Credit:
Reviewed.com / TJ Donegan
Products are chosen independently by our editors. Purchases made through our links may earn us a commission.
Credit:
Reviewed.com / TJ Donegan
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
Learn more about our product testing
The Alienware AW3225QF is the first 32-inch, 4K, 240Hz QD-OLED gaming monitor on the market. It offers excellent color accuracy and vibrancy. Read More
Samsung’s gorgeous super-ultrawide Odyssey OLED G9 sets a new standard for big PC displays. Read More
The Gigabyte G24F 2 hits 180Hz for less money than even the Monoprice Dark Matter 24, and steers clear of direct competition from NZXT’s Canvas 25F. Read More
The AOC Q27G3XMN is a budget gaming monitor that competes with the Dell G2724D and LG 27GL83A-B, but its image quality is in a different league. Read More
There are few gaming monitors that can match the Alienware AW3423DW, as it knocks it out of the park in just about every metric. Read More
The best gaming monitor looks different depending on what you need. Maybe you’re after a 21:9 aspect ratio. Maybe you’re after a higher resolution, so a 1440p gaming monitor (or even 4K), or to upgrade to a higher refresh rate to complement that top-tier graphics card you just bought. Or maybe you want to upgrade to one of the best curved gaming monitors, which can make a noticeable difference in the way you work and play.
The best gaming monitors also support adaptive sync, including AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, which reduces screen tearing while gaming, 1ms response times or lower, and have good HDR capabilities.
While good gaming monitors can be expensive, they aren't all created equal. If you want the absolute best gaming monitor on the market, look no further than the Alienware AW3225QF (available at Dell) . It gives you the feel of an extra big, extra fast gaming monitor for less than the average ultra wide-screen display, with excellent color accuracy. However, our list has several great alternatives, some of which are speedier or offer better value.
The Alienware AW3225QF delivers excellent colors, contrast, pixel response times, and uniform brightness. It even supports Dolby Vision.
The 49-inch-wide Odyssey OLED G9 is a blockbuster monitor with a similarly high price.
The Gigabyte G24F 2 features good color accuracy and a blazing fast refresh rate on a budget.
The AOC Q27G3XMN can deliver spectacularly bright highs and excellent contrast for under $300.
Stunning visuals
No ghosting
Equipped with G-Sync Ultimate
Occasional ABL dimming
Not every game supports ultra-wide dimensions
Unyielding visual quality
Ultra-smooth gaming
A commendable warranty
Easily smudged
Audio is neglected
Excellent motion clarity
Bright, color accurate image
Attractive design
Limited contrast ratio
Color could be more vivid
Laser-focused on PC gaming
HDR performance
Deep, inky blacks
240Hz
Blooming issues
Good image quality
144 Hz refresh rate
Excellent build quality
No AMD FreeSync support
Finding the right size of gaming monitor for your gaming setup (and your budget) is just as important as choosing one with the best refresh rate. The most common sizes of gaming monitors span 24 inches, 27 inches, and 32 inches:
24-inch monitors: These are popular among both competitive and casual gamers, and offer the highest possible refresh rates, ensuring smooth and responsive gameplay. The most common resolution at this size is 1080p.
27-inch monitors: The most common next step up, and the largest size that makes sense for most people. These monitors range from budget options to well over $1,000 and span the gamut of 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions.
32-inch monitors: provide large amounts of screen real estate but may be too large to fit on most people’s desks. The most common resolution at this size is 4K, as anything lower may appear blurry and make text illegible.
Ultrawide gaming monitors: are typically the same height as a 27-inch widescreen monitor but much, well, wider. They can span 34 to 38 inches and provide an immersive field of view when gaming, especially if the display is curved. However, they may not fit on every desk.
Extra large monitors: are the largest gaming monitors you can get and encompass everything from curved 48-inch flatscreen OLEDs up to 49-inch ultrawide monitors and beyond. Unless you sit several feet from your desk, these monitors are a poor fit for competitive gaming as large portions of the screen will be in your peripheral vision.
Gamers looking to buy a gaming monitor have a lot of choices of resolution, but your choice is likely to be guided by your budget and the performance of your gaming PC.
1080p: 1920 x 1080 resolution, better known as 1080p, is extremely common on budget gaming displays, and found on most displays that exceed a refresh rate of 144Hz. It doesn’t provide the sharpest picture but can offer extremely smooth gameplay. It also works well alongside a mid-range video card which is a major perk.
1440p: 2560 x 1440, shortened to 1440p, is a resolution rarely spoken of outside of PC gaming. It’s extremely popular in mid-range gaming monitors and provides a great balance between smooth gameplay and sharpness. It’s a big upgrade over 1080p and worthwhile (especially for larger monitor sizes) if you can afford it.
4K: 3840 x 2160, better known as 4K, receives a lot of hype, but high-refresh-rate 4K gaming monitors aren’t for everyone. Aside from the price of the monitor, you also have to factor in the price of a new high-end video card. If you’re a console gamer looking for a monitor, however, this is the resolution to target for your Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5.
A monitor’s LCD panel sits between the glass or plastic on its surface and the LED backlights at the rear, and is largely responsible for the image quality of a monitor. There are three different technologies you’re likely to encounter here.
Despite this, many gaming monitors use an IPS panel because it’s an affordable and effective way to achieve smooth motion. Gamers are often willing to trade some image quality for this perk.
The best VA panels have motion clarity similar to an IPS display, but there’s more variance. In general, this technology is best for gamers willing to trade some motion clarity for better image quality.
Newer IPS panels have eroded TN’s advantage, and TN is nearly entirely obsolete. We recommend against purchasing a TN gaming monitor.
OLED monitors are typically more expensive than comparable LCD displays and may dim when brighter content is onscreen. This helps prevent the pixels from wearing down over time and extends the life of the panel.
HDR stands for “High Dynamic Range.” HDR monitors have a greater color gamut and contrast, giving you a higher variety and intensity of colors. You’ll see brighter whites and darker blacks, and all the colors in the spectrum with greater vividness and clarity.
Variable refresh rate (VRR) features like Nvidia GeForce’s G-Sync and AMD FreeSync help your monitor’s refresh rate match your graphics card’s refresh rate to keep your picture running smoothly. Without it, you might see visual stuttering, or even “screen tearing” that creates horizontal breaks in your video. If your graphics card is working at 56 frames per second, a good sync software will make your monitor refresh at 56Hz.
In addition to smoothing out the video, this can also reduce input lag, where you experience a delay between pressing a button on your controller and seeing the action performed in-game. Input lag is frustrating in any gaming situation, but it’s especially life-or-death in multiplayer games.
It should be noted that G-Sync will only work on Nvidia graphics cards, but FreeSync is an open-source technology that works on both AMD and Nvidia GPUs.
We used a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration tool for the objective evaluation of monitor quality for this list. This tool can measure numerous technical details of a monitor including brightness, black levels, contrast ratio, white point, color gamut, color accuracy, gamma curve, and uniformity.
Gaming monitors must also be tested for motion clarity and responsiveness. We judged this by first observing Blur Busters’ UFO Test and then launching several games to gauge real-world performance. We look not only for clarity in motion but also signs of ghosting and overshoot, problems that can cause visible trails or halos behind fast-moving objects.
We also consider a monitor’s features and ease of use. The best monitors have an ergonomic stand that’s easy to adjust. They also provide USB ports and a wide range of image customization. We consider these features when making our final selections.
These results are logged and placed in a spreadsheet. Reviewed uses an in-house rubric to balance our recorded results and provide an objective ranking.
Price is important, as well. Expensive monitors do tend to perform well, but that’s unsurprising given their cost. A great gaming monitor should balance amazing visuals and smooth gameplay with value.
Matthew S. Smith is a veteran tech journalist and general-purpose PC hardware nerd. Formerly the Lead Editor of Reviews at Digital Trends, he has over a decade of experience covering PC hardware. Matt often flies the virtual skies in Microsoft Flight Simulator and is on a quest to grow the perfect heirloom tomato.
Mark Knapp
Contributor
Mark Knapp has covered tech for most of the past decade, keeping readers up to speed on the latest developments and going hands-on with everything from phones and computers to e-bikes and drones to separate the marketing from the reality. Catch him on Twitter at @Techn0Mark or on Reviewed, IGN, TechRadar, T3, PCMag, and Business Insider.
Jonathan is an Electronics Editor for Reviewed specializing in gaming gear and has experience with everything from controllers to benchmarking the latest GPUs. He was previously the Web Editor at The Architect's Newspaper.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
Shoot us an email
