The complete 2026 guide to choosing the right monitor for productivity and gaming, covering everything from screen size, aspect ratio and curve to panel technology, resolution, PPI, refresh rate, colour accuracy and connectivity. Whether you’re weighing up an ultrawide, super ultrawide, OLED, IPS Black or mini-LED display, or even a TV as a monitor, this buying guide breaks down every spec that matters so you can pick the best monitor for your setup and budget.
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▸ Dell 52″ Thunderbolt
▸ Dell 40″ Thunderbolt
▸ LG UltraFine 40U990A
▸ Apple Studio Display
▸ Meirro Pro
▸ Kuycon G32P
▸ LG UltraGear Evo 39″ 5K2K Tandem OLED
▸ LG UltraGear Evo 52G930B
▸ MSI 341CQR 34″ QD OLED
▸ Samsung 49″ Odyssey G9
▸ Samsung 57″ G9 Neo
▸ CalDigit TS5 dock
▸ Govee Backlight
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🍿 Related Videos
00:00 Intro
00:55 Screen size & aspect ratios
01:54 Screen curve explained
03:06 Resolution, PPI & Mac scaling
04:49 Panel technology LCD vs OLED
09:37 Which panel type to buy
10:31 Text fringing & sub-pixel layouts
12:08 Colour accuracy, calibration
13:14 Refresh rate & dual mode
14:30 Sponsor UGREEN NAS
15:43 Response time
16:10 Connectivity HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt
18:01 Extra features PBP, PIP & KVM
19:21 Features to skip (speakers, RGB, smart)
20:38 Warranty & burn-in cover
22:24 My top monitor recommendations
27:13 Using a TV as a monitor
28:36 Pricing & value strategy
32:17 Final thoughts & links
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Disclosures: All opinions are my own. Some links in the descriptions are affiliate links that if you click on, I’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
4:26 I’m not clear what I’m paying attention to “if you’re on a Mac”. Am I just paying attention that I have a high PPI? is there a number that is a good threshold to be over? This point in the video left me with more questions.
I need assistance. I’m planning a studio redesign and am trying to decide on a screen. I currently use 2-27” panels side by side. I do music production/music production content. But I also game.
I was thinking about going to a 43” qled or oled tv instead of 2 smaller monitors.
I will be custom building my desk. It’ll be at least 3ft deep plus being possibly a foot off the wall if I still use stands for my speakers. So I thought 43” would be a good size to not feel too big or become pixelated.
I want to be able to work, but also have more immersive gaming on the big screen without switching things.
Has anyone done this and had good luck? Any tvs worth using that will be good for gaming? I’m not super worried about 120hz as I mainly game in 60hz to keep temps down.
Any input would be super helpful in me making a decision!
Thanks for this amazing guide, dude. In the world of AI slop, you stand out gloriously. Subscribed.
Excellent Video – well laid out — whats your preference windows management software on the bigger monitors ?
I recommend Dell 52 Inch just loved it – You can send me one @petematheson