Author: Blue Aura Computers
February 27, 2023
The next step after buying a new trading computer is getting an array of monitors that will work seamlessly with your new system. Monitor models, brands, technologies and the best input types change frequently so we plan on revisiting these selections periodically to make sure our recommendations are current to what the market is offering.
There are some really great screens to buy, depending on how much you want to spend. In this article, we’ll go through the top 6 models we feel offer a great value and superior visuals. We have a separate page on our website where we list all of the top computer peripherals that will work great with your new Blue Aura Computer. All the products have Amazon affiliate links you can use to purchase them. We’ve opted to use Amazon as we can’t stock all these items (although many of them are available on our system customization form). Using Amazon affiliate links provides us with a way to suggest peripherals and accessories that we feel are the best of the best in each category. You can find our recommended peripherals page here.
As an Amazon Associate, Blue Aura Computers earns a small commission from qualifying purchases. Buying any monitor linked to Amazon through this article or any other page on our website helps to support Blue Aura Computers.
Before we look at the different monitors, we want to explain a few things. IPS is a technology that comes up often when discussing monitors. IPS (In-Plane-Switching) is a monitor technology that offers superior colors, viewing angles and many other benefits.
IPS monitors were designed to overcome older monitor technologies such as TN panels. The main, noticeable benefit of IPS is enhanced viewing angles. Older TN panels will often have very noticeable color shifting as you move your line of sight to different viewing angles. This creates a “washed out” look to the screen and is often associated with a low cost, budget display. IPS monitors, on the other hand, look fantastic from larger viewing angles. The colors with an IPS display won’t shift or wash out at different viewing angles as drastically as TN panels. Also, IPS monitors are able to display more colors and have improved color accuracy.
Being the oldest LCD panel type available, TN monitors, also known as “Twisted Nematic” monitors, are still a relevant display technology. TN panels are lower cost compared to IPS and VA panels. We tend to think of a TN monitor as a more affordable display for the low budget market. Viewing angles don’t tend to be as good, as colors can appear washed out at extreme viewing angles.
It’s not all bad though. TN panels can achieve much faster response times and refresh rates, so they can work fantastic for gaming. TN monitors can sometimes have reduced screen tearing and blurring compared to more expensive technologies. The technology progression for monitors is proceeding forward at such a rapid pace that even these perceived benefits are slowly eroding as IPS and VA panels can rival these advantages. For traders, an IPS or VA panel is usually preferred because of the enhanced color, clarity and viewing angles.
VA (vertical alignment) is a type of LED LCD monitor panel. VA panels are known to have better contrast and image depth then TN or IPS panels. The drawback to VA is slower response times. VA is a monitor technology meant to improve upon TN panels.
We think that traders should be looking at an IPS panel because of the improved viewing angles and colors. VA panels are great too, but we tend to still lean towards IPS overall.
| IPS Panel | VA Panel | TN Panel | |
| Target Buyer | Business & professional use. Perfect for traders. Fantastic for gaming and pretty much every use. | Home & personal Use. | These are targeted at consumers looking for low-cost monitors. IPS looks nicer and the response times still good with newer IPS. |
| Price | Usually slightly more expensive than the other panel types. | Pricing varies, the more expensive monitors have better specs and features than the cheaper ones. | Low cost, budget monitors. |
| Viewing Angles | The best viewing angles by far, also the best colors. | Right in the middle, decent viewing angles (better than TN) but not usually as good as IPS. More expensive models can get closer to IPS. | Viewing angles not so great. |
| Response Times | Response times can vary based on the model and company but generally they are very fast but some VA panels can be a bit faster. | Usually the slowest response times out of the 3 panels types. | Fast response times. |
In the past we’ve sold and recommended both glossy and matte screens. Smartphones have glossy screens because of course it’s needed for touchscreen and improved color depth. There are pros and cons to both but for an array of screens sitting in your office we 100% recommend matte at this point for one simple reason – you won’t see as many background reflections. Glossy screens can cause increase eye strain because of the reflections. Ever try to use your smartphone outside in the bright sunlight? It’s difficult because of the glossy screen. Many people have home offices with a lot of windows which can make a glossy screen more difficult to view.
Glossy screens do show brighter whites, deeper blacks and more color depth and richness, but it’s a tradeoff because of the glare issues. Even with anti-glare treatments a glossy screen will show reflections, room lights and even a reflection of yourself when the screen is black. When whites and lighter colors are displayed you won’t see the reflections as much. Despite this, we still do like glossy screens for their benefits, and we don’t hesitate to recommend certain glossy screens. But overall, it’s probably best to stick with matte for a trading environment.
Next, we’re going to list the 6 top monitors we like. Keep in mind, this list is short and there is probably a dozen more screens we would like to list that would be perfectly suitable for trading & home office use. This list is our “opinion” and is advice based on what we like to see in a monitor for business use. The list we came up with takes into consideration price, features, input types and whether they are VESA mountable. We’ve tried to list at least one model in each of the common sizes – 24″ (23.8″), 27″, 32″ (31.5″) and 34″.
What brands do we like? ASUS is probably #1 in our opinion. We also like some of the BenQ professional business monitors although they tend to be more expensive. Samsung makes some fantastic larger screens as well as LG.
How about Viewsonic? We love Viewsonic, but for now none of their models made our list. We’ll revisit them also and add them to our list if a specific model makes the cut.
Our target cost for this list of recommended monitors is around $130 to $400 each. Amazon pricing and product information is subject to change at any time and monitor pricing could be affected by supply and demand. Traders looking to buy anywhere from a couple of monitors to as many as 8 to 12 need to remain within a budget. There are monitors that cost as much as $800 to $2,000 or more for one single monitor! It would be nice to buy an array of monitors that expensive and if you have the cash to spend and that’s what you really want then go for it. But for most traders even buying four monitors at $300 each adds a lot to the cost when buying a new trading computer and other accessories.
There is a point of diminishing returns on buying an expensive monitor, and for most traders it’s more worth it to spend the extra money on getting a better trading computer or other peripherals with the system.
If you’re looking to buy a huge array of monitors and are within a tight budget this is the perfect monitor as it’s very affordable. Don’t let the low-cost fool you, this monitor is seriously great! It has just about everything you need in a monitor, the only drawback is its size – at 23.8″ it’s relatively small.
Click here to view the ASUS VA24DQ on Amazon (this is an affiliate link, commissions earned)
ASUS actually has a bunch of different 27″ gaming monitors at slightly different price points on Amazon. They all look similar, the differences are subtle, but the response times and refresh rates vary slightly among the different models. The ASUS TUF Gaming Monitors are our absolute favorites by far. Yes, the prices are a bit higher with these, but it’s worth it! The screens are incredibly crisp, and the colors are vibrant. Don’t let the “gaming” branding deter you from using this in a trading/business setting – these monitors can be used in any environment.
When it comes to resolution, we only like going as high as QHD (2560 x 1440) in a 27″ monitor. We don’t recommend going with 4K resolution until you get up to a 31.5″ screen or higher. For trading, QHD is the perfect resolution.
Click here to view the ASUS VG27AQ1A on Amazon (this is an affiliate link, commissions earned)
What’s really cool about this monitor is it has a mini-DisplayPort which most monitors don’t have. Many of the video cards we ship in our trading computers have mini-DisplayPorts. PNY video cards we use have mini-DisplayPorts so you wouldn’t need to use the adapters that come with the card, just connect a mini-DisplayPort cable and you’re good to go. This monitor is absolutely stunning to look at! Speakers are built right into the monitor and also a convenient USB hub.
Click here to view the ASUS ProArt PA278QV on Amazon (this is an affiliate link, commissions earned)
When monitors get to the 30″ to 34″ size that’s when we start thinking about 4k resolution vs QHD. This monitor is a QHD at 2560 x 1440 resolution. In a way, we like the QHD better at this size because with 4K 3840 x 2160 Windows likes to default to 150% zoom anyway. With QHD everything looks a little larger and more visible. But this is all a personal preference and very subjective, so you’ll have to decide for yourself if you want 4K or not. The video cards in our trading computers can handle multiple 4K monitors. The next monitor after this one is a Samsung 31.5″ that is 4K resolution, so we are recommending one of each and leaving it up to you to decide which you prefer. Check out the ASUS TUF Gaming VG32AQL1A product info page on their website.
Click here to view the ASUS VG32AQL1A on Amazon (this is an affiliate link, commissions earned)
UHD gives you 4x the pixels of full HD, the UJ59 has a ton of screen space. Amazing, clear, life-like images. This monitor is “not” curved, so if you’re looking for a nice, large flat screen with 4K resolution and over 30″ this is the one we recommend. Samsung has really great seamless upscaling technology that upconverts SD, HD and Full HD to as close to UHD level picture quality as possible. This monitor has picture-in-picture mode (PIP) to let you connect two devices, like your desktop and laptop to the monitor, you can resize the 2nd source and move it anywhere on the screen in a smaller window.
Remember our discussion of panel types earlier? This monitor is a VA panel, not IPS. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, VA panels are much improved over TN panels and VA can nearly equal a lot of IPS panels in some aspects.
Click here to view the Samsung UJ59 Series on Amazon (this is an affiliate link, commissions earned)
We aren’t usually very supportive of curved monitors, but in the case of an Ultrawide 34″ screen it just seems to make sense. This LG Ultrawide has a 1ms motion blur reduction (MBR) to reduce blur and ghosting and it also has a 160Hz refresh rate. It has a 5ms response time (GTG). This monitor is absolutely gorgeous, if you’re looking at only going with one or two large screens this is definitely the way to go. An array of 4 of these monitors gives you a massive workspace.
We sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed our monitor selections. This is just a small sample of what’s available in today’s market, there are literally hundreds of models from even more manufacturers then are listed here. We believe we’ve narrowed it down to the best of the best from our favorite manufacturers! As models change and new ones are released, we’ll be sure to keep updating our selections. If you’re in the market for a powerful trading computer to go with your new array of monitors, check out our Intel Stock Trading Computers and if you’re an AMD fan check out our AMD Stock Trading Computers.