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Best monitors of CES 2019
While CES 2019 was a flurry of excitement with 7nm and 10nm silicon, new gaming laptops and more for a computer nerd to get excited about, what interested us most were all the new computer monitors we feasted our eyes on. From gargantuan 65-inch displays to RGB lit spectacles, we’ve never seen this many monitors introduced at CES and there were also a fair share of newcomers to the scene as well.
Without further ado, here’s a look at the best monitors we saw at CES 2019.
- Want more CES 2019 highlights? TechRadar is hands-on with 8K TVs and foldable, rollable displays, along with new laptops and Alexa-enabled smart gadgets. Check out everything we've seen, live from Las Vegas!
HP Omen X Emperium 65
As its name suggest it’s a massive 65-inch monitor and while it might not have a tuner like your 4K TV, it’ll deliver impeccable image quality with its 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) resolution, 1,000-nit peak brightness, HDR colors and a high refresh rate of 144Hz. What’s more, this screen features a built-in sound bar and a built-in Nvidia Shield, so it could easily be the center of your home entertainment setup just as much as your extra, extra-large gaming monitor.
Big Format Gaming Displays were one of our #1 highlights of CES 2018 and we were a little sad we didn’t hear another peep about them for an entire year. Thankfully, the giant gaming monitors like this didn’t evaporate into vaporware. Rather, HP has been hard at work perfecting the BFGD formula and the HP Omen X Emperium 65 is a stand out example of the monitors that will redefine PC gaming in the living room.
- Price: $4,999 (about £3,929, AU$7,000)
- Availability: February 2019
Razer Raptor
At CES 2019, Razer officially jumped into the world of gaming monitors with the Raptor. This 27-inch gaming display looks like a stellar high-end set with a 2,560 x 1,440 IPS panel, a 144Hz refresh rate and support for AMD’s FreeSync variable refresh rate technology. Although Razer has said it will achieve 95% of the HDR-grade DCI-P3 color gamut, it didn’t officially announce whether it will meet any of the HDR specifications.
Specs aside, it looks stunning with an industrial design and RGB lighting. It also has plenty of practical gimmicks as well, around back you’ll find a cable routing area pre-etched into the back of the monitor stand and the monitor will also turn 90-degrees, allowing you to access the ports easily.
- Price: $699
- Availability: Sometime in 2019
Aorus was just one of the many gaming hardware makers to get into gaming monitors and its current flagship is the AD27QD Tactical Display. It features a 27-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 resolution IPS panel that supports a 144Hz refresh rate, FreeSync and 10-bit colors covering 95% of the DCI-P3 color space.
What makes this gaming monitor interesting is it comes with its own built-in microphones. These mics won't pipe your voice to your in-game teammates, rather they're designed to add noise cancelling for your gaming headset/microphone. All users have to do is connect a 3.5mm headset directly into the monitor and the monitor will be able to mute out the sounds of your clacking keyboard, screaming mom and other noises your teammates won’t want to hear.
Aorus’ Tactical Advantage Monitor overlay can also activate frame-rate monitoring and a center reticle to your screen – which may be useful for games like CS:GO and other shooters.
- Price: $599
- Availability: January 16, 2019
Alienware 55 OLED Monitor
AT CES 2019, we saw plenty of large-format gaming monitor, but Alienware was the only company to introduce an OLED screen. The Alienware 55 OLED Monitor might only be a technology preview at this point, but we were still blown away by the rich blacks and vividly popping colors.
Unfortunately, Alienware is keeping its lips tight on peak brightness and HDR certifications. Also, while you might think that this monitor falls under Nvidia’s BFGD banner, it doesn’t. Alienware has yet to confirm if it will support either G-Sync or AMD’s Freesync either.
Sadly, we won't know much more about the Alienware 55 OLED Monitor until it releases in mid-2019.
- Price: TBD
- Availability: Mid 2019
