Great question! I am a bit picky about monitors and just went though a replacement of devices going from a Dell U4919DW (5120x1440, double-27 inch) to a Dell U3219Q (4K, 32 inch) going via a Benq (1440p, 32 inch). My learnings from that process are:
- 4K works optimally on 32 inch with little or no scaling. That equates to 139 pixels per inch, ppi. 100% is perfectly fine to me - and I don’t have eagle eyes.
- 1440p or 2K is too pixelated on 32 inch (92 ppi).
- 1440p is optimal for 27 inch with no scaling (109 ppi).
- 4K is more resolution than I could use sensibly on a 27 inch without scaling (163 ppi).
Just by reading those few lines, you see that I focus on the ppi side of things. But this really is the basis of everything: can I read what’s written there and can I get over the monitor’s artifacts. Before, I always thought rather to avoid scaling than some pixelation, but the number of super high resolution phones and tablets seem to have made my eyes more discerning.
As for high refresh rates, I could not for the life of me tell the difference. Indeed, the Benq 32 inch 1440p with a VA panel was fast with its 144 Hz, but it had terrible ghosting (which I never really took notice of before) and thus the whole idea is moot.
Last not least, USB-C with power delivery matters to me. My laptop and my Surface Go 2 have USB C ports and plugging in just one plug for the monitor, power, and all monitor-connected USB devices is just splendid. There are monitors - like Benq - that offer USB C for monitor and data only, no power. That’s not useful. I believe the DELL delivers up to 90 Watt - that’s excellent.
Surprisingly unimporant: brightness, if you are working in an office that is not excruciatingly bright. 350 nits is plenty. HDR 600 oder 1000 is overkill for work. I turn down the brightness and contrast to 75% for work anyways to avoid eye strain. Interestingly, it’s an entirely different matter when working mobile: even sitting in the same office, my Surface Go 2 is always set to maximum brightness. Wonder why that is. Maybe screen size.
Other than that: DELL never disappointed me in displays for 15 years now. The 3219Q is a beautiful business screen.
My 2 cents - have fun! 