Stop Treating Your Monitor Like a Printer. Here’s How to Buy One You’ll Actually Like

All monitors have HDMI and DisplayPort to connect to a PC (or even VGA if it’s a really old one). Those are the basics. If you want the latest of these port standards in monitors, you’re looking for HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1.

More and more monitors nowadays include a built-in USB hub, which can sometimes include USB-A ports, an Ethernet jack, and more. Once you connect over the upstream USB-C (or USB-B if the monitor’s a bit older), you can plug accessories and peripherals directly into the monitor. That’s particularly useful if your laptop doesn’t have many ports, or if you frequently move your laptop and like to keep it as cable-free as possible. Many monitors also include Power Delivery over USB-C, letting you connect and charge your laptop through a single cable.

Some workstation-level monitors take this a step further and also include a KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) switch, which allows you to switch between multiple laptops or PCs, all plugged into the same monitor. Most people don’t need this, but if you run multiple PCs for any reason, it’s a must.

The placement of these ports is also important. Ideally, you won’t have to reach the back of your monitor too often, because let’s be real, it’s a huge pain. Down-firing ports are the hardest to reach and see, but give you the cleanest look. Back-facing ports, meanwhile, are easier to plug in. Some of the new Dell monitors even include a pop-down, forward-facing port module for quick access to USB-C or a headphone jack. Some monitor stands include some built-in cable management to route your cords, which is a helpful feature.

Pricing

There’s a huge range of pricing for monitors, ranging from under $100 to $5,000 for the Apple Pro Display XDR. Most people will likely be shopping in the sub-$300 range, which is what makes options like the Dell 27 Plus 4K so impressive. It’s not a perfect monitor by any means, but in my own testing, it hits the sweet spot in price and quality.

But I love the diversity in the monitor space right now. You’ll have to pay extra for it, but as a product category, it has matured to a point where you’ll always be able to find what you’re looking for, whether it’s a port-filled workstation, a super-fast gaming monitor, a display with smart features that doubles as a television, or maybe even an oversized ultrawide monitor that replaces dual monitors.