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HP
I’ve long extolled the virtues of having a big monitor, which makes the computing experience so much nicer. And if you use your system for games, movies and other forms of entertainment, bigger is always, always better.
Not long ago, it was a pretty good score to find a 24-inch monitor for under $200. So check this out: today only, and while supplies last, Best Buy has the HP Pavilion 27xi 27-inch IPS LED monitor for $179.99. Shipping is free; sales tax, for most buyers, is not. Price elsewhere: $199.99 or higher.
Granted, a $20 savings isn’t crazy-exciting, but the reviews for this monitor are so universally stellar, I figured any deal was a deal worth sharing.
Consider: at Best Buy, buyers collectively rated it 4.9 stars. At Amazon, 4.3 stars. And CNET gave it a 7.6 rating (out of 10, natch), dinging it primarily for its reflective coating (something to consider if you’re planning to use it in a brightly lit room).
But the design? Yowza. Said CNET: “Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Apple’s 27-inch Thunderbolt Display, the HP Pavilion 27xi is aesthetically striking at first glance.” It’s thin and sexy, with a barely-there bezel and attractive silver accents.
It’s also built to accommodate any source: VGA, DVI or HDMI. However, unlike many monitors with HDMI inputs, this one lacks speakers — hardly a deal-breaker unless you were eyeballing this as an occasional companion for a game console or Blu-ray player.
As you might expect at this price point, the resolution tops out at 1,920×1,080 pixels. If you’re replacing, say, a 22-inch monitor with the same specs, you won’t be able to squeeze more windows into your workspace; you’ll simply see everything larger.
Take it from someone with aging eyes: that’s a good thing.
Bonus deal: Just to throw a curveball into the monitor mix, Newegg has the Acer G246HLAbd 24-inch LED monitor for $124.99, plus $2 for shipping. That’s after applying coupon code EMCANNR43 at checkout. That code expires today, but hopefully it’s the end of the day today and not, say, 10 minutes after this post goes live. Although it’s not an IPS panel and it lacks HDMI, it offers the same resolution and a three-year warranty. Decisions, decisions!
