11 Recommended Monitors For Programming & Coding

Welcome to a list of recommended monitors for programming – By a programmer, for programmers. I reckon there are a ton of these “recommendations” posts on the Internet, and “the best monitor” can be subjective to everyone.

So instead of going “one direction”, the recommendations here will cover a range of common consideration factors instead. Hopefully, help you guys to better decide on what to get – Read on!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overall Good	Portable Monitors	Budget Monitors
Stuff To Consider	The End

OVERALL GOOD FOR WORK

1. DELL ULTRASHARP SERIES

You might know Dell as a computer manufacturer, and yes, they do have their own line of monitors (obviously). What is rather surprising is that the Ultrasharp series is actually pretty good given the price point – Just do a “Dell ultrasharp review” search online. These monitors produce sharp crisp images as the name implies, they are just perfect for working with text and code.

2. ASUS DESIGNO SERIES

Ever since the rise of popularity in gaming, Asus has been working hard on creating better monitors. The Desgino series is not specifically for gaming, but more for the professionals who want image quality. This monitor series has plenty to boot – Sleek design, good response time, crisp images, good speakers, and insane color depth. It even has a built-in blue light reduction, good for programmers who stare at the screens for extended periods.

3. ASUS PROART SERIES

Here, we have another ASUS series on the list. This one is the ProArt, and as you can guess from the name – It is specially made for artists and professionals who demand image quality. They can get pretty pricey on the higher-end, but you can rest assured that it comes with quality.

4. LG ULTRAWIDE SERIES

LG is known for its quality panels, and their ultrawide is not an exception – Crisp colors, good overall performance. This series is a good consideration for you guys who want to go wide without dual monitors… AND not burn a hole in the wallet.

5. SAMSUNG CF390 SERIES

Looking for a curved screen that will not break the piggy bank? Look out for the Samsung 390 series. Although they are only full HD (1920 x 1080), they still have a respectable response time, and they do dish out some good quality images.

6. ALIENWARE AW3420DW

Alienware is Dell’s gaming brand, and this one has quite a lot of display muscles. A gorgeous curved ultrawide screen, fast response, and stunning refresh rate. It does cost quite a bit, but it will definitely satisfy the demanding folks.

PORTABLE MONITORS

7. ASUS ZENSCREEN SERIES

Need a portable screen extension for your laptop? Extra space for coding? Check out the ASUS Zenscreen series – A portable screen that is USB powered, in full HD, and just about the size of a tablet.

8. AOC I1659FWUX

This contender from AOC has an actual screen size of 15.6″, even though it is marketed as 16″. But it is in full HD, has a speedy 5ms response time, and uses USB-C. An overall mighty decent travel companion.

BUDGET MONITORS

9. SCEPTRE MONITORS

I am not going to add any particular models here, as Sceptre pretty much produces a lot of budget monitors. While they are not the best performing monitors in the market, you can be sure that they don’t cause your eyes to bleed. An overall mighty good choice for people who are on a tight budget.

10. VIOTEK MONITORS

Viotek is another brand that I will recommend for budget monitors. Again, they are not the best in the market, but still decently good.

11. DELL S SERIES

From good old reliable Dell again. If you want a decently good monitor that will not burn a big hole in your wallet too, the S-series is a good choice.

SCREEN SIZE & ASPECT RATIO

When it comes to screen sizes, there are only 2 basic things to know – The screen size and aspect ratio.

• Screen sizes are usually measured in inches, and that is diagonally across.
• As for the aspect ratio, it is simply the ratio of the width and height.

I personally prefer screens that are at least 24 inches. Small screens for coding is just meh; One does not simply buy a tiny screen and struggle to do coding on it.

RESOLUTION

The resolution is another basic specification, and it is simply the number of pixels (dots) on the screen. While some people preach “more pixels is better”, it only makes me wonder if more pixels are really necessary for “better coding”. Full HD (1920 X 1080) is good enough for most general and coding use, anything more is a plus.

VIEWING ANGLE

How far you can sit on the sides of the screen and still see it properly. Most modern screens have no problems with the viewing angle at all… This is not a huge deal-breaker unless you love to use the monitor at extreme angles.

BRIGHTNESS, COLOR DEPTH, CONTRAST

These are the specs that are worth paying some attention to.

• Brightness – The maximum brightness of the monitor. Usually measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m2) or nit, the higher the brighter. So long as it is bright enough to match your working environment, it is good enough. No need to worry too much though, modern monitors typically don’t have any issues matching the brightness of indoor lights.
• Color Depth – The color depth determines how many shades of colors the monitor is capable of displaying. The deeper the color depth the merrier. Usually measured in bits or the exact number of colors.
• Contrast Ratio – The difference between the darkest black and brightest white. Technically, the higher the better.

The key point though – The picture quality is hard to determine from just numbers, online pictures, and reviews. Sometimes, it is best to just go see the actual physical monitor and judge for yourself.

RESPONSE TIME & FRAME RATE

The response time and frame rate determine how fast the monitor can refresh the images on the screen. A slow slow response time and frame rate will suffer from what we call “ghosting”, where moving images on the screen start to be perceived as blur by human brains. That is not good if you intend to play games and watch movies. Personally, I typically look out for:

• A response time of 5ms or less.
• A frame rate of at least 60 FPS.

ARE CURVED MONITORS BETTER FOR PROGRAMMING?

Curved monitors are supposedly better at panoramic movies and games. But that said, there are no scientific studies done on whether curved monitors are good nor bad for reading and programming. Guess it is pretty much a matter of your own personal preference.

DO WE REALLY NEED MULTIPLE MONITORS?

Personally, I find an ultrawide monitor to be good enough. Using half side of the screen for coding, and the other half for reference… But everyone has a different habit, and who knows, maybe there are code ninjas here who can code, do research, eat, drink, listen to music, play games, and watch videos all at the same time – That, you need multiple monitors. It’s all up to you and your own needs.

MORE

If you want to know more about monitor specs in-depth, check out this guide on TFT Central.