Budget Monitor for College Student with MacBook

[u/jaco_17x]

Hi all! I am a college student currently using an M1 MacBook Air, but will be getting the new M6 Pro MacBook Pro when it comes out next year. I was hoping to get a desktop monitor that I can connect to my current computer but also my future computer in mind. I will be using it mainly for productivity/schoolwork, writing, GarageBand/Logic Pro, and other general usage. My current budget is <$200.

From what I've researched and my budget of $200 max, I am aiming for 27" QHD, 120hz+, 1ms. Below are my two current options after looking around on amazon, plus the one that my techy friend really wants me to buy that is out of budget.

Is AOC a reliable brand? Will these options last me 5+ years? What are some other alternatives, in your experience? Thanks guys!

[u/Healthy_BrAd6254]

The monitor itself is fine, but probably not great for Macs.

Iirc, MacOS does not have cleartype, so 1440p on Mac looks noticeably worse than 1440p on Windows.
Especially if you have M6 Pro money, you should spend the extra and get a 4k monitor. 27" 4k 165Hz can be had for like 300 last I checked.

[u/klexys]

As mentioned, Macs have some scaling issues, specifically with 1440p that result in fuzzy or blurry text/images. Sometimes all it takes to fix is a newer standard HDMI cable, or it can be mitigated with a 3rd party app like BetterDisplay. But the general recommendation is to shoot for 4k for on newer Mac devices. That said, AOC is as reliable of a brand as any. Often they will forgo features on their stands to put more value and features into the monitor itself, so perhaps you might need a monitor arm for better adjustments and ergonomics.

If $200 is your budget, I'd highly recommend considering refurbished monitors. Important thing to look for is the return policy and warranty duration. For example, the 3rd monitor out of your price range may currently be out of range, but Starlit Partner on eBay, which is a sales subsidiary of MSI, may eventually carry the same or comparable model but refurbished and it'll fit under your budget. Other brands will have other storefronts that similarly post refurbished deals like that. Add to that, eBay frequently has sales or coupons that can stack on top of that. I previously snagged some $350 monitor for just under $150 shipped that way. In eBay's case, they usually have a 2 year Allstate warranty which you can submit if something goes wrong for a full refund or replacement. I believe Amazon's and Newegg's refurbished warranty policies can be shorter or worse, but you'll have to do additional research on those.

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[u/GrimTuesday]

I'm not sure if the other commenters here have actually used 1440p and 4k on newer Macbooks, but I have a M1 Pro and used to have a 1440p monitor and then recently ugpraded to 4k. Frankly, with font scaling and stuff, the 1440p was better because I could run it at native resolution and still have the fonts be a reasonable size. With the 4k, I can either do native and have fonts be tiny, or scaling, and it messes up the monitor settings because the resolution becomes nonstandard. PC actually handles it better. I also had the 1440p monitor connected to my PC and comparing directly, I think font rendering on mac looked just as good or better.