What is the best monitor for a trading computer?
An LED-backlit LCD monitor. Nearly every monitor sold today is still an LCD panel — what changed is how it is lit, and LED backlighting gives you a wider color range, better contrast control, less heat, lower power draw and a slim enough body to mount several on one stand. OLED is brighter and thinner but costs considerably more and is prone to burn-in, which is a real risk when your toolbars sit in the same place all day.
Key takeaways
- LCD and LED are not competing technologies. Almost all monitors are LCD panels; LED describes the backlight behind them.
- An LCD produces no light of its own. Early ones were lit by fluorescent tubes (CCFL), which were heavy, slow to warm up and inefficient.
- LED backlighting gives a wider color range than CCFL, and local dimming improves the contrast ratio.
- Slimmer and lighter matters here more than most places — multi-monitor trading setups need panels that mount close together on one stand.
- Less heat and less power, and no mercury, unlike the fluorescent technology it replaced.
- Edge-lit panels put the LEDs along the side rather than behind the screen. They are cheaper and more common in smaller displays.
- If Pulse Width Modulation flickering bothers your eyes, check how a given monitor controls brightness before buying several of them.
- OLED lights each pixel individually, so it is brighter and thinner — but it is far more expensive and susceptible to burn-in where static toolbars sit.
- Not sure where your machine stands? The free benchmark test takes about two minutes.
The Technology
Although you’ll hear people ask about LCD vs LED, the truth is most monitors today are still LCD. What’s different is how they are lit. LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. Calculators and handheld gaming consoles have been using LCDs for a long time. However, an LCD doesn’t have any light of its own. So you need light to see an LCD screen. Initially, LCD manufacturers used Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFLs) to solve the problem. However, CCFLs were heavy and energy inefficient. The color brightness was hard to control, and they took a while to warm up. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. A pure LED display (as opposed to an LED-backlit LCD display) uses LEDs for each pixel of the image. Due to the high contrast, these displays can be seen from far away. Large-format displays use this technology for concerts and stadiums. The problem with LED displays is they are too harsh for close viewing. The compromise, especially for monitors where close viewing is critical, was to develop an LCD monitor that’s lit using LEDs. Early LED-backlit LCD displays used blue LED with yellow phosphorous to create the white light. The problem with this approach was that early LED-backlit LCDs had a blueish hue. Later, the introduction of RG phosphor monitors and RGB LED technology improved the picture quality. This led to the wide adoption of LED-backlit technology. It’s important to mention that some manufacturers also use edge-lit LED technology where the LEDs are not directly in the back of the display, but rather on the side. The edge light is diffused evenly to the screen. Edge-lit LEDs are used in smaller displays like smartphones. This technology is cheaper than direct backlit. LED-backlit displays use “local dimming” to improve the contrast ratio. Various manufacturers also use Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) and Direct Current (DC) to control the screen brightness. For some users, PWM flickering can be uncomfortable.Reasons for Using of LED Backlit Display
More Colors: LED-backlit displays have a wider gamut of colors than CCFL-based displays. When RGB LED technology is used for backlighting, it can provide a wide spectrum of color. Better dimming range provides further contrast ratio refinement. Slimmer and Lighter: LED-backlit monitors are significantly slimmer and lighter than CCFL technology. The smaller size and weight makes LED backlit displays great for wall mounting. They also take up less space in a work environment which make them ideal for use with multi-monitor trading computers. Power Consumption and Heat: LED-backlit monitors generate less heat and consume less power than earlier technologies. Environment-Friendly: CCFL technology uses mercury, whereas LEDs don't. So LED-backlit displays are more recycle-friendly. Also, their longer life and smaller size decreases waste in our landfills.OLED is the Latest Thing
OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) is the newest screen technology. It is a direct competitor to LED backlit displays. OLED is brighter, more efficient, and thinner than LED. In fact, they are so thin some models are curved. OLED monitors generate their own light. The primary downside right now is that OLEDs are way more expensive and not as widely available as LED-backlit. Currently, OLEDs are priced at over $1000 each, although prices are coming down already and will continue to come down, like any new technology. Another big drawback is that OLED monitors are much more susceptible to image retention (burn-in). Each pixel is driven independently, and the ones that get used the most (like tool bars) will begin to dim before those that aren’t used as much. As technology improves, this is expected to be less of a problem.Conclusion
LED-backlit displays will continue to provide the best value for traders in the foreseeable future. While it can be tempting to always buy the latest and greatest, even gaming experts aren’t yet recommending OLED.Frequently Asked Questions
Is LED or LCD better for trading monitors?
The question does not quite divide that way — almost every monitor on the market is an LCD panel, and LED refers to what lights it from behind. What you are choosing between is LED backlighting and the older CCFL fluorescent backlighting, and LED wins on color range, contrast, heat, power draw and thickness.
Should traders buy OLED monitors?
Not yet, in most cases. OLED is brighter, thinner and lights each pixel independently, but it costs considerably more and it is vulnerable to image retention. That matters for trading specifically: toolbars, watchlists and panels sit in the same screen position for hours a day, which is exactly the condition that causes burn-in.
Why does monitor thickness matter for a trading setup?
Because traders rarely run one screen. When you are mounting four, six or eight panels on a stand or a wall, the depth and weight of each one determines whether the arrangement is practical at all. LED-backlit panels are substantially slimmer and lighter than the fluorescent-lit monitors they replaced.
What is edge-lit, and does it matter?
Edge-lit means the LEDs sit along the sides of the panel rather than directly behind it, with the light diffused across the screen. It is cheaper to manufacture and common in smaller displays. Direct backlighting generally gives more even brightness and better local dimming, which is the better choice if you are looking at charts all day.
Why do some monitors give me a headache?
One candidate is Pulse Width Modulation, a method some monitors use to control brightness by switching the backlight on and off very rapidly. Most people never notice it; some find it uncomfortable, particularly at lower brightness settings. If you are sensitive to it, check how a monitor dims before you buy several of the same model.
