Is 27 inches too big for a 1080p screen?

Full HD stretched across 27 inches works out near 81 pixels per inch, so individual pixels and jagged diagonals become visible at normal desk distance. Full HD belongs on 24-inch panels; 27 inches is where 1440p feels natural.

Does the cable in the box reach the panel's top refresh rate?

Not always. Bundled cables are often the cheapest option that satisfies the panel's basic mode, and a marginal DisplayPort lead shows up as black flashes or a refresh rate that silently drops back. Certified DisplayPort 1.4 handles most 1440p high-refresh panels; uncompressed 4K above 144Hz needs the newer DisplayPort 2.1 tiers.

How many monitors can one graphics card run?

Most current desktop cards drive four displays at once, but the combined pixel and refresh load shares one output engine, so three 4K panels at high refresh is a different proposition to three 1080p ones. Laptops are stricter again because the ports are wired through the chipset or a USB-C controller.

Is a curved screen worth it or does it distort the picture?

Curvature is quoted as a radius, so 1000R bends more sharply than 1800R. On 32-inch and ultrawide panels the curve keeps the far edges roughly equidistant from your eyes, which genuinely reduces fatigue. On a flat 24-inch display there is nothing to correct, and drafting or photo work on a tight curve makes straight lines look subtly bowed.

One ultrawide or two ordinary monitors?

An ultrawide gives an unbroken surface, which suits video timelines and wide spreadsheets, and avoids a bezel splitting your focus. Two panels win when you want one full-screen task and one reference window, and they cost less for the same total area. Some older games letterbox rather than render the extra width, so check the titles you play most.

Do the built-in speakers on a monitor matter?

They are usually two small drivers squeezed behind the panel and sound thin at any volume. Treat them as a convenience for video calls rather than a reason to choose one screen over another, and check instead that there is a headphone or audio-out jack so sound arriving over DisplayPort has somewhere to go.

Can I collect a monitor rather than have it delivered?

Yes. Collection is available from the Centurion warehouse in Limeroc Business Park on Holland Road. For delivery, major centres including Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria are typically 1 to 3 business days, with regional addresses 3 to 5.

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Monitor Madness

Range of desktop monitors from Evetech, from Full HD office panels to high-refresh gaming displays

Monitor Madness

Size, Pixels, Speed and Panel Type

Four questions settle almost every screen purchase: how wide the panel is, how many pixels sit inside that width, how often the image redraws, and which panel technology sits behind the glass. Answer them in that order and a wall of similar-looking displays turns into a shortlist of two or three.

Working Out Which Screen Belongs on Your Desk

Pixel density is the specification most buyers skip past. A 27-inch 1440p panel lands near 109 pixels per inch; a 27-inch 4K panel of exactly the same physical size sits around 163 PPI. That gap is what you see in small text and thin lines, not in games. Desk depth changes the answer again, because pixel structure that is obvious at 50cm largely disappears at 80cm.

A 24-inch panel fits comfortably in a shallow desk and keeps the whole image inside central vision. At 27 inches you gain working area but want roughly 60 to 70cm of distance before the edges stop pulling your eyes around. Anything 32 inches and larger really wants a deep desk, otherwise you end up turning your head to read a status bar.

IPS gives even colour and wide viewing angles with modest contrast, and remains the low-risk default. VA trades some viewing angle for far deeper blacks, which suits dark rooms and curved 32-inch panels. OLED switches every pixel individually, so contrast is effectively unlimited and response times are near instant, at the cost of a static-image risk and lower full-screen brightness. Mini-LED keeps an LCD panel but splits the backlight into hundreds of zones to chase similar contrast without that risk.

Windows renders fonts assuming a standard red-green-blue subpixel stripe. Panels using a reversed BGR order, a white subpixel or a triangular arrangement can put faint colour edges on black text against white. Higher pixel density hides it: at roughly 160 PPI the effect stops mattering for normal work. If a display is destined for spreadsheets and code rather than games, weight resolution more heavily than refresh rate.

Cheaper panels often ship with tilt only, which forces you to prop the base on books to get the top edge at eye level. Height and pivot adjustment cost more but fix posture properly. Check for a 100x100mm VESA pattern on the rear if a monitor arm or a dual setup is even a possibility, and confirm the graphics card has enough outputs of the right type before committing to two panels.

A matte coating scatters reflections, which is why it dominates office displays fitted opposite a window. Glossy and lightly coated finishes keep colours looking richer and blacks looking deeper, but they mirror lamps and bright walls straight back at you. Look at where your light sources sit before deciding, because no picture setting fixes a reflection.

Refresh rate only earns its money when the machine behind it can keep up. Competitive shooters at 1080p run well past 240fps on modest hardware, while a heavy single-player title at 1440p on high settings can sit nearer 80fps on a mid-tier card. Buy for the frame rates your library actually produces, then allow a little headroom for the next upgrade.

Working Out Which Screen Belongs on Your Desk

Monitor Madness

Monitor Madness: Choosing the Right Display (4)

Filters

Price Range

LG UltraGear 24GS60F 24" 180Hz Gaming

AOC 27G42E 27" 180Hz Gaming Monitor

ViewSonic VX2779A-HD-PRO 240Hz Monitor

Dahua LM32-E330CA 32" 180Hz Monitor

Working Out Which Screen Belongs on Your Desk

Monitor Madness: Choosing the Right Display (4)

Filters

Price Range

LG UltraGear 24GS60F 24" 180Hz Gaming

AOC 27G42E 27" 180Hz Gaming Monitor

ViewSonic VX2779A-HD-PRO 240Hz Monitor

Dahua LM32-E330CA 32" 180Hz Monitor

Working Out Which Screen Belongs on Your Desk