Philips 436M6
More of a TV than a monitor, but HDR certification makes this a perfect display for movies as well as gaming.
The Philips 436M6 is a TV masquerading as a computer monitor. At 43-inches diagonal, it’s more suited to people’s living rooms than their desks. Unlike most TVs however, the 436M6 is the first monitor to receive VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification, which considering the $1,000 price point and 4K resolution, makes for a very interesting display.
One of the benefits of having a 4K resolution on such a large screen is the lack of window scaling or zooming, so Windows won’t have a fit when using an app incompatible with window scaling. The downside however, is the loss of pixel density, resulting in a lack of clarity and detail, particularly with text, that you get at 4K resolution on a smaller monitor (i.e: 34-inch or 40-inch). You’ll need to sit a bit further away than usual with the 436M6, around 80cm to 90cm is the sweet spot so the 43-inch screen fills your peripheral vision.
For gamers into fast frame rates, the Philips 436M6 will disappoint as it’s not capable of much beyond 60Hz, despite supporting AMD FreeSync. But those seeking image quality rather than twitch gaming will be delighted with the DCI-P3 colour gamut and great HDR support will make games that support it look fantastic. Which this price point, on such a large display, is an excellent achievement. Just make sure your graphics card can do 4K at 60fps to get the best out of the Philips 436M6.