1. AOC i2352VH
Price: £125 (around $191 USD/$186 AUD)
Screen size: 23-inch
Panel tech: IPS
For proof of the progress the PC monitor market has made in the past 12 months, look no further than the AOC i2352Vh. A surprising choice you may think, given the fact that the monitor looks very much like every other budget offering at first glance.
The chassis is composed of cheap, hard injection-moulded plastic. The stand is likewise hewn from low-rent plastic and offers only tilt adjustment, which allows the whole shebang to rock back and forth fairly alarmingly if you give it a little prod.
Then there's the 23-inch diagonal and 1,920 by 1,080 pixel grid. Frankly, we've seen it all before so many times, the prospect of yet another samey budget monitor is positively painful. But wait just a minute, because this AOC effort is different. And you realise the difference when you turn it on.
Read the full AOC i2352VH review
2. AOC i2757FM
Price: £235 (around $359 USD/$350 AUD)
Screen size: 27-inch
Panel tech: IPS
We're serious souls, and not whores for shallow gimmicks. So the AOC AOC i2757Fm is off to an immediate loser. After all, its main claim to fame is the pseudo-bezelless construction. And what the hell has bezel-width got to do with image quality or fitness for gaming or, frankly, anything that actually counts?
Making matters worse, the build quality of the i2757Fm isn't exactly stellar. The brushed aluminium panel at the bottom of the screen looks swish from a distance. But a prod reveals a rather passing acquaintance with the rest of the chassis. Solid it ain't.
Also, the slim-to-no-bezel feature somewhat evaporates when you turn the display on. The surface of the panel extends almost to the edge of the chassis. But once activated there's a black border getting on for a centimetre in width that's a lot like, well, a bezel.
Read the full AOC i2757FM review
3. Asus VG278HE
Price: £375 (around $573 USD/$558 AUD)
Screen size: 27-inch
Panel tech: TN
Say hello to the Asus VG278HE. It is to the Asus VG278H as the BenQ XL2420TX is to the BenQ XL2420T. Except the complete opposite. In other words, where the 'TX' BenQ adds an integrated IR emitter and a pair of comedy 3D shutter glasses, this 'HE' Asus spirits those glasses away. And that's just fine by us.
First, stereoscopic technology is silly and it's time we all faced up to that fact. Second, even if you think 3D is the shizzle and note that the price gap is slightly less than the cost of buying a Nvidia 3D Vision emitter and glasses kit, we'd still prefer to have the latter separately. You can then plug it in to other screens. You're not tied to this particular monitor.
Read the full Asus VG278HE review
4. Asus VS278Q
Price: £237 (around $362 USD/$353 AUD)
Screen size: 27-inch
Panel tech: TN
What if you woke up one day to find you've been transmogrified, Kafka-style, into a PC monitor? How to go about leading a fulfilling life? If you boil it right down you've really only got two options available.
Either you can wow the world with outstanding features, preferably something that's desirable but rare. Like, say, combining IPS and 120Hz technology. Or you can have a stab a being very good at doing something more mainstream.
The Asus VS278Q definitely falls into the latter category of being conventional-but-a-quality-product. It's a 27-inch model with a 1,920 by 1,080 pixel grid. It's TN panel. And it doesn't exactly leap off the specification sheet. Whether it's the 170° by 160° claimed viewing angles or the 300cm/2 brightness, we have seen its like before.
Read the full Asus VS278Q review
5. Benq GW2750HM
Price: £187 (around $286 USD/$278 AUD)
Screen size: 27-inch
Panel tech: VA
Thanks to Apple, the mouth-breathing masses have finally woken up to the delights of IPS screen technology. The downside of this development is, of course, that Joe Punter's salivating worship of all things Apple doesn't leave room for a more nuanced view. In that context, what's the point of offering an alternative premium panel technology?
There are good technical reasons for giving it a crack. And that's exactly what BenQ has decided to do with the GW2750HM. It's got a Vertical Alignment or VA type panel. Believe it or not, ladies and gentlemen, VA technology does have some advantages over IPS.
The most obvious of which is contrast. The best VA panels sport unbeatable contrast and black levels. They're better than TN in most regards and close to IPS for colour accuracy.
Read the full Benq GW2750HM review
6. Benq XL2420TX
Price: £370 (around $565 USD/$551 AUD)
Screen size: 24-inch
Panel tech: TN
Possibly the best 3D monitor we've ever seen. That's what we said of the BenQ XL2420T. Yes, that's the BenQ XL2420T, not the BenQ XL2420TX as reviewed here. Hold that thought. Admittedly, we have mixed feelings about current 3D technology, but the 24-inch, 1080p XL2420T showed current 3D at its best.
In no small part that was down to full support for Nvidia's 3D Vision 2 technology including Lightboost. The latter significantly boosts visual punch and vibrancy, which has always been at a premium when it comes to 3D screens that rely upon polarised active shutter glasses.
But the basic image quality was also exceptional for a TN panel. Rich and vivid colours, strong contrast and little to no evidence of compression - it's not often you can say that of a TN panel. Okay, the vertical viewing angles are never going to scare an IPS screen, but it was very competitive by most other metrics.
Read the full Benq XL2420TX review
7. Iiyama Prolite G2773HS
Price: £295 (around $451 USD/$439 AUD)
Screen size: 27-inch
Panel tech: TN
Word from the show floor at CES in Las Vegas is that 3D's dead. Well, not exactly dead, but nobody cares any longer. It always felt like a gimmick so we're not particularly complaining. Especially when you consider that 3D's brief ascendancy had the happy side effect of raising awareness of the benefits of 120Hz refresh.
One result is the pretty little panel you see here, the Iiyama ProLite G2773HS. What's interesting about it is that Iiyama is pitching it as a pure 120Hz panel, not just a 3D trinket. For sure, the 120Hz capability means it'll jive with Nvidia's 3D Vision technology. But that's not the pitch. Instead, Iiyama wants you to buy it because 120Hz is smoother, slicker and more responsive in 2D mode.
To put it simply, we concur. But what about the rest of the G2773HS's talents? For starters, we're talking 27 inches of screen and a plain-old 1,920 by 1,080 pixel grid. There's no high density 2,560 by 1,440 action here.
8. Samsung Series 9 S27B970D
Price: £840 (around $1,282 USD/$1,250 AUD)
Screen size: 27-inch
Panel tech: PLS
Back in 2005 when the first 30-inch panels with 2,560 by 1,600 pixel grids popped up, we thought it was only going to be a matter of time before big screens with resolutions to match trickled down to the mainstream audiences. Well, here we are nearly eight years later and this 27-inch Samsung screen with slightly fewer pixels is still an £800 item.
It's really quite disappointing, but let's put pricing to one side for a moment. Just how good is the Samsung Series 9 monitor?
One thing's for sure, it's designed a gorgeous panel. Samsung pitches it as PLS technology, but it's basically its take on IPS. Except it might actually be better. Samsung's version offers all the usual IPS refinements, such as epic viewing angles and fantastic colours, but you get some extras, too.
Read the full Samsung Series 9 S27B970D review
9. Viewsonic VX2370SMH-LED
Price: £130 (around $199 USD/$194 AUD)
Screen size: 23-INCH
Panel tech: IPS
Just 18 months ago, monitors like this wouldn't have seemed possible. Not only is it 23-inches in girth and endowed with a full-HD pixel grid (that development has actually been bog standard for a few years), but it's also got an LED backlight.
And here's the really sweet bit. It's an IPS panel to boot. Oh, and it's not just any old IPS technology either. Viewsonic has upgraded it from 6-bit as with the old VX2336s-LED to full 8-bit. Okay, some pro panels are now 10-bit. But you get all of this for a mere £130, which is ridiculous.
That's even before you take into account the fact that it's a sexy looking little number that also has a stylish chassis. So along with all those features it's got a distinctive and pleasingly modern and minimalist look, Even if it's not ultimately as sexy as the bigger 27-inch AOC i2757Fm - what more could you ask for?
Read the full Viewsonic VX2370SMH-LED review
10. Viewsonic VX2460H-LED
Price: £140
Screen size: 24-INCH
Panel tech: TN
What's an inch worth to you? That's essentially what it all comes down to for the Viewsonic VX2460HLED. For this is a 24-inch monitor, making it precisely one inch bigger than a, yes, 23-inch monitor. A blinding glimpse of the bleedin' obvious, you cry? Shut it, you slags, we were trying to make a point.
Which goes something like this. For less than the cost of this 24-incher you can have any number of 23-inch screens, such as Viewsonic's VX2370SMHLED. Except that's got a lovely IPS panel. And this is only a grotty TN screen. And thus the VX2460HLED's predicament begins to unfold.
Making matters worse, there's no DVI port, just HDMI and VGA ports. That said, it does have a few features going for it. The ultra-slim chassis has quite a natty design, for starters, even if it's pretty redundant.
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