The Monoprice Crystal Pro 4K Monitor Review: A Comprehensive Analysis

When it comes to 4K displays, few monitors are as impressive as the Monoprice Crystal Pro 4K. This monitor's design is a masterclass in understated elegance, with tasteful branding and a sleek, matte black plastic enclosure that feels solid and premium. The rear of the monitor features two HDMI 1.4 ports that support MHL and can drive 4K at 30Hz, although it's recommended to use one of the dual link DVI ports or the display port 1.2 connections to truly take advantage of this panel's capabilities.

One of the standout features of the Crystal Pro 4K is its four-dimensional stand, which offers generous adjustments for height, tilt, swivel, and rotation. The stand is a joy to use, with no funky springs or latches to get in the way – it simply glides into place wherever you want it to be. However, there is one notable limitation to this feature: the monitor can't quite raise high enough to clear the desk when rotating, so you'll need to tilt the panel first before adjusting its height.

The Crystal Pro 4K's physical buttons are another welcome feature, although they are on the stiff side and feel a bit too clicky. The menu is easy to navigate, with options for picture and color settings that are geared towards those who want to optimize their display without getting too caught up in technical details. However, it would have been nice to see a dedicated button for input selection, as this can be a bit of a pain when switching between video sources.

In terms of raw performance, the Crystal Pro 4K is a real treat. The 1 millisecond response time is reminiscent of high-end gaming monitors, and the reduced motion blur makes for noticeably cleaner visuals – especially in fast-paced games or movies with plenty of action. However, color reproduction is not exactly outstanding, with a limited contrast ratio that may be disappointing to some users.

One feature that does set the Crystal Pro 4K apart from other TN panels is its perfect backlighting distribution, which eliminates hotpots and provides a smoother viewing experience. This is a welcome addition for those who want a monitor that can deliver great performance without sacrificing any image quality.

As with most monitors of this caliber, there's no shortage of potential drawbacks. The tempered glass panel is perhaps the biggest annoyance – I found myself cringing at the sight of my own reflection in the display during movie marathons, and I'm not alone in feeling that way about other displays as well. Additionally, while 4K is certainly a great feature for productivity and gaming, mainstream gaming may still not be ready for it just yet.

In conclusion, the Monoprice Crystal Pro 4K is an impressive display that offers excellent value for its price point of $500. While it's not perfect – particularly in terms of color reproduction – it's clear that Monoprice has listened to user feedback and is committed to delivering high-quality products at affordable prices. If you're looking for a monitor with great 4K performance, this could be an excellent choice. However, if you're more concerned about image quality or have specific needs that aren't met by the Crystal Pro 4K, you may want to consider other options.

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe half stacker 915 from Cooler Master is a computer case unlike any other that has the unique ability of stacking multiple systems together so why would anyone ever need to do this well click on the screen to watch the video I made about it it'll change your life forever no you're awesome just stop watch the video how's it going everyone welcome back to the channel so back when I was putting my x99 test bed together I asked you guys which 4k monitor I should yet for benchmarking and day-to-day productivity and right away many of you guys Nam dropped the crystal Pro UHD display from Monoprice so I confided in your suggestions I don't know why and managed to secure one for the studio well after nearly 2 weeks of daily use I think I'm finally confident in my own opinion of it to conduct a proper review so starting off with what's in the box you do get the monitor and stand DC power cord and adapter dual link DV cable 3.5 mm auxiliary cable and users manual one of the outstanding features about this monitor is that it can do 4K at 60 HZ using a display port connection so you can kind of imagine my disappointment upon realizing a display port cable was not included luckily the display port cable I ordered from mono price came with both ends the monitor features a 28in TN panel with a native Ultra HD resolution of 3840 X 2160 and an 8bit color resolution resulting in just over 1 billion colors Gamers will also benefit from the display's 1 millisecond gr a grade response time courtesy of that Twisted nomatic engineering you get an okay contrast ratio of 1,000 to1 and a generous viewing angle of up to 170° the screen itself is lined with a thin layer of tempered glass which is advertised as being anti-glare which I can only assume is a marketing term meaning highly reflective at the very least Reflections are hardly noticeable when you're dealing with lighter backgrounds but jump into a game or a movie with dark environments and you've got yourself a spare mirror hopefully mon price plans to release a Matt screen model in the future so I can once again be unaware of how bad my posture is when gaming a three and quinch bezel surrounds the top and sides of the screen and a thicker bottom bezel in brushed aluminum adds a touch of stylish flare in the lower left corner is a non-intrusive power LED that lights up orange when in standby and turns blue when active in the center is some tasteful Monoprice branding and on the right are seven physical buttons for power menu select up and down brightness and volume adjustment the menu is easy to navigate and offers up some basic functionality like picture and color options but nothing higher level to indicate this monitor is targeted at photo and video professionals do however get picture in picture and picture by picture functionality for quicker windowed multitasking a feature well suited for a 4K display while the physical buttons are nice to have I found them to be on the stiff side and the monitor couldn't help but wobble as I navigated the menu I would have also liked to see a dedicated button for input select for quicker switching between video sources the rear enclosure of the monitor uses a matte black plastic construction that feels solid with a 100x100 vasee amount in case you wish to mount this panel to the wall or even another stand for video inputs you get two HDMI 1.4 ports that support MHL and are capable of driving 4K but only at 30 HZ so you really want to be using one of the two display port 1.2 connections to really take full advantage of this panel's capabilities apart from that you get a dual link DVI port and a 3.5 mm Jack so you're given the option of having your computer source audio come through the monitors to built-in speakers of course like most monitor speakers it's probably best to avoid ever using them now moving on to my personal favorite part of this monitor is its four-dimensional stand which features generous adjustments for height tilt 200 something degree swivel and 90° rotation for portrait mode the only bummer here is that the monitor can't really raise high enough to clear the desk when rotating so you end up having to actually first tilt the panel before doing so but overall the stand is outstanding because it Glides wherever you want it to there are no funky Springs or latches you have to pull to get it going it just works really well so now that I've covered the main features of this monitor from head to toe how does it Stack Up in terms of raw usage and performance well for one when ites comes to 4K in general I think everyone can agree on the benefits of having more screen real estate for productivity and lack thereof the extra pixels also make for a sharper movie and gaming experience assuming you have the GPU horsepower to drive them Additionally the 1 millisecond response time reminded me why it's the new standard for high-end gaming monitors these days as the reduced motion blur when playing games gave me noticeably cleaner visuals than on my daily IPS panel however my unhealthy habit of media consumption could have been much more enjoyable had the tempered glass just not been there I don't particularly enjoy watching myself during every scene of World War Z and seeing my face next to Brad Pit certainly doesn't do anything for my self-esteem now color reproduction is nothing to write home about but it does fall right in line with other TN panels currently on the market contrast ratio could be improved in future models as I was hoping to see a wider gap between blacks and whites I was pleased to see that the monitor exhibits perfect backlighting distribution with no visible hotpots like you sometimes see on those Korean IPS panels so to sum up where does all of that leave my final opinion of the crystal Pro 4K well the despite my hate haate relationship with the tempered glass panel having the ability to enjoy 4K at 60 HZ makes this monitor one of the more compelling options at its price point of just 500 bucks personally I feel that mainstream gaming still isn't quite ready for 4K yet but if you're so inclined I think you'll be happy with that next level sharpness and response time if you're content with playing at 60 HZ while I wouldn't recommend it for hardcore Professionals in need of Stellar color reproduction I could definitely see this monitor making life a lot easier for folks in search of more screen space where having two monitors side by side just isn't practical all in all this is a sign of good things to come from mono price as long as they continue to listen to user feedback and uphold a reputation of value and quality speaking of monitors you should monitor today's sponsor with interest it's linda.com where they have awesome HD online tutorials where you can learn things like game design or cloud computing or How to Train Your Dragon wait no not that last one but the site really is a great resource if you're like me and can't understand half of the tutorials on YouTube these days cuz they're either poorly done or the person in the video looks like Charlie Brown it's very distracting so check it out I'll put a link in the description below where you guys can try it for free using my special link yeah but thatthe half stacker 915 from Cooler Master is a computer case unlike any other that has the unique ability of stacking multiple systems together so why would anyone ever need to do this well click on the screen to watch the video I made about it it'll change your life forever no you're awesome just stop watch the video how's it going everyone welcome back to the channel so back when I was putting my x99 test bed together I asked you guys which 4k monitor I should yet for benchmarking and day-to-day productivity and right away many of you guys Nam dropped the crystal Pro UHD display from Monoprice so I confided in your suggestions I don't know why and managed to secure one for the studio well after nearly 2 weeks of daily use I think I'm finally confident in my own opinion of it to conduct a proper review so starting off with what's in the box you do get the monitor and stand DC power cord and adapter dual link DV cable 3.5 mm auxiliary cable and users manual one of the outstanding features about this monitor is that it can do 4K at 60 HZ using a display port connection so you can kind of imagine my disappointment upon realizing a display port cable was not included luckily the display port cable I ordered from mono price came with both ends the monitor features a 28in TN panel with a native Ultra HD resolution of 3840 X 2160 and an 8bit color resolution resulting in just over 1 billion colors Gamers will also benefit from the display's 1 millisecond gr a grade response time courtesy of that Twisted nomatic engineering you get an okay contrast ratio of 1,000 to1 and a generous viewing angle of up to 170° the screen itself is lined with a thin layer of tempered glass which is advertised as being anti-glare which I can only assume is a marketing term meaning highly reflective at the very least Reflections are hardly noticeable when you're dealing with lighter backgrounds but jump into a game or a movie with dark environments and you've got yourself a spare mirror hopefully mon price plans to release a Matt screen model in the future so I can once again be unaware of how bad my posture is when gaming a three and quinch bezel surrounds the top and sides of the screen and a thicker bottom bezel in brushed aluminum adds a touch of stylish flare in the lower left corner is a non-intrusive power LED that lights up orange when in standby and turns blue when active in the center is some tasteful Monoprice branding and on the right are seven physical buttons for power menu select up and down brightness and volume adjustment the menu is easy to navigate and offers up some basic functionality like picture and color options but nothing higher level to indicate this monitor is targeted at photo and video professionals do however get picture in picture and picture by picture functionality for quicker windowed multitasking a feature well suited for a 4K display while the physical buttons are nice to have I found them to be on the stiff side and the monitor couldn't help but wobble as I navigated the menu I would have also liked to see a dedicated button for input select for quicker switching between video sources the rear enclosure of the monitor uses a matte black plastic construction that feels solid with a 100x100 vasee amount in case you wish to mount this panel to the wall or even another stand for video inputs you get two HDMI 1.4 ports that support MHL and are capable of driving 4K but only at 30 HZ so you really want to be using one of the two display port 1.2 connections to really take full advantage of this panel's capabilities apart from that you get a dual link DVI port and a 3.5 mm Jack so you're given the option of having your computer source audio come through the monitors to built-in speakers of course like most monitor speakers it's probably best to avoid ever using them now moving on to my personal favorite part of this monitor is its four-dimensional stand which features generous adjustments for height tilt 200 something degree swivel and 90° rotation for portrait mode the only bummer here is that the monitor can't really raise high enough to clear the desk when rotating so you end up having to actually first tilt the panel before doing so but overall the stand is outstanding because it Glides wherever you want it to there are no funky Springs or latches you have to pull to get it going it just works really well so now that I've covered the main features of this monitor from head to toe how does it Stack Up in terms of raw usage and performance well for one when ites comes to 4K in general I think everyone can agree on the benefits of having more screen real estate for productivity and lack thereof the extra pixels also make for a sharper movie and gaming experience assuming you have the GPU horsepower to drive them Additionally the 1 millisecond response time reminded me why it's the new standard for high-end gaming monitors these days as the reduced motion blur when playing games gave me noticeably cleaner visuals than on my daily IPS panel however my unhealthy habit of media consumption could have been much more enjoyable had the tempered glass just not been there I don't particularly enjoy watching myself during every scene of World War Z and seeing my face next to Brad Pit certainly doesn't do anything for my self-esteem now color reproduction is nothing to write home about but it does fall right in line with other TN panels currently on the market contrast ratio could be improved in future models as I was hoping to see a wider gap between blacks and whites I was pleased to see that the monitor exhibits perfect backlighting distribution with no visible hotpots like you sometimes see on those Korean IPS panels so to sum up where does all of that leave my final opinion of the crystal Pro 4K well the despite my hate haate relationship with the tempered glass panel having the ability to enjoy 4K at 60 HZ makes this monitor one of the more compelling options at its price point of just 500 bucks personally I feel that mainstream gaming still isn't quite ready for 4K yet but if you're so inclined I think you'll be happy with that next level sharpness and response time if you're content with playing at 60 HZ while I wouldn't recommend it for hardcore Professionals in need of Stellar color reproduction I could definitely see this monitor making life a lot easier for folks in search of more screen space where having two monitors side by side just isn't practical all in all this is a sign of good things to come from mono price as long as they continue to listen to user feedback and uphold a reputation of value and quality speaking of monitors you should monitor today's sponsor with interest it's linda.com where they have awesome HD online tutorials where you can learn things like game design or cloud computing or How to Train Your Dragon wait no not that last one but the site really is a great resource if you're like me and can't understand half of the tutorials on YouTube these days cuz they're either poorly done or the person in the video looks like Charlie Brown it's very distracting so check it out I'll put a link in the description below where you guys can try it for free using my special link yeah but that\n"