Best screens under $200 you can get at the present time
A second (or third) screen can make telecommuting considerably more gainful. You don't need to pay a lot to get a good one from Dell, LG, BenQ, or others ASAP.
- This LED monitor is a good option if you're fed up with eye strain and squinting at your work on a small laptop screen. The display's thin bezels and built-in power supply make it streamlined and tidy, and you're pretty much looking at all screen. The base does allow it to tilt -- there's no height adjustment -- and has a hole for cable management so you can pass its power cord and a VGA or HDMI cable through to the inputs in back (power and HDMI cables are included).
Along with the screen size and design, you're getting a 75Hz refresh rate, 4ms response time and FreeSync support, which makes this a bit better for gaming and fast-moving video than your average office monitor. On the other hand, unexciting color performance and seemingly lower-than-spec brightness undercut it solely for that use. It's fine for mixed use even if it doesn't excel in any area. Also, that's about the end of the road for features, so if you want things like built-in speakers or a webcam or VESA mounting holes you'll have to look elsewhere.
- If you want a cheap, attractive FHD monitor with built-in speakers that don't suck, this should be on your short list. They're hardly audiophile quality, but they're decent enough for watching movies, streaming music while you work or listening to podcasts, and they can get loud enough (without distortion) to hear from a fair distance away. And possibly loud enough to annoy your upstairs neighbors (who are annoying you by galloping around 24/7). It's got three HDMI 2.0 inputs with HDCP 2.2 -- most cheap monitors have two at most -- though most people really don't need that many. Other perks include 75Hz refresh with AMD FreeSync technology, audio profiles, the ability to change gamma and a mode that maps colors to compensate for color blindness. It's not an HDR monitor, but it can fake it as well as possible given its technological constraints.
Despite all the setting options, the screen isn't that bright and the onscreen display can be frustratingly wonky -- B&Hel grid on white areas. Plus, you can only tilt, not raise or lower the screen.
This one whips in and out of stock, so if you see it and want it, get it. You can also see if it's available again at B&H.
My dining-room table has doubled as my desk many times. But because it's still where we eat, it can't be a permanent desk with an external monitor. Enter this little Auzai portable USB-C display that quickly increases my screen space but just as easily folds down for storage or travel to a far-away land (aka my living room).
Although it's only a 15.6-inch display, it's nice for things like having email or Slack open and visible, playing a video off to the side while you're working or just more room for viewing documents or other files side by side. It's also a great companion to a two-in-one laptop such as the 15.6-inch Samsung Galaxy Book Flex in the picture above (left). Put the Flex in display mode and connect a keyboard and mouse and you've got a dual-screen extended-desktop setup.
The display can connect via USB-C or HDMI; a mini-HDMI-to-HDMI cable is included as well as a USB-C-to-USB-C cable. There are built-in stereo speakers as well as a 3.5mm audio output if you want to connect headphones to the screen -- features that make more sense if you're connecting it to a game console or other HDMI device.
Like others on this list, color performance is just OK and brightness is fine for indoor use. But if you need something portable or you simply don't have room for a regular external display, this Auzai display is worth the investment.