BenQ MA320U monitors and still have change left over to buy a bigger desk.

Joking aside, the BenQ MA320U is an easy sell. The appeal of the huge 31.5in panel and 4K resolution is self-explanatory, as is the promise of 99% sRGB and 97% Display P3 coverage, but the big difference here is that the MA320U is designed to work in perfect harmony with a Mac. And before you click the back button: yes, it even does a pretty convincing job with a Windows PC, too.

Install BenQ's Display Pilot 2 app, and you get a simple, easily accessible little control panel on your desktop from which you can simultaneously adjust brightness across both your Macbook and monitor, quickly swap between sRGB and P3 color profiles, and more besides.

BenQ is so confident in the usefulness of the app, in fact, that it's pared down the monitor's on-screen display to provide only the most basic of adjustments – volume, brightness, input selection – with all the fine control available solely via the app. It's a bold move, but the result is a big display that offers stunning value for money for both MacOS and Windows users alike.

BenQ MA320U monitor: Design & Features

If you've had a 27in or smaller monitor on your desk, then the MA320U initially seems intimidatingly large, but thankfully it's lighter than it looks – and that makes it easy to get set up on the desk. The fully adjustable stand screws together with a single captive thumbscrew, and the panel clips home with a reassuring thunk thanks to the quick-release mechanism. If you do want to opt for a wall mount instead, however, you'll find the usual VESA 100 x 100mm mounting holes at the rear.

Once set up on the desk, the tubular stand provides 115mm of height adjustment alongside a good range of tilt and swivel, and it also pivots around into a portrait orientation. As with many monitors we've reviewed, however, you'll want to make sure to extend the stand to full height before turning the monitor into portrait mode – the silver base bore a scar from where previous reviewers had forgotten to do so.

One thing you don't need to do, however, is to manually rotate your desktop orientation: simply activate the Auto Pivot feature in the BenQ app and your desktop will automatically flick between portrait and landscape orientation. The only moan here is that the lack of cable management features means that you'll need to check for snagged cables before spinning the display around too rashly.

Connectivity ticks all the basics. Around the back, the primary USB-C port simultaneously handles 4K images and 90W of power delivery, and unlike Apple's Studio Monitor, you also get a couple of HDMI inputs, which is a useful addition.

There's also a couple of extra USB-A ports (one of which is helpfully positioned under the monitor's bottom edge for easy access), a second downstream USB-C port that supports up to 15W of power delivery, and a headphone output (again, on the bottom edge). Unlike most monitors, most of the MA320U's ports are rear-facing rather than downwards-facing, so slotting cables in is less fiddly than most.

If there's a quibble with the MA320U's USB hub functions, it's that the single cable USB-C simplicity comes with a compromise: users will have to pick between the fastest USB 3.2 Gen 1 data speeds or 60Hz refresh rates – you can't have both. Just as we found with Dell's UltraSharp U2723QE, sending 4K 60Hz images via USB-C saps so much of the available bandwidth that you'll need to drop the refresh rate to 30Hz if you want full-speed data transfers. Or, alternatively, you'll just have to use one of the two HDMI inputs instead.

You do also get a pair of built-in speakers but despite the fancy "treVolo" branding, they probably need a Break In Case Of Emergency warning sticker. They go reasonably loud, hitting 68dB with a pink noise source from a metre away, but there's no bass or even lower mid-range to speak of so both voices and music are thin and reedy sounding. The integrated speakers in any recent MacBook are far better.

BenQ's Display Pilot 2 software makes it possible to integrate the MA320U more tightly with a connected Mac laptop than most monitors – but it does also work well in Windows, which is where we did the majority of our image quality testing. If you have both MacOS and Windows machines hooked up to the display, you won't be missing out on the MA320U's key features, and as the Display Pilot software can control the monitor both via the USB-C input and via DDC over the HDMI connections, so you don't have to swap the USB cable between each device.

The Display Pilot app sits in the taskbar and a single click brings up a handy control panel that allows you to access all of the monitor's various features, such as toggling HDR and auto pivot or you can delve into the settings menu to adjust the various monitor settings, such as overdrive or input sensing. It's well laid out and simple to use; a vast improvement on pretty much every monitor on-screen display we've ever used.

It's possible to synchronize the brightness controls across both the monitor and laptop display, which is a lovely touch, and a drop-down menu rapidly selects the various ICC color profiles, such as sRGB and Display P3, and activates them across both displays.

You can choose to manually adjust the brightness levels with the slider in the app, or your Macbook's shortcut buttons, and this then adjusts both the monitor and laptop simultaneously. Alternatively, you can activate automatic brightness and select whether you want your Macbook's brightness sensor or the MA320U's sensor positioned along its top edge to take charge.

BenQ MA320U monitor: Display quality

The 31.5in IPS panel has a standard 4K, 3,840 x 2,160 resolution, and 60Hz refresh rate. In terms of color accuracy, BenQ doesn't lay claim to any specific Delta E figures but does quote 99% sRGB coverage and 97% DCI-P3 coverage. The monitor also touts a DisplayHDR 600 certification and HDR 10 support.

Subjectively, the MA320U makes a great first impression. Colors look vibrant, skintones look realistic and the 4K resolution and big panel make for a large and highly detailed image. If you're upgrading from a WQHD 27in panel, the increase in clarity is obvious regardless of whether you're watching YouTube videos or creating documents – there's vastly more detail on show, and text clarity is much improved, too.

And as BenQ has opted to use its own Nano Matte anti-glare coating, reflections are kept to a minimum even in our brightly lit home office. In fact, it does a really good job of diffusing reflections and best of all, it does so without introducing an intrusive graininess to the image. Shining an iPhone torch directly at the display results in a smoothly diffused light and no bright highlight, which is very impressive. The similarly impressive anti-glare coating on the Asus PA278CFRV on our desk came close, but none of the other five monitors on our test bench did as good a job as the MA320U.

We ran the MA320U through our usual suite of display tests and it emerged with a very respectable set of numbers. In SDR mode, brightness peaked at a gleaming 527cd/m2, which isn't bad at all, and only contrast was a little disappointing, with a contrast ratio of 1,220:1 putting the MA320U squarely in bog-standard IPS contrast territory. If you're planning on using the MA320U in a darkened room, we'd advise using some bias lighting behind the monitor to boost the perceived contrast ratio -- in a blacked-out room, the greyish blacks can be a tad intrusive.

Color accuracy is great for the money. We measured an sRGB coverage of 99.9%, which is bang on BenQ's claims, and accuracy was excellent with an average Delta E of 0.68 and a maximum deviation of 1.59. The only disappointment here is that the white balance is a touch on the warm, reddish side as we measured a color temperature of 6,000k – that's noticeably short of the ideal 6,500k. For non-color critical work it's no big deal as sRGB content still looks great, but it's not strictly 100% accurate – if that's essential, you'll need to resort to software calibration as there are no manual controls for color temperature.

The Display P3 profile also measured pretty well, with an average Delta E of 1.14. It doesn't quite cover the claimed 97% of the Display P3 color gamut, however, stopping short at just over 94% in our tests. This discrepancy explains the slightly higher maximum Delta E of 3.25 – the panel simply can't reproduce certain shades. That said, color temperature was a little closer to the 6,500k ideal, with our measurements hitting 6,317k.

The MA320U is plenty bright enough for SDR, but it does actually do a passable job with HDR content, too. While we're cynical about the usefulness of monitors with DisplayHDR 400 certifications, as they simply don't get bright enough to create a high dynamic range image, the BenQ's DisplayHDR 600 certification here marks the point where you begin to get a hint of what HDR should look like.

Admittedly, there still isn't sufficient peak brightness or contrast to really make HDR pop off the screen like the best Mini LED or OLED displays, but HDR content still looks pretty impressive. We measured a higher peak brightness of 610cd/m2 in HDR mode and this increased brightness over and above SDR mode does make for punchier highlights. However, as this is achieved via basic edge lit dimming with only 8 vertical zones, it's pretty crude. On busier images you may not notice it too much, but where highlights are present against a dark background, you'll clearly see vertical strips of the screen jumping up and down in brightness, and if those bright elements move across the screen from left to right, you may start to notice the dimming zones going on and off, raising the black level of each section as they go.

Picture uniformity is acceptable but no better than we'd expect at the price – that is to say, typically average. We measure every monitor's brightness and contrast across 25 points on the display, and the MA320U's brightness dipped noticeably along the panel's lower left and right flanks, with brightness dropping by as much as 12% from the levels measured in the center of the panel. Most of the panel passes the nominal levels required by the ISO 14861:2015 standard, but the bottom left corner failed due to an excessive drop in contrast – over 7%. Subjectively, you probably won't notice it too much during everyday use, but display a solid color across the whole panel and it looks patchy even to the naked eye.

Motion handling is arguably the MA320U's weakest suit, but it's still firmly in the good-enough-for-most-people camp. The monitor's overdrive circuit (dubbed AMA in the Display Pilot 2 menus) is set to its middle High setting by default, and while turning AMA off results in noticeably more ghosting around moving objects, the higher Premium mode doesn't show any drastic improvements. Set side by side with Dell's U2724DE monitor with its 5ms claimed response time and 120Hz refresh rate, the MA320U exhibits markedly more smearing and loses more fine detail on moving objects. Most users would be advised to just leave AMA at its default setting in our opinion – for casual gaming and movie watching, the default setting is fine. Be under no illusions, however: this is not a gaming monitor in MacOS-friendly clothing.

BenQ MA320U monitor: Is it worth it?

At the time of writing this review, various retailers are offering the MA320U for pre-order at £550. In our opinion, that's a good deal for the features and performance on offer here. While you start to see 32-inch 4K monitors on offer once your budget approaches the £300 mark, you're not going to be guaranteed good color accuracy, wide gamut support or any of the key luxuries on offer here such as an adjustable stand, USB-C connectivity or HDR, not to mention the MacOS integration.

Suffice to say, if you want a versatile, great quality display with MacOS-friendly features – but which isn't tied exclusively to your Macbook – then it's hard to overstate the MA320U's appeal. BenQ has packed in a simply huge amount for the money. This is a big-screen display that's big on value, big on features and hugely appealing to Mac and Windows users alike. It's a superb display which is ideal for a compact home office, and also one that'd make a good pick for more professional settings where IT budgets allow. Great work, BenQ.

BenQ MA320U specifications

If you're wondering why we're reviewing the same Philips monitor for a second time, then you'll need to reread the product name. This isn't the excellent Philips 27E1N1600AE (£199) which we recommended back in July 2024. This is the slightly pricier Philips 27E1N1900AE. This model doesn't just turn the 6 upside down and add £50 to the price, however – it also bumps up the resolution to 4K.

Barring some very slight design differences, the main upgrade here is the move from a WQHD 2,560 x 1,440 panel to a 4K 3,840 x 2,160 one. With all those pixels packed into a 27in IPS panel, you can look forward to crystalline images and text clarity – the only downside being that most of us will need to employ OS scaling to bump up the standard font size. Everyone, that is, except those blessed with truly exceptional eyesight.

In addition to its high pixel density, the Philips 27E1N1900AE touts the kind of feature list which marks it out as being well-suited to office duties. The USB-C connectivity is a great fit for modern laptops, with a single cable sending DisplayPort signals in one direction and 65W of battery-replenishing power delivery in the other. You also get a height-adjustable stand, a two-port USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 hub, and a matte anti-glare coating which is ideal for most common office lighting conditions.

If you think this all sounds pretty comprehensive for the money, then we'd be inclined to agree. And after reading this review, you may even end up being as impressed as we were by some aspects of its performance. The crushing news, then, is that the 4K panel lets the side down in a way that's very, very difficult to ignore.

Philips 27E1N1900AE monitor: Design & Features

If you're hoping for a stylish business monitor at a cut-down price, then the 27E1N1900AE isn't quite as dapper as its cheaper stablemate, the 27E1N1600AE. In fact, it's a great example of how minor design changes can radically alter a product's look. Placed alongside its stablemate, the 27E1N1900AE's slightly thicker, more plasticky chin, replete with a larger Philips logo, makes the monitor look immediately more clunky and low-end. It's a very minor change, but the tiny logo and narrow chin on the cheaper model look far more elegant by comparison.

In other regards, the fact that the 27E1N1900AE is almost identical to its cheaper stablemate is the very definition of a good thing. You get the same squared-off stand with a useful cutout in the middle for stashing pens, paperclips, or office lanyards; the same simple clips at the back for basic cable management duties and the same 100mm of height adjustability alongside a basic amount of front to back tilt. The basic workplace essentials all get a confident tick in the box.

Again, alongside the USB-C and HDMI ports, you also get a two-port USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 hub. The only issue here for single-cable USB-C converts is that you'll need to pick between sending 4K 60Hz signals and limiting yourself to USB 2.0 transfer speeds, or halving the refresh rate to 30Hz in exchange for full-speed USB 3.2 Gen 1 transfers. Thankfully, the HDMI input provides an alternative way of sending a full-fat 4K 60Hz signal without slowing the integrated USB hub down to a crawl – some users may prefer to put up with two cables to take advantage of higher transfer speeds.

The feature list is perhaps a tad frugal when judged against some of the recent monitors we've tested, but then this is a £249 monitor. With that firmly in mind, it's fairly easy to forgive the cheaper-looking elements of the design, the two-port USB hub, or the lack of any pivot or side to side swivel functions for the stand. This is clearly an exercise in packing as many pixels and business-focused features as possible into a fairly tight budget. Which makes it all the more impressive to find that Philips also supplies a decent handful of cables in the box, with the usual power cable accompanied by a 1.5m HDMI cable and a sensible 1.8m length of USB-C to USB-C cable.

The cost-cutting does make itself obvious in a number of places, though. For instance, the on-screen display is the same as that on the 27E1N1600AE, but the user interface is now comically tiny. Rather than scale the user interface up to match the display's higher pixel density, Philips has just left it alone: the result is tiny text and menus that may not be easily legible for older eyes. The single joystick-style power button at the rear remains a tad fiddly in use – it's set a little too far around the back of the panel, so even big hands will find it awkward to get at.

Philips 27E1N1900AE monitor: Display quality

We'd normally save the bad news for the end of this section, but the Philips 27E1N1900AE's one major image quality flaw is going to be a dealbreaker for most users. In short, the viewing angles are simply dreadful. If we'd bought this on the specification list alone, we'd probably have returned it shortly after putting it through its paces.

First, a bit of an explainer. While IPS panels are usually fairly well regarded for having wide viewing angles, they're also well known for exhibiting a visual artifact known as IPS glow, which is where parts of the screen appear to glow with an off-white haze. This usually worsens as you move your head away from a perfect head-on position directly in front of the monitor, but the effect is usually either subtle or virtually invisible as long as you stay reasonably centered. Usually, the better the quality of the IPS panel, the less intrusive the glow. Unfortunately, the Philips' 27E1N1900AE's panel exhibits such terrible IPS glow that you can see the corners of the screen shimmer and change hue with even the slightest head movements.

The color shifts are less noticeable if you move further away, but we're generally sat around an arm's length from our monitor – as are most office users – and sitting over a meter away doesn't make much sense for a pixel-dense 4K 27in monitor. At a normal viewing distance, it's fair to say that the changes in color can be hugely distracting – color tones darken as you move away from head-on, and it looks as though the monitor is shimmering even when you're just reading up and down a simple text document. The issue is less noticeable while watching YouTube videos or playing games with lots of onscreen movement, but the moment things slow down it's hard not to notice.

It's a crying shame because the monitor performs quite well in other areas. It might sound counterintuitive to state that color accuracy is actually quite good, but as it's measured from a single point on the screen with our X-Rite colorimeter, it objectively is. The panel itself covers 99.9% of the sRGB gamut, and even though Philips doesn't shout about it in its marketing, it also covers 96% of the P3 gamut, which is a bonus.

In fact, it tests very well against the Display P3 color space, achieving an average Delta E of 1.66 and a maximum deviation of 3.65. Switch to the monitor's sRGB mode (which you'll find in the Color section of the on-screen display) and you get even better results, with an average Delta E of 0.93 and a maximum of 2.5. Those are some very respectable results for a £250 monitor, and as good as we've seen from some monitors at more than twice the price.

Other aspects of the Philips's picture performance are more middle-of-the-road, but they're acceptable. Brightness peaks at 290cd/m2 measured at the center of the screen, which is roughly double the figure you'll comfortably need for everyday office use, and the measured contrast ratio of 1,100:1 is what we'd expect for a budget-oriented IPS panel.

More crucial for business is the choice of anti-glare coating, and here Philips has opted for a matte layer with a fairly light 25% haze, which does a pretty good job of diffusing unwanted reflections. The reflectivity is a little higher than some matte anti-glare panels – the Asus PA278CFRV, for instance – but it's far more effective than the semi-gloss finish on Dell's UltraSharp U2723QE. For office use, the Philips strikes a sensible balance between the two camps.

It's worth knowing that the Philips does also support HDR, but despite the broad palette of colors at its disposal, the 4K panel neither goes bright enough nor has sufficient contrast to make a good job of HDR content – we'd recommend sticking with SDR content wherever possible. The presence of adaptive sync in the guise of AMD Freesync support is slightly more welcome, but even this is of limited benefit for a 60Hz display.

Philips 27E1N1900AE monitor: Is it worth it?

While it's not unusual to see 27in 4K monitors start to appear around the £200 to £250 mark, you normally need to make do with limited connectivity and basic stands with limited adjustability. Luxuries such as height-adjustable stands, USB hubs, and USB-C connectivity are anything but a given. It's actually quietly impressive, then, to see how many features Philips has crammed into the 27E1N1900AE for the money.

Despite all that, though, we simply can't recommend the 27E1N1900AE – the viewing angle issues are too intrusive for office work. For a good, all-round office monitor, we'd definitely opt for the 27E1N1600AE instead, as what you lose in resolution, you gain in better all round picture performance. Sometimes, less really is more.

Philips 27E1N1900AE specifications

While everyday PC monitors are a dime a dozen, truly color-accurate displays are an altogether rarer and pricier breed. The Asus PA278CFRV sidles into the middle ground between four-figure professional displays and more affordable panels, offering an appealing combination of guaranteed color accuracy, a sensibly sized 27in IPS panel, and a range of useful features for around £400.

For most desks and disciplines, a 27in 2,560 x 1,440 monitor presents a very acceptable compromise between screen size and text clarity, but Asus has set its sights on the creative desks by adding Calman-verified sRGB and DCI-P3 modes. That means you can simply activate the preset, load up your preferred color-aware software, and be confident that what you're seeing on screen is accurate. You also get factory-calibrated display modes for Adobe RGB, Rec.2020, DICOM, and Rec.709 which isn't a given at this price.

The PA278CFRV throws a few more useful features into the mix, too. You get a fully adjustable stand, a 100Hz refresh rate with adaptive sync support, the single cable benefits of USB-C (including up to 96W of USB-C power delivery), and a handy USB hub that reaches USB 3.2 Gen 1 data speeds. Asus has stirred in VESA MediaSync and DisplayHDR 400 accreditation for added flavor, too.

If that all sounds immensely promising for a £400 monitor, then you're probably waiting for a but. And there is one: despite plenty of good points, the PA278CFRV has a number of issues that may be a deal breaker for some users.

Asus PA278CFRV monitor: Design & Features

The Asus' styling is a curious blend of the modern and the retro. The fake brushed metal slender tubular stand and base look great from most angles, and the bezel-less design around the top and sides of the display looks great, too. We're less keen on the chunky 19mm thick chin along the bottom, replete with faux brushed metal effect finish and a prominent Asus logo. It's a dated design, in our opinion, and cheapens an otherwise good-looking monitor. If Asus needs an example of how to do subtle, stylish branding and design that looks great from any angle, it'd do well to refer to Dell's UltraSharp U2723QE, or any of Dell's recent UltraSharp models for that matter.

The adjustable stand works well, moving in every possible direction you could ask for. It attaches to the panel using a standard 100mm x 100mm VESA mount and you get the tilt, swivel, pivot, and 130mm of height adjustment. Asus' marketing also boasts about the newly shrunken base. This frees up a few precious square centimeters of space on the desk, so just think of all the extra pens/paperclips/USB thumb drives (delete as applicable) you'll be able to fit on your desk. In any case, we were pleased to find it hasn't compromised stability: one-handed adjustment of the monitor doesn't cause any unwanted wobbling back and forth even when the monitor is at maximum height extension.

Asus hasn't attempted to scale the KVM-equipped heights of the Dell UltraSharp U2723QE, but it's added enough connectivity to prove almost as useful for most users. Video inputs extend to one DisplayPort 1.4, one HDMI 2.0 port, and a USB-C port which carries DisplayPort signals in one direction while ferrying 96W of power delivery in the other. There's also a DisplayPort output for daisy-chaining a second monitor, which is nice – doubly so if you have a modern laptop with equally modern connectivity (i.e. not much). You also get PiP and PbP functions, too, so that's another potential plus.

Plug a USB-C cable into the monitor, and you'll power up the trio of USB-A ports and single USB-C output at the rear. One USB-A port is positioned alongside the video inputs on the back panel, but two are nestled just underneath the monitor's bottom left lip for easier access. All of the ports reach USB 3.2 Gen 1 speeds, but bear in mind that only the primary USB-C port at the rear delivers the full 96W of power.

You do also get a pair of speakers, each powered with 2 watts of amplification, but the following sentence is going to be typically curt and unenthused: they sound rough and unrefined and are only worth using in emergencies.

The on-screen display is an oddity. Once you're into the menus properly, it's fine, but the initial shortcut legend which pops up is a good example of bad UI. Whoever at Asus is responsible for such a bizarre design deserves a firm prod in the ribs – we have a sneaking suspicion that the hardware and software teams aren't on speaking terms. Thankfully, the four-way joystick and strip of 5 buttons work well enough once you get past the quirkiness.

In the event that you should find yourself overly irritated by the on-screen display, you can always install Asus' DisplayWidget Center software instead. This allows you to select and customize the various picture modes from within Windows, and more easily tweak the PiP and PbP settings, without setting foot in the OSD at all. Mac users aren't afforded such luxuries, however.

Asus PA278CFRV monitor: Display quality

From the moment we turned on the PA278CFRV, image quality looked promising – rather as you'd expect given the Calman certification. Colors look subjectively accurate and natural, viewing angles are nice and wide and there are no image nasties that instantly leap out on a cursory inspection. Testing with our standard X-Rite Display Pro colorimeter proved that it wasn't top of the heap, though, and despite a clean bill of health in some tests, it falls short in others.

Asus themselves claim that the panel achieves 95% DCI-P3 coverage with a certified color accuracy of under 2 dE, and you get a certificate in the box detailing the factory-calibrated sRGB and P3 Calman report for each specific monitor direct from the factory.

We tested the panel using DisplayCal software rather than the Calman suite, but the results were pretty similar. In the DCI-P3 color space, we recorded a gamut coverage of 94.5% and an average Delta E of 1.35 with a peak of 2.68 in the teal and turquoise blue regions. In the sRGB color space, the Asus achieved coverage of 99.5%, an average Delta E of 1.1, and a peak deviation of 3.47. These are inferior results to Asus's own figures – the supplied Calman test report quotes an average Delta E of 0.6 in sRGB and 0.9 in DCI-P3 – but it's not a million miles off. Given that Asus is using a £5,000 Konica Minolta CA-P427 spectrometer and we're using a humble £200 X-Rite colorimeter, it's reasonable to expect some discrepancy between the two.

There is also an Adobe RGB mode, but it's of relatively limited benefit given that the panel only manages to cover around 83% of the color gamut. The profile is reasonably color-accurate for that 83%, but the average Delta E of 2.1 and peak of 6.9 underline the fact that the panel simply can't reproduce certain shades. There are no two ways about it: 83% coverage simply isn't broad enough for color-critical use, so we wouldn't recommend it for soft-proofing purposes. The same goes for the Rec.2020 mode here, as that encompasses an even wider gamut of colors than Adobe RGB, which the monitor simply can't reproduce. These picture modes may be useful for a finger-in-the-air spot check on specific content types, but 100% accurate they are not.

If there's one other minor quibble, then it's that the sRGB mode isn't very useful in brighter rooms, even if it is accurate. The sRGB standard stipulates a display luminance of 80cd/m2, and Asus is to be credited for adhering to this (not all monitors with sRGB modes do), but the brightness control is greyed out, so there's no option to bump up the brightness for use in brighter environments. Again, granted, it's not strictly accurate to do so, but it'd be a useful option to have.

The brightness and contrast levels are one of Asus' weaker suits, even if they are adequate for working with standard dynamic range content. We measured a peak brightness of 395cd/m2 in SDR mode, which is more than bright enough – too bright, in fact – for any normally lit environment, but the DisplayHDR400 certification isn't really worth the paper (pixels) it's written (displayed) on – an HDR display really needs to be able to get much brighter than 400cd/m2. In reality, we measured a peak brightness of 367cd/m2 in HDR, which was actually slightly lower than the SDR measurements.

The measured 1,058:1 contrast ratio is bog-standard, old-school IPS territory, too. It's a far cry from top-end VA or OLED panels, or even the newer generation of IPS. We've seen monitors at half the price (the Philips 27E1N1600AE, for instance) with newer IPS panels that exceed 1,500:1, and similarly priced models with IPS Black panels now routinely crest the 2,000:1 mark. Look closely, and the Asus' limitations are obvious to the naked eye: shadow detail and black areas on the screen look decidedly grey, and especially so when viewed alongside a monitor with a higher contrast ratio. In concert with the relatively low peak brightness, this makes the Asus a poor choice for HDR use.

Motion clarity isn't good enough to trouble the best gaming monitors, but it's pretty good to be fair. We were disappointed by the similarly-priced Dell UltraSharp U2723QE in this regard, and the Asus looks much better side by side, with far less visible ghosting. The response time overdrive, dubbed Trace Free in the on-screen display, is enabled by default here and set to 60%, and there are no nasty overdrive-related artifacts.

It's worth knowing that the Asus' VESA MediaSync certification adds unofficial support for both Nvidia G-Sync and AMD Freesync, although its specifications aren't focused on optimizing gaming; instead, it's designed to dynamically adapt the monitor's refresh rate to allow smooth, stutter-free playback of video sources with sub-60fps frame rates. To be clear, this is a monitor designed for content creation rather than consumption.

Asus has sensibly opted for a matte anti-glare coating here, and its LuxPixel technology does a good job of combating reflections. Set next to a Dell UltraSharp U2723QE monitor with a semi-gloss coating, the Asus was vastly better at combating reflections from bright light sources, and shining my iPhone 15 Pro Max torch at full brightness directly onto the panel resulted in a soft, diffused orangey halo. Doing the same with the Dell's semi-gloss panel showed a clear reflection of the bright white LED. For working in rooms or offices with a lot of natural light, or very bright overhead lighting, the Asus is a good fit.

Sadly, backlighting is by far the Asus' weakest area. Subjectively, it's possible to see a slight glow around the panel's edges, and there's some color tinting visible on grey slides too. We measured brightness and contrast across 25 points on the panel, and only four points on the panel were within the recommended tolerance of brightness and contrast variation, with 20 of the others achieving only a nominal tolerance according to the ISO 14861 standard. The far bottom left corner failed the test, though, with brightness and contrast significantly lower than the rest of the panel. If this was a monitor we'd bought ourselves, we'd probably be tempted to return it and see if there's a panel lottery or QC issues at play.

Asus PA278CFRV monitor: Is it worth it?

At the time of writing, the Asus PA278CFRV was available on pre-order for £398. This pits it directly against popular 27in alternatives such as the Dell UltraSharp U2723QE (£450) or UltraSharp U2724D (£400). Neither have such a wide range of calibrated picture modes, but the U2723QE, in particular, trumps the Asus with a more balanced all round performance – it has a 4K resolution, offers comparable color accuracy, has very slightly better backlighting, and even includes basic KVM functions. For £50 more, that's hard to ignore.

What the Dell lacks, however, is the Asus' various factory-calibrated picture modes – few monitors at this price provide such a wide selection, nor do they provide as much adjustability. If you can take advantage of – or just downright need – these kinds of features, you may be able to live with the Asus' shortcomings. And doubly so when the alternative is spending twice as much again, if not much, much more, on a 'proper' professional display.

Make no mistake, there's still lots of room for improvement here, but it's hard not to appreciate the Asus PA278CFRV's sheer ambition. We'd counsel any prospective buyers to carefully consider whether it really fits their needs, but if it passes that acid test, there are precious few £400 monitors that cram in quite so much creative potential for the money.

Asus PA278CFRV monitor specifications

While some of us dream of TV-sized monitors on our desks, the reality of the modern office is that space is often at a premium. That's why monitors such as Dell's U2723QE are such an appealing prospect. This smart 27in monitor packs in a 4K IPS panel, color-accurate performance, an adjustable stand, a five-port USB-C hub with 90W charging, and KVM functionality for under £500. Intrigued? We certainly were.

Monitors with a 4K resolution aren't newsworthy these days, but there are benefits to squeezing 8 million plus pixels into a modest 27in diagonal, and especially so for office use. Text is crystal clear – dramatically more so than similarly sized 1440P monitors – and when that clarity goes hand-in-hand with superb color accuracy, you have a recipe for productivity nirvana.

On that front, Dell's decision to employ a high-quality IPS Black panel both boosts contrast and provides good color accuracy in both sRGB and Display P3 modes. For professionals who prize image quality as highly as business-friendly features, the Dell is an easy sell.

There are some slightly finicky aspects – some USB-C-equipped laptops and desktops may have to pick between a 60Hz refresh rate and maximal USB 3.2 data speeds via the built-in hub, something which we'll discuss in more detail later – but overall it's hard to be too critical at the price. Suffice it to say, the U2723QE does an awful lot right for the money.

Dell UltraSharp U2723QE monitor: Design and features

From the moment you start unpacking the Dell, it's clearly a cut above your average 27in monitor. The slender stand clicks and screws into place in seconds – there are no tools or screwdrivers required – and the solidity of the build immediately feels like a step up from cheaper rivals.

That sturdy-feeling stand does almost everything you could ask of it, too, providing 150mm of height adjustment alongside tilt, swivel, and rotation into portrait mode. There are some minor niggles, though. For instance, while it is possible to adjust the height one-handed without the base lifting up, tilting the monitor backward or forwards is a two-handed job – the base rocks back and forth as the tilt mechanism is just a tad too stiff. The rather rough, rumbly feel to the height adjustment is another nitpick; it doesn't slide smoothly up and down like the best we've encountered.

Still, it's hard not to appreciate the overall design. The neat little angled cut-out at the base of the U2723QE's stand allows you to slot cables through quickly and easily, gathering them neatly to the rear, and this neatness goes hand in hand with a smart two-tone silver and black design which looks pretty slick from any angle. It's a really tiny thing, but we also appreciated the fact that the stand doesn't protrude very far beyond the panel's bottom edge: you can push your keyboard right back up to the base's flat edge when you're not using it, and reclaim some precious desk space.

Connectivity is impressively well-rounded. You get HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.4 inputs, both of which are HDCP 2.2-compliant, alongside a USB-C input at the rear which receives 4K 60hz signals and provides up to 90W of power via USB-PD. A second upstream USB-C port and DisplayPort output are both masked off with orange rubber bungs – you can use these ports to take advantage of the Dell's KVM functions and/or daisy chain a second monitor. There's also a gigabit Ethernet socket for good measure and this is shared to any connected computer – albeit only one at a time – via the USB connection.

The in-built USB hub is generously appointed: there are four USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports at the rear supplemented by a further two – a single USB-C and single USB-A port – positioned just underneath the monitor's bottom-left-hand corner. All six of these ports only supply 15W of power, though, so while you can charge a device from any of them, it'll be at a reduced rate.

It's good to find some cables in the box – a 1.8m DisplayPort cable, a super-speed USB-A to USB-C cable, and a plain 1m USB-C cable – but it's a shame Dell couldn't stretch to an HDMI cable, too. It's also a tad shortsighted to only provide a 1m USB-C cable; a 1.8m cable would have provided more flexibility.

And much as we love the simplicity of USB-C, the U2723QE's implementation isn't quite plug and play: it requires the user to pick between two modes, High Resolution or High Data Speed. Activate High Resolution mode and the USB-C cable passes uncompressed 4K 60Hz images but limits data transfers to USB 2.0 speeds. Switch to High Data Speed mode and you'll get full-speed 10mbit USB 3.2 transfers, but DisplayPort 1.2 devices are limited to 4K 30Hz images while DisplayPort 1.4 devices with support for Display Stream Compression (DSC) get compressed 4K 60Hz images. It's also worth noting that you'll need to use High-Resolution mode while daisy-chaining a second monitor from the U2723QE if you want 4K 60Hz signals across both displays.

The Dell's KVM features are a nice bonus. This means you can also connect a second PC or laptop to the U2723QE and share one set of peripherals and any other devices connected to the monitor's USB ports without constantly needing to swap cables. We'd think twice before using it to share an Ethernet connection, though, as it only provides a wired network connection to one computer at a time – you may be better off buying a basic Ethernet switch for this purpose.

If you are tempted to make use of Dell's KVM functions, make sure to install Dell's Display Manager software, as this lets you set up a hotkey to switch from one computer to the other, and set up the monitor's Picture in Picture (PiP) and Picture by Picture (PbP) functions. While it is possible to swap between machines and activate PbP or PiP via the monitor's OSD and four-way rocker at the back of the monitor, it's not something we'd recommend – it's very fiddly and slow.

Dell UltraSharp U2723QE monitor: Display quality

Even at its default settings, the Dell serves up some gorgeous images. Peak brightness hits a sensible middle ground of 170cd/m2 – a bit bright for artificial office lighting, but probably about right for offices with more natural light – and the overall color accuracy is excellent, with the monitor producing faithful colors and natural-looking skintones.

The monitor defaults to the DCI-P3 color space out of the box, and the measurements are very respectable. The average Delta E of 1.48 indicates that colors are accurate enough for color-critical work, and the U2723QE only exceeded a Delta E of 2 in the more saturated red part of the spectrum, where the Delta E peaked at 3.48. Color temperature is very slightly cool at 6,595k, but it's not far off the ideal of 6,500k.

Dab the four-way joystick on the rear, however, and it's quick and easy to flick the display into sRGB mode. That done, the color accuracy improves dramatically, with the average Delta E dropping to a professional-class 0.33, with a maximum Delta E of 0.99 peaking in the most saturated reds. Contrast remains consistent at 1,649:1, as does brightness at 170cd/m2 and color temperature is again a whisker away from a perfect 6,500k with a measured 6,564k.

Contrast is pretty much as good as it gets for IPS displays, too, thanks to the IPS Black panel. The measured contrast ratio of 1659:1 falls short of Dell's claimed 2,000:1, but it's still good by IPS standards.

Dell's other claims are closer to reality. The U2723QE's is quoted as covering 100% of the sRGB color gamut and 98% of DCI-P3, and our test results largely agreed: we measured 100% sRGB and 97% DCI-P3 coverage. It also manages to cover around 85% of the Adobe RGB color space.

The U2723QE's semi-glossy anti-glare coating is likely to divide opinion: in brighter rooms, the panel is dramatically more reflective than fully matte monitors. On a black background, this means you can see a fuzzy, heavily blurred reflection of yourself and anything around you. Compared to a monitor with a fully matte anti-glare coating such as the Philips 27E1N1600AE, the difference is huge: the Philips reduces those same reflections to dim, barely there shadows. Suffice to say, the Dell's glare can be distracting, so it isn't the best choice for bright, open plan offices.

We measured contrast and brightness across 25 points on the Dell's panel, and the results were acceptable. Brightness dipped by 9.4% in the panel's bottom right corner and 5% in the upper left, and contrast dropped below the recommended tolerance levels across the entire left and bottom edges of the display. Viewed in a dark room, backlight leakage is obvious across those areas, too, which is disappointing at this price – we had a £200 Philips 27E1N1900AE alongside it, and the Dell's backlighting was, if anything, slightly more uneven around the edges of the panel.

HDR performance isn't a huge draw for office use, but the Dell U2723QE does support it – and it also offers a very rudimentary local dimming feature. The local dimming activates in any of the HDR modes, but as there are only 4 zones and edge-lit backlighting, it's of very little benefit. We tested in the DisplayHDR400 mode and peak brightness increased from around 368cd/m2 in SDR to just over 375cd/m2 with HDR enabled, but that's still nowhere near bright enough to make HDR highlights dazzle. Make no bones about it: if you want great HDR, then you need a pricier OLED display, or a Mini-LED panel with numerous local dimming zones at the very least.

Motion performance is another downside. The Dell's claimed GtG response time of 8ms isn't exactly fast, and this was noticeable in both Blur Buster's motion tests and general usage – the smearing and lack of clarity around moving objects is quite obvious. Cranking up the overdrive mode to its Fast setting does improve clarity slightly, but it adds so much inverse ghosting around the edges of objects that we preferred leaving it off.

Dell UltraSharp U2723QE monitor: Is it worth it? 

At this price, anyone needing respectable HDR performance or gaming-friendly features such as adaptive sync or high refresh rates should be looking elsewhere. While the Dell U2723QE is just fine for casual gaming, it's really not that kind of monitor.

Those with a more pure productivity focus, however, will find much to appreciate. It's by no means perfect, but most of the Dell's flaws begin to fade once you consider what you're getting for the money. If the Dell U2723QE's combination of clarity, color accuracy, and useful features ticks most of the boxes on your wishlist, then there's a good chance you'll be in a forgiving mood.

Dell UltraSharp U2723QE specifications

Business monitors don't have to be boring. They don't strictly have to be exciting, either, but Philips's latest addition to its E-line family, the 27E1N1600AE, does more than enough to make a positive first impression. 

On paper, it ticks all the boxes. The 27-inch IPS panel uses a sensible 2,560 x 1,440 resolution; the 100Hz refresh rate means that those images are just a little easier on the eye for the 9 to 5; and the understated yet quietly stylish design goes hand-in-hand with an assortment of workplace-friendly features, such as an adjustable stand and two-port USB hub. We're also pleased to say that image quality is good straight out of the box.

Circle around to the rear, and you'll find a USB-C port for single-cable simplicity – this delivers a video signal, data, and up to 65W of power to keep those laptop batteries topped up while you work. For a monitor that costs a smidgen under £200, the Philips has a lot going for it.

Philips 27E1N1600AE monitor: Design & Features

The combination of sensible design and practicality is well-judged. It's not going to win any design awards, but the squared-off stand compliments the slim, curved back panel of the monitor nicely, and the overall build quality feels reassuringly solid. The adjustable stand isn't as adjustable as some rivals – it doesn't spin around into a portrait mode, nor does it swivel left and right – but it works well: the weighty base means that you can raise or lower the monitor by 100mm and tilt it back and forth with a single hand without it wobbling to and fro.

Connectivity is ample but not generous. The USB-C port at the rear ferries a 2,560 x 1,440 100Hz signal into the IPS panel and also provides up to 65W of power delivery for connected devices. There is an HDMI 1.4 input, too. If there's a moan (other than wishing for a 100W USB-PD rating for compatible laptops) it's a minor one: there are only two USB-A ports at the rear. Both of these reach USB 3.2 Gen 1 speeds, but only one is rated to the USB-BC (Battery Charging) 1.2 specification for fast-charging mobile devices. 

The power button on the rear doubles as a four-way joystick for accessing the onscreen display, and while it takes a little getting used to, it works well enough. The control scheme is a tad quirky, but the onscreen display itself presents all the various options in a clear, logical manner, so it's not too taxing. In any case, and as we discuss later, most users won't need to adjust anything other than brightness – the Philips provides good image quality straight out of the box with no tweaking required. 

It's nice to see that Philips hasn't forgotten the basics, either: there's a bundled 1.5m HDMI cable, a 1.8m USB-C cable, and – at least in the case of our review sample – a pair of UK and EU power cables. If you're outfitting even a small office, the outlay for cables can swiftly add up, so it's good to find them all included in the box from the get-go. 

One final word here goes to the in-built speakers. If you're in a desperate bind, then they go loud enough to be audible in most circumstances (we measured them at 61db(A) from a meter away). That said, the tinny, raspy sound quality means that they'll be bettered by most laptop speakers. Thankfully, there is a 3.5mm audio out at the rear of the monitor, so you can hook up a pair of headphones or speakers if needed. 

Philips 27E1N1600AE monitor: Display quality

The Philips IPS panel looks great straight out of the box. In fact, with no adjustments whatsoever, you could just plonk the Philips on a desk, hook up the power and USB-C cables, and get to work. 

It puts in an impressively color-accurate performance for the money: whites are white, blacks are black and colors are bold without looking unnatural. The matte anti-glare coating does a good job of diffusing reflections too, and we found that it fared well under both bright natural light during the day and our office's multiple LED spotlights after sunset. Viewing angles are nice and wide, too.

At its default out-of-box settings, brightness is set at 215cd/m2, and while contrast isn't exemplary, the 1,598:1 contrast ratio is a good step up on your average IPS panel. Admittedly, that's still half that of monitors that use VA panel technology, and an ocean away from OLED, but set next to a pair of bog-standard IPS monitors, the Philips' increased contrast and darker blacks are plain to see. 

Color accuracy is largely on point. Measured against the standard sRGB color gamut, the Philips delivered a solid Delta E of 1.38, which means that colors are accurate to the eye. The panel doesn't fair quite so well in areas of the blue and yellow color spectrum, but this is unlikely to be noticeable to all but the most expert of eyes – the maximum Delta E of 3.95 in these tones isn't hideously wayward by any stretch. The measured color temperature is closer to 6,200k than the intended 6,500k, though, so there's perhaps a touch of unintended warmth to images. 

Given the solid out of box performance, it's not really necessary to delve into Philips's various SmartImage picture modes. The Economy mode, for instance, drops brightness down to a more sensible 136cd/m2 without affecting color accuracy or contrast levels, but you could do the same just by manually lowering the brightness. Be wary of using the Movie or Games modes, however, as these both enable dynamic contrast which impairs image accuracy, and the Movie mode attempts to boost brightness by bumping the color temperature to 7500k. The Photos mode is similarly unhelpful: it doesn't improve color accuracy in any way, but bumps the brightness right up to the monitor's eye-searing 354cd/m2 maximum.

Creative professionals should note that the panel's wide gamut performance is lackluster; you can forget about working in Display P3 or Adobe RGB color spaces. Measured against a P3 color gamut, the Philips average Delta E rises to 1.99 but the maximum deviation soars to 5.44, so you won't be seeing colors as they're intended to look. This is because the panel only covers 82.2% of the P3 color gamut – it simply isn't capable of faithfully reproducing the intense spectrum of greens and yellows required.

Brightness uniformity is what we'd expect at this price, and that is to say entirely middle-of-the-road. We measured the panel's brightness and contrast across 25 areas on the screen, and while it was mostly very consistent, it was up to 12% dimmer on the far right edge, with similarly dim patches along the top and right-hand side of the screen. This could be better, but it's not really noticeable in everyday use – while these areas of the screen fail the recommended ISO tolerance, they pass the nominal tolerance levels, so it's not worth worrying about.

Motion performance won't be hugely critical to most office scenarios, but the Philips is better equipped than most. The 100Hz refresh rate does make for noticeably smoother scrolling, even on text documents and spreadsheets, and the monitor supports adaptive sync for tear-free performance in games. The claimed 4ms grey-to-grey response time sounds realistic, even if the 1ms MPRT rating is more fanciful.

Back in the real world, the panel's response time does seem a tad sluggish, with noticeable smearing and doubling up of text when scrolling quickly. Luckily, the Philips has a few tricks up its sleeve. You can either activate the MPRT mode, which improves motion clarity nicely at medium to high settings, or if you prefer to leave Adaptive Sync enabled, you can engage the QuickResponse overdrive circuits and this does a good job of cleaning up the motion performance at its middle Faster setting. 

HDR support is also on the cards, but this is more of a box-ticking exercise than anything else. As the Philips' static WLED backlight tops out at around 350cd/m2 and the color gamut and contrast ratio are limited, this monitor simply can't reproduce the bright highlights and more saturated colors of HDR content. 

Philips 27E1N1600AE monitor: Price

At the time of writing, the Philips is in stock and selling for around the £200 mark at Amazon, Laptops Direct, and a variety of smaller retailers. Given the balance of features, performance, and overall quality, the value for money on offer here is very good indeed – at this price, you'd be limited to Full HD panels from some rival monitor brands such as NEC or Eizo.

We could quibble about minor details here and there – the stand's lack of side-to-side swivel; the two-port USB hub or the minor image quality concerns – but overall we think Philips has done a great job of balancing the price-to-performance ratio. If you're looking for a good, affordable all-rounder for office duties, the Philips 27E1N1600AE's business casual looks, sensible features, and good image quality are a compelling combination. 

Philips 27E1N1600AE specifications

We hoped to get our hands on the MultiSync E274FL earlier in the year, but NEC kept us waiting for this enterprise-friendly screen. However, what eventually we received was an especially friendly monitor with the E274FL combined with three alluring properties: a low price, USB-C docking, and integrated wired networking.

As immediately became clear when we put it on our desks, it also produces excellent whites. It's this, rather than a huge color gamut, that's most important to office workers after all. The panel's evident quality was backed up in our tests, where it covered 95% of the sRGB gamut with an average Delta-E of 1.08 and a maximum of 3.03. Those are strong figures, even if film lovers won't be wowed by DCI-P3 coverage of 75%, or print designers by 70% of the Adobe RGB gamut. A measured contrast ratio of 3,493:1 also confirms that this is an MVA panel rather than IPS.

MVA stands for multidomain vertical alignment, and it's far more commonly found in curved, gaming monitors than monitors aimed at enterprises. Its use here shows that Sharp – maker of the panel and co-owner of the NEC brand – has matured the technology enough to rival IPS. For instance, the faint yellow bias that used to be seen in MVA screens isn't visible here. 

We're also used to seeing high refresh rates and low response rates on MVA panels, but the E274FL's 60Hz and 6ms are bog-standard times. Office workers hoping for a speed advantage in after-hours gaming sessions will be out of luck.

IT departments, on the other hand, will be delighted. While the RJ-45 port gives users fast and secure access to the office network, it gives administrators a way to track their assets and even take control of the OSD without needing to touch the device itself. For example, they may decide that rather than allow the screens to hit their peak brightness – stated as 250cd/m2, but 297cd/m2 in our unit's case – that the monitor stays in one of its two Eco modes. These lock it to either 30% or 70% brightness, and while the former is dim I found the latter mode to be more than bright enough.

End users should find the OSD relatively easy to navigate. It uses a joystick, with its one quirk being that you need to press right to select an option rather than pressing down as people may be used to. But we don't expect many calls to the support team to check; trial and error is your friend, and the OSD is extremely quick to respond to commands.

NEC MultiSync E274FL: Setup

Naturally, this monitor ticks all the ergonomic boxes. There's a low blue light mode, TCO certification, and superb flexibility: 120mm of height adjustment, 170° of easy swivel in both directions, and a pivot mode. Often the latter is pointless owing to a lack of contrast and viewing angles in a vertical orientation, but that doesn't apply to the E274FL.

We mentioned right at the top that this is a docking monitor, and if you connect over USB-C then it supplies 60W of power to connected laptops; plenty for all the machines in our Labs this month, but we would have liked to see 100W to feed more powerful MacBooks. There are three USB-A ports, and it's reassuring to see a USB-B port as well; this means you can share peripherals between a laptop on USB-C and a PC that uses the HDMI or DisplayPort inputs.

NEC also provides a pair of reasonable 1W speakers. As their power output suggests, these aren't going to rock your world, but they're fine for the occasional YouTube clip and video calls.

NEC MultiSync E274FL: Is it worth it? 

Before you buy, there's one final thing to consider. This is a 1,920 x 1,080 panel, and across a 27in diagonal, that means the text isn't crisp. There's a fuzziness to character edges in Word and Excel. This may not have a tangible effect on productivity, but a new generation of employees used to pixel-sharp displays on their phones and tablets may not be impressed.

Still, that resolution is reflected in the price. A price that includes a three-year warranty, which covers backlight failures too. If the MultiSync E274FL had arrived in time for our group test, it would have blown away the similarly priced competition for its quality and its connectivity – which is why it walks away with our highest recommendations.

NEC MultiSync E274FL specifications 

Looks alone are no reason to buy a monitor, but on the other hand, there's no harm in wanting something on your desk that doesn't look like an ugly generic black lump that's been styled to fit a call center aesthetic. 

In an effort to spice up the office environment, BenQ's new GW2790QT is encased in white rather than black plastic. That's a small thing, admittedly, but it makes it look rather more at home when connected to a high-end laptop such as the Dell XPS 13 Plus, MacBook Air, or the Asus Zenbook S 13.

The new BenQ isn't just a pretty face either but has a wide array of connectors, a good quality WQHD panel, and a few other features not always found on monitors with a sub-$400 (£300) price tag, like an ambient light monitor and a built-in microphone.

BenQ GW2790QT monitor: Design & Features

The most signification design feature is the colourway. It's white, all white. Even the stand is white. I'm doing BenQ's designers a disservice because the cabinet is made from unusually high-grade plastic that doesn't creak or squeak, and it's curvaceous with no rough or sharp edges. For the price, it looks and feels very impressive.

All that solidity does come at a price, though. At 8.4Kg, the GW2790QT is on the heavy side for a 27in monitor. Even without the base, it's a rather hefty 5.5Kg. At 280mm wide by 230mm deep, the base of the stand won't rob you of too much desk space. If you are wondering what that hole in the base is, it's a locating slot for BenQ's GC01 Yogi Pad desk tidy. It looks like a great idea, but BenQ wants $60 (£49) for it, which seems a lot for a piece of plastic.

The stand offers plenty of adjustment options, including 20° of swivel to left and right, 110mm of height adjustment, a 90° pivot, again to both left and right, and tilt between -5°and +20°. If that's not enough, you can unclip the quick-release stand and attach the 100mm x 100mm VESA bracket below to a desk arm. 

The GW2790QT boasts a good selection of ports with HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.4, and Type-C DP Alt Mode video inputs, no less than four downstream USB ports, a DisplayPort video output, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The upstream Type-C port also supports 65W PD charging to keep your laptop ready for action.

All the video connectors and two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 data ports are situated at the back of the cabinet facing down, but the third USB-A, the Type-C 3.2 Gen 1 data port, and the audio jack are more conveniently situated on the bottom edge of the unit on the left. 

On the opposite side, you'll find a row of four buttons and a small joystick, the latter to access and navigate the main OSD menu, the former to switch the microphone on and off, adjust the blue light levels, adjust the speaker noise filter and turn the unit on. As you'd expect for an enterprise product, there is a Kensington security lock on the back of the cabinet to prevent theft.

BenQ GW2790QT monitor: Display Quality

With a 2,560 x 1,440 matrix stretched over a 27in diagonal, the GW2790QT has a pixel density of 109dpi which is more than adequate for office use. You have to look very, very closely at small text to notice any pixelation. The screen has a slightly matte finish, which does nothing to damage perceived clarity but helps keep reflections at bay.

Criticizing the panel on any technical level is hard because it ticks all the boxes for a basic LED-backlit IPS screen. Maximum brightness is a solid 347cd/m2, while the contrast ratio is a good if not outstanding, 1000:1 thanks to a slightly high black luminance level of 0.34cd/m2.

There's plenty of color around, with gamut volumes of 102.6% sRGB, 72.7% DCI-P3 and 70.2 AdobeRGB. Measured against the sRGB profile, the average Delta E color variance came in at an excellent 1.08, which is close to perfect. The gamma figure of 2.23 and the visual daylight temperature of 6134K were bang on the mark too. 

Motion handling is as good as can be expected from a monitor not designed for gaming with a 75Hz refresh rate. Some ghosting is visible in test conditions, but given BenQ's quoted 5ms GtG response time it was no more than we anticipated. Measuring the average brightness and ISO 14861 across the panel, all 25 swatches fell into the Recommended tolerance category for brightness which is an excellent result. 

Regarding the ISO results, several of the swatches at the far left and right came close to being outside nominal tolerance with Delta E variances of nearly 3. That's forgivable on a monitor not targeted at professional creatives and, more to the point, is invisible to the average eye.

The new BenQ gives the user a lot of options when it comes to color. The OSD lets you skip between seven color profiles – Standard, Coding, Care, M-Book, Movie, Game, and ePaper. Standard, Movie, and Game are pretty similar, but the ePaper, Coding (high contrast, high saturation), and Care (high contrast, low saturation) struck me as genuinely useful, the middle setting being engaged constantly when we were working in a terminal on a Linux box. The M-Book setting harmonizes the display's color profile with an attached Macbook, which is obviously a boon to owners of Apple hardware.

With an eye quite literally on workers who will be spending a full day in front of the GW2790QT, BenQ has fitted an ambient light monitor that works with its Bright Intelligence Gen2 system to balance the brightness and contrast in sympathy with the prevailing ambient light. There's also a five-position blue light-reducing feature.

BenQ GW2790QT monitor: Features

Without a dedicated data upstream connector, either Type-B or Type-C, the GW2790QT can't be used in KVM mode, so you can't flip between it and an attached laptop using the same keyboard and mouse. 

The DisplayPort output means you can daisy chain the GW2790QT with another monitor with a DisplayPort input, but that's not really a replacement if you want to use a laptop rather than a monitor as a second screen. It seems a bit of a missed opportunity for want of a second upstream USB connector.

The 2 x 2W speakers won't be the life and soul of the party because there just is not enough volume. At a 1m distance measured against a pink noise source, the best they could do was 68dB(A). What sound there is, though, is well-balanced and detailed, and there's more than a hint of bass. 

The sound system is perfect for online communications, helped by the three-position noise filter that reduces background noise on conference calls. It also makes a decent first of music and video soundtracks as long as there is no competition in the room. Thanks to a built-in microphone, you can use the GW2790QT for voice calls without the need for any plug-in accessories.

BenQ GW2790QT monitor: Price

BenQ is selling the GW2790QT for $299 (£225 exc VAT). That's a fair hike from the MSI Pro MP273QP we reviewed back in March, which also has a 2,560 x 1,440 IPS panel, but of course, the MSI lacks anything in the way of Type-C connectivity or a USB hub of any description. Also, the BenQ's panel is more colorful and color-accurate than the MSI, although the difference is small. 

Where the BenQ really wins over the MSI is in the looks department. And while we'd never suggest spending more for style rather than substance, we think giving the BenQ the nod over the MSI is reasonable because, for the extra $100, you are getting more style and more substance.

MSI Pro MP273QP Specifications

Let’s get one thing out of the way: glasses-free 3D screens are nothing new. Anyone who owned a Nintendo 3DS, introduced way back in 2010, can attest to that. What’s new is that glasses-free 3D technology is now genuinely excellent. At IFA 2023, Lenovo revealed its first 3D monitor. If you’re yet to be convinced by 3D displays, this will change your mind.

It’s so good because the technology is now personalized to you. Investigate the lower bezel of the ThinkVision 27 3D and you’ll find a pair of tiny HAL-like cameras staring upwards, hidden behind tinted glass.

These track your eyes’ movement. The next key element is a switchable lenticular lens, which directs pixels to either your left or right eye.

Even that can’t convey how realistic and crisp the end result is. Nor the fact that it won’t give you a headache after ten minutes. With a mouse in hand, you can zoom in and out of your created 3D models (or an entire world), rotate it, examine it in minute detail. It feels real, with no fuzzy blurring.

Who is the ThinkVision 27D 3D aimed at?

It’s perfectly possible to game in 3D on this monitor, and you may be surprised by just how many games support this feature. However, this isn’t the intended market for the ThinkVision 27 3D, with Lenovo instead targeting professionals who create 3D content.

That’s a catch-all term, including games – there’s even a neat headphone stand. I suspect, though, that the first tranche of buyers will already be familiar with CAD software and its brethren. I can definitely imagine a row of these monitors in the offices of car makers, product designers, and architects.

While it’s expensive – I’ll leave the exact price as a cliffhanger – I suspect that many science teachers would love to have these screens to show a 3D model of the heart, say. This brings us to one more obvious candidate for large 3D screens: healthcare.

Support for third-party software

Lenovo will ship its own 3D Explorer software with the screen. A spokesperson told me the development of this software, rather than the hardware, is the reason the ThinkVision 3D won’t go on sale until February 2024.

Creators will still use their favorite software packages to create content, but they can then export them in a format that will be viewable on the display. In essence, 3D Explorer is a platform that allows creators to view and share their efforts – and for end users to admire them.

Lenovo will also include an SDK for developers to build 3D applications. Expect an update on this at Lenovo’s Tech World 2023 event.

A top-quality display in its own right

The ThinkVision 27 3D is also a great screen. I must take Lenovo at its word that it covers 99% of the DCI-P3 gamut (favored by movie makers) and Adobe RGB (for print designers), but I know from testing previous ThinkVision displays that the company lives up to its claims. Certainly, the images I saw on the screen packed a colorful punch.

Expect excellent color accuracy, too. Lenovo factory calibrates each monitor to have an average Delta E of under two on its DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB profiles.

It always helps to have a 4K resolution on a big monitor, but even more so here as that resolution is cut in half: one pixel is beamed to your left eye, the other to your right eye. A refresh rate of 60Hz is nothing special, nor is a peak brightness of 310cd/m2, but both are fine for the intended usage of this monitor.

The 3D features will only work over a USB-C connection, with a generous 100W of power delivery to keep even powerful laptops charged, and Lenovo packs in plenty more ports too: two HDMI 2.1, one DisplayPort 1.4, an RJ-45 socket, and five USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports.

How much will it cost?

There are two more things you need to know. The first is that, while most of the lens processing is done via electronics in the monitor, you'll still need a computer with graphical grunt. Lenovo says the monitor requires GeForce GTX 1050-level graphics at a minimum, plus at least 16GB RAM, and an oddly specific Core i5-7400 processor.

The second thing is the price. This announcement came at Berlin’s IFA trade show, so we only have euros so far, but it will be €2,999 inc VAT – which is roughly $3,250, or £2,500. That’s expensive even when compared to professional quality 27in monitors with a 4K resolution, but if the Lenovo ThinkVision 27 3D speeds up your workflow then you could argue it’s a bargain.

Why have two monitors on your desk when you can have one? That's the question being asked by the Philips 45B1U6900C, a curved 44.5in screen that can replace dual- or even triple-monitor setups in one swoop. It allows users to place windows exactly as they wish rather than be restricted by the confines of their existing, separate displays. 

The biggest challenge when using a screen as wide as this is windows management. Philips provides its SmartControl software to help, and if you want to set up a complicated pattern (let's say one main window with two half-windows to its left and two more to the right) then it's worth investigating. Otherwise, Windows' Snap tool is your friend.

Philips 45B1U6900C monitor review: Image quality

You may prefer to connect two computers to this screen and share its pixels between them: with a 5,120 x 1,440 resolution, this is a realistic option. Philips doubles down on this concept by providing picture-by-picture (PBP) and picture-in-picture (PIP) support, plus a KVM switch next to the OSD controls.

The potential downside of a heavily curved screen is that manufacturers must use VA panels rather than IPS, which – as a rule-of-thumb – don't provide such vibrant whites as IPS. That's not an issue here: in the panel's default mode and with brightness pushed up to around 250cd/m2, its whites look strong.

There's an accurate sRGB mode if you wish to lock down to that colour space, but most people should stick to the default profile as this widens the gamut coverage: 83% of the Adobe RGB gamut and 92% of DCI-P3. It didn't quite reach the promised heights of 450cd/m2 in our tests, but a peak brightness of 437cd/m2 is strong. We should also acknowledge the panel's DisplayHDR 400 certification, but don't get your audiovisual hopes up: you need higher brightness than this to get the most out of HDR content, and the 5W speakers go loud but treble and bass are both weak.

It sensibly places two of the four USB-A ports on the left, too, along with a 3.5mm jack and USB-C downstream port. It's nice to see an Ethernet port at the rear, and with a USB-C input capable of delivering 100W to a connected laptop this is a great docking monitor.

That expanse of panel needs 37W at 150cd/m2 and 73W at its peak brightness, so you may want to activate the LightSensor – this will dim the panel depending on ambient light levels. Then there's the PowerSensor, which will put the screen into standby if it detects you've gone walkabout. Philips' usual selection of SmartImage options are also available (Office, Photo, Movie, Game and more), but the only one we regularly used was EasyRead: this switches to a mono mode that's great if you want to stay focused on words, whether reading or typing them.

There's also a SmartUniformity mode, which aims to smooth out brightness variation across the panel.mUnfortunately, it made no difference in our tests, which is a problem as the screen was 25% dimmer in the far left corner compared to the centre. Despite the high figure it's not something you'll generally notice, but if you're doing colour-sensitive work then move it to the centre of the screen.

Philips 45B1U6900C monitor review: Verdict 

The final words go to the stand, which is a meaty affair; it has to be, as the panel weighs 10kg. The range of movement falls behind smaller screens, with 5 degrees backwards/15 degree forwards tilt and 45 degree swivel in either direction, but we made full use of the 150mm of height adjustment. The assembly wobbles when you fiddle with the OSD, but overall this feels like a well-made piece of equipment.

And, at this price, so it should, for the £940 cost is this screen's biggest challenge. There are so many excellent curved 34in monitors around, such as HP's £530 E34m G4 that you'll need a compelling reason to spend another £400 for the 45B1U6900C's extra inches.

Philips 45B1U6900C monitor specifications

The Apple Studio Display marks the tech giant's return to selling external monitors, some six years after it discontinued its Thunderbolt Display product line. Happily, it's hit the ground running as the Studio Display delivers the kind of show-stopping performance that would be welcome on the desk of any employee.

Apple Studio Display review 2023: Design

If you've ever seen an iMac in your life, there will be little in the Apple Studio Display's design that you find surprising. Though there are little differences here and there - the corners on this are far less rounded, for example - it's by and large the same brushed aluminum, large but not too large bezel, Jony Ive feel you're expecting.

None of this, it should be said, is to diminish how stylish the display feels. While the bezel is quite large compared to some of its competitors, Apple has correctly bet that users will be just too impressed by the overall experience of using the Studio Display to care much.

The firm has also done a successful job of incorporating the bezel into its design language over the years, ditching it on the iPhone while leaning into it more heavily on its iconic range of iMacs.

The model I tested can tilt on its stand, but cannot be raised or lowered - this comes at a premium when one configures the display at checkout. While this wasn't too much of a problem, it could prove tricky if you want a more ergonomic design.

Apple Studio Display review 2023: Features

In addition to its large panel, the Apple Studio Display comes equipped with a six-speaker system with woofers. This provides an ample audio experience, and in tests delivered music and video calls at a fantastic volume while maintaining a good mixture of bass and treble.

The 122-degree wide-angle webcam included in the display is very good, providing image quality equal to or better than the camera that comes standard with the Macbook Pro.

By turning on 'centre stage' in the macOS control centre, users can also set their webcam to automatically track their movements while on compatible video calling applications. I tried it out within Google Meet, and it did a good job of keeping me centered in the frame as I stood up from my desk and paced back and forth.

Apple Studio Display review 2023: Compatibility

The Apple Studio Display is not a one-trick pony when it comes to connectivity. Although it's ideally paired with the Mac Mini 2023, it can also be used as the secondary monitor for any MacBook with a Thunderbolt port. In our tests we used it for both functions and found the experience seamless, and at one point used it as a third display alongside a MacBook Pro and 4k Dell monitor with nothing negative to report.

In fact, the only downside of putting the Apple Studio Display next to one of your other monitors is that it's sure to make your other monitor look worse by comparison.

A point to note here is that the Studio Display only has one Thunderbolt port and three USB 3.2 ports on the back - that's it. If you're still married to HDMI, you'll need to purchase a separate adaptor here which could be something of a hassle for a business working across dozens of these units. 

That said, HDMI is going the way of VGA these days so it could be the purchase that sets your business back on the path of modern display formats.

Apple Studio Display review 2023: Image quality

Image quality is a make-or-break factor for monitors, and Apple appears to have acknowledged this by approaching the Studio Display with an "even the kitchen sink" approach. The 27in 5k retina panel is truly a spectacle to behold, providing 537 cd/m2 brightness and excellent color recreation.

At ITPro we do a fair amount of color-sensitive work, and in this regard the Apple Studio Display was excellent. In our in-house tests, it achieved 94.7% Adobe RGB, a leap above offerings such as the BenQ PD3220U (81% Adobe RGB) making it eminently suitable for creative tasks. It's still not a perfect score, and only a hair's breadth above the Philips 27B1U7903 for almost double the price but will nonetheless put creatives at ease.

The glass screen does have a finish that is supposed to prevent glare, and this does work to an extent. However, under harsh office lighting, the position of the display is still important to prevent unwanted reflections from being introduced to the picture.

Apple Studio Display review 2023: Is it worth it?

The one true downside of the Apple Studio Display is its hefty price tag. At the time of writing, you could nab the unit we reviewed for $1,599 (£1,499 inc VAT), but add its 'nano-texture' premium anti-glare option and choose the height-adjustable stand and you're quickly looking at $2,299 (£2,149 inc VAT). 

This is obviously far in excess of what you could pay for comparable 4k monitors and even flashy options such as LG's 40WPC95C-W UltraWide Monitor. It could prove too much for smaller businesses or those looking to buy in bulk. That said, this could be a good offering for staff specifically focused on creative tasks.

It's also worth factoring in the comparative price of an iMac. Buying an M1 iMac will set you back £1,999, in comparison to the M2 Mac Mini which starts at £649. Adding the lower end configurations together, the Mac Mini plus Apple Studio Display aren't far off the iMac, and will provide higher-resolution, more powerful results than the iMac can.

In this context, the Apple Studio Display is still a premium choice, but makes more sense as a cog in Apple's wider vision for an office that embraces its ecosystem.

Apple Studio Display specifications 

MSI's Pro MP273 27in monitor is available in three versions. Two with a 1,920 x 1,080 panel and one with a 2,560 x 1,440 panel. The difference between the two Full HD models is that the cheapest MP273 has a basic stand while the MP273P has the same more advanced stand as the higher res MP273QP.

Both the Full HD models sell for around £150 exc VAT no matter which stand you go for, while the WQHD model costs £165 making it by far the best value of an already good-value bunch. If 27in is too big there is also a brace of 23.8in models in the same range, both Full HD and again with differing stands called the Pro MP243 and MP243P.

Physically the MP273QP is a typically clean, modern monitor design. The panel weighs just 3.4Kg without the stand and the whole assembly only tips the scale at 5.7Kg. The solid base measures 225mm wide by 195mm deep which is pretty compact for something supporting a 27in monitor and means there will still be plenty of free space on even a small desk.

The top and side bezels are a nicely slender 8mm so you could genuinely describe the MP273QP as frameless and you won't be looking at too much black plastic should you put two of them side-by-side. The chin below the screen is deeper at 19mm but not excessively so.

MSI Pro MP273QP review: Ports

All the connecting ports are mounted facing downward at the rear of the unit which is a standard if hardly convenient arrangement if you regularly need to plug or unplug anything. The list of video inputs only runs to two HDMI 1.4B and one DisplayPort 1.2 connector (MSI only bundles a cable for the former) and there's a 3.5mm audio jack. Given the price, it's hard to bemoan the absence of a Type-C video input but given the increasing prevalence of laptops that only have Type-C video outputs it should really start to become a standard feature regardless of price.

The MP273QP uses a proprietary power jack rather than allowing for a traditional C13 power cable to be plugged directly into the unit. No doubt this has been done to keep the body of the monitor as slender – it's only 48mm thick at its deepest – and light as possible but it still means you will have an external power brick floating around. There's no USB connectivity of any sort but again, given the cost that's not much of a surprise.

When it comes to physically connecting the MP273QP to a stand or wall mount MSI has eschewed a quick-release mount in favour of a good old-fashioned four-bolt 100mm x 100mm VESA bracket. This does involve some faffing about to set the monitor up because you have to screw the stand to the monitor but there are obvious security benefits because – assuming some thieving herbert breaks the Kensington lock – stealing a monitor is harder when there's a 2.3Kg stand bolted to it.

MSI Pro MP273QP review: Display quality

Thanks to its 2,560 x 1,440 resolution the MP273QP has a very crisp pixel density of 109ppi. That may not sound like much more than the 82dpi you get from a 1,920 x 1,080 27in panel but it is. It's the difference between visible pixelation and absolute pin sharpness. The 75Hz refresh rate means that text flows across the screen just that little more smoothly than at a bog standard 60Hz.

Beyond those basic specifications, the display is very good. Not only is it impressively bright with a maximum luminescence of 375cdm/2 but thanks to a reasonably low black level of 0.3cdm/2 the contrast ratio is a very solid 1236:1. Of course none of that is good enough to earn the MP273QP any sort of HDR certification but you need to spend considerably more than the MSI's asking price to get those sorts of features.

Uneven illumination and backlight bleed can often be problems with cheaper IPS panels but not with the MSI. Measuring both the average brightness and ISO 14861 across the panel all 25 swatches fell into either the Recommended or Nominal tolerance categories, the vast majority into the former.

When it comes to colour the panel displayed 93% sRGB gamut coverage from 102.8% volume which most users will be more than happy with. The Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 gamuts are narrower at 68.5% and 72.5% respectively but since the MP273QP is not designed for serious creative work those are still decent enough numbers. There's not much wrong with colour accuracy either with a Delta E variance of 1.9 against the sRGB profile. Generally speaking anything under 3 but higher than 2 is very hard to detect other than with a highly trained eye so the MSI can be used out of the box for even quite colour-critical jobs.

MSI quote the response time as 4ms grey-to-grey which is perfectly fine for a non-gaming monitor though you can adjust that between Normal, Fast and Fastest should you need to reduce motion blur. In the standard setting there is a noticeable amount of ghosting present during the UFO test and to be honest, increasing the overdrive doesn't have much of an impact on the situation. The display also supports AMD's FreeSync adaptive synchronisation technology and has a crosshair feature in a nod to casual gaming.

Of more use to the average user are the TÜV Rheinland certification and the various features wrapped up in MSI's Eye Care suite which reduce flickering and minimise blue light emissions as well as giving the display an anti-glare coating. What all that means is that you can stare at the MP273 for a long time experiencing eye strain or getting a headache.

MSI Pro MP273QP review: Features

For what is, after all, a pretty cheap office monitor, the MP273QP offers an impressive range of adjustments. With 30 degrees of swivel to left and right, 110mm of height adjustment and 25 degrees of tilt (from 5 to -20) the basics are well covered but you also get a full 90 degrees of rotation to both left and right which is a great feature if you need to view content in portrait rather the landscape.

The OSD menu is navigated through four buttons below the right side of the display. It's not as easy a system to use as one based on a joystick but it's still relatively straightforward to hop through the various menus without inadvertently turning the screen off by accidentally pushing the fifth button in the row.

MSI also offers a Windows app called MSI Display Kit which lets you swap between display modes (you can choose between Standard, Gaming, FPS, RTS/RPG, Cinema and Eye-Saver) as well as manage the various multi-panel options on offer and such technical settings as the refresh rate and resolution. You can even use it to adjust the speed of your mouse pointer.

The stereo speakers don't have much to offer in terms of volume – 69.8dB(A) was the most we got out of them – and the sound they make is rather tinny and brittle. The output also gives the distinct impression it's coming from the left side of the monitor rather than from both sides which is a little disconcerting. If all you want them for is Zoom or Teams calls they will do the job but for anything more demanding a headset or external speakers will be required.

MSI Pro MP273QP review: Price

Considering the low asking price of £165 for the WQHD model, there's very little not to like about the MP273QP. It excels in the two key areas that are vital for a good quality work or office monitor, namely display quality and ergonomics. With a sharp, colourful and colour-accurate panel built onto a light and compact stand with plenty of adjustment options the only criticism that can be made is in regards to what the MP273QP lacks, namely a Type-C input and any form of USB connectivity but the latter would certainly increase the price while the former is hardly a deal breaker when the answer is simply to buy a Type-C DP cable.

MSI Pro MP273QP Specifications

MSI Pro MP273QP – FAQs

Normally we might struggle to write a full-page review about a monitor. Not this time. Every cutting-edge technology we can think of is included in the Philips 27B1U7903, and the result is as awe-inspiring as it is expensive.

Let's start with mini LEDs. Rather than the strips of LED lighting that normally illuminate IPS panels, tiny individual LEDs allow Philips to provide a far more uniform and controllable backlight. There are 2,304 lighting zones here, and Philips can pump up the brightness to 1,400cd/m2 in localised areas.

Without wishing to lapse into hyperbole, it looks spectacular. we've watched the intro to the Frozen Worlds episode from Our Planet to test HDR performance on many different monitors, but this is the first time we've made an "ooh" sound as the sunlight catches the ice. It's no coincidence that the Philips 27B1U7903 is the first monitor we've tested to support VESA's DisplayHDR 1400 certification.

Part of the reason it looks so spectacular is the 4K resolution. When packed into a 27in panel, that translates into incredible levels of detail: at 163 dots per inch, everything from photos to Excel documents looks pin sharp.

The final noteworthy inclusion is Thunderbolt 4. Philips has paid extra for this feature when it could have stuck with USB 4 or Thunderbolt 3 (both of which have the same bandwidth, 40Gbits/sec), and it did so for guaranteed compatibility. It doesn't matter whether you own an old MacBook with a Thunderbolt 3 output or a Windows laptop with a USB-C 3.2 connector, using the supplied cable will work -- and it can charge at up to 90W. However, Philips could have been more generous with the supplied cable, as it only measures 80cm when Thunderbolt 4 supports up to 2m.

Another reason to choose Thunderbolt 4 is that it can daisy-chain two 4K monitors at 60Hz. Or you can take advantage of this monitor's other inputs for a multi-PC system – it supports picture-by-picture – with one DisplayPort and two HDMI 2 ports at the rear.

Anyone seeking a fully featured docking monitor will be pleased to see a gigabit Ethernet port. Thanks to the second Thunderbolt 4 output (which provides up to 15W) and four USB-A ports, this monitor can be used as a glorified docking station.

One of the drawbacks of mini LEDs compared to strip LEDs is that they eat electricity, and such a feature-packed screen requires processing firepower inside. We saw a peak draw of 144W, and typical consumption of around 100W when watching HDR videos. It makes sense to drop the brightness down if you're not looking at the screen, which is what happens if you activate the presence sensor.

All these features would be for nought if the image quality wasn't up to scratch, but that was never in doubt thanks to the combination of an IPS panel and Quantum Dot technology. What we were surprised by was how well-matched the colour presets were: DCI-P3 mode covered 91% of its gamut, Adobe RGB mode 94%, sRGB 92%. And all with minimal overspill, so if you choose a colour space then that's what this display will stick to.

Contrast is excellent, averaging at 4,500:1 across our tests, and even in SDR mode the 27B1U7903 can go up to 865cd/m2 . It had one blemish on its scorecard, with an average Delta E of 0.9 and a peak of 2.85. Print designers and photographers who rely on accuracy should stick with a screen such as the Eizo ColorEdge CG279X. But that 27in 1440p monitor costs over £1,700.

We have some other minor niggles. The pair of 3W speakers are better than those found on most monitors, but don't have enough weight to do justice to the spectacular images. Nor are we a fan of the OSD, with buttons placed awkwardly behind the panel. You can download Philips' SmartControl app to change settings as well, but this is clunky.

It's hard to justify spending this much on a 27in monitor when you can buy, say, the 32in MSI Summit MS321UP for £700. But the Philips literally outshines every other monitor we've tested. If you'll take advantage of its features, particularly its support for HDR 1400, then it's worth every penny.

Philips 27B1U7903 specifications

Over the past twenty years, I have tested and reviewed over 200 monitors, and I’ll be frank with you: most of the time, doing so hasn’t set my pulse racing with excitement. Perform technical tests for image quality. Check. Subjective tests for image quality. Check. Quality of stand. Check. Inputs and outputs. Check.

What’s made my job as a monitor tester even more tiresome is that the difference in image quality between models has become increasingly non-existent, at least to the naked eye. The days when an IT manager could buy a lemon of a display lie in the distant past, along with black-and-white TVs and Opal Fruits.

In which case, the logic surely goes, it’s never been simpler to upgrade an office’s worth of monitors: you just choose your preferred screen size and resolution, head to your favourite reseller and negotiate the deal. Right? Well, as you can probably guess, I’m here to tell you that’s wrong. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s downright neglectful.

This thought occurred to me when I was surrounded by almost 20 new AOC and Philips monitors, all aimed at business buyers. Moments before the revelation, I had walked into the hotel conference room and been almost paralysed by the volume of choice on offer. This is merely the output from two brands, don’t forget; expand your options to all the other manufacturers and you deserve to sob a little.

I didn’t sob. I’m a grown man and got on with the job, which was to try and work out which of these monitors were the most deserving of a review on an august site such as IT Pro (and its sister magazine I edit when I’m not testing monitors, namely PC Pro).

Now to my Eureka moment: when I realised these weren’t monitors in front of me. They looked like monitors. They even displayed images when connected to desktop PCs and laptops. But they had a secret life, one that could turn a sheet of glass into a “hub”.

I should immediately apologise for using the word “hub”, because it sounds like meaningless drivel and a little piece of my soul has shrivelled away by merely typing the word. But it’s also true. The majority of the monitors on view were indeed a hub, a physical manifestation of an office network. Many even come complete with RJ45 ports.

This is all down to the confluence of two product categories, which have been bearing down on one another in a slow-mo crash over the past five years. Where once monitors with USB-C connections were expensive and rare, they are now – courtesy of AOC, Philips and others – commonplace and affordable. Good luck, too, finding any modern-day business laptop that isn’t powered over USB-C.

That means a monitor is not a monitor. What you are now buying is an invisible docking station that will transform a worker’s laptop into a desktop PC – and charge it, no less – with a single wire. It will do it for virtually no extra cost to you, including that most annoying cost of all: support calls. All you need to supply is a cable, a mouse and a keyboard. Some monitors even include webcams and speakers for the inevitable Teams meetings.

All of this means, when drawing up a list of monitors to buy, you can no longer pick a screen size, a resolution and head to your reseller with a metaphorical cheque in hand. I am sorry to say your job is now significantly harder.

Remember that point I was about to sob? Well, let me enumerate the reasons why. Philips alone has ten docking monitors aimed at businesses to choose from. They vary from the 24in Full HD Brilliance 243B1 around £230 exc VAT) to the 34in widescreen Brilliance 346P1CRH (£475 exc VAT).

Then we come to AOC, which is a sister brand to Philips in case you’re wondering why such arch-rivals were rubbing shoulders in a conference room. AOC built its reputation on value, on delivering high-quality screens, but not exactly smothering them with luxury features. Yet, as we hurtle towards 2023, it is seeing the USB-C port as a must-have in its new series of P3 business monitors.

Come 2023, from AOC and Philips alone, you will have almost 20 USB-C docking monitors to choose from. Add all the other options from BenQ, Dell, HP, and Iiyama. I don’t blame you if tears are now forming in the corners of your eyes.

But blink away the tears because, with great complication, comes great power. Your choice of monitor could make a huge difference to your users’ quality of working life – far more so than whether you equip their laptop with a Core i5 or a Core i7. If it happens to reduce the number of calls to your IT support team, all the better.

How big do you need your monitor to be? If you work from home, the answer is sadly dependent on your available desk space. But if you're an office body you may just have the freedom to choose something that suits your workload – something big, perhaps.

That could well be LG's large 39.7in UltraWide curved monitor; it has plenty of screen space and the curved display gives you an optimum viewing angle no matter where your eyes wander. It will set you (or your generous boss) back £1,250 (exc VAT), so you'll need to come up with a set of solid reasons to buy it. Hopefully, this review will give you all you need...

LG UltraWide Monitor Curved review: Design

The first thing to say about this curved LG monitor is that it is a thing of beauty. Some may not like the build quality, as it has a largely plastic chassis, but the back is an exercise in minimalism with an almost smooth white cover and a simple LG logo. The stand is chrome, but even that still keeps the overall sense of understated style.

From the front, it isn't too dissimilar from other monitors in this size bracket, such as the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8, with slim bezels and an unobtrusive LG logo at the bottom of the screen. There is also a rubber control button underneath with a five-way click action.

The stand is also a low-key affair with a slim and curved base that manages to fade into the background when the monitor is on. However, this isn't the sturdiest of stands – it can be a little wobbly if you knock it – and you might feel safer having it fixed to a wall. Which is Sadly a reason to not buy this for the office. If you do stick with the stand, you will find it very adjustable; there's a 15-degree tilt and it also raises up fairly high at 110mm. Taller folk might want more, but that would probably just make the wobble worse.

Setup is very easy with just a click of the stand into the visa mount and one effortless screw for the base. The screen is heavy though – the whole thing is 12.3Kg – but the process of putting it together takes less than 2 minutes so it isn't likely to put your muscles under any undue stress.

LG UltraWide Monitor Curved review: Image quality

The LG UltraWide has a fantastic 39.7in IPS display with a traditional 21:9 aspect ratio, but a 5120 x 2160 resolution. It is a glorious 4K screen though there is only a 72Hz refresh rate, which is fine for work, but maybe not for gaming. We're only concerned with the latter here.

In the settings, users will find a breadth of different display modes, with varying levels of quality or even uses. With our calibrator, the best score came under the 'DCP' mode where the display showcased 98.4% sRGB coverage and 85.3% Adobe. The 'Cinema' mode was also good with 97.4% for colour coverage and 83.3% for Adobe. It is worth avoiding settings like 'HDR effect' as it's a little poor, in comparison, offering just 96% for sRGB and well under 70% for Adobe.

Regardless of which mode, the Adobe score isn't high enough for elite colour work – we recommend you look for something 90% – though its average sRGB scores are very good. This matches, or is just under, LG's Ergo range of monitors (the Dual model scored 98.4%), though it doesn't quite replicate the colour accuracy of the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8.

It also fell short with brightness, which we recorded at a very low 229cd/m2. That is fine for indoor use, it's not exactly portable so no need to worry about sunny conditions. Best not to have it near a window though.

LG UltraWide Monitor Curved review: Ports and Features

Big monitors should absolutely come with a wide array of I/O ports and the LG UltraWide doesn't disappoint here. It has two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, one 1.4 DisplayPort, a 35mm audio jack, two HDMi 2.0 and two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports. Most of these are neatly placed to the right of the stand bracket which makes for an easy installation – though the two USB-A ports are further to the side for even easier access. Another bonus is the power cable; the power source is built-in to the monitor, so the cable isn't weighed down by a power brick.

The two USB-C ports are the stars of this show with 96Wh of power delivery; this is a brilliant feature that allows you to charge power-hungry laptops while simultaneously extending their screen space. With this Thunderbolt 4 capability, the monitor can act as a sort of docking station; you can connect peripherals like keyboards, external drives, or even daisy-chain another display – we couldn't test this out ourselves, sadly, as LG only sent us the one monitor.

If you work off two different laptops you can hook both up and use the 'Picture by picture mode'. This brilliantly includes having a Windows-based machine on one side and a Mac on the other.

To change settings, LG has added one of its typical rubber nubs on the bottom of the monitor. These tend to be far easier to use than the traditional plastic side buttons of other monitors, though the actual settings are pretty basic and there aren't a whole lot of things to play around with anyway.

LG UltraWide Monitor Curved review: Verdict

The LG UltraWide might be too long for the average home worker, but if you have the space, or can fit one in the actual office, you'll not be disappointed. The sheer array of ports will please practically everyone and the image quality is almost flawless if you don't mind the low peak brightness. And, although not recommended for colour-centric work, the ultra-wide display is perfect for editing video as it allows you to stretch the timeline controls out fully.

This is a curved display that's great for productivity, offering the user a consistent view of their workflow, no matter what aspect of the display it resides. We were able to have three full-sized tabs open next to each other while using this and we have never felt more productive. The only real argument against getting the LG UltraWide Curved monitor is the price – a whopping £1,250 exc VAT.

LG UltraWide Monitor Curved review specifications

You may know Huawei more for its smartphones and networking technology, but it's worth keeping tabs on its computing products. Its MateView monitors, for instance, are particularly impressive.

IT Pro have the MateView SE in for review; the 'SE' is short for 'Standard Edition' as this is the little version of the more expansive MateView which costs £500. The SE is well under half that price, as it is a budget offering from the Chinese giant.

Huawei MateView SE review: Design

The MateView SE is made up of a 23.8in IPS Display and a slim black stand – it only comes in black. Unlike other Huawei hardware, the design of the MateView SE is rather understated; its monitor copies the style of the larger MateView, but its stand is more of a rod shape as opposed to the silver support on the larger model. There is also a five-way rubber joystick, with effortless click action, underneath the monitor for menu navigation.

The whole unit weighs 3.4kg, so nothing particularly backbreaking to contend with during the setup. The stand is simple to erect with a base that screws into a thin trunk and a bracket at the top which clicks into the back of the monitor. The cabling, however, is a little untidy; there's no compartment or channel to feed the wires through, though there aren't many connection options, so isn't that big an issue.

What will please those that purchase the MateView SE is the adjustability of the monitor; it can be tilted back and forth between -5 and 18 degrees and raised up 110mm. This is in addition to having it set up in either landscape or portrait mode, which just requires some fiddling about with four screws, though it is worth the hassle if you like that orientation.

We had the MateView SE in portrait as an external display for a laptop and found it to be a great addition. It gave us that extra screen estate without blocking out the whole desk. Even with our tiny desk, there would still be room to include an external keyboard or mouse.

Huawei MateView SE review: Image quality

The display is very good for a budget device. It is a 23.8in IPS screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio. It offers a 178-degree viewing angle and has a 92% screen-to-body ratio. And there is also a smooth 75Hz refresh rate.

The first thing to get out of the way with the Huawei MateView SE is the fact it isn't very bright. With our calibrator the monitor only produced a peak brightness of 266cd/m2, which is dim, to say the least. Certainly too low for any HDR-quality movies or video playback. For a little bit extra, you can get the LG Gram +view, which produced a peak brightness of 351cd/m2.

However, when it comes to colour production, this budget monitor goes above and beyond expectations. It showcased 99.5% sRGB gamut colour space (109.7% for volume) under its P3 colour mode (more on that later). This budget display matched the thousand-pound-plus Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 for colour accuracy, though that has a much higher refresh rate.

It's not one for the colour professionals, however, and even pro photographers might want something with more Adobe prowess – it only produced 73.3% for Adobe RGB, which is too low for any colourist to even consider.

Huawei MateView SE review: Ports and features

When it comes to ports, you only get two on the MateView SE; one HDMI and one DisplayPort which is a little limiting, but nothing an external connection hub can't fix. There is also a 24W power adaptor with a skinny wire, though this is white so it still stands out as everything else is black.

For the display, there are six modes to choose from, as mentioned above the P3 option is best for colour, but there are also modes for sRGB, gaming, and a custom setting. There is also an HDR mode, but given the poor backlighting here it isn't worth talking about.

'eBook mode' is perhaps the most unusual, as it's designed to give the display a paper-like look, which is meant to help your eyes. It essentially gives you a black and grey screen or, in our opinion, the look of a vintage newspaper. Regardless, it's not really all that useful and we didn't notice much difference after a few hours in ebook mode.

To change the screen modes, Huawei has added a five-way joy stick underneath the monitor. This is really easy to use and similar to what one would find on an LG Monitor. However, there aren't actually enough configuration options to warrant a five-way joy stick as 'Picture mode' and 'Menu' both take you to the same place.

Huawei MateView SE review: Verdict

The MateView SE is a cheap and cheerful monitor that's surprisingly good at producing rich colours. Its small size makes it an ideal choice for the home worker, particularly those that are short on desk space. But it might be something for some smaller businesses to consider if they also have limited workspace.

It lacks brightness and isn't particularly abundant when it comes to connectivity, but for £150 (exc VAT) it still offers plenty of value for money. While it has had its international issues with smartphones and 5G, Huawei has quietly gone about building an impressive PC range, and this budget MateView monitor is another good addition to that portfolio.

Huawei MateView SE specifications

In all likelihood, you’re going to be staring at a monitor for the majority of your working life - so it’s crucial to find one that offers a high-quality experience. In addition to looking at the design, the number of ports and the level of adjustability it offers, every screen we review is put through a series of tests to determine its technical aptitude.

When we review a monitor, part of our conclusions will be informed by our subjective experience: whether or not we found it pleasant to look at, how over or under–saturated the colours looked, and so on, in addition to how comfortable it was to use for different tasks such as editing documents or watching video content.

Along with using the screens over an extended period to assess their ‘real-world performance’, we run a selection of technical tests that check each panel’s colour performance across the sRGB colour space, as well as Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 where applicable. Other checks include brightness uniformity across 25 areas on the panel, gamma tracking and how close each panel gets to the target 6500K colour space. To perform these tests, we use a dedicated colorimeter in conjunction with the open-source display calibration and profiling software, DisplayCal.

We also test each monitor’s colour accuracy from a central point on the screen. The difference between the intended and actual colour is measured in the unit of colour difference, Delta E; the higher the figure, the poorer the match. A Delta E of less than 1 is considered perfect, and likely to be difficult for the human eye to distinguish. A score of between one and two is still strong, but anything above this suggests a panel that you shouldn’t trust for colour-accurate tasks like photo editing.

What is a desk without a monitor? It's wasted space in our view and that's why we like to fill ours with review units, such as LG's Ergo Dual Monitor. The 'Dual' is a refreshed version of the Ergo that comes with two 27in screens and it is quite brilliant.

The use of 'Ergo' is short for ergonomic as these dual displays can be spun around and adjusted in more ways than you'll ever need them to be. And that is partly why the Ergo Dual could have wide appeal. So whether you're an office worker or someone who shares a desk at home, the Ergo Dual could be a great investment.

LG Ergo Dual Monitor review: Design

As the name suggests the Ergo Dual is a double-monitor setup that consists of two 27in displays, a bracket, and a stand with a clamp to fix your desk. Everything is black and extremely heavy; the stand-alone weighs 7.5kg and it really needs to be fitted to a solid desk, one that also has plenty of depth.

The monitors themselves are encased in plastic, with relatively small bezels, and discrete LG logos. There is a rubbery on/off button underneath both displays that also doubles as screen controls. These have multi-direction click actions to control sound, brightness and even inputs and orientation. On the back of the screens, there are square holes acting as connection points that easily clip into each end of the bracket – there is also a simple release button to un-clip them.

The bracket, which connects to the stand, can be fitted vertically or horizontally depending on your preference. Likewise, the connectors can also be taken off and refitted to suit, allowing the user to have one screen in landscape and one in portrait, for example. There is a fair bit of fiddly work when it comes to setting up the stand and fixing it to your desk – you can either clamp it on, or, if you have a cutout in the desk, use the grommet. We used the former with our review unit and found it to be very sturdy. You need around four inches of table surface for the clamp to hold onto otherwise it will lean and take a chunk of the desk off.

LG provides an Allen key that has a Phillips head screwdriver as one of its ends. We ended up using an actual screwdriver as it wasn't all that easy. Though the traditional end of the Allen key was needed to extend the brackets to push the monitors up or outwards and also loosen and tighten parts of the stand.

It is quite a workout putting the whole thing together but the upside is that you have lots of setup options. You could have both screens in portrait mode, stacked upon one another in landscape, or one in each orientation. We mainly stuck with one stacked on top of another, though the displays can be fitted back to back which is a great option for home workers that share a desk.

LG Ergo Dual Monitor review: Ports and features

Each monitor has the same set of ports and its own brick power adaptor. There is USB Type-C (with power delivery), HDMI 2, Display Port (DP) 1.4 and also a headphone jack. You can use the screens independently – again, for people that live with other remote workers – or together with the daisy chain functionality. This is where users can connect each monitor via the DP in and out ports. We did have some trouble getting our MacBook Pro to work across both monitors, though it did work with a desktop.

Now you may feel like questioning the tidiness of this multi-port setup, particularly as both screens have their own power bricks. However, the stand has a very simple compartment for cabling. It just takes a few minutes to feed all the necessary wires through and the end result is a streamlined workstation.

Our only gripe is that we like perfectly straight screens and it can be quite hard to align both of the Ergo's monitors – it can be frustrating if they're nudged out of place. It could really do with some kind of automatic control to line the screens in specific placements.

LG Ergo Dual Monitor review: Image quality

The two monitors on the Ergo Dual are 27in IPS QHD displays with a ​​2560 x 1440 resolution. As it's a two-monitor setup, rather than one wide display, there is a slight gap and conspicuous bezels, so it's not perfect when using both screens for the same content.

However, having it 27in, rather than 24in displays, makes it great for work. You can launch multiple apps across the displays with very little reason to adjust their windows. With so much screen space you can just upload whatever it is you're working across – Google Workspace, Adobe, an integrated developer environment (IDE) – and simply get on with it. There's no time lost adjusting or fitting apps in place.

When it comes to colour representation, both monitors are good if not fantastic. With a calibrator, one monitor showcased 98.4% of sRGB gamut coverage, which is similar, if slightly lower, than the Samsung Neo G8 (99.5%). The Ergo is fine for most workloads and gaming, but those that work on creative projects, such as colourists, might want to look at something that can produce a higher Adobe score (90% and above). The Ergo only managed 72.2% for Adobe sRGB, so perhaps not the greatest for artsy stuff.

However, the screens are calibrated so you get a consistent experience from both – the second screen reproduced 98.9% of the sRGB colour space – rather than one being more vivid and or brighter. Plus, it hit a peak brightness of 327.95 cd/m2, which is good, though Phillips has a range of widescreen monitors that are slightly cheaper, such as the Brilliance 328P6, which can produce brighter levels – though they're not dual displays, like the Ergo.

LG Ergo Dual Monitor review: Verdict

The LG Ergo Dual Monitor is a really great bit of kit, depending on your profession. If it's heavy on colour and graphics, then your money needs to be spent elsewhere. But if you have a job that needs large dual monitors, and you have a pretty spacious desk, then this is a brilliant setup.

What's more, it's got a very attractive price, especially considering this is two screens that can be used by two people at once. It is just £549 (exc VAT), which is considerably cheaper than most singular widescreen monitors, like the Samsung Neo G8 (£1,083).

LG Ergo Dual Monitor specifications

An external display is a great option if you want to make your laptop more useful, and LG’s Gram +view marks the first time we’ve seen a secondary screen included as an option alongside a notebook.

The screen is available with a number of different Gram machines, and prices are reasonable – we received the panel alongside the latest LG Gram 16, and the two are bundled at £1,541 exc VAT. The +view is sold separately, too, for £249 exc VAT, and it works with non-LG laptops. Can this portable powerhouse become one of the best business monitors?

LG Gram +view review: Design

The LG’s 2,560 x 1,600 resolution is a great starting point for any professional display. The high resolution means you get a crisper experience when compared to conventional 1080p screens, and you’ve got more space to use multiple apps or windows.

The 16:10 aspect ratio plays a part, too – it’s easier to work inside web browsers and Office tools with a bit more vertical space. Underpinning those headline figures you’ll find IPS technology, which ensures decent colours – as it did on the Gram laptop. It’s got an anti-glare coating, too, but it’s non-touch.

Because the +view is designed alongside Gram laptops it shares much of the design language, which means you get slim bezels, sleek edges and metallic colours. It only weighs 990g once you included its protective cover, and it’s just 8.3mm thin – so if you pair the +view with a Gram laptop, the combined package isn’t much larger or heavier than many other notebooks.

The +view is powered by USB-C and it includes ports on either side to make positioning easier. The right-hand edge has a volume rocker, and it doesn’t need a power button – it worked automatically in our tests on both LG and non-LG notebooks. It’s a very easy way to boost your mobile workflow with a desktop-style dual-screen layout.

Our only real design quibble comes from the folio case. It attaches to the rear of the +view with magnets and it’s easy enough to use it to prop up the panel, but it only covers the screen – so the rear of the display has no protection.

You’d be wise to consider the screen’s value, too. If you’re buying a Gram laptop the bundle prices offer good value, but as a standalone product, the LG is a bit pricier than most other portable displays – although it admittedly has a better specification. It’s also more expensive than a conventional desktop monitor, and while you’ll lose portability if you buy a normal display, it’s worth considering that route if you’ll usually be working at the same desk.

LG Gram +view review: Image quality

The LG Gram 16 and the +view share the same IPS display, so it’s no surprise that they produced similarly impressive benchmark results.

The screen’s brightness level of 351cd/m2 is marginally behind the laptop, but it’s still high enough to handle indoor and outdoor use – and the black point of 0.29cd/m2 means a rock-solid contrast ratio of 1,210:1. That’s exactly what we expect from an IPS display, and it helps the +view serve up plenty of vibrancy for everyday use.

The screen’s Delta E of 3.02 and colour temperature of 6,893K are barely any different from the View’s figures, and they sit alongside sRGB and DCI-P3 coverage levels of 99.7% and 97.2%, respectively. They’re all good results and they mean that the +view has the colour quality for everyday workloads, media viewing and some light content creation.

That’s great when the +view sits alongside a laptop like the Gram 16, which is only suitable for those mainstream situations – but this screen can’t render enough of the Adobe RGB gamut to work well in Adobe software, and you’ll need a screen with a sub-2.0 Delta E if you want a panel that can tackle demanding, colour-sensitive creative apps.

LG Gram +view review: Verdict

Still, those are good benchmark results for a portable display – all too often these secondary panels offer terrible image quality. Combine that with the lightweight, straightforward design and the reasonable pricing, and you’ve got a winning accessory to any laptop, as well as an ideal product for anyone who needs a second screen on the move.

LG Gram +view specifications

NEC has designed the MultiSync E273F for the new – or at least, new-ish – world of hybrid working. One filled with laptop-based workers who hustle between home, office and coffee shop on any given day, and who would rather not bring their charger with them on their travels.

That’s relevant here because the E273F features a USB-C input capable of delivering 65W to any connected machine; that’s enough power for all the best business laptops. In a hot desking environment, it then makes sense for the USB-A ports at the monitor’s rear to be connected to a keyboard and mouse, with a third USB-A port easily accessible on the side.

Naturally, if this monitor is to be used for hot desking then it must cater for all-comers when it comes to display inputs, so it’s reassuring to see both HDMI and DisplayPort present. One curiosity is that the DisplayPort isn’t compatible with mini-DisplayPort adapters, and when we tested this with our Microsoft Surface Dock (which includes a mini-DisplayPort output) the E273F wouldn’t display anything until we disconnected it. Something to tell your service desk before calls come in complaining about a broken screen.

If a monitor is to be used by a number of different people, then it also needs an intuitive onscreen display, and the E273F achieves this by using text rather than symbols. Press any of the four control buttons on the display’s front and you’re given access to Picture, Sound, Setup and Information, which you navigate by touching the corresponding button; labels appear for Enter, Down, Up or Exit. If your IT team wants to reduce the options then it can activate the OSD lock during setup, giving users the choice of brightness, contrast and volume.

As “volume” indicates, the E273F includes speakers, but think video calls and news bulletins rather than enjoying music or movies. Depth, subtlety and bass aren’t words you will be associating with the E273F’s 1W audio output, but it’s still good to have built-in speakers, and users can take advantage of the side-mounted 3.5mm jack if they connect over USB-C.

Where this monitor surprises is its flexibility and slim bezels. We mention the two together because you could easily put a duo of these screens side by side in portrait format. Because the E273F rotates in both directions (which is by no means always the case), the centimetre-thick bezel at the bottom can be placed at either edge. It’s also joyously easy to twist the screen through a 340° circle – the main limiting factor is the short 1m USB-C cable that comes in the box – and 130mm of smooth height adjustment will make it easy for users to place the MultiSync in the right ergonomic position.

Then we come to the 27in panel itself. As you may have anticipated considering the price, it’s a Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 panel rather than a 2,560 x 1,440 or even 4K display. While more pixels are always welcome, a Full HD resolution is enough to satisfy the needs of most office workers. We replaced our regular 4K 32in display with the E273F for three weeks during our tests, and in general use – such as web browsing, email, writing, Wordle – we found it to be perfectly sufficient. Sometimes even helpful, as you generally have one window open rather than a jumble. But there were times when we wished it was 1440p instead, especially when working in data-dense spreadsheets.

Naturally, we put the panel through a bunch of technical tests along with real-world ones. NEC quotes a typical peak brightness of 250cd/m2, and our unit hit 255cd/m2 with its native colour profile. This covered 86% of the sRGB gamut (out of a 96% volume) with an average Delta E of 1.43, 1,020:1 contrast ratio and 7048K colour temperature.

You can use the OSD to switch to its sRGB profile, which increased sRGB coverage a fraction (to 88%) but more tellingly adjusted the colour temperature to 6379K. So, closer to that gamut’s target of 6500K. If that doesn’t sound like much of a difference then you’re right, but we were more than happy with the crisp whites and colour coverage when using the panel at its native and sRGB settings. You can also jump to temperature presets of 7500K and 9300K if you prefer.

In many ways, then, this is a simple, conservative monitor. It won’t dazzle you with colours, but it will impress with its whites. It’s only a Full HD panel, but that panel comes wrapped up in a slim bezel and is supported by a flexible and solidly built stand. And while the MultiSync’s list price is around £290 exc VAT, it’s far more likely to be bought in bulk, with discounts to match. If you intend to update your office with hotdesking-friendly monitors in either black or white finishes, the E273F is a great-value and high-quality choice.

NEC MultiSync E273F specifications

The Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 isn’t just a gaming monitor – it’s the first gaming screen with a 4K resolution and 240Hz refresh rate. And while that might not sound suitable for work, there are plenty of reasons why this panel could make professional sense.

The 4K resolution delivers loads of on-screen space, for starters, and the Neo’s 1000R curve matches the shape of the human eye – which means better viewing angles and reduced eye strain.

It’s an impressive proposition, but the Neo G8 costs £1,083 exc VAT, so it’s hardly cheap – indeed, it’s far pricier than conventional office screens, unless you consider pro-level design and photography displays. Can it find a place among the best business monitors?

Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 review: Design

Samsung’s 32in unit has a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution, which means a density level of 137.68ppi. That’s a superb start for any screen, whether it’s a gaming display or professional panel, and it means that the Neo G8 delivers crisp imagery and text alongside loads of on-screen space, while professional users have plenty of room to zoom in on creative tasks or use multiple windows.

Underneath the 32in display you’ll find Quantum Mini LEDs. They’re Samsung’s proprietary version of the Mini LEDs that can be found in high-end TVs, and there are 1,196 of them inside the Neo. They can turn off and alter their brightness levels independently, and they’re brighter and more versatile than conventional backlighting systems. It’s as close as you’ll get to OLED technology without the extortionate price tag.

It’s important not to overlook the Neo G8’s gaming credentials when so many people work at home or use hybrid working arrangements. The 4K resolution, Quantum Mini LEDs and 240Hz refresh rate mean that the Neo G8 offers unparalleled quality among 16:9 gaming screens, but you will need a hugely powerful graphics card to run the latest titles.

Unsurprisingly, the Samsung Neo G8 includes more tech than any conventional business monitor. If you spend this much on a professional product you’ll get a 4K panel without Quantum Mini LEDs or a 240Hz refresh rate, and the handful of 4K OLED panels available either cost more than £2,749 exc VAT or have vast 48in diagonals. If you want to spend this cash on a gaming panel, expect a Samsung Neo G9 widescreen or settle for a 4K screen with few of the Neo’s features.

There’s an awful lot of innovation inside the G8, but it looks just as bold on the outside. The base is wide and made from sandblasted metal, and the rear uses glossy white plastic.

Happily, the Neo G8 has plenty of adjustment options too: you get 120mm of height adjustment, 22 degrees of tilt and 30 degrees of swivel, and compatibility with 100mm VESA mounts. The Neo rotates into portrait mode, too, which isn’t a given on a large gaming screen, and especially not on curved displays.

In other areas, though, the Neo G8’s physical design disappoints. While the back of the display is robust, it’s too easy to wobble when nudged. You don’t get tool-free building here, either. And with a weight of 8.9kg and a depth of 310mm, it’s not a small screen - so make sure your desk has enough room to comfortably accommodate it.

Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 review: Image quality

This VA screen is a heavyweight in more than just the physical sense, however. It’s got 10-bit colour with 12-bit gradation, and Samsung says that it renders 100% of the sRGB colour space and 95% of the DCI-P3 gamut. The 240Hz refresh rate with adaptive sync might not be a professional feature, but it makes motion smoother and will aid animations and game designers.

That sounds great on paper, and the Neo G8 doesn’t disappoint in benchmarks. Out of the box the G8’s brightness level of 192cd/m2 was joined by a stunning 0.02cd/m2 black point thanks to those Quantum Mini LEDs. The resulting contrast ratio of 9,600:1 is sensational – far beyond any IPS or VA screen with conventional backlighting. The 240Hz synchronised refresh rate delivers butter-smooth motion in games, animation apps and everyday tools, and the backlight variation level of just 7.7% means impressive uniformity.

The huge contrast ratio means the G8 supplies vibrant, nuanced, and bold imagery with incredible depth. If you need a display for content creation, the G8 will be great, and this screen makes web browsers, everyday apps and games look incredible too.

Switch over to HDR mode and the Neo continues to impress. The panel delivered a consistent peak brightness level of 1,411cd/m2 and its black point remained at 0.02cd/m2, which means a maximum contrast ratio of 70,550:1. Combine that with the complexity on offer from the Quantum Mini LEDs and you’ve got a display that does justice to HDR material.

That brilliant contrast performance means everything looks superb, but the Neo G8 can’t quite keep up with colour accuracy. The panel’s average Delta E of 2.17 is good, but the maximum Delta E of 4.14 is a bit too high, and it sits alongside a slightly warm colour temperature of 6,065K.

They’re not bad results, and they mean that the G8 can handle any everyday task, including mainstream creative and design work, alongside games and media. But if you want to tackle top-tier photography and graphics jobs, you’ll get more accuracy from a true professional display.

The Neo’s gamut figures underline this situation. The G8 did a sterling job with sRGB colours, rendering 99.5% of the space, but it only rendered 91.2% of the DCI-P3 gamut. That’s good enough for mainstream HDR work and HDR games, but professionals will want closer to 100%. An 80.7% Adobe RGB coverage level also precludes the G8 from working in that space.

The Neo might not have flawless image quality, but it’s bright, deep and vibrant, and it has good colours. For the vast majority of professional workloads it’s very capable. If you’d like to go beyond the Neo with a display that can nail the DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB gamuts with improved accuracy, you can pick up a high-end specialist panel like the BenQ PD2705Q, Dell UltraSharp 25 USB-C or the Philips Moda 27 for less half the price - although you won’t get a lot of the fancier features or the classy design.

Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 review: Ports and features

You’ll need plenty of bandwidth to run this screen properly and fully use those Quantum Mini LEDs, but happily the two HDMI 2.1 ports and single DisplayPort 1.4 socket can handle it. The rear also houses two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports and a headphone jack. That’s fine connectivity, but the downward-facing ports are tricky to reach, and it’s a bit disappointing to see no USB charging and no USB-C.

Samsung’s on-screen display remains excellent, with a row of status indicators above sensible and responsive menus, and Samsung’s quick-access options enable fast source switching alongside rapid brightness and contrast adjustment. The Neo G8 has picture-in-picture options that support two display inputs at 120Hz. There’s also a widescreen mode that switches the screen to a 3,840 x 1,600 resolution, which will enable a wider field of view in games.

However, a D-Pad beneath the bottom bezel navigates the menu – and it’s not very good. The soft-touch buttons sit almost flush with the monitor casing, which makes them hard to grip, and they require too much force to activate.

Naturally, because this is a gaming display, the Neo G8 also includes RGB LEDs. There’s a ring of lights around the rear and two lines of lighting on the front. The G8 has a feature called CoreSync that matches their colour to on-screen action to provide ambient lighting, but the lights aren’t bright enough to have an impact unless you’re gaming in the dark. Customisation is also limited to 52 colours rather than the entire RGB gamut, which is a little disappointing.

Samsung’s panel has a cable-routing hook but doesn’t have a headphone hook or speakers, and since this isn’t a hard-nosed business display, don’t expect a KVM or built-in webcam. You’ll often find that professional displays have longer warranties, too – the Neo G8 only has one year of coverage.

Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 review: Verdict

Despite those physical issues, the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 is undoubtedly one of the world’s best gaming monitors. Look beyond that, and there are plenty of professional situations where the Neo can work well. Its huge resolution makes it easy to spread out windows and apps, the curve is immersive, and the Quantum Mini LED-powered backlight delivers huge contrast, depth and punch. Combine that with the decent colours and you’ve got a screen that can tackle many professional and creative workloads.

That said, the Samsung doesn’t have the accuracy or gamut ability for the most demanding colour-sensitive scenarios. It’s missing some features that you’ll find included on proper pro displays, and many of those screens will have longer warranties. The £1,083 exc VAT price is extremely steep, too.

If you’re willing to pay, though, the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 combines world-leading gaming imagery with the quality to tackle most work tasks. If you’re a home worker or want the best of both worlds, that makes it a tempting proposition.

Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 Specifications