Monitors Linux Reviews & Articles

There have been 31 Linux hardware reviews and benchmark articles on Phoronix for monitors. Separately, check out our news section for related product news.

VEIKK is a company I previously hadn't heard of that offers a range of pen displays and drawing tablets for digital artists. At first when they reached out around reviewing one of their drawing tablets, I questioned their Linux support but it turns out their graphics tablets do work across all major platforms. I've been trying out the VEIKK VK1200 the past few weeks and it's been working out decent as a 11.6-inch drawing monitor for just $169 USD.

A few years back we looked at the ASUS ZenScreen USB-C Portable Monitor that took until recently when it began playing working nicely on Linux due to its DisplayLink hardware and also the state of Type-C DP AlternateMode support at the time. What we've been trying out over the past week has been the Odake BladeX as a much more interesting portable monitor: it's a 15.6-inch display in 1080p and 4K options that also supports native HDMI input and other functionality unmatched by the ZenScreen.

The past month or so on my main production workstation I have been using two 28-inch 4K displays in a stacked configuration rather than side-by-side. The workflow has been working out nicely and I just wanted to relay some thoughts.

What if you could have a monitor that weighed less than two pounds, only required a single cable for both power and display, offered 1080p on a 15-inch IPS screen, and was designed for portability? It would be possible to easily have a secondary display with you anywhere whether it be outdoors, on the beach, in the conference room, or practically anywhere. ASUS has managed such a device with the MB16AC ZenScreen.

The iRulu BL20 is a low-cost projector 1080p/HD projector that supports a projection distance up to six meters, dual built-in speakers, and a screen size up to 200 inches. Retailing for about $165 USD, this isn't a high-end projector but is rather decent for the price. Here's a quick write-up about my experience with this budget projector.

The past few weeks I have been testing out the ASUS MG28UQ 4K display as the monitor on my main daily workstation. This ~$500 monitor has been working out well and also supports extra features like Adaptive-Sync once the open-source Linux graphics drivers catch up.

If you are after a 4K / Ultra HD display this holiday season, the Dell P2415Q is a great monitor that can be found for just over $400 USD while not running into any compatibility troubles under Linux.

As some recent non-performance testing of the AMD and NVIDIA graphics drivers on Linux, I checked in to see how well the various Linux desktop environments were working these days in multi-monitor setups. With the latest AMD Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards and drivers, I tried out Unity, GNOME Shell, Xfce, and (attempted) KDE Plasma 5 on Ubuntu 15.04 to check out the latest experience.

With the recent launch of the Raspberry Pi 2, I had immediately ordered one for some ARM hacking, as the price-performance angle was finally acceptable. Then it hit me, I had no idle screens with HDMI/DVI input.

If you managed to get a deal on another monitor this holiday season and are now looking for a monitor stand for better arranging your displays, Arctic has a growing range of monitor arms. The monitor arm/stand we're looking at today is the Arctic Z2 Pro.

For anyone paying attention to online deals websites this week likely noticed the Acer B286HK retailing for just $350 USD. While it's not unusual these days for a 28-inch monitor to sell for less than $400, it is a different story if it's a 4K desktop monitor -- especially from a reputable brand. I ended up picking up an Acer B286HK and it's been working out great for my needs.

For those that have searched for TV/monitor wall mounts at Amazon or other major Internet retailers have likely come across Cheetah Mounts: a brand of TV wall mounts that are incredibly cheap compared to competitors. However, are these mounts worthwhile for their $20+ price? I setup the APTMM2B to a 39-inch TV in the office as a test.

For those that found the 1920 x 1080 resolution for the 27-inch ASUS MX279H IPS Monitor too small when it was reviewed earlier this month on Phoronix, today we are looking at the ASUS PB278Q. This monitor is part of the ASUS Professional Graphics Monitor series and offers some brilliant specs for those in the market for a 27-inch 2560 x 1440 display with DVI, DisplayPort, and HDMI connectivity.

The ASUS MX279H is a nicely built 27-inch LED-Lit monitor that retails for just over $300 USD, but to the dismay of some, its resolution is just 1920 x 1080.

The multiple monitor experience on Linux traditionally was very arcane and difficult; it would involve editing text configuration errors, trial-and-error, picking the right Linux GPU driver, and various other steps to get a working multi-monitor desktop. Since then there's been RandR 1.2+ and major improvements to all of the important Linux desktop graphics drivers -- both open and closed-source. How is the Linux multi-monitor now when using a modern distribution and the latest graphics cards that can drive four monitors simultaneously? Let's find out! Up for testing today are NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards using both the open and closed-source drivers while using DVI, DisplayPort, and HDMI displays.

If you've been eyeing a purchase of a 4K "Ultra HD" TV this holiday season and will be connecting it to a Linux system, here's the information that you need to know for getting started and some performance benchmarks to set the expectations for what you can expect. This article has a number of AMD Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce benchmarks when running various Linux OpenGL workloads at a resolution of 3840 x 2160.

While we commonly associate SilverStone with manufacturing high-end computer enclosures and power supplies, recently they began venturing into the production of monitor arms/stands. The SilverStone ARM11SC is a single-monitor aluminum alloy and steel monitor arm that offers plenty of functionality and is the subject of today's Phoronix review.

For the past few weeks I have been trying out the Apple's Thunderbolt Cinema Display under Linux. While this 27-inch Apple Thunderbolt Display is beautiful and delivers stunning quality, it does illustrate another area where the current Linux hardware support currently comes up short. There's both good and bad news about using a Thunderbolt-based display under your favorite Linux distribution.

ARCTIC, the decade-old company known for their high-end CPU and GPU cooling products, has expanded from just being a company focused on cooling down your PC to being everything about the PC. ARCTIC even sells entertainment center PCs now, along with a range of peripherals, audio equipment, and even batteries. One of their latest ventures is in the space of monitor stands/arms. In this review, I am checking out the ARCTIC Z1 Monitor Arm from this Swiss-founded company.

If you find yourself picking up any extra monitors this holiday season, you may be in need of a monitor stand. When it comes to monitor stands though, Ergotron is often regarded as the leading manufacturer of such LCD stands, but their products come with a hefty price tag where a simple side-by-side LCD arm can cost over $300 USD. If you do not want to spend several hundred dollars -- likely more than the cost of a monitor itself -- on a metal stand, I have a better solution. For the past two months, I have been using LCD monitor from Tyke Supply. They are wonderfully reliable, fully adjustable, and cost just a fraction of what it would cost if buying from Ergotron.

The last time an ASUS monitor was reviewed at Phoronix was a year and a half ago when checking out the ASUS VH236 monitor that ended up being a fairly nice 1920 x 1080 monitor with HDMI support. After recently needing to purchase another monitor, however, we decided to pickup the ASUS VE228H, which offers similar specifications but measures up to being a 21.5-inch LED-backlit display. Here are a few words on the ASUS VE228H LCD monitor after using it for a few weeks.

If you've been looking for a DisplayPort-capable monitor to connect to your new graphics card whether it be a FirePro V8800 or one of the new ATI Radeon HD 5000 series graphics cards that are capable of using Eyefinity to drive many displays via this newest display connection standard, the Dell Professional P2210H monitor is worth considering. The 22-inch LCD display retails for around $200 USD and offers DisplayPort connectivity along with DVI and VGA.

Over the years we have looked at many ASUS products primarily with when it comes to graphics cards and motherboards, but never had we got our hands on an ASUS LCD monitor. However, that changed earlier this month when receiving the ASUS VH236 LCD monitor. This 23-inch widescreen monitor from ASUS has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080, a 2ms GTG response time, ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio Technology, ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology, and a dual 2W speaker system. This ASUS display may not be as nice as the Samsung SyncMaster 305T but it does offer more features than some of the other monitors in its class like the Dell S2409W. Continue on as we test out the ASUS VH236 LCD monitor.

The prices on LCD monitors have dropped a fair amount in recent times and it is now possible to find 24-inch LCDs approaching the $200 USD price-range, which a few years back was just reserved for a couple 17-inch LCDs. One such example is the Dell S2409W -- a 24" LCD panel with 1920 x 1080 resolution and has VGA, DVI, and HDMI inputs. This sleek monitor may not have as many bells and whistles as some of the other displays out there, but its price is nearly unbeatable.

The cost of LCD HDTVs have dropped dramatically in recent times where it's now possible to find a moderately sized HDTV for just a few hundred dollars. With more budget brands now surfacing with their own LCD HDTVs that are even more competitively priced, it can be a bit challenging to find a LCD HDTV that is good and bargain-priced with the selection being so large. One of the LCDs we recently encountered at Phoronix was the Toshiba Regza 32RV530U. This TV is only 32" but it provides full 1080p, multiple HDMI inputs, and will cost you less than some of the other similarly equipped LCD HDTVs on the market.

If a 22" or 24" LCD monitor doesn't provide enough screen real estate for you or you just want to go all out and find the best monitor without having a real budget, you'll more than likely end up looking at the 30" monitors that are available. There aren't many but Apple has a 30" Cinema Display and Dell also have a very popular 30" monitor, but there are also some from other manufacturers. In fact, today we are looking at the Samsung SyncMaster 305T, which is a 30" monitor with a native resolution of 2560 x 1600 and has a price tag of over $1200 USD.

In the past we have looked at several different Acer LCDs and generally have been quite pleased with them. Acer offers LCD panels that range from cost-effective 17" models to higher-end models that are much larger and offer additional features such as a metal stand, integrated audio, and HDMI. For those that are interested in a large high-resolution screen with HDMI support and a fast response time, but that isn't too expensive, Acer has the P243WAid. The Acer P243WAid is a 24" LCD that fits these traits and sells for about $390 USD, but it lacks some extra features such as height and pivot adjustments.

While not our primary focus at Phoronix, in the past we had reviewed the Acer AL1714CB, AL1732 Prestige, and dual AL1715b LCD monitors. Even though Acer's LCDs are not nearly as popular as those from Dell are, we have been very fond of the models that we had looked at in the past. Being nearly a year since we looked at the AL1732 Prestige, which was a phenomenal display, we once again chased down another new Acer monitor. In this review we will be looking at the Acer AL2223Wd Office Line 22" LCD monitor. The Acer AL2223Wd monitor has a recommended resolution of 1680 x 1050 with its WSXGA+ screen and the viewing angles are 160 degrees for both horizontal and vertical. Other specifications include a 300cd/m2 brightness, 800:1 contrast ratio, and 5ms response time. Both VGA and DVI are supported. For what it's worth, this display is also Windows Vista certified.

The Acer AL1732 Prestige is certainly one of the best sub-$200 17-inch LCDs presently available on the market. Not only does it offer DVI and VGA input but it also comes equipped with an anti-reflective coating, cable management abilities, integrated speakers, and a metal stand. In addition, Acer's Prestige lineup is a winner of the International Forum Design.

The last time we were engaged to look at an Acer product was when reviewing two Acer AL1715b 17" LCD displays. Today, Acer is floating around Phoronix again as we take a look at another recent offering, the AL1714CB-8. This 17" LCD is very similar to that of the AL1715b except it offers a blazing fast 8ms response and other competitive features for the budget consumer.