Dell E1916H 19" Black 2018

The Dell E1916H is a basic 19-inch office monitor with a 1366x768 TN panel and 60Hz refresh rate. It's cheap, especially refurbished at USD 95, and the 3-year warranty is a nice touch. But the display quality is near the bottom of our database, so only buy it if you need a no-frills work screen and nothing more.

Performance is where the E1916H shows its age. The 5ms response time is fine for office work but the 60Hz refresh rate and TN panel mean colors shift if you're not sitting dead center. 200 nits of brightness is okay for a dim office but struggles near windows. The 85% color gamut sounds decent until you realize it's likely sRGB coverage, which is bare minimum these days. Our data ranks it 21st percentile for performance, which translates to 'gets the job done, nothing more.'

Stacked against the ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B or HP OMEN 27qs G2, the E1916H looks like a relic. Those are 1440p ultrawide and high-refresh gaming monitors with HDR and wide color gamuts. But that's not a fair fight. The E1916H isn't trying to compete with those. It's competing with whatever dusty monitor is sitting in your office's storage closet. Against other basic office panels, it's fine. Against anything modern, it's outclassed in every category except price.

Value is the one place this monitor earns its keep. USD 95 to USD 189 is a wide spread, and the refurbished Newegg listing at the low end is the obvious pick if you're on a budget. At that price, you're getting a functional screen with a 3-year warranty, which is rare for refurb gear. But if you're paying closer to USD 189, stop. You can get a 24-inch 1080p IPS panel for that money, and it'll run circles around this thing.

The Dell E1916H is a no-frills 19-inch office monitor that knows exactly what it is. 1366x768 resolution, TN panel, 60Hz refresh rate. Nothing flashy, just a basic screen for spreadsheets and email. It's light on features but heavy on simplicity, with VGA and DisplayPort covering both old and new PCs.

Our database puts this thing near the bottom for display and color quality, 2nd and 1st percentile respectively. That sounds brutal, and it is. But for a cheap office workhorse, those numbers matter less than reliability and price. And at USD 95 to USD 189, it's cheap enough to buy a few without thinking twice.

Skip this if you do any photo or video work, since the 1st percentile color ranking means you'll never trust what you see. Gamers should also look elsewhere, 60Hz and a TN panel won't cut it. And if you're used to 1080p or higher, going back to 1366x768 will feel like reading through a screen door.

Buy this if you need a cheap, reliable second monitor for email, spreadsheets, or a point-of-sale terminal. It's not for gaming, photo editing, or anything where color accuracy matters. Office managers and IT departments will appreciate the VESA mount and 3-year warranty. Everyone else should save up for something with at least 1080p and an IPS panel.