If you want to watch something or play games or do your regular work. You need a good monitor. Monitors have gotten a lot of advancement in their technology over the past few years. But good understanding their features is very important.

Here is how you can learn all you need to know:

Pixels

The maximum screen resolution is the number of horizontal pixels multiplied
by the number of vertical pixels. The higher the resolution, the clearer the picture and the greater the requirements for your video card.

• 1920 x 1080 is the most popular resolution with a ton of content. Most 24/27-inch monitors come with Full HD resolution. It is in demand among gamers, as it allows you to get high FPS in games without significant investments in a graphics adapter. Resolutions lower than Full HD can be found in budget monitors with TN-matrix. 
• 2560 x 1080 is a widescreen resolution for 29-inch and 34-inch monitors.
• 2560 x 1440 – transient resolution (2K), popular in the PC environment due to a clearer picture and the ability of modern adapters to produce high FPS on it. Good for photography.
• 3440 x 1440 is a widescreen resolution for 34-inch monitors. Closer
  to 2K than 4K, which has a positive effect on gaming. A good video card (at the level of GTX 1070/2060 Super) will easily “open” such a monitor.
• 3840 x 2160 – UHD, or 4K. It remains the prerogative of the elite due to the huge requirements for iron, but not for money. This permission is the future.
• 6016 x 3384 – ahead of the rest of the entire Apple company, which, as always, distinguished itself and released Pro Display XDR – a monitor with an unprecedented 6K resolution and an incredible cost of almost 400 thousand rubles. The leg, by the way, is sold separately, and for its price you can purchase an excellent 4K monitor with hardware calibration function.   

The resolution of “dual” monitors is: 3840 x 1080, 3840 x 1200, 5120 x 1440. By dividing the first number in half, you can easily understand which two monitors this model replaces. 

Matrix type

The most important element of any monitor is the matrix. Despite the huge marketing carousel that manufacturers have swirled around us, the real choice today is two options – VA or IPS. For general home use, TN are frankly outdated, and there are only a couple of OLED monitors on the market. Let’s consider the main types of matrices.

• TN + film (Twisted Nematic) is the first commercial LCD technology.
  Recently, it has only been used in office and gaming PCs. The main disadvantages of such monitors are poor color rendition and small viewing angles. However, there is also a big plus – the fastest pixel response among all types of matrices. That is why seasoned sportsmen often choose TN. They are strongly discouraged for working with color and viewing media content.
• VA (Vertical Alignment) is one of two key players in the market. In such matrices, the pixels are aligned vertically. They block light better and have the highest static contrast ratio of 3000: 1. The price paid for this is reduced viewing angles and reduced response times. The latter explains why VA matrices are less suitable for fast-paced games than others. One of the popular Samsung developments is QLED, a technology that expands the color gamut by using an additional layer of quantum dots in the VA matrix and claims to be gaming capabilities.
• IPS (In-Plane Switching) is the most versatile option (especially when you don’t know what you exactly need): the color rendition is good, and the response speed, and viewing angles. Of course, you have to pay for everything – the contrast of such matrices rarely exceeds 1000: 1. In the dark, it will be clearly visible that the black color is frankly gray, a glow effect may appear – the transformation of black into gray with an increase in the viewing angle and a drop in contrast.

The leapfrog with different IPS matrices is over, and now the market is dominated by AH-IPS (advanced high performance IPS). LG is also preparing to bring Nano IPS to the mass segment, which until recently were only available on their flagship monitors. The essence of the technology is to apply special nanoparticles to the backlight LEDs, which cut off parasitic shades and significantly improve color rendering. The name of such a KSF backlight is made up of the first letters of the elements used: potassium, silicon, fluorine. Therefore, any KSF is a W-LED, but not any W-LED is a KSF.

Fast IPS (Rapid IPS) – fast IPS-matrices that can rival TN in terms of response speed, while providing excellent color reproduction. The name is more of a marketing one, so you need to look for the cherished words either on the box or on the manufacturer’s website.