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High-dynamic range (HDR) expands the range of light of a display, making the darkest part of the image darker and the brightest part brighter. Instead of simply boosting the contrast, HDR standards like HDR10 and Dolby Vision produce a greater range of light values across the board, drawing closer to how light behaves in the real world. HDR games and movies simply look more realistic, but you'll need one of the best HDR monitors to enjoy them.
Our favorite is BenQ's EX3501R: It's a fast ultrawide display that looks great, and the price is right, too. However, strict gamers may want something a little more tailored to their needs.
The following list is a great place to get started if you aren’t sure which HDR display is right for you.
Why you should buy this: BenQ's HDR monitor has something for everyone, including Ultra HD and a 100Hz refresh rate.
Who's it for: Just about everyone, though gamers may want something a little more tailored to their needs.
Why we picked the BenQ EX3501R:
It's rare to find a monitor that ticks all the boxes for almost any user, let alone one that does that and has an affordable price. In BenQ's EX3501R, we may have found such a unicorn. At 35 inches of beautifully curved VA paneling, with an ultrawide resolution of 3,440 x 1,440, it is simply stunning. It's fast and responsive, too, supporting a 100Hz refresh rate and a 4ms response time.
Like other top-tier entries in this list, the collection of high-end features makes the EX3501R great for editing photos, watching movies, and gaming. Its combination of a great 2,500:1 contrast ratio, 300-nit brightness, support for 100% of the sRGB color gamut, and HDR makes it look fantastic no matter what you're doing. FreeSync support even keeps screen tearing at bay without a performance hit.
Finally, this monitor helps your desk stay tidy thanks to a USB-C connection for power and data transfer, which you certainly want due to its superior speed. You can get all of this for an excellent price, which puts some of the other entries in this list to shame.
If the additional screen real estate gained from the ultrawide BenQ EX3501R entices you, our best ultrawide monitor roundup could provide some additional options.
Why you should buy this: With a 4K resolution, four adjustable HDR levels, and FreeSync support for gaming, it's an amazing 32-inch HDR monitor.
Who's it for: Those who want a standard widescreen display but don't want to pay an insane price.
Why we picked the BenQ EW3270U:
If you don’t want an expensive widescreen display, your next best bet is BenQ’s EW3270U, a 31.5-inch panel with a narrower 16:9 aspect ratio.
What’s interesting about this panel is that it has a dedicated, physical button on the front for manually adjusting HDR levels. It relies on a Brightness Intelligence Plus (B.I.+) sensor that detects the surrounding ambient lighting along with the on-screen content to adjust the color temperature, brightness, and dynamic contrast. The dedicated button allows you to manually switch between four HDR levels.
Based on a VA panel, BenQ’s HDR display has a 3840 x 2160 resolution at 60Hz, a native 3,000:1 contrast ratio, a maximum 300 nit-brightness, and a 4ms response time. If you’re a gamer, it supports AMD’s FreeSync technology, eliminating screen tearing and stuttering when using an AMD GPU in your PC, the Xbox One, or the PlayStation 4.
For connectivity, the monitor includes one DisplayPort 1.4 connector, an HDMI 2.0 port, and a USB-C port. A pair of built-in two-watt speakers round out a great HDR display package.
Why you should buy this: The Acer ET322QK is a more affordable option for those who want to save money.
Who's it for: Savvy buyers looking for HDR on a budget — and those who need a good FreeSync monitor.
Why we picked the Acer ET322QK:
Most of the great monitors on this list are expensive, which can present a problem: Many people can't spend as much on a monitor as they would on a television. Luckily, the new Acer ET322QK offers an affordable choice. With a delightfully low price at most retailers, you might expect compromise on size and pixel count, but not with this monitor.
The ET322QK is a 32-inch, 4K display with AMD FreeSync support for gamers, though the panel refreshes at the usual 60Hz. The HDR features cannot be used with FreeSync and aren't the full HDR capabilities that some displays offer today. However, they are still a great upgrade to your viewing experience, allowing you to choose between fidelity and performance as needed.
The Acer ET322QK's panel has a maximum brightness of 300 nits, which is lower than some but comparable to our top entry. Still, it’s hard to ignore this monitor’s feature set and its bargain price. This might be the compromise budget-minded buyers are looking for.
Why you should buy this: This is a great solution for GeForce PC gamers looking for 4K HDR visuals and G-Sync support.
Who's it for: PC gamers with Nvidia GeForce graphics that want the ultimate experience.
Why we picked the Acer Predator X27:
We originally listed Acer’s Predator XB3 as the best HDR panel for gaming, but its lack of availability now sees a similar display taking its place: The Predator X27. This display includes the same shield for blocking out the surrounding light, but you’ll only find one specific configuration versus the five Acer lists for the XB3.
The big selling point with this version is its brightness. It offers a typical 600-nit brightness but peaks at 1,000 nits. It also falls under Nvidia’s G-Sync Ultimate umbrella, meaning it’s one of the best G-Sync displays you can get for eliminating screen tearing and stuttering when gaming with Nvidia GeForce GPUs.
That said, Acer’s display is based on a 27-inch IPS panel with a 3840 x 2160 resolution at 120Hz, though you can overclock it to 144Hz, so screen tearing won't be a concern if you can support high enough frame rates, no matter what GPU you have. It also has one DisplayPort connector, one HDMI port, one USB-B port that connects to your PC, and four USB-A ports for adding peripherals, flash drives, and more.
The 4ms response time on the Acer Predator X27 isn't stellar, but it should be enough for the average gamer.
Why you should buy this: This is the ultimate visual experience for any MacOS device.
Who's it for: Mac owners who want the best of the best at any price.
Why we picked the Pro Display XDR:
If you want the best HDR display for your Mac designed by Apple, you’ll get a premium experience for a premium price. Apple introduced the Pro Display XDR in 2019, a 32-inch display with a massive 6016 x 3384 resolution (60Hz max) and a sustained brightness of 1,000 nits. If that's not bright enough, it peaks at a crazy 1,600 nits, making it the brightest desktop monitor we’ve seen to date.
XDR is short for Extreme Dynamic Range and aims to rise above the HDR standard. The display's extreme brightness level is part of this XDR effort, along with support for 1.07 billion colors and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. This Apple display also includes a custom controller to properly handle all 20.4 million pixels and the 576 LEDs filling the backlight layer for the ultimate XDR visual experience.
Finally, Apple’s XDR panel boasts True Tone technology, which adjusts the colors for the best viewing experience in any environment using two ambient light sensors. For connectivity, it includes one Thunderbolt 3 port (via USB-C) and three standard USB-C ports.
Unfortunately, if you want the best of the best for your Mac, the Pro Display XDR starts at $4,999. That price does not include the $999 Pro Stand or the $199 Vesa mount adapter. While this is expensive, it's still far cheaper than a lot of other professionally targeted displays.
Why you should buy this: G-Sync Ultimate, DisplayHDR 1400, and quantum-dot IPS tech push the Swift PG27UQ ahead of the competition.
Who's it for: Gamers who want a 144Hz refresh rate plus HDR.
Why we picked the Asus ROG Swift PG32UQ:
The Asus ROG Swift PG32UQ is a premium monitor with a price to match, but considering the features, the cost is easily justified. It's an excellent 32-inch gaming display fitted with features like a 144Hz refresh rate and G-Sync, and it packs the pixels in with a 4K resolution. Over similar displays, the Swift PG32UQ uses a quantum-dot IPS panel, which offers 98% coverage of the DCI-P3 spectrum and enough light for a DisplayHDR 1400 certification.
For ports, the Swift PG27UQ includes a single DisplayPort 1.4 connection, two HDMI 2.1 ports, a 3.5mm jack, and two USB 3.0 ports. The monitor stand offers routing channels for all of your cables, and it includes RGB LED illumination, which you can control and sync with other RGB PC components using Asus Aura Sync. It also supports the ROG desk clamp for more flexible setups.
These Asus ROG models with a bevy of the latest features have been in high demand lately, so you'll want to act fast if you decide that you want to balance out HDR features with a high refresh rate for versatile gaming.
Why you should buy this: It's a high-end gaming monitor in the form of a curved OLED TV.
Who's it for: Gamers who want a curved, OLED gaming monitor designed for visuals
Why we picked the Alienware AW3423DW:
The Alienware AW3423DW is built from the ground up for fantastic visuals, perfect for gamers who love immersive games with rich graphics or those looking for a dedicated entertainment display. It's also one of the few monitors to combine a curved panel with QD-OLED technology. Add in the Display HDR True Black 400 support, and you won't find a gaming monitor with better contrast, delivering incredibly vivid colors no matter what you're watching.
The 34-inch monitor also features G-Sync support, a UHD 3440 x 1400 resolution, a 0.1ms response time, and up to a 175HZ native refresh rate, so gamers aren't giving up anything to get the enhanced colors of this OLED panel.
Ports are also plentiful and powerful, featuring two HDMI 2.0, a DisplayPort 1.4, and several USB 3.2 ports both upstream and downstream. While HDR optimization could be a little bit better on this monitor, all the other advantages combine to deliver one of the best gaming experiences you can find without sacrificing anything important.
The manufacturer will tell you, as HDR is a major feature. If it's included in the feature set, you'll see it displayed on the packaging, in the list of specifications, and perhaps even with a sticker somewhere on the monitor itself.
One factor to look out for with HDR displays is that they typically offer a higher peak brightness than standard monitors, which usually rest between 250 and 350 nits. Not all HDR is created equal, however, as some screens are far better at supporting HDR than others.
We recommend paying attention to the Vesa DisplayHDR standard. It's currently the only HDR certification process for displays, ranging from DisplayHDR 400 displays, which have a peak luminance of 400 cd/m2 but aren't certified for HDR, to DisplayHDR 1400 displays, which have a peak luminance of 1400 cd/m2 with exceptional local dimming. You won't find a DisplayHDR certification on all displays, but if you do, that's usually a good sign.
Also, pay attention to the different varieties of HDR. Netflix, for example, supports Dolby Vision and HDR10, so if you watch a lot of Netflix, you'll want a display that supports one or both of those standards.
A monitor that supports HDR won't provide the improved colors and greater contrast of HDR content if it's displaying standard dynamic range (SDR) content. That said, HDR monitors do tend to have greater brightness than non-HDR displays, so it's possible that the overall improved quality of the technology inside the screen, outside of its HDR support, will provide a better image. However, that is not guaranteed.
Windows 10's support of HDR has been lackluster in the past, but its approach has grown better recently, with more options for control and better image improvement. Still, it's always smart to experiment with disabling and enabling HDR features for your favorite activities so you can see the difference firsthand and make your decision.
Whether you need HDR depends on what you plan to do with your monitor. For working, managing spreadsheets, writing emails, or taking conference calls, it’s probably not worth upgrading. After all, paying more for an invisible difference in quality isn’t ideal. But if you like to watch a lot of movies and TV on your display, HDR could be a worthwhile investment. And if you’re a gamer, the technology holds much more promise.
There are other features worth considering, like higher resolutions and high refresh rates. If you play games with HDR support or access HDR movies through streaming services or UHD HDR Blu-ray discs, HDR is arguably one of the most critical factors for any new screen upgrade.
Brightness levels and HDR work hand in hand to deliver the best image results, which means more brightness is better — although that can also raise the cost of your monitor. At the lowest end, at least 300 nits are recommended for proper HDR performance (which also is what Windows 10 currently recommends for base specifications).
However, you are likely to see better results with monitors that can provide 600 nits of brightness or higher. At these levels, the HDR really has room to shine and will be much more noticeable.
Yes. In addition to high refresh rates, HDR can make the most significant impact on your gaming visuals. Then again, it’s not supported by all games, making this a hit-or-miss solution. Make sure to verify that the games you want to play do support HDR. Common (and recent) examples include No Man’s Sky, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Days Gone, Mortal Kombat 11, Red Dead Redemption 2, and DMC5. This isn’t an exhaustive list, however. For these games (and others), you’ll see an impressively dramatic benefit in visual quality with HDR turned on.
HDR monitors provide the best, most up-to-date technology. But it can be a challenge to decide which features you want, depending on your priorities and what you plan on using the monitor for. Whether you play games, stream videos, or do both, one of our favorites might be just the thing you need.
When it comes to pixels, HDR is more about quality than quantity. In short, HDR can work on a 1080p display, but the majority of HDR displays don't have 1080p. For example, the BenQ EW277HDR is similar to the recommended EW3270U but it's smaller and lacks 4K support. It’s one of few 1080p HDR displays, but that specific monitor isn’t currently in stock with many retailers.
HDR compatibility is a premium feature usually found on 4K displays. You can potentially find a 1080p monitor with HDR compatibility, but there aren’t many to choose from. In summary, you can find 1080p with HDR, but just because you have a 1080p display doesn’t automatically mean it’s HDR compatible.
HDR stands for "high dynamic range," and it's an image processing technique that produces a greater range of light values. Basically, it makes the brightest areas of the scene brighter and the darkest areas darker, all without losing detail. Although many monitors claim HDR capabilities, the VESA DisplayHDR standard suggests that a monitor needs a peak luminance of at least 400 nits to be certified for HDR content.
HDR and 4K are different things, so one isn't better than the other. 4K refers to a display's resolution, and 4K displays come with a pixel count of 3840 x 2160 (four times as many pixels as Full HD at 1920 x 1080). HDR is an image-processing technique that makes the brightest areas of a scene brighter and the darkest areas darker. You can find a monitor with 4K, HDR, or both.
No, not all 4K monitors support HDR. That said, both are premium features, so you often find them together. If you're shopping for a 4K HDR monitor, we recommend looking out for the VESA DisplayHDR standard. This is the only industry-standard certification process for HDR monitors, and it verifies that displays can produce enough light for HDR content.
There are several factors that go into choosing the best HDR monitor. For the HDR part, look at the contrast ratio and peak luminance. Generally, you're looking for a contrast ratio above 20,000:1 and a peak luminance of at least 300 nits. That said, it's easier to shop for monitors that use the DisplayHDR standard. These monitors have been verified for HDR content and can produce a peak luminance of at least 400 nits. The brighter the monitor, the better for HDR it generally is.
Outside of that, make sure to pay attention to size, aspect ratio, resolution, and refresh rate. For size and aspect ratio, most monitors are under 32 inches with a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. However, ultrawide displays come with a 21:9 aspect ratio, matching the aspect ratio of movies. For resolution, Full HD (1920 x 1080) is the standard for most. However, 1440p monitors offer a decent step up in resolution, while 4K offers four times the resolution of Full HD.
Refresh rate is how quickly the monitor refreshes the image. Most monitors come with a 60Hz refresh rate, which is great for watching movies, browsing the internet, and using applications. If you play games, we recommend looking for a monitor with a higher refresh rate. Most gamers prefer 144Hz, which makes games that run with a high frame rate look smoother.
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