3 Best 4k IPS Monitors for Excellent Color Reproduction

4k IPS Monitors Compared

Why IPS Panel?

In plane switching, or IPS, panels are the choice for those who prefer great color uniformity, color reproduction as well as the widest viewing angles for their monitors.

It is for this reason that for professional grade monitors only IPS is used exclusively.

You should note, however, that not all IPS panels are created equally. While they are all great in term of color compared to their VA or TN panel counterparts, you cannot compare a $300 IPS panel to have same quality as a high end IPS panels.

What about TN and VA Panels?

TN is the older panel technology for LCD/LED monitors. While TN panel monitors are cheaper, they neither have wide viewing angles nor the colors of an IPS panel.

However, TN panels do offer some of the fastest response times on a monitor. As such, they are generally preferred by competitive gamers.

VA panels are a compromise between TN and IPS panels in the sense that they have a reasonably good response time and offer the widest viewing angles. Their color reproduction is better than TN but not as great as an IPS panel.

The table below summarizes the difference between the three panels.

List of Best 4k IPS Monitors of 2021

We have selected the following as the best displays in this category

4k IPS Monitor Reviews

1. AOC U2790VQ – Recommended All Rounder Monitor

We highly recommend this monitor because for us it checks all the necessary boxes.

For starters AOC U2790VQ is fairly affordable compared to an average 4K IPS monitor.

What we love about this monitor is that it has a frameless design. There two benefits of a monitor with a thin bezel. Firstly, it looks great. Secondly, slim bezels are essential for multiple monitor setup.

Besides that, it also offers VESA mounting holes so that you can mount the monitor on dedicated arms/stands.

Like all 4K IPS monitors, this too is excellent for professional fields that require color accuracy. It features a 10 bit panel with 1.07 billion colors and covers 99% of the sRGB color space.

This monitor does have a few minor issues. Firstly its native stand is mundane and looks very dull. On top of that, it does not offer any gaming centric features like game mode or even the coveted AMD FreeSync.

All in all, if you are looking for a rather affordable option with VESA mounting holes and a frameless design, then this is one of the best 4K IPS monitors.

2. Dell Ultrasharp U2718Q – Mid Range Professional Monitor

Professional monitors can get quite expensive. These are monitors that are basically designed for content creation and designing.

For this kind of work Dell Utlrasharp monitors are some of the best.

Ultrasharp name holds its own value for utilizing the finest components. As a result, they are also relatively more expensive than the cheaper Dell Series.

Dell Ultrasharp 1f57a0 is a 27 inch monitor designed for rich colors and brilliant color fidelity. It offers higher than average static contrast ratio of 1300:1 (as compared to average 1000:1), 99.9 % coverage of the sRGB color space, 99.9% of REC 709 color space, 80.7% of DCI-P3 color space, 350 nits brightness, color accuracy of Delta E <2 as well as HDR 10 functionality.

Besides that, it offers extensive physical features such as a gorgeous display, a thin bezel screen for multiple monitor setup, VESA mounting, as well as a height adjustable ergonomic stand so that you can tilt it, swivel it, and rotate it.

It also comes with some of the most extensive connectivity options ranging from multiple Display Ports to a USB HUB that can be used for charging as well as interfacing devices.

Finally, this is one of the rare monitors that offers built in speakers. Now the speakers are not something that you would dance to, however, they are great for occasional use and for general notifications.

There are a few relative drawbacks. This monitor offers absolutely no gaming centric features. Despite being a rather expensive monitor, it also lacks AMD FreeSync technology. Also 27 inch 4k is not the industry standard for designers and professionals. Many prefer 32 inch size instead.

In the end, if you want a mid range option for designing purposes, then this is certainly one of the best 4K IPS monitors in the market.

3. ViewSonic VP3268-4K – 32 Inch Professional Monitor

Finally, we have a true professional monitor here.

ViewSonic needs no introduction. They makes some of the finest monitors for color accuracy in all price ranges.

This is a 32 inch 4K monitor which is considered as the best combination for designers and editors.

The monitor offers an advanced IPS panel that not just features a 10 bit color depth, but also incorporates a 14 bit LUT. This essentially give it a whopping 4.39 trillion color to display. All this at a color accuracy of Delta E < 2.

Besides that, it covers the sRGB, EBU, SMPTE-C, Rec, 709 and Dicom color spaces for various industries.

All this most certainly makes this monitor quite expensive, but if you are unfamiliar with the monitor market, you will be surprised to know that this is a fairly cheaper professional monitor in comparison.

There are More Advanced Monitors than This...

If you check out advanced monitors from various brand series like the ASUS ProArt, Dell UltraSharp, and even some from ViewSonic itself, they cost way more. Why is that?

Well in the end it comes down to what features they offer.

Generally, a more advanced monitor tends to cover the Adobe RGB color space that is essential for print media. It may also feature advanced ports like the Thunderbolt 3 that can transfer power as well as interface video signals.

Moreover, advanced monitors may also feature newer technologies Local Dimming for enhancing the contrast ratio to levels you have never known before.

Basically, if you are looking into professional monitors, you can use ViewSonic VP3268-4K as the starting point. This is a respectable monitor and also favorite among the critics.

Conclusion

IPS is the panel of choice for those who require great color reproduction from their screen. The combination of 4k resolution with IPS panel is just perfect for professionals dealing with designing and graphics.

As such, in this article we talked about some of the best 4k IPS monitors in the market. Some are affordable while others would only be appropriate for industry professionals.

The good news, however, is that all of these monitors offer superior panels that have the capacity to produce billions of colors as compared to conventional monitors that can only process about 16 million colors.