Budget Monitors for Artists and Designers

Submitted by Teoh Yi Chie on

Here's the 2017 updated list of budget monitors for artists and graphic designers.

I've previously written all the factors to consider when getting a monitor for graphics work so I am not going to repeat myself too much.

In short, I'm looking at monitors that have the following features:

  • IPS panel for good viewing angles and colour reproduction
  • Matte screen because reflections are distracting
  • 1920 by1200 resolution
  • Full adjustment for height, tilt and swivel

The monitors listed are all below USD $300. If you want high-end, check out the best high-end monitors list.

The list will only have two models from each brand so as not to confuse you with too many choices. When in doubt, go for the bigger screen if you can afford it.

QUICK PICK: My top choices would be the Dell U2415 24-inch and ASUS PA248Q 24.1-inch. They are the rare breed of monitors that still support the 16:10 aspect ratio with 1920x1200 resolution, comes with full adjustability for height, tilt and swivel, has USB3 ports inbuilt, great viewing angles, great colours and lastly they are proven to perform based on all the favorable reviews on Amazon. And they are a good deal for the money.

Recommended monitors

As usual, my personal favourites are the Dell monitors so I'll start with them first.

Dell

The UZ2215H 21.5-inch and U2415 24-inch are the two models from 2015 and they continue to be what I think are the best bargain monitors under $300.

Product UZ2215H 21.5-inch U2415 24-inch
Resolution 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1200
Contrast 1000:1 1000:1
Brightness 250 cd/m2 300 cd/m2
Colour Support 16.77m colours 16.77m colours
Connection HDMI, DisplayPort, USB3 HDMI, DisplayPort, mini DisplayPort, USB3
Price

While we wait for Dell to release new budget IPS budget monitors, these are the two current workhorse.

I would recommend the Dell U2415 for the larger screen and extra 120 rows of vertical pixels. Reviews on Amazon are almost all favourable.

Dell offers 3 years warranty for their monitors. You have the option to increase the warranty period if you buy from their website.

ASUS


Once again, the two monitors I featured last here are recommended here again. They are VS24AHL 24.1-inch and PA248Q 24.1-inch.

Note that there's the PA249Q which is the newer model of the PA248Q. I don't think it's worth the extra money to get the newer model.

Product VS24AHL 24.1-inch PA248Q 24.1-inch
Resolution 1920 x 1200 1920 x 1200
Dynamic Contrast 80,000,000:1 80,000,000:1
Brightness 300 cd/m2 300 cd/m2
Colour Support 16.77m colours 16.77m colours
Connection HDMI , D-Sub, DVI-D HDMI , D-Sub, DisplayPort, DVI-D, USB 3
Price

I would go with PA248Q because of the very useful inbuilt USB3 ports. PA248Q supports more connection with HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-D and D-Sub.

Both come with full adjustability for height, tilt and swivel.

ASUS provides 3 years warranty for their monitor. Overall, they are quite price competitive with Dell.

Samsung

The only one I think is good from Samsung is the S24E650BW. However, it's more expensive compared to the competitors so going by price, I would not pick this.

Product S24E650BW
Resolution 1920 x 1200
Contrast 1,000:1
Brightness 250 cd/m2
Colour Support 16.7m colours
Connection DVI, VGA, USB2
Price

Conclusion

I'll continue to update this list as new monitors come out in 2016.

Meanwhile, my recommendation are, and still are, the Dell U2415 24-inch and ASUS PA248Q 24.1-inch.

Happy shopping.

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