Guide: Monitor Selection
We receive many customer questions regarding monitor choices. We hesitate to steer customers toward particular brands and models. We cannot stress enough the importance of visiting a physical retailer to choose a monitor that looks good to you - not one that looks good to folks writing on the Internet.
That being said, below we've listed a handful of monitor models that customers have had particularly good luck with and are sized to match your Surface. All models are IPS panels with best-in class color reproduction for good performance across a variety of workflows. They also include a VESA-mount capability which we feel is crucial for optimizing workstation ergonomics.
Most of these models are NOT 4K. 1440p panels tend to be much higher quality than 4K panels of similar cost. And given typical viewing distances, 4K monitors will have screen contents automatically scaled by Windows 10 so the extra pixels are not particularly useful for most customers.
15" devices: Surface Book 2-3 / Surface Laptop 3
- 34" 3440x1440 Ultrawide LG 34UC80-B (DisplayPort)
- 32" 3840x2160 (4K) Dell U3219Q (DisplayPort)
- 27" 2560x1440 Asus PB278Q (DisplayPort)
- 27" 3840x2160 (4K) AOC U2790VQ (DisplayPort)
13.5" devices: Surface Book 1-3 / Surface Pro X / Surface Laptop
While any of the monitors specified for 15" models will work, the following monitors match particularly well:- 29" 2560x1080 Ultrawide LG 29WK600-W (DisplayPort)
- 24" ViewSonic 2560x1440 VX2478 (DisplayPort)
- 24" 1920x1080 Asus VE248Q (DisplayPort)
12.3" and smaller devices: Surface Pro 3-7 / Surface Go 1-2
These monitor sizes match particularly well for the smaller devices:- 25" 2560x1080 UltraWide LG 25UM58-P (HDMI only)
- 21.5" 1920x1080 HP EliteDisplay (DisplayPort)
Cables and adapters
- Monitors with DisplayPort will need a miniDP->DP cable
- Monitors with HDMI will need an active miniDP->HDMI adapter (Alternate miniDP->HDMI adapter link)
- Some customers will need USB-C monitor adapters