It’s not hard to find a monitor for a hundred bucks — go to Best Buy or Walmart and you can probably get one today. Finding a decent monitor for that price, well that’s another matter. Today Dell has one that fits the bill, a 23.8-inch screen with a quality IPS panel. It’s selling for just $99.99 on Dell’s official online store, a $20 savings off the regular price.
At just $100 you don’t get a lot of side dishes with this entree. The S2425H monitor doesn’t have many extra features, no USB ports and only one video connection, HDMI. But it’s got the goods where it counts. That IPS-LCD screen, despite being pretty plain at 1080p, is much more color-accurate than a typical budget monitor that uses a VA panel. It’s good enough for doing serious photo editing or web production graphics — it’s the kind of panel I use for editing photos in my reviews, for example.
The screen also has a VESA mount for using a third-party monitor arm, which isn’t always a given at this price, and makes it a great choice for a budget addition to a multi-monitor setup. Oh, and it also has two 5-watt speakers, which I’m begging you not to use. Instead, use the money you just saved on a new monitor to get some budget speakers. Your ears will thank me.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.