Do I need 24, 27, 34 inches or more? Full HD, p or 4K? Curved or flat? Does HDMI 2.1 matter? HDR? If you've just parachuted into the gaming monitor battlefield without a map, these are just some of the questions you might have. Hopefully, this guide should help you orient yourself to the environment.
ZHONGKANG contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.
Gaming monitor shopping is far more complicated than for other types of displays, at least if you're like most of us and subject to budget constraints. That's because you have to factor in the type of games you play and the capabilities of your GPU when calculating the tradeoffs to save money.
The TL;DR
If you don't want to spend a lot of time thinking about it, my quick-and-dirty recommendation is a 27-inch flat-screen IPS display with p (quad HD) resolution and a refresh rate of 144Hz or better and DisplayHDR 600 (or the equivalent). You can usually find quite a few choices in the $250 to $500 price range. If you need to go cheaper or smaller, drop to a 24-inch p model (aka full HD) with a 144Hz or faster refresh rate; you can find those for $150 to $250. If you want a really good monitor -- 32 inches or bigger with 4K-plus resolution at refresh rates starting at 120Hz and HDR with 1,000 nits or more brightness -- generally expect to spend upward of $1,000. The same frequently goes for cutting edge technologies, such as QD-OLED (though we don't yet know how much Alienware's 34-inch model will cost.)
To me, 24 inches feels small, especially if the monitor is serving time as a work display during the day or if you play games with expansive worlds. But either should be able to handle most types of games. If you want to connect to both a console and a PC, almost any recent monitor will work, but some are optimized for the task in big sizes -- currently 42 inches or bigger -- with an explicit list of the HDMI 2.1 features you care about, such as dynamic HDR metadata (if you want HDR) and variable refresh rate. They'll cost well over $1,000, too.
To save money, at least in the short run, don't overbuy. If you've got a 3-year-old system with a GPU that gets you 90 frames per second in p on your most-played games and you don't plan to upgrade in any meaningful way in the near term, you can save money by not going for the 240Hz model.
Read more: The Best Monitors According to the CNET Staff Who Use Them
Quick recommendations
- Within the constraints of your budget and desk space, get the largest monitor you can for single-monitor setups. You'll rarely regret buying a monitor that's too big, but you'll frequently regret buying one that's too small. There are also super-widescreen monitors with 21:9 aspect ratio (sometimes listed as 2.35:1), many of which are 34-inch displays with lower-than-4K resolution.
- Factor in the aspect ratios your favorite games support. If they only offer 16:9 options, configuring them for a widescreen 21:9, 24:10 or 32:9 monitor can be annoying and frustrating; you may also be able to save some money.
- Recommended minimum resolutions for gaming: 24 inches, 1,920x1,080 pixels; 27 to 32 inches, 2,560x1,440 pixels; 34 to 39 inches 3,440x1,440 pixels; 43 to 49 inches, 3,840x2,160 pixels. Note that almost all 49-inch monitors have 3,840x1,080 resolution, which is lower than my recommended threshold. For the rationale behind these suggestions, read the section where I discuss pixel density.
- Make sure the stand can adjust to the appropriate height for you to use comfortably and tilt to a usable angle. Depending on your needs, you may also want a stand that can swivel or allow the screen to rotate 90 degrees for use in portrait orientation. This may be useful if you want to combine multiple monitors to get a vertical height greater than what you'd be able to get in a single monitor.
- Go with one that you find attractive because you'll be staring at it a lot. You may also want to think about models that support lighting coordination across devices, such as Razer's ChromaAsus' Aura Sync. You also want a stand that looks good and that has sensible cable management, allowing you to feed wires through a hole or channel to keep them together. Cable management can be important if the monitor has a USB hub, since you'll want to keep those cables under control as well.
- To use with an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 console (when that firmware update finally appears), you'll want a monitor with an HDMI 2.1 port that explicitly states it supports 4K at 120Hz with variable refresh (also called VRR) support.
- If you're putting together a multimonitor setup, look for thin bezels. A matched set of curved displays may also work better than flat screens. On the other hand, if you play different types of games, such as shooters and sims, you may want to get a pair of monitors optimized for each type of game, such as a fast-refresh QHD 27-inch display for battling and a medium-fast-refresh 32-inch 4K model with a large color gamut for building. I also recommend two 27-inch displays over a single 49-inch.
- You can save money by sticking to an appropriate refresh rate. In other words, if your GPU rarely hits more than 90fps during gameplay, you probably don't need to drop the extra dough for 165Hz if you can't afford it. If you do have the cash, however, a higher refresh rate may be worth it if there's a GPU upgrade in your future.
- A gray-to-gray pixel response time of 5ms or less is good for gaming; 1ms is best for fast action on high-refresh-rate screens.
- For a lot of games, HDR doesn't matter, because they don't have lots of areas with high brightness or deep shadows, or don't take advantage of the bigger tonal range in any meaningful way. But you'll probably get better visuals for AAA games, more creeps from horror games, fewer ambushes out of the shadows in FPS games and so on if they do support HDR. If you do opt for it, anything less than HDR 600 isn't very noticeable, and that level gives a good balance between price and noticeable boost. For more detail check out the story
How to choose an HDR gaming monitor
- The bigger the color gamut the screen covers the better. At a minimum, you want 100% sRGB, but 90% or higher P3 (also known as DCI-P3) is best, as it delivers more colors. Look for specific gamut coverage percentages rather than terms like "1 billion colors," which are essentially meaningless.
- Contrast matters -- higher is better -- but the contrast spec provided by manufacturers is almost worthless. Anything above 1,000:1 should be OK. I prefer 1,400:1 or better, however, provided it's a measured result. Contrast is the ratio of black to white on a given screen, and darker blacks produce better perceived contrast, so the same contrast ratio can sometimes look a little better on a dim monitor than a bright monitor. But there are other factors which affect it.
Want more background? Here you go.
What screen size should I get?
Everything being equal, and if you've got the space and budget, bigger is almost always better. Screen size labeling is based on the length of the diagonal: That made it easy to compare monitor sizes when almost every screen had the same aspect ratio -- essentially the proportions of the screen rectangle, which is the ratio of horizontal to vertical pixels. But wide and ultrawide screens on desktop and newer ratios on laptops (such as 3:2 or 16:10) make cross-size comparisons a little more difficult.
Read more: Best gaming laptops
If you remember your geometry and algebra, you can calculate the width and height of the display if you also know the aspect ratio. (Because width/height = aspect ratio and width² + height² = diagonal²!) The further from 1:1 the aspect ratio is, the wider the screen and more of it will be out to the sides -- and therefore in your peripheral vision if you're sitting close. It will also let you figure out the physical dimensions of the screen, most notably the width, to ensure it will fit in the allotted space.
DPI Calculator can do the math for you, but keep in mind that the numbers only represent the panel size, not the size of the display, which includes bezels and the mount. Nor does it take into account curved displays, which tend to have smaller horizontal dimensions than their flat-screen equivalent.
The 55-inch OLED displays look great but don't work well as desktop monitors, so you might as well use a cheaper TV that size with your console.
Lori Grunin/CNET
Can I use a TV instead?
You can certainly drive a TV from your computer, but TVs are meant to be viewed from a distance, while computer displays are designed for closer work. As TVs get smarter about gaming and consoles share space with PCs and laptops, however, the gap between the two is narrowing. So for gamers, having a primary computer display for working and a TV hooked up for gaming may make sense, at least if it's not too big. Want to do that? Here's how to use your 4K TV as a monitor.
Read more: Best gaming TV: Low input lag and high picture quality
If you want an OLED screen, a TV is still your best bet though. We've seen a couple of 55-inch OLED monitors like the Alienware 55, but now that TVs have improved game support you're probably better off than overpaying for a monitor. Smaller OLED monitors are trickling into the market, but still not at the desk-friendliest sizes.
Dolby Vision for Gaming on the Xbox Series X and S.
Screen capture by Lori Grunin/CNET
We're starting to see some monitors targeted toward console gamers, but Dolby threw a small spanner into the works for those by announcing Dolby Vision support for the Xbox Series X and S. But no gaming displays, including models like the Asus ROG Strix XG43UQ or Gigabyte AFV43U, support Dolby Vision yet. Only professional content-creation monitors like the Asus ProArt PA27UCX-K or Apple Pro Display XDR currently support it, and they only support 60Hz refresh rates and don't have the essential HDMI 2.1 features.
That doesn't mean you should discount monitors, though. Not a lot of games support DV either at the moment: just 10.
4K, p, p or...?
Resolution, the number of vertical by horizontal pixels that comprise the image, is inextricable from screen size when you're choosing a monitor. What you really want to optimize is pixel density, the number of pixels per inch the screen can display, because that's what primarily determines how sharp the screen looks as well as how big elements of the interface, such as icons and text, can appear. If you're gaming with a controller at distances further than you'd be sitting at a desk, it can be critical.
For instance, I've discovered that I can't read the text well enough to even make it through a tutorial in p on a 32-inch monitor from more than about 4 feet away.
Common screen resolutions
StandardResolutionAspect ratio Full HD (FHD) 1,920x1,:9Wide quad HD (WQHD) 2,560x1,:9Wide quad XGA 2,560x1,:10Ultra wide quad HD 3,440x1,:9Ultra HD 4K (UHD) 3,840x2,:9Digital Cinema Initiatives 4K (DCI 4K) 4,096x2,160Between 16:8 and 16:95K 5,120x2,:9
Standard resolutions include 4K UHD (3,840x2,160 pixels), QHD (Quad HD, 2,560x1,440) and FHD (Full HD, 1,920x1,080): You're better off looking at the numbers than the alphabet soup, because when you get to variations like UWQHD they can get mind-bogglingly ambiguous. When you see references to "p" or "p," it's shorthand for the vertical resolution. But I've yet to see someone refer to 2,560x1,600 pixels, a popular new 16:10 laptop-screen resolution, as p.
For example, on a 27-inch display, 1,920x1,080 has a pixel density of 81.59 ppi. On a 24-inch display, it's 91.79 ppi. Because a higher density is better (up to a point), FHD will look better on the smaller screen. This also depends on your vision: For me, too low a resolution and I can see the pixel grid and at slightly better than that I see nothing but jaggies on small serif type. So "optimal" really depends on what you're looking at and personal preference. My preference for working, highly detailed sims, games with a lot of text and so on is at least 100ppi; if you're moving so fast there's no time to stop and shoot the flowers, you can probably drop to as low as 90ppi. Once again, DPI Calculator can do the math for you. (A related spec is dot pitch, the size of the space between the center of the pixels, which is just the inverse of pixel density. For that, smaller is better.)
Common pixel densities (pixels per inch)
Resolution24-inch27-inch32-inch 1,920x1,080 91.881..82,560x 122..891.83,440x1,440 155...53,840x2,160 183...7
What is HDR and why do I want it?
In short, high dynamic range refers to scenes rendered with brighter highlights, greater shadow detail and a wider range of color, for a better-looking image. For gaming HDR, in contrast to TV HDR, it means more than just a prettier picture: the better you can see what's lurking in the bright and dark areas, the more likely you are to avoid danger and spot clues.
It used to require that games explicitly supported HDR as well, but the introduction of Auto HDR in the Xbox Series X/S and forthcoming in Windows 11 changes that: The operating systems can automatically expand the brightness and color ranges of non-HDR games. It's not the same as having a game that was rendered to use the expanded ranges, but it can give it a bump to make it look better than it otherwise would.
At CES , the organization behind the HDR10 standard announced the forthcoming HDR10 Plus Gaming standard, a variation of the HDR10 Plus that's been available on TVs for a while. It adds Source Side Tone Mapping (SSTM), which adjusts the brightness range on a scene level based on data embedded by the game developer -- HDR10 has a single range that has to work for the whole game. It also includes the ability to automatically trigger a display's low latency mode, to compensate for the additional overhead imposed by the HDR data (more important for TVs than monitors), as well as support for variable refresh rates in 4K at 120Hz on consoles (still not implemented in the PS5 as of today).
Why do I need to worry about HDMI details
Unfortunately, the HDMI specification has turned into such a mess that you can't make any assumptions about capabilities based on the version number, not only is every HDMI 2.0 connection henceforward to be labeled as 2.1a (with the same HDMI 2.0 feature set), but the specification no longer mandates any of the important new features; in other words, all the whizzy capabilities that made HDMI 2.1 desirable, especially as a choice for consoles, are now optional.
For more information, please visit 27-inch gaming all-in-one PC.
Bottom line: If you want a monitor for your console that can do 4K at 120Hz, support variable rate refresh and auto low-latency mode, you'll have to verify support for each individually. And the same goes if you want a PC monitor connected via HDMI that can support source-based tone mapping (discussed subsequently) and bandwidth-intensive combinations of high resolution, fast refresh rates and high color depth/HDR.
Monitor manufacturers are supposed to list supported features explicitly; if they don't, either pass the monitor by or delve deeper. If you want the gory details, TFT Central does an excellent job explaining the issues.
Is curved or flat better?
To me, curved monitors are the best way to make a single display wider without forcing you to sit too far back; that's why they make more sense for a desktop monitor than for a TV. Optimally, you should be able to see the entire screen without moving your head too much. Once you get beyond roughly 27 inches, you'll need a curve if you're sitting at a desk. Don't get me started on the "immersive experience" of curved screens: Unless that display wraps all the way around me, it's no more immersive than any other.
If you're buying a screen that's 27 inches or below, aside from the fact that curved displays can look ever so much prettier, one of the few practical applications for it is three-monitor gaming setups, which let you create a better widescreen experience. Otherwise, small curved screens just aren't worth it, especially if you're paying extra for the privilege. In fact, I feel like curves on smaller screens bring the edges too far into my peripheral vision for comfort.
At CES , Samsung announced its Odyssey Ark monitor, which brings a new level of elegance to gaming.
Samsung
The amount of curve is expressed in "R," the radius of its arc in millimeters. For a given display size, bigger numbers are tighter arcs, so 1,800R (the radius of many 27-inch curved displays) is shallower than 2,000R. Too much of a curve can be distracting, while too little may as well be flat. However, ignore all the talk of how "immersive" they are. They really aren't yet, at the very least because many games still aren't able to take full advantage of the nonstandard aspect ratios. On the other hand, unlike curved TVs, you'll always be sitting in the sweet spot, so glare shouldn't be an issue.
Many widescreen models tend to have a 21:9 aspect ratio, which means they're wider and shorter than other displays and full-screen video will be pillarboxed. But larger monitors without a curve at a more common 16:9 aspect ratio would require you to be bobbleheaded because they'd be quite tall: 24 inches (61 cm) high for a 49-inch monitor versus 19 inches (48 cm).
Should I get two (or more) small screens or one ultrawide?
This depends on what you're doing. For instance, if you want a fast gaming monitor for play and a high-resolution display for work, it's a lot cheaper to get two than a single one that does both. Or if you need a color-accurate monitor for design but want a high-brightness one for gaming, it's also a lot cheaper to get two smaller ones. But if you just need a ton of screen space, a single ultrawide might be simpler.
Does the screen technology -- IPS, TN and more -- matter?
Sort of. For current monitors at all but the lowest, cheapest end, your choices are between VA (vertical alignment) and IPS (in-plane switching). Some manufacturers refer to their panels as "high-speed" IPS, but that's just to distance it from the old perception that IPS has slow pixel response. The reason you generally don't need to think about the technology is because other specs, such as the ones that follow, provide more meaningful decision options than the panel type.
What refresh rate is good? What about GtG?
Refresh rate is the number of times per second (in Hertz, or Hz) the screen can update, and can produce unwanted artifacts such as blur, tearing and stuttering which occur when there's a difference between the rate at which the graphics card is feeding the display and the rate at which the screen updates.
Pixel response, also known as Motion Picture Response Time or Gray-to-Gray time (though those two aren't the same thing), is how fast an individual pixel can switch states from black to white or from gray to gray (the more commonly provided spec). It's measured in milliseconds. Faster is better, and you generally want a maximum of 5ms or less GtG for all but esports-level gaming. Monitors will sometimes offer a branded motion blur-reduction mode, which performs some technological sleight of pixel to reduce perceived blur. Your mileage may vary with these.
Refresh rate and pixel response time are inextricable from each other: a display with a fast refresh rate will have a fast pixel response unless something is very wrong. Both specs are sometimes provided in an overclocked mode.
The current "stratospheric" refresh rates are 300Hz or 360Hz, which are primarily intended for esports and come on small screens (less than 27 inches) and only in panels (TN) that don't display a wide range of colors and look terrible off-angle. Most gamers should be fine with 120Hz to 240Hz.
You can find everything you've ever wanted to know about the subject and more at Blur Busters.
Do I need Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync?
There is a spectrum of technologies designed to compensate for the disconnect between screen update rate and gameplay frame rate, which fall under the umbrella of variable refresh rate. The disconnect can cause artifacts like tearing (where it looks like parts of different screens are mixed together), stutter (where the screen updates at perceptibly irregular intervals) and more.
At the most basic, your monitor should support generic VRR. That will enable games to use their own methods for syncing the two rates, which on the PC frequently means the game just caps the frame rate it will allow. One step up from that is generic adaptive refresh rate, which uses extended system-level technologies to vary the screen update rate based on the frame rate coming out of the game. This can deliver a better result than plain VRR, as long as your frame rates aren't all over the place within a short span of time.
Beyond that, you'll see VRR technologies from Nvidia and AMD branded under G-Sync and FreeSync, respectively, each of which come in multiple levels of complexity. If you're serious about gaming, you might want to consider waiting for monitors that support Nvidia's G-Sync Esports to ship. They'll be 27-inch p models incorporating Nvidia's new sync standard as well as Nvidia Reflex for minimizing latency throughout the click-to-screen response
So the 15-inch display on your laptop is starting to feel cramped, and you work mainly in one location. Yes, you could attach an additional screen to your notebook, or opt for a tower PC with a separate monitor, but you should consider an all-in-one (AIO) desktop. For the same amount you would spend on a 17-inch laptop that weighs more than 10 pounds, you can get an AIO desktop PC, with a 23-inch-or-larger screen. You'll probably also have a better Windows 8 touch experience on an AIO system, since some smaller models can be used like huge tablets. Here's what to look for when you're shopping for an all-in-one PC.
First and Foremost, the Display
The first thing to look at (no pun intended) is the screen. While less expensive AIO PCs will come with a 20-inch screen, those are better suited to cramped spaces like classroom labs or dorm rooms. What you really want is a 23-, 24-, or even a 27-inch display. You're almost guaranteed a 1,920-by-1,080 resolution (true p HD) screen at this size, and larger screens will go even higher (up to 4K on some 27-inchers). What that gets you is the ability to view multiple screens side by side. Or you can view a three- to four-page-wide spreadsheet. If you're a multitasker, the more screen room the better. Though it's not a concern to those with 20/10 or better eyesight, a larger screen and higher resolution will allow you to increase the font size on your Word documents or Excel spreadsheets while still keeping a lot of information on the screen. Desktop screens are brighter than laptop displays in general, as well. Look for In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology for the best screen quality. IPS screens are inherently better at off-axis viewing, which means you won't have to be sitting perfectly centered to see accurate colors and all the detail in your images.
To touch screen or not to touch screen&#;that is the question. It's no secret that Windows 8's user interface (UI) was designed with touch screens in mind. The initial UI with tiles and blocky icons is more suited to a touch screen or trackpad than a mouse. The spec for Windows 8 calls for at least a five-point touch screen to support gestures like pinch and zoom, but system builders are optimizing for a 10-point touch screen so each of your fingers can be recognized during a computing session. The rationale is that it will support at least one whole hand's input (five fingers), but having both hands register (ten fingers) is better for usability and for using virtual keyboards. If you have a need for virtual keyboards (changing languages on the fly, entering complex mathematical formulas, playing keyboard-based instruments, etc.), then a touch screen is almost a must-have feature. If you're a passive information consumer, swiping screens around may be easier on a touch screen.
A touch screen isn't 100 percent necessary yet, even though Windows 8 UI is designed with one in mind. If you never leave Desktop mode in Windows 8 or would rather use Windows 7, a keyboard and pointing device are the way to go. There are some touch gestures in Mac OS X as well that could take advantage of a touch screen, but for Macs it's (also) not yet a necessity. Scrolling with a mouse or a trackpad will still be as quick or quicker than on a touch screen. Selecting text for copy and paste is easier with a mouse. If you fill out forms online and switch between text-entry boxes, pull-down menus, and check boxes, then it's likely that you'll be able to enter data quicker with a keyboard and mouse/trackpad.
If you're planning on using the touch screen at least 50 percent of the time, look for systems with screens that can recline down to horizontal (90 degrees) or almost horizontal. This lets you use the system like a large tablet, rather than holding your arm out constantly to use the touch screen. Think about using an ATM: The vertical screen is fine for a 90-second transaction, but will become tiring after 10 minutes or more. Leaning the screen back to almost horizontal will help people who use touch interfaces immensely. It's simple ergonomics. It's the reason why piano keyboards are still horizontal after hundreds of years, even though piano makers could easily situate the keys vertically.
Speaking of vertical orientation, some AIO stands let you pivot the screen so it is in a portrait orientation. Portrait mode lets you view content like webpages and some pictures without wasted space to the sides of the screen. It's a boon for Web developers and layout artists still working on print publications. If Portrait mode is something you'd be interested in, make sure the system features auto-rotate; otherwise you'll need to switch display settings every time you pivot the display.
Next, What's Inside
While you can get a dual-core processor in a base configuration, look for a true quad-core processor on a large-screen, AIO PC. It will help with editing photos, videos, or playing back music in the background while you work on several tasks in the foreground. About 6GB to 8GB should be the minimum system memory you should accept. Although 4GB will work fine for basic users, you're going to feel the limits of such a system quicker. That said, 8GB or 16GB will let you keep dozens of tabs open on your browser and still have room left over for Photoshop.
As far as storage goes, look for a hard drive of at least 1TB capacity if you're going to store any video on you PC. Video files tend to clog up hard drives faster than just about any other type of file. If you're a heavy download fan, then by all means grab a 2TB drive. The only issue is that a traditional spinning hard drive is relatively slow booting and loading apps. If you'd rather have a system that's more a speed demon than a file storage unit, look for an AIO that uses a solid-state drive (SSD) as the boot drive. If you keep all your files on a central network-attached storage (NAS) or stored on in the cloud, just about any SSD or hard drive larger than 128GB will be sufficient for most users. That's enough for the operating system, and a handful of oft-used programs. You can have the best of both worlds with an all-in-one PC that boots from a SSD, but has an additional spinning hard drive for storage. Look for a 128GB boot drive and at least 1TB of hard drive storage if you're a power user. You'll need more storage (2TB to 4TB) if you plan on keeping your entire video, music, and photo collection on your PC.
Adding an extra 1TB or so is also easy with an USB 3.0 external drive. SSDs cost more per GB than regular spinning hard drives, but SSDs boot up and wake from sleep so much faster than regular drives. Adding a 32GB cache SSD can speed up some tasks like loading apps, but for true speed, get a "real" SSD as your C: drive. Unfortunately, some of the new AIO PCs are becoming harder to upgrade by the end user, so make sure you get what you need at the start.
You'll want a system with a wireless keyboard and mouse or trackpad. While you could theoretically use the onscreen equivalents on a touch screen, using a touch screen for everything can get tiring, especially when you're typing for more than a minute or two. A few dozen words are easy to type on a touch screen, while 3,000 words in a single session will be a challenge. It's also arguably easier to use a mouse or trackpad than a touch screen when selecting large blocks of text for cut/paste operations.
A new subcategory of AIOs has appeared on the scene recently: the battery-equipped, portable all-in-one desktop. They use mobile components, including ultrabook-class processors, low-power storage devices like SSDs, and touch screens to give users a tablet-like experience. These PCs run full versions of Windows 8 and Windows compatible software, so they're more capable than the mobile device you carry with you in your pocket. A built-in battery pack will give you a few hours of unplugged computing, but their 18- to 27-inch screens are way too large to use on an airline tray table. Think of them as portable PCs that you can move from room to room easily.
The Pros
Even if you could purchase one, you can't carry a 20-inch or larger laptop without looking ridiculous. You'll also need strong arms to move a 17-inch-or-larger laptop. You'll also need to be a blood relation to a WWE wrestler to have a lap that will accommodate a larger laptop. Since AIO desktops are plugged in, you can rest assured that you won't ever run out of battery power, even when you leave your system in sleep mode for months. Some AIO systems with SSDs can update while sleeping, like the latest ultrabooks. Since they use more powerful processors, all-in-one PCs will take care of your tasks quicker. Some 3D games are also smoother, thanks to discrete graphics cards in some AIO PCs.
You can share the PC among the members of a family, and use it to store centrally accessible photos, music, and videos. A large widescreen AIO PC makes for a great video-conferencing system. Rather than having the family crowd around your 7-inch tablet or 11-inch laptop, seat them in front of a 27-inch AIO desktop so you're not subconsciously squeezing together to "fit on the screen." Plus, a 27-inch screen is great for watching a movie from 10 feet away, so a few people can use it as a HDTV in your den equipped with a small sofa or loveseat. If you place the system in a central location, such as your kitchen counter, you can monitor your children when they're online.
The Cons
Since they have larger screens, AIO PCs are physically larger than laptops. Of course, you'll give up the ability to easily move the system from room to room, but AIOs are still more portable than tower PCs. All-in-one PCs don't have the expandability that you're going to find in most tower PCs, but towers lack the sleekness factor. That said, towers are still better than all-in-one PCs when you need to do intensive work like CAD/CAM or scientific exploration.
So next time you're online and thinking that you really need a bigger screen than the one on your current laptop or tablet, take a look at an all-in-one desktop. A good place to start is our picks for the best all-in-one PCs. Be sure to also check out our top picks overall for desktops, as well as our favorites for work or play.
Get Our Best Stories!
Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Sign up for other newsletters
If you want to learn more, please visit our website 34inch All in one computer.
Comments
Please Join Us to post.
0