The Best Monitor Buyer’s Guide – Summer 2025
A New Monitor Is Your Best PC Upgrade!
Technology is always improving, and there’s no place that’s more evident than in the latest monitors. Our Monitor Buyer’s Guide continues to feature the best offerings, a total of a dozen models in all, many of them launched in the past year.
The reality is that intense competition and innovation is making it harder to navigate the monitor market, especially for gaming, but even productivity monitors are increasingly laden with specs. From mainstream to 4K to ultra-wide, 24″ to 38″, 60Hz to 240Hz, IPS to OLED, and various flavors of HDR, there’s a lot to take in. You might even need to consider whether a monitor can charge your laptop over USB Type-C, effectively adding power supply functionality. The big question is, which features do you want, because you can’t have them all!
All the Best Picks for Summer 2025!
In this guide, we try to find the best overall pick for each user in each product category, from budget home office to extreme gaming. That’s a lot of ground to cover, so we’ve broken down our picks into two main categories:
- Home- and Small-Office Monitors: The first six monitors on our list fit into this category, offering prices, features, and designs for any office environment. They start at under $100 and go up above $1,000. These are differentiated based on size of course, but also stand adjustability, USB charging, and color quality.
- Gaming Monitors: The last six monitors on our list are gaming-specific monitors, which at this point must feature both frame syncing technology (AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync) and high refresh rates (at minimum we recommend 144Hz, but our picks now go up to 240Hz). There’s no reason to buy a “gaming monitor” that doesn’t have both of these features today. While Acer and Asus used to dominate the gaming monitor market, they now have a lot of competition from the big names in the TV industry, particularly LG, as well as Dell’s gaming specialist sub-brand Alienware. Other brands are leading the way on value, like monitor-specialist Sceptre. This is pushing innovation forward and bringing prices down. It’s an exciting time to be a gamer! Interestingly, like our productivity monitor picks, our gaming picks also run from under $150 to around $1,200!
A Quick Primer on Frame Syncing Technology
Gamers who have been out of the market for a while may want to learn more about the concept of frame syncing. This method of displaying images on screen matches a monitor’s refresh rate to frames rendered, rather than refreshing at a locked 60Hz. Sounds simple, but it makes a big difference. By eliminating lag and screen tearing caused by too many or too few frames being displayed, frame syncing provides truly fluid images. Of course, you’ll still want a serious graphics card to drive high frame rates – to see our recommend video cards, definitely check out our Video Card Buyer’s Guide.
Final Thoughts
As always, links to Amazon are provided for our US readers, which will auto-convert for readers in Canada, the UK, and parts of the EU, with automatic substitutions made where necessary. If you decide to purchase any of the models we profile, please support this site by using the links we provide.
Monitors – Summer 2025
Home/Small Office
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The 24-inch Small Office Monitor –AOC 24B2H2
$90The Guru’s TipThis monitor offers a 24″ 1920 x 1080 IPS panel for great colors at any angle, a 100Hz refresh rate for ultra-smooth scrolling, a slim bezel for sleek looks, as well as dual HDMI inputs.To use the built-in speakers, we recommend connecting this monitor to your PC using an HDMI cable.
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The 27" Productivity Monitor –Acer SB272U
$160The Guru’s TipThis Acer model offers a big 27″ 2560 x 1440 IPS panel for great viewing angles and plenty of work space, a 100Hz refresh rate for smoother scrolling than typical 60Hz monitors, one Displayport and dual HDMI 2.0 ports. It even includes an HDMI cable in the box!This model competes in price with many 24" 1080p monitors!
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The 34-inch Widescreen Monitor –Philips 346E2CUAE
$300The Guru’s TipIt wasn’t long ago that monitors with the specs of this model would cost twice as much, so there’s no doubt that Philips is offering tremendous value in a high-end model here. You get an ultra-crisp 34″ curved VA panel with a resolution of 3440 x 1440 offering, 99.5% of the NTSC color gamut, and an adjustable stand to allow for an ergonomic position. It’s equipped with Displayport and HDMI inputs, plus a USB Type-C port to connect to laptops and provide video and up to 65W of charging. It has USB 3.0 ports to connect a mouse and keyboard, making it a one-stop docking solution for laptops.This is a big step up from the 27" 1440p monitor above, and while it does cost more, it will feel much more premium due to having so much more horizontal resolution.
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The 32-inch 4K Monitor –Dell S3225QS
$330The Guru’s TipLooking for the best high-end content creation monitor available at a bargain price? This is it! It gives you a great view of your desktop, thanks to its massive 32″ 4K panel, and the VA technology offers up to 99% of the sRGB spectrum. The 120Hz refresh rate, double that of a standard monitor, ensures ultra-smooth scrolling. It also includes a highly-adjustable stand for proper ergonomics, plus a DisplayPort and HDMI 2.0 port for versatile connectivity. It even has high-quality speakers built-in!When comparing two similarly-priced monitors like this and the one above, the decision comes down to your use case. An ultra-wide like the one above is better for having multiple apps or browser tabs side-by-side, but this 4K model is better for content creation, viewing video, working on long written document, and also fits better on a desk.
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The 32-inch Professional 4K Monitor –ASUS ProArt PA329CV
$569The Guru’s TipWant to pair your productivity rig with a stunning monitor? Look no further than the awesome ASUS ProArt PA329CV, a 32″ 4K IPS monitor that achieves 100% sRGB and 100% Rec. 709 wide color gamut. It has dual HDMI 2.0 ports and a DisplayPort, and offers 90W power delivery to support just about any laptop with a single cable.There are a lot of 4K monitors out there, but there's much more to making a great monitor than just the resolution, and this one is truly targeted towards professional content creators.
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The 38-inch Ultra-Wide Productivity Monitor –ViewSonic VP3881A
$1350The Guru’s TipWith a massive resolution of 3840×1600 and a highly-curved 38″ 2300R panel, the latest ultra-wide from ViewSonic can easily support viewing three standard-sized windows side-by-side. It’s also incredibly classy, perfect for a professional environment. Plus it supports laptops via a single USB-C cable for charging, video, and data!Remember, this isn't just bigger than 34"-class ultra-wides, it's also higher resolution, allowing you to make use of that extra space!
Gaming
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The 24-inch 165Hz Gaming Monitor –Sceptre E248B-FPT168 24″ 165Hz
$120 The Guru’s TipThis is truly an amazing value - just a year ago, all you could get at this pricepoint was a 75Hz monitor, now you're getting something over twice as fast, and for gaming, that makes a huge difference!
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The 27" 1440p 180Hz Gaming Monitor –Acer XV271U
$200 The Guru’s TipNot long ago, a monitor like this would have sold for well above $300!
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The 34-inch Gaming Monitor –Asus TUF Gaming VG34VQL3A
$384 The Guru’s TipWhile 4K is most definitely a thing, ultra-wide gaming may in fact be preferable for many gamers despite the lower resolution, due to the enhanced immersion you get from the wider viewport and curved screen.
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The 32" 4K 144Hz Gamer's Dream Monitor –LG 32GR93U
$600 The Guru’s TipThe choice between an ultra-wide and 4K is a personal one, which is why we offer multiple flavors of both. We personally favor 4K due to its greater versatility, and this model offers tremendous performance at a very good price.
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The 34" Ultra-wide OLED –Alienware AW3425DW
$800 The Guru’s TipAlienware set the gaming world on fire with its first OLED ultrawide released in 2023, and this one simply builds on the best!
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The 32-inch 4K OLED Gaming Monitor –ASUS ROG Swift 32” 4K OLED
$1243 The Guru’s TipWhile there are super-ultra-wide monitors on the market for around the same price (or more) than this 4K model, they just don't perform as well, which is why once this hit the market, it became our top-end pick.
Total Cost: $
Home/Small Office
- The 24-inch Small Office Monitor – AOC 24B2H2 ($90)
- The 27" Productivity Monitor – Acer SB272U ($160)
- The 34-inch Widescreen Monitor – Philips 346E2CUAE ($300)
- The 32-inch 4K Monitor – Dell S3225QS ($330)
- The 32-inch Professional 4K Monitor – ASUS ProArt PA329CV ($569)
- The 38-inch Ultra-Wide Productivity Monitor – ViewSonic VP3881A ($1350)
Gaming
- The 24-inch 165Hz Gaming Monitor – Sceptre E248B-FPT168 24″ 165Hz ($120)
- The 27" 1440p 180Hz Gaming Monitor – Acer XV271U ($200)
- The 34-inch Gaming Monitor – Asus TUF Gaming VG34VQL3A ($384)
- The 32" 4K 144Hz Gamer's Dream Monitor – LG 32GR93U ($600)
- The 34" Ultra-wide OLED – Alienware AW3425DW ($800)
- The 32-inch 4K OLED Gaming Monitor – ASUS ROG Swift 32” 4K OLED ($1243)
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The TBG DIY PC Build Guides
Want to build your own PC? Then check out our DIY PC Build Guides, the most comprehensive you'll find on the ‘net!
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The Video Card Buyer's Guide
Need a new video card to drive your upgraded monitor? Then check out our guide to the best options on the market!
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The Keyboard & Mouse Buyer's Guide
If you're upgrading your monitor, why not upgrade your controls too!
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The Speaker & Headset Buyer's Guide
No serious PC setup is complete without a great headset or set of speakers!