HP E45c G5 44.5" Silver 2023

This is the dual-monitor setup you actually want. Buy it for the seamless workflow and built-in KVM, and enjoy the shockingly good 165Hz refresh rate as a bonus.

We were genuinely surprised by how well this VA panel handles motion. With a 165Hz refresh rate and FreeSync Premium, it's way smoother than any office monitor has a right to be. The 3ms response time keeps ghosting to a minimum, making it totally viable for some after-hours gaming, even if it's not going to dethrone a dedicated OLED gaming display. The real star, though, is the sheer desktop space. Having a document, a spreadsheet, and Slack all open at once without overlapping windows is a workflow revelation.

The obvious competitor is the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9, which is wider at 49 inches and packs a more dramatic 1000R curve, but it's also significantly more expensive and leans harder into gaming. For pure productivity, the Dell UltraSharp U4025QW is a strong alternative with a sharper 5K2K resolution and an IPS panel for better color accuracy, but you sacrifice the high refresh rate and that ultrawide 32:9 aspect ratio. If you want one screen to rule them all for work and play, the HP is the smarter, more balanced pick. That said, the gaming monitor market just got a lot more interesting with the ASUS ROG Strix XG27UCDMG, MSI MAG 271QPX QD-OLED E2, and Samsung Odyssey G60SD all landing in the top 5. Those are 27-inch QD-OLED panels built for speed and contrast, not desk-spanning productivity, so they're not direct rivals. But if your split is 70 percent gaming and 30 percent work, one of those OLEDs will make the HP feel like a compromise.

Pricing on this thing is all over the map, with a wild spread from $999 to $2799 across vendors. At the low end, it's a steal for the screen real estate and KVM features you're getting. At the high end, you're getting fleeced. If you're paying more than $1100, you're doing it wrong. Newegg currently has the best deal we've seen, so start your hunt there.

The HP E45c G5 is basically the ultimate dual-monitor killer for your desk. It wraps a massive 44.5-inch, 5120x1440 canvas around your field of view, giving you the screen real estate of two 24-inch QHD monitors side-by-side without the annoying bezel in the middle. The one thing to know is that this is a productivity beast first, with a built-in KVM switch and tons of connectivity, that just happens to be surprisingly decent for gaming on the side.

If your heart is set on a single, immersive gaming display with deep blacks and a tight curve, this isn't it. The VA panel is good, but a QD-OLED like the MSI MAG 271QPX QD-OLED E2 or the ASUS ROG Strix XG27UCDMG will blow it away in HDR and response times. Go grab one of those instead.

If you're drowning in a multi-monitor mess of cables and bezels, the HP E45c G5 is your lifeline. It's a top-tier productivity monitor that streamlines your entire setup with a brilliant KVM switch and a massive, smooth display. The poor instructions and need for font scaling are minor annoyances in an otherwise fantastic package. For anyone juggling two computers and a dozen windows, this is the monitor to get.