Monitor panel types trade off three things — response speed, color accuracy, and contrast — in ways that can't all be maximized at once with current technology.
The three main panel types
TN (Twisted Nematic) panels are the fastest to respond and generally the cheapest, which is why they were long popular for competitive gaming. The tradeoff is the weakest color accuracy and the narrowest viewing angles of the three types — colors and contrast shift noticeably if you're not looking at the screen dead-on.
IPS (In-Plane Switching) panels offer the best color accuracy and the widest, most consistent viewing angles, which is why they're generally preferred for photo and video editing, design work, and general everyday use. Response times have improved significantly in recent years, closing much of the old gap with TN for gaming, though very high-end competitive setups may still favor TN or fast OLED options.
VA (Vertical Alignment) panels sit in between, but with a genuine strength of their own: significantly better contrast and deeper blacks than either TN or IPS, at the cost of somewhat slower response times than TN and viewing angles that, while better than TN, don't quite match IPS.
None of the three is universally "best" — a competitive shooter player, a photo editor, and someone watching a lot of dark, high-contrast movies each have a genuinely different ideal panel type for their main use.
Refresh rate matters more for some uses than others
A higher refresh rate (measured in Hz) shows more frames per second, producing smoother motion — genuinely valuable for fast-paced gaming, where 144Hz or higher can be a real, noticeable advantage over standard 60Hz. For general productivity, web browsing, and most video content, the benefit of a high refresh rate is much smaller, since most everyday content isn't produced or displayed at those frame rates anyway.
Resolution and size need to be considered together
A higher resolution on a small screen packs pixels tightly enough that text and UI elements can look extremely sharp but very small unless you adjust display scaling; the same resolution on a much larger screen spreads those pixels out, looking sharp without shrinking everything. Matching resolution to screen size — rather than simply buying the highest resolution available — has a bigger effect on day-to-day comfort than most people expect.
The one thing people forget
Check the actual stand's height, tilt, and swivel adjustment range before buying, especially for a primary work monitor. A fixed or barely adjustable stand can force an awkward neck or eye-line position that no amount of screen quality compensates for — a monitor arm can solve this afterward, but it's an extra cost worth factoring in if the included stand is limited.