Best Monitor 2024: The top displays for your PC and consoles

The Samsung Smart Monitor M7 is a versatile choice to pair with your PC, and represents one of our favourite all-round monitors.

What’s especially clever about the Smart Monitor M7 is that it’s not only a monitor, but also is able to be used like a 32-inch 4K smart TV, complete with Tizen OS. We found this to be an especially useful function during testing, and offered an excellent user experience in line with Samsung’s full-fat smart TVs, as opposed to this quasi-monitor-television.

We found the 32-inch 4K panel to offer up a decent all-round experience to offer up good brightness and colours, as well as dynamic imagery, which will definitely suffice for generalists wanting a versatile and capable monitor. In addition, the fact it features HDR10 causes supported content to look noticeably punchier.

Where the Smart Monitor M7 really shines though is with that versatility, and the wealth of features on offer alongside the fact this is a multi-function panel. The integration of both Samsung SmartThings and DeX for Galaxy phone owners was especially welcome, and unlocked the potential of the Smart Monitor M7 even more so than before. SmartThings is handy for streaming your phone screen to the monitor, while DeX allows you to use your Galaxy phone as a portable computer of sorts in a desktop-like fashion.

The design of the Smart Monitor M7 is nice too, with an understated look that’s helped along by the thin bezels. It looks to have been designed to be as innocuous as possible, so as to fit in with practically any setup. This could also be seen to contribute to the monitor’s wide appeal, given it’ll look great wherever it’s placed.

The new Samsung M8 Smart Monitor is now available with a more glamorous design and brighter panel, but we still think the M7 represents better value at its current price.

Reviewer: Alastair Stevenson
Full review: Samsung Smart Monitor M7 review

The holy trinity for a gaming monitor is a gorgeous picture, blazing-fast performance and a stylish design, and the AOC Agon Pro AG276QZD delivers on all three fronts at a reasonable price.

This 27-inch OLED monitor is capable of deep inky blacks as well as vibrant colours, resulting in an incredible picture. This is paired with a 240Hz refresh rate, which ensures buttery smooth motion for both casual gamers and eSports professionals alike. We were really impressed with the performance, especially thanks to the quick response time and support for Nvidia G-Sync.

During testing, we couldn’t find many faults. It’s a shame this monitor lacks HDMI 2.1 support, but that shouldn’t be too great an issue for most. The speaker quality can become distorted at maximum volumes too, but that’s nothing that a gaming headset or soundbar can’t solve.

As a result, there’s no question that the AOC Agon Pro AG276QZD delivers an excellent all-round package that will please the vast majority of gamers. The only real reason to look elsewhere is if you’re looking for something cheaper, prefer an ultra-wide monitor or you’re desperate to make the jump up to 4K. If you fall into one of those categories, you’ll find a great alternative by scrolling down further.

Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full review: AOC Agon Pro AG276QZD review

The AOC Agon AG405UXC is another excellent gaming monitor, but this time sporting a massive 40-inch panel that’s large enough to displace your television.

For less than £600, you’re able to pick up this gaming monitor which offers a crisp 1440p IPS panel equipped with a 144Hz refresh rate, 3ms GtG response time and VRR technology.

The quality of this AOC display is outstanding, scoring strong results in our benchmarking. It came in at 99.2% sRGB, 84.9% DCI-P3 and 75.5% Adobe RGB. Top scores for a monitor focused on gaming performance over creative work, especially at this reasonable price.

It’s not short on added features either, with HDR support that will get the brightness up to 486 nits (361 nits in SDR). Then, the onboard KVM functionality is wonderfully useful. The monitor offers four USB-A, one USB-B and one USB-C port which, with KVM support, means you can use it as a useful dock for all your wired keyboards, mice and the like.

Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full review: AOC Agon AG405UXC Review

Ultra-wide monitors are incredibly useful for both office workers and gamers, providing extra screen space to make multitasking easier. The main problem with them is they can command a hefty fee, but not so with the Lenovo Legion R45w-30.

This monitor has a massive 49-inch display, with a 1500R curvature and 5120×1440 resolution maximising immersion for the best experience. We were really impressed with the picture quality, as it aced our benchmark tests and looked supremely bright with HDR activated.

Gamers will rejoice with the high 165Hz refresh rate too. You will find better gaming specs with the likes of the Samsung Odyssey G9 OLED (2023), but you’ll also need to fork out a lot more money for the privilege. This makes the Lenovo a great option for those who fancy an ultra-wide monitor without having to deplete the bank account.

Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full review: Lenovo Legion R45w-30 review

The Xencelabs Pen Display 24 is a 4K display that has been purposefully designed for professional artists. That means it’s not a good option for office work or gaming, but instead for those who want pro-level colour accuracy and the ability to doodle directly onto the screen.

According to our benchmark tests, the Pen Display 24 covered 99% of the Adobe RGB and sRGB colour spaces and 94% of DCI P3. This means you’re getting ridiculously good colour coverage to ensure your creations look as accurate as possible.

The display can be adjusted to stand anywhere between 16 and 72 degrees, making it easier to sketch as well as view your creations once finished. Support for the VESA mount adds to the versatility here even further.

Thanks to the competitive price, the Xencelabs Pen Display 24 is one of our favourite professional-grade displays you can buy. The Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 is a great alternative, but is slightly more expensive, making the Xencelabs our top choice.

Reviewer: Hannah Davies
Full review: Xencelabs Pen Display 24 review

The Samsung Odyssey G9 OLED (2023) is a massive ultra-wide monitor, ideal for those who are looking for deep immersion during gameplay. It features a 32:9 ultrawide curved 49-inch OLED display, which will easily engulf your desk, so you will need to ensure that you have enough space. The set up was easy thanks to the bespoke clip-in mechanism that locks the screen into the base, so much so that our reviewer didn’t need any assistance. 

It comes with two 5W stereo speakers, located on the back of the device. It managed to kick out decent audio, but you will want to invest in some external hardware for a truly remarkable experience. There is Bluetooth support to connect any audio accessories, alongside a Display Port, microHDMI 2.1, standard HDMI 2.1, and two USB-A inputs.

The Odyssey G9 OLED opted for a 1440p resolution, with a top refresh rate of 240Hz. Thanks to the inclusion of OLED, the monitor managed to hit a perfect black level of zero, allowing for brilliantly detailed performance within darker scenes. Contrast performance was excellent, with games like Cyberpunk 2077, Destiny 2 and Fortnite all popping off of the screen. 

If you’re looking for a monitor that will stretch across your desk and look great while doing it, then the Samsung Odyssey G9 OLED (2023) is a very easy recommendation. Otherwise, the LG UltraGear 27GR95QE-B is a great alternative if you’re looking for a cheaper option.

Reviewer: Chris Smith
Full Review: Samsung Odyssey G9 OLED (2023)

Mini LED is all the rage across productivity and gaming laptops right now. Monitors are in on the hype too, like with the Acer Predator X32/FP. This gaming-focused Mini LED from Acer gets plenty right, doing its best to justify its high price tag.

Expectedly with a Mini LED panel, the Acer Predator X32/FP excels in colour and brightness. The selection of colour is luxurious and abundant, hitting 99.8% for sRGB and Adobe RGB as well as 94.7% for DCI-P3. Peak brightness gets up to a lofty 455 nits in SDR, and a wondrous 1043 nits in HDR mode – that’s positively glorious stuff. These impressive specs are joined by little motion blur, cementing this luxury Mini LED panel as a great all-rounder.

With a resolution hitting 3840×2160 alongside a 160Hz refresh rate and built-in USB hub, this monitor can excel for gamers, creatives or productivity users. Specifically for gamers, this monitor also dons AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, for dodging screen tearing at those higher rates. There’s VRR (variable refresh rate) as well as a whopping four HDMI 2.1 ports.

Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full Review: Acer Predator X32/FP review

Getting into PC gaming can be expensive but the AOC Gaming 25G3ZM/BK is here to help. With this AOC monitor, you’re getting a whole lot for under £200. The big sell is a 240Hz refresh rate, making it ready to go for competitive gaming.

It isn’t all about that though, the high refresh rate wouldn’t be enough to sell this monitor itself. Thankfully, that’s not the case. For this low price, you get surprisingly strong colour accuracy and gamut coverage to rival monitors twice this price. The raw stats see a great contrast ratio at this price of 4000:1 and coverage of 99.7% sRGB, 80.8% Adobe RGB and 91.2% DCI-P3. These numbers are remarkable for a device under the £200 mark.

Outside of benchmarks, the proof was in the pudding too. This 1080p panel offers up strong viewing angles, pleasing colour and an overall delightful gaming experience, even if brightness is a little lacking. Again, for the price, the design isn’t half bad either. This doesn’t look like a sub-£200 device, even if it is largely made out of plastic. There are slim bezels and a sturdy base that add up to a sleek combination.

Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full Review: AOC Gaming 25G3ZM/BK review

If you’re hunting for a monitor to use with your Mac or MacBook, then the Apple Studio Display is a logical, and indeed powerful, choice.

We found it to be one of the best-looking monitors we’ve ever reviewed, thanks to an professional aesthetic that sits well alongside Apple’s equally pro-grade laptops and desktops. It features an aluminium construction, complete with the typical Apple-like precision we’ve come to expect. There aren’t any controls on the monitor though, which means you have to control the Studio Display using the connected device.

The Studio Display is a feature-packed panel, complete with some fantastic sounding speakers, a built-in webcam and even the internals of an iPad with an A13 Bionic chipset and 64GB of storage. We did find that connectivity to Windows laptops to be difficult, which presents the idea that the Studio Display is only designed for Mac users. If you want a Windows-based equivalent, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

As for the display itself, the Studio Display offers up sharp images thanks to a 5K resolution. We found it’s an adequate LCD panel for Mac users that offers similar tech to pro-grade offerings from a few years ago. With 600 nits of brightness, this is a vibrant panel with great colour accuracy too. But it lacks the punch of a Mini LED display, as well as the powers of Apple’s ProMotion tech that offers up a 120Hz refresh rate to ensure smoother scrolling.

At $1599/£1499, this is an expensive choice, but if you’ve got your heart set on having a capable panel to pair with your Mac, then the Apple Pro Display should serve you well.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: Apple Studio Display review