Black Friday weekend is well and truly upon us, and for a long while I've loved 5K monitors. I love high-resolution displays, as I think Windows and text looks best when rendered at 5K. Unfortunately, most 5K monitors are very expensive, at least, that was the case until now.
You can now grab yourself a brand-new 27-inch 5K monitor for just $569. That's for the KTC 27-inch 5K monitor, which offers the same size and resolution display as the Apple Studio Display, but at an almost $1000 discount. You can buy two for the price of one Apple Studio Display, and still have some left over!
5K monitors have become something of a unique but popular market in the last few years. While most people opt for a 4K monitor, 5K monitors have been reserved for creative professionals or people who just want text and images to look as crisp as possible on their display.
4K monitors are great, but they often result in Windows and macOS having to display icons and text at a not ideal rendering scale. With a 27-inch 5K monitor at 217ppi (pixels per inch,) Windows will scale at 200% natively, and macOS will also scale at its native resolution too. That means text and images look even crisper than usual, and the OS's run better as a result.
Just as comparison, Windows will usually render at 150% scaling on a 4K monitor. This is mostly fine, but Windows and visuals just look better at 200%.
The KTC 5K monitor itself is also packed full of features. It has a 5K (5120x2880) 60Hz mode, but also a 2K (2560x1440) 120Hz mode. So if you wanted to use the monitor for gaming or wanted a higher refresh rate for whatever reason, you could swich the monitor into 2K mode and experience Windows and gaming at a much smoother frame rate.
It has built-in 65W Power Delivery, which means you can plug in a laptop with USB-C and send charge to it to keep it alive when using it with the external monitor. It also has HDR 400, though it is only an IPS display so don't expect the screen to be as bright as an OLED monitor is.
Unfortunately, there aren't any 5K OLEDs on the market right now, so IPS is the best we're going to get, and for $535 I think this is one hell of a monitor. You get a lot for your money, including a 217ppi display that most people haven't experienced before.
FAQ
What is the difference between 4K and 5K monitors?
A 5K monitor has more pixels per inch (PPI) compared to a 4K monitor at the same display size. The more pixels, the more information and definition can be shown to the user. A 5K monitor will make icons, text, images, and app windows and corners look sharper.
Does a 5K monitor require more power to run?
Technically yes, a 5K monitor will drive the graphics driver harder than a 4K monitor. However, most modern PCs won't flinch at this added workload. The only time it may become noticeable is in gaming, as 5K gaming is still very demanding. Luckily, this monitor has a 2K mode so you can drop the resolution for gaming scenarios.
More Black Friday 2025 - quick links
- All our TOP recommended Black Friday deals: Just the best
- Mini PC deals: up to 47% off tiny PCs
- GPU deals: early price drops on NVIDIA RTX before they go up
- Microsoft Surface deals: save up to $500 on premium PCs
- Xbox accessories: best deals on gadgets for your Xbox Series X|S and PC
- Gaming laptop deals: the best laptops for the best price
- Xbox controllers: our top picks for best controller deals
- ANC headphones: great Black Friday deals on the best ANC headphones
Even more Black Friday deals: - Dell deals: 13 deals from Dell.com that you shouldn't miss
- Best Buy: 34 hottest discounts on laptops, monitors, gaming, and more
- Walmart: 7 top laptop deals you shouldn't miss
- Samsung monitors: the best Samsung display deals we've found
- Retro gaming: handhelds, arcade machines, old school consoles, and more
- Gamer merch: Blizzard’s Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo IV collectibles
- Game keys: 10 PC game codes are even cheaper at Loaded (formerly CDKeys)
- Accessories: Even more PC accessories starting at $17
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