Every monitor on the site's monitor cards — office, creative, gaming, portable and e-ink — on one absolute scale. Three objective dimensions read the specification of the model we recommend: refresh rate on a frame-time scale, pixel density from the panel's geometry, and certified brightness. Three editorial dimensions judge motion clarity, picture quality and ergonomics, which reviewers measure and spec sheets do not.
| Dimension | Kind | Weight | Reads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refresh rate | objective | 15% | display_refresh_rate_hz (Hz) |
| Sharpness (pixel density) | objective | 15% | pixel_density_ppi (ppi) |
| Certified peak brightness | objective | 5% | peak_brightness_nits (nits) |
| Motion clarity | editorial | 20% | editorial rubric |
| Picture quality | editorial | 30% | editorial rubric |
| Stand, ports and connectivity | editorial | 15% | editorial rubric |
Reads display_refresh_rate_hz (Hz) from the specifications of the recommended variant.
| Hz | Score |
|---|---|
| 15 | 1.00 |
| 60 | 5.00 |
| 75 | 6.14 |
| 100 | 7.27 |
| 120 | 7.84 |
| 144 | 8.31 |
| 165 | 8.62 |
| 180 | 8.79 |
| 240 | 9.26 |
| 360 | 9.73 |
| 500 | 10.00 |
Why these anchors: Derived from frame time, the thing a viewer perceives: 60 Hz draws a frame every 16.7 ms, 500 Hz every 2.0 ms. 5.0 at 60 Hz, the office floor (the tenth percentile of 214 refresh rates stated on the cards); 10.0 at 500 Hz, the fastest esports tier (the cards list up to 600 Hz, which keeps 10.0). Every anchor from 60 to 500 Hz sits on the straight line between those two frame times, so 60 to 144 Hz earns 3.31 points and 240 to 500 Hz only 0.74 — halving an already short frame time is worth less. Between two anchors the published rule interpolates in hertz, which stays within 0.09 points of the frame-time line everywhere from 60 to 500 Hz (largest gap 0.081, at 87 Hz). 1.0 at 15 Hz marks e-ink monitors: bought for reading, and honest here about motion. Measured median on the cards: 180 Hz.
Reads pixel_density_ppi (ppi) from the specifications of the recommended variant.
| ppi | Score |
|---|---|
| 69 | 3.00 |
| 92 | 5.00 |
| 109 | 7.00 |
| 138 | 8.50 |
| 163 | 9.50 |
| 218 | 10.00 |
Why these anchors: Geometry, not opinion: pixels per inch is the diagonal resolution divided by the diagonal size, so it is computed from the maker's resolution and screen size, never estimated. The anchors are the densities of standard monitors. 5.0 at 92 ppi, a 24-inch 1080p panel, the office floor; 7.0 at 109 ppi, 27-inch 1440p; 8.5 at 138 ppi, 32-inch 4K; 9.5 at 163 ppi, 27-inch 4K; 10.0 at 218 ppi, 27-inch 5K, the sharpest desktop monitors sold. At a 60 cm viewing distance normal (20/20) vision stops resolving single pixels at about 146 ppi, which is why the last steps are small. 3.0 at 69 ppi, a 32-inch 1080p panel, where text looks visibly coarse.
Reads peak_brightness_nits (nits) from the specifications of the recommended variant.
| nits | Score |
|---|---|
| 250 | 3.50 |
| 300 | 5.00 |
| 400 | 6.00 |
| 600 | 7.50 |
| 1000 | 9.00 |
| 1400 | 10.00 |
Why these anchors: Standards-based proposal. VESA's DisplayHDR certification tiers (400, 600, 1000 and 1400) are the brightness levels monitor makers certify against under a published test, so they are the natural anchors; 5.0 at 300 nits is a typical office panel, 3.5 at 250 nits a dim budget one, and 10.0 at DisplayHDR 1400, the highest tier. The spec read is the certified or stated peak; only four values are stated on the cards today (500 to 1,600 nits), so this dimension will often be unknown. A small weight, because HDR quality depends on contrast and local dimming as much as on peak brightness — that is the editorial picture-quality dimension.
Sources: displayhdr.org (read 2026-09-28): “The DisplayHDR specification for LCDs establishes distinct levels of HDR system performance to facilitate adoption of HDR throughout the PC market: DisplayHDR 400, DisplayHDR 500, DisplayHDR 600, DisplayHDR 1000, and DisplayHDR 1400.”; displayhdr.org (read 2026-09-28): “peak luminance of 1400 cd/m2 - more than 4x that of typical displays”
| Score | Descriptor |
|---|---|
| 10 | Near-instant response (OLED class, or the best LCDs) measured by independent reviewers, clean at every refresh rate. |
| 8 | Very fast response with little overshoot across the refresh range, with variable refresh working well. |
| 6 | Clean motion at the panel's native refresh rate with a good overdrive mode. |
| 4 | Noticeable blur in fast motion; adequate for office work and casual play. |
| 2 | Visible smearing or heavy overshoot in motion, even at the best overdrive setting. |
Why this dimension: Refresh rate says how often the picture changes; response time says how cleanly. Makers' response-time figures are measured on their own terms and routinely flatter the panel, so this is judged from independent reviewers' measurements rather than read from the spec.
| Score | Descriptor |
|---|---|
| 10 | Reference-grade color accuracy or true-black OLED contrast with strong HDR, confirmed by calibration measurements. |
| 8 | Excellent contrast and accuracy, with good HDR or wide color coverage. |
| 6 | Good contrast and accurate color for everyday and light creative work. |
| 4 | Acceptable contrast and color for office work, with noticeable flaws. |
| 2 | Washed-out contrast, poor uniformity and inaccurate color out of the box. |
Why this dimension: The largest weight, because it is what a buyer looks at every day. Contrast, uniformity, color accuracy and HDR performance are measured by reviewers with instruments and are not captured by any single spec-sheet number.
| Score | Descriptor |
|---|---|
| 10 | A fully adjustable stand, USB-C or Thunderbolt with enough power to charge a laptop, a KVM and a complete port set. |
| 8 | A fully adjustable stand plus USB-C with laptop charging or a USB hub. |
| 6 | A height-adjustable stand and a useful set of ports. |
| 4 | A basic stand and the standard inputs. |
| 2 | A wobbly tilt-only stand, few inputs and no USB hub. |
Why this dimension: What turns a panel into a desk: the stand, the ports and whether one cable connects a laptop. Many of the cards (USB-C, KVM, dual-monitor setups) are chosen on exactly this.