THE LABS IN ONE NUMBER

If you’re thinking about buying a monitor in 2020, you’ve come to the right place. We test 35 from £130 to £1,700

This is how many individual tests we performed on the 35 monitors in this issue’s Labs – if you’re looking for a new screen, this is your lucky month.

B uying a monitor seems like such a simple task. You probably have a rough screen size in mind, an equally rough budget and a solid idea of the tasks you want to use it for. So, head to your website of choice, hit a few selection boxes and your choice is made for you. Job done.

You can do that and the monitor that you buy, in all probability, will be fine. As you’ll see from this month’s bumper crop of 35 screens, if you stick to a well-known brand then there’s minimal chance of buying a dud. The question is: should you settle for “fine”?

We’d argue not. There are some spectacular monitors out there, and not just in terms of image quality. The right monitor can genuinely make you more productive; it can free you from cables; it can make pictures pop and spreadsheets squeal.

So, we urge you, choose carefully. Your next monitor is going to be your companion for many years to come. And in what’s surely the UK’s most comprehensive test, there’s every chance you’ll find the perfect model for you. CONTRIBUTOR: Tim Danton

How we’ve organised the Labs

With 35 screens, we needed to impose some sort of order on this Labs. That’s why we’ve split the reviews into six rough sections, as shown in the contents box. You’ll also find “tags” on each review that show their key technologies at a glance.