Best monitor for MacBook Air for under $300?

[ej88]

I'm looking into buying a new MacBook Air, though I'm not a fan of the small 13-inch screen since I've been using a 15" MacBook Pro for the last 10+ years, and my eyes aren't getting any younger. Therefore, I'd likely be attaching it to a monitor for the larger screen.

The monitor will be to better see the simple tasks I use the computer for: internet, email, Excel, simple Word docs. I'm especially wanting the bigger screen for Excel spreadsheets, so it's critical the monitor displays those correctly without cutting off the sides etc.

At some point the monitor may be used to stream movies or watch videos, so a decent picture would be nice, though since I'll be within 2-3 feet of the screen I don't know if I need a 27"; 21-24" might be enough, though if 27" is available at not much more cost I would consider that. However, movies are of very secondary interest for me.

Another consideration is 2 HDMI ports, if I want to have my old Pro and the new Air hooked up simultaneously to the monitor. Would a 2008 Pro with OS 10.6.8 be able to "talk" to a 2021 generation monitor via HDMI (using a dongle with an HDMI port)?

What monitor do you use/would you recommend for these features at a $100-$300 price point? If there is something just a little pricier I might consider that. Most reviews are for monitors $400 and up, though there seem to be plenty under that price point.

I know the Air only supports one monitor and that's fine.

 

[UltimateSyn]

Most of my monitor research done late last year was in the higher-end 4K spectrum of things, but I’ve gone and done a little digging at your pricepoint...

Dell‘s monitor lineup is used and revered by many on this site, and is reputable and well-reviewed within the broader tech community. I found a Dell monitor, their P2719HC (https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/sho...9hc/apd/210-aqcq/monitors-monitor-accessories) which has...

• Price point in your range ($310)
• USB-C port for a seamless, dongle-less connection to your new MacBook Air (this will allow both power and video over one connection, whereas with HDMI your computer would have to be powered separately)
• An additional HDMI port for connection to your old MBP
• A larger screen size (27”)
• Decent viewing angles and color range
• Good reviews (4.5+ stars across multiple websites)

Only issue (in my opinion) is that the resolution is only 1080p (FHD). I’d love to get you both the increased size and greater clarity / resolution (1440p aka QHD, since 4K is definitely going to price you out), since you mentioned your eyes aren’t so hot. I’m still looking to see if they offer a similar QHD variant.

To answer your question about your old Pro.. I can’t see any reason why any new monitors with HDMI would be incompatible. All the newer HDMI standards should be backwards compatible with the older variants.

Edit: Here we go, this one is similar to the aforementioned model but has a higher resolution: the P2720DC - https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/sho...0dc/apd/210-auln/monitors-monitor-accessories. The downside is that it sits at $415, a little bit out of your price range. Personally I care about resolution a lot, so I would find it worth it, but it’s up to you.

 

[ej88]

AceFernalid, thank you very much for the great and detailed comments. I see that there is also a P2719H at an even lower price that's almost identical to the P2719HC. I think 1080P will probably look amazing considering I've been staring at a 15" screen made in 2008 for the past 12 years.

Found this Dell at 1440P for under $400: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-U2520DR...p+U2419DX&qid=1616953396&s=electronics&sr=1-8

I don't really mind the dongle, since I'll likely get the Plugable 7-in-1 anyway for its SD card port and my 2.0 legacy CD drive, thumb drives etc and overall versatility, and it's only $25. But those additional USBs on the P2719 are very nice to have at a only slightly higher price point.

 

[Amethyst1]

I see that there is also a P2719H at an even lower price that's almost identical to the P2719HC. I think 1080P will probably look amazing considering I've been staring at a 15" screen made in 2008 for the past 12

Sorry to be blunt, but 1080p on 27" will look like utter crap. Especially compared to the new MBA's screen.

Everything will be huge and visibly pixelated due to the insanely low pixel density. Fonts in particular will look horrible.

Not recommended.

If you want a 27", go for a 1440p or better yet 4K monitor.

 

[ej88]

Sorry to be blunt, but 1080p on 27" will look like utter crap. Especially compared to the new MBA's screen.

Everything will be huge and visibly pixelated due to the insanely low pixel density. Fonts in particular will look horrible.

Not recommended.

If you want a 27", go for a 1440p or better yet 4K monitor.

Good to know, thanks. I see that the Dell UltraSharp series at 1440P can be found for under $400. https://www.amazon.com/Dell-U2520DR...p+U2419DX&qid=1616953396&s=electronics&sr=1-8

I also wonder if a 24" might be better if I'm going to be using it more for Excel and Word than for movies or videos since apparently there is less scrolling at 16:10 aspect ratio? I'm starting to get a sense of "you get what you pay for" regarding resolution. If fonts will look awful, then the monitor becomes much less useful. Will Excel spreadsheets and Word docs look reasonably crisp at 1440P on a 24" or even 27" monitor?

 

[Amethyst1]

I also wonder if a 24" might be better if I'm going to be using it more for Excel and Word than for movies or videos since apparently there is less scrolling at 16:10 aspect ratio?

If you're talking about 1080p vs 1920×1200, then definitely, 16:10 is the way to go.

I'm starting to get a sense of "you get what you pay for" regarding resolution.

Yep. A decent monitor is an investment that should pay off over the years of use you'll be getting out of it.

If fonts will look awful, then the monitor becomes much less useful.

There's an issue with how macOS renders fonts on non-HiDPI monitors (for 24"~27": anything below 4K soundly falls in this category). Some perceive them as grainy or not sharp. The only "true" remedy is to go 4K or even higher in terms of resolution.

The subpixel-AA debacle and font rendering

Since the disablement of subpixel anti-aliasing by default in Mojave, many folks (including myself) have noticed that some applications render fonts strangely on non-Retina displays. I notice this especially in Marzipan apps like News and Stocks. Are things better in Catalina? What's the state...

forums.macrumors.com

Will Excel spreadsheets and Word docs look reasonably crisp at 1440P on a 24" or even 27" monitor?

Having used a 27" 1440p monitor from 2010 to 2015, I can say it was just great. Huge spreadsheets or two full-size pages side by side - no problem at all. However, that was before the font rendering issues - I went to 4K before these were a thing.

 

[ej88]

Having used 27" 1440p from 2010 to 2015, I can say it's just great. Huge spreadsheets, two full-size pages side by side - no problem.

However, that was before the font rendering issues - I upgraded to 4K before these were a thing.

Looks like there may be a few decent 27" 4K monitors for under $400, such as this one from Philips: https://www.amazon.com/Philips-279P...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Appears to have excellent resolution, lots of ports including USB-C, great adjustability. Even has speakers. However, the customer service from Philips sounds very poor. Same for the Gigabyte M27Q.

Anyone have recommendations for a reliable, easy to set up 4K monitor with USB-C for under $500?

 

[ej88]

Having used 27" 1440p from 2010 to 2015, I can say it's just great. Huge spreadsheets, two full-size pages side by side - no problem.

However, that was before the font rendering issues - I upgraded to 4K before these were a thing.

Looks like there may be a few decent 27" 4K monitors for under $400, such as this one from Philips:https://www.amazon.com/Philips-279P...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Appears to have excellent resolution, lots of ports including USB-C, great adjustability. Even has speakers. However, the customer service from Philips sounds very poor.

Anyone have recommendations for a reliable, easy to set up 4K monitor with USB-C for under $500?

 

[Amethyst1]

I've had good luck with Dell monitors, and there's the P2721Q which ticks all the boxes (apart from price maybe).

As for this Philips monitor - I can't seem to find whether it is flicker-free or not. This is something I consider extremely important.

 

[ej88]

I've had good luck with Dell monitors, and there's the P2721Q which ticks all the boxes (apart from price maybe).

As for this Philips monitor - I can't seem to find whether it is flicker-free or not. This is something I consider extremely important.

The Philips is flicker free, but I read numerous reviews mentioning atrocious customer service and not honoring that 4 year warranty. That Dell does look good - I think that one is the leader in the clubhouse so far. Thanks for mentioning it.