4K monitors are great for content consumption, productivity, work, and gaming as well, if you primarily play single player games. You get more screen real estate with 4K monitors since they have four times as many pixels as full HD or 1080p displays, resulting in crisper, cleaner and more detailed images. On that note, here are our top pick for the best 4K monitors that you can buy right now, including picks for the best in gaming, productivity, editing and more.
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Best 4K Monitors Comparison Chart
Samsung Odyssey Neo G8
Best 4K gaming monitor
When it comes to 4K monitors for gaming, the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 is currently the best pick. Some of its standout features include VRR support, max refresh rate of 240Hz, HDR10 and a 1000R curvature for immersion since it is a fairly large 32-inch display. By the way, it’s also our pick for the best 32-inch 4K monitor for gaming.
The monitor has a VA panel with excellent contrast ratio and deep blacks. It also has mini LED backlighting for better control over local dimming zones. The matte coating on the display minimizes reflections so you don’t have to worry about placement. However, what makes the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 stand out from other 4K gaming monitors are its 240Hz refresh rate, VRR and HDMI 2.1 support. You can use this monitor with a PC or any of the current game consoles, and still take advantage of its features.
That said, the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 is not perfect. One of its biggest drawbacks is its high price tag. This monitor is geared towards hardcore gamers that want the best. If you don’t want to spend too much money on a 4K gaming monitor, a good alternative is the Gigabyte M32UC (more on that below).
Dell UltraSharp U4320Q
Best 4K monitor for productivity
For work or productivity monitors, screen real estate is pretty much the most important factor. With the Dell UltraSharp U4320Q, you’ll get all the screen that you want. With its 42.5-inch 4K IPS panel, you’ll be able to view multiple full-size windows at once, which can boost your productivity.
Aside from its massive screen, other standout features of the Dell U4320Q include multiple ports for connectivity, excellent ergonomics, 96% sRGB coverage and Dell’s Display Manager. You can connect multiple PCs to the Dell U4320Q with its PBP feature. It comes with a USB-C port that can deliver up to 90W of power in addition to multiple DisplayPort and HDMI ports.
With Dell Display Manager, you have access to plenty of productivity boosting features such as easy arrange, auto-restore and shortcut keys.
Just like any other monitor, the Dell U4320Q is not perfect though. Some of its shortcomings include a high price tag and a max refresh rate of only up to 60Hz. If you have the budget and you don’t mind the 60Hz max refresh rate, there’s no better productivity monitor out there, except maybe for ultrawide and super ultrawide options.
Dell U2723QE
Best 4K monitor for photo and video editing
This is the second entry from Dell in our list. That says a lot about the quality of their monitors. The Dell U2723QE is our pick for the best 27-inch 4K monitor for photo and video editing. This monitor is designed for professionals, and as such, there are no fancy gaming features such as VRR or high refresh rates. What it excels in is color accuracy and multiple productivity features for content creators and professionals.
It’s already pre-calibrated to have excellent accuracy out of the box and it covers 100% of the sRGB range. The productivity features that you get with the Dell U2723QE are as follows: PBP and PIP, KVM switch and multiple USB-A and USB-C ports. You can connect multiple PCs and/or laptops to the Dell U2723QE and you can switch between them with the built-in KVM switch for improved workflow.
The price of the Dell U2723QE is just right. It’s not overly expensive, but it’s also not cheap. You’ll get what you pay for with this monitor.
Gigabyte M32UC
Best value 4K curved monitor
When it comes to value, the Gigabyte M32UC is probably the best 4K gaming monitor right now. It’s not as expensive as the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 above, while still offering competitive features and specs.
The Gigabyte M32UC has a 4K VA panel with a max refresh rate of 144Hz and VRR support. It has HDMI 2.1 ports so you can use it with current-gen consoles (Xbox Series X & S, PlayStation 5) in addition to gaming PCs, so it’s very versatile for multi-system gamers. One of the best features of this monitor is its overclockable refresh rate. You can set it to up to a max of 160Hz, and this increases its price to performance value.
Aside from gaming, you can also use it for productivity as it has a few features that help with that. It has a built-in KVM switch and USB-C DisplayPort support so you can connect laptops without DP or HDMI ports. All in all, the Gigabyte M32UC is the best value 4K monitor in this list.
ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q1A
Best budget 4K monitor
For those on a budget, the ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q1A is a good choice as it offers good performance for the price. While it is marketed as “TUF Gaming”, it only has a max refresh rate of 60Hz. That’s not so bad as it does have adaptive sync support and fast response times. However, if you are looking for a 4K monitor strictly for gaming, there are better options around.
The strength of the ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q1A is its excellent price to performance. There’s hardly anything to fault with this monitor given its price. It has excellent visuals with good color accuracy, ergonomics is good, and it comes with enough ports for connectivity.
Verdict
If you’re looking for the best 4K monitors, these are the best that you can currently get.
Samsung Odyssey Neo G8
Best for gaming
Dell UltraSharp U4320Q
Best for professionals
To recap, the best 4K gaming monitor is the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 with its 240Hz panel, VRR support, fast response times and excellent contrast ratio. For the best productivity or work monitor, we chose the Dell UltraSharp U4320Q due to its productivity features and massive 42.5-inch 4K panel.
Another Dell monitor that we recommend for work is the Dell U2723QE, but this particular monitor is geared towards content creators and video and photo editing. The Gigabyte M32UC is a good alternative to the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 when it comes to gaming. It has a more palatable price while still having all the features that you’ll want in a gaming monitor. Rounding out the list is the ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q1A for those that want a budget 4K monitor.
FAQs
It’s not possible to have a 4K ultrawide monitor due to the difference in pixel count and aspect ratio. But if you are looking for an ultrawide monitor with 2160 vertical pixels, the LG 40WP95C-W is currently the best in the market.
The Gigabyte M32UC is our pick for the best 4K 144Hz monitor right now.
Yes, but you’ll need powerful hardware to run 4K at 144Hz.
It will depend on how close you are to your monitor.