Discovering the precise pc monitor is already laborious sufficient, however as quickly as you resolve to go for one which’s designed for gaming, an entire host of latest issues come into the equation. Must you go for an LCD or OLED monitor? What in regards to the variations between NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync? How about refresh charges? These are simply a few of the questions this information goals to reply. Within the course of, my hope is that can assist you discover the very best gaming monitor to your finances.
Finest gaming displays for 2024
Alienware
Display screen dimension: 26.7-inch | Decision: 2,560 x 1,440 | Refresh fee: 360Hz | Panel kind: QD-OLED | Response time: 0.03ms (GtG) | Side ratio: 16:9 | Brightness: 250 cd/m² | Weight: 9.4 kilos with out stand
If you need a gaming monitor that principally does all of it, the Alienware AW2725DF is difficult to beat. This QD-OLED display encompasses a 360Hz refresh fee and 0.03ms response. It additionally carries a Vesa DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification, so count on close to flawless HDR efficiency. It even has a HDMI 2.1 port if you wish to use it with an Xbox Sequence X or PlayStation 5. From a efficiency standpoint, the one draw back of AW2725DF — and that is true of each QD-OLED monitor available on the market proper now — is that it gained’t produce true blacks in rooms with an excessive amount of ambient gentle.
At $900, it’s additionally costly. Nonetheless, the OLED market is so aggressive proper now. I’ve seen the AW2725DF go on sale a number of occasions over the previous couple of months, although it was solely launched earlier this yr.
- 360Hz refresh fee
- Improbable HDR efficiency
- Three-year burn-in protection
LG
Display screen dimension: 26.5-inch | Decision: 1440p | Refresh fee: 240Hz | Panel kind: WOLED | Response time: 0.03ms (GtG) | Side ratio: 16:9 | Brightness: 200 cd/m² | Weight: 16.2 kilos with stand
If the AW2725DF is out of the attain of your finances, however you’re intent on shopping for an OLED, then final yr’s LG 27GR95QE-B is value contemplating. It encompasses a 27-inch 1440p OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh fee and sub-1ms pixel response occasions. In movement, the 27GR95QE-B performs a shade worse than the ASUS PG27AQN highlighted beneath, however it gives considerably higher HDR efficiency.
There are some notable drawbacks to think about. Because it sports activities a earlier technology WOLED panel, the 27GR95QE-B options noticeably worse textual content fringing than the present crop of OLED gaming displays. It additionally has a matte coating that some individuals declare brings down picture high quality. Oh, and it could possibly’t get brighter than about 250 nits. Nonetheless, for all its faults, the 27GR95QE-B is ceaselessly on sale. As of the writing of this text, I discovered it was $400 off on LG’s web site.
- 240Hz refresh fee
- Glorious HDR efficiency
- Ceaselessly discounted
LG
Display screen dimension: 31.46-inch | Decision: 4K and 1080p | Refresh fee: 240Hz and 480Hz | Panel kind: WOLED | Response time: 0.03ms (GtG) | Side ratio: 16:9 | Brightness: 275 cd/m² | Weight: 19.8 kilos with stand
If cash is not any object and also you play a mixture of immersive video games and aggressive shooters, the LG 32GS95UE-B would possibly simply be the monitor for you. It gives one thing no different monitor on this record does: it’s each a 4K, 240Hz show and a FHD, 480Hz one. Furthermore, it could possibly swap between these two modes with the press of a button. Sure, the 1080p output appears to be like muddy stretched throughout a 32-inch display, however for a function that extends the flexibility of an already unimaginable monitor, that’s a small sacrifice.
At $1,400, the 2GS95UE-B is the costliest monitor on this record. However in the event you’re out there for a 4K show, chances are high you already spent some huge cash constructing a PC that may drive that many pixels.
- Twin 4K and 1080p modes
- As much as 480Hz refresh fee
- OLED
- Very costly
- Low pixel density at FHD
AOC
Display screen dimension: 27-inch | Decision: 2,560 x 1,440 | Refresh fee: 180Hz | Panel kind: VA | Response time: 1ms GtG | Side ratio: 16:9 | Brightness: 1000 cd/m² | Weight: 11.9 kilos with stand
If each the AW2725DF and LG 27GR95QE-B are too costly to your finances, however you’d nonetheless wish to play video games with correct HDR help, think about the Q27G3XMN. It’s a mini-LED monitor that provides HDR efficiency that’s inferior to the OLEDs on this record, however much better than any edge-lit LCD you’ll discover proper now. Better of all, it’s solely priced at $280. This monitor is so in style proper now AOC is having hassle maintaining with demand.
- Comparatively reasonably priced
- True HDR efficiency
- Quick sufficient
- Restricted availability
- Anticipate some smearing
- No USB ports
ASUS
Display screen dimension: 27-inch | Decision: 1440p | Refresh fee: 360Hz | Panel kind: IPS LCD | Response time: 1ms (GtG) | Side ratio: 16:9 | Brightness: 600 cd/m² | Weight: 18.52 kilos with stand
If the considered spending $1,000 on an OLED monitor that would at some point undergo from burn-in offers you pause, the ASUS PG27AQN is a safer high-end choice. Though it’s virtually two years outdated now, the PG27AQN stays top-of-the-line esports displays available on the market, providing a formidable 360Hz refresh fee, 1ms response occasions and NVIDIA’s ULMB 2 strobing expertise. The PG27AQN additionally comes with a NVIDIA Reflex module, which you need to use to see how your mouse, CPU and GPU contribute to your system’s total latency.
The PG27AQN was once one of many costlier displays you would purchase, however now usually goes on sale and is a good choice for individuals who need each doable benefit after they go to play their favourite shooters.
- 360Hz refresh fee
- ULMB 2 backlight strobing
- NVIDIA Reflex module included
- Poor HDR efficiency
- Costly for an LCD
AOC
Display screen Measurement: 23.8-inch | Decision: 1,920 x 1080 | Refresh fee: 180 Hz | Panel kind: VA | Response fee: 4ms (gtg) | Side ratio: 16:9 | Brightness: 250 cd/m² | Weight: 6.9 kilos with stand
In 2024, there are solely two causes to purchase a 1080p monitor: Both you need the quickest doable show, otherwise you need to spend as little as doable whereas nonetheless getting stable efficiency. If the latter is true, I’d go for the AOC 24G15. For $110, you’ll get a 24-inch display with a excessive distinction VA panel, 180Hz refresh fee and 1ms response fee. Notice that AOC additionally sells a 27-inch model of the 24G15 for about $30 extra. I’d keep away from that mannequin; it gained’t look good as a consequence of low pixel density.
- Reasonably priced
- 180Hz refresh fee
- 1ms response fee
- Low decision
- Anticipate some smearing
How we check gaming displays
Whereas I’ve not used each product really useful in our record, I’ve extensively examined dozens of gaming displays up to now, together with fashions with WOLED and QD-OLED panels. Within the case of the Alienware monitor highlighted above, I purchased one for myself with my very own cash. Individually, I spent dozens of hours over a two-year interval researching gaming displays to put in writing the present model of this information.
Elements to think about earlier than shopping for a gaming monitor
LCD vs OLED
When searching for a gaming monitor, you first must resolve if you wish to go along with a display that has an LCD or OLED panel. For most individuals, that alternative will come down to cost: OLED gaming displays are costlier than their LCD counterparts. Even when cash isn’t a priority, the selection won’t be as simple as you suppose; each LCD and OLED panels are available a number of completely different flavors and figuring out the variations between every kind is vital to creating an knowledgeable resolution.
To begin, LCD displays are available three completely different varieties: twisted nematic (TN), vertical alignment (VA) or in-plane switching (IPS). For essentially the most half, you need to keep away from TN displays except you’re strapped for money or need a monitor with the quickest doable refresh fee. TN screens function the worst viewing angles, distinction ratios and colours of the group.
The variations between VA and IPS panels are extra refined. Traditionally, VA gaming displays featured slower pixel response occasions than their TN and IPS counterparts, resulting in unpleasant picture smearing. Nonetheless, that’s improved in recent times. VA panels additionally ceaselessly sport higher distinction ratios than each TN and IPS screens. They’re not dramatically higher than their IPS siblings on that entrance, however when distinction ratios aren’t an inherent power of LCDs, each bit helps.
However, IPS panels excel at coloration accuracy and lots of supply refresh charges and response occasions which might be as quick because the quickest TN panels. Nearly all of LCD gaming displays available on the market right this moment function IPS panels, although you’ll ceaselessly discover VA screens on ultrawide displays.
All about OLED
For those who can afford one, OLED screens make for the very best gaming displays. The flexibility of natural light-emitting diodes to supply true blacks is transformational; each recreation appears to be like higher when there isn’t a backlight to scrub out shadow element. What’s extra, with an OLED display, you’ll be able to expertise true HDR, one thing that LCDs aren’t recognized for.
In 2024, OLED screens are available two completely different flavors: WOLED and QD-OLED, with LG producing the previous and Samsung the latter. I gained’t bore you with the technical particulars of how the 2 panel sorts differ from each other aside from to notice each applied sciences broadly supply the identical set of shortcomings.
Most notably, OLED displays don’t get very shiny. At finest, essentially the most succesful fashions peak at round 250 nits when measuring brightness throughout your entire display. In my testing, I didn’t discover this was a problem, however your expertise could range relying on the ambient gentle in your gaming room.
If brightness is vital to you, be aware that as a consequence of producer tunings, completely different fashions can carry out higher than others, even when they function the identical panel from LG or Samsung. So it’s value evaluating displays in the identical class to search out the mannequin that’s best for you.
Individually, virtually all OLED screens function sub-pixel layouts that produce textual content fringing in Home windows. The most recent technology of OLED panels from each LG and Samsung are a lot better on this regard, to the purpose the place I’d say trendy OLEDs are ok for studying and picture modifying. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless value going to your native Micro Heart or Finest Purchase to see the mannequin you need in particular person, because the textual content fringing subject is difficult to seize in pictures and movies.
One other (probably extra severe) subject is burn-in. Natural light-emitting diodes can get “caught” in the event that they show the identical picture for lengthy durations of time. Each OLED gaming monitor you should buy in 2024 comes with options designed to forestall burn-in and different picture retention points. Offered you don’t use your new OLED monitor for eight hours of day by day productiveness work, you doubtless gained’t want to fret about burn-in an excessive amount of.
Display screen dimension, decision and facet ratio
After deciding the place you fall on the LCD vs OLED debate, you can begin eager about the scale of your future gaming monitor. Private desire and the restrictions of your gaming area will play an enormous half right here, however there are additionally a number of technical issues. It’s best to take into consideration dimension together with decision and facet ratio.
A 1440p monitor has 78 % extra pixels than a 1080p display, and a 4K show has greater than twice as many pixels as a QHD panel. As the scale of a monitor will increase, pixel density decreases except you additionally improve decision. For that motive, there are typically candy spots between dimension and backbone. For example, I wouldn’t suggest shopping for a FHD monitor that’s bigger than 24-inches or a QHD one greater than 27 inches. Conversely, textual content and interface components on a 4K monitor can look tiny with out scaling on panels smaller than 32 inches.
You additionally want to think about the efficiency prices of working video games at increased resolutions. The most recent entry-level GPUs can comfortably run most trendy video games at 1080p and 60 frames per second. They will even render some aggressive titles at 120 frames per second and better — however push them to run those self same video games at 1440p and past, and also you’re sure to run into issues. And as you’ll see in a second, a persistently excessive body fee is important to getting essentially the most out of the newest gaming displays.
In case your finances permits for it, 1440p gives the very best stability between visible readability and gaming efficiency. As for 1080p and 4K, I’d solely think about the previous in the event you’re on a good finances otherwise you solely play aggressive shooters like Valorant and Overwatch 2. For most individuals, the consumer expertise and productiveness advantages of QHD far outweigh the efficiency positive aspects you get from going with a decrease decision display.
Beforehand, I’d have stated 4K was not a viable decision for PC gaming, however then NVIDIA got here out with its 40 sequence GPUs. With these video playing cards providing the corporate’s DLSS 3 body technology expertise, there’s a case to be made that the expertise is lastly there to play 4K video games at an affordable body fee, notably in the event you solely play massive, AAA single-player video games like Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk 2077, or take pleasure in technique video games just like the Whole Conflict sequence. Nonetheless, even with body technology, you’ll need a GPU just like the $999 RTX 4080 Tremendous or $1,599 RTX 4090 to drive a 4K show. Plus, 4K gaming displays are inclined to price greater than their 1440p counterparts.
If you need an ultrawide, be aware that not each recreation helps the 21:9 facet ratio and fewer nonetheless help 32:9. When searching for a curved monitor, a decrease Radius, or ‘R’ quantity, signifies a extra aggressive curve. So, a 1000R monitor is extra curved than an 1800R one.
Refresh charges and response occasions
And now for the enjoyable stuff. All the motive to purchase a gaming monitor is for his or her skill to attract extra photographs than a standard PC show. As you store for a brand new display, you will notice fashions promoting refresh charges like 120Hz, 240Hz and 360Hz. The upper the refresh fee of a monitor, the extra occasions it could possibly replace the picture it shows on display each second, thereby producing a smoother shifting picture. In relation to video games like Overwatch, Valorant and League of Legends, a quicker refresh fee may give you a aggressive edge, however even immersive single-player video games can profit.
A monitor with a 360Hz refresh fee will look higher in movement than one with a 240Hz or 120Hz refresh fee, however there are diminishing returns. At 60Hz, the picture you see in your monitor is up to date each 16.67ms. At 120Hz, 240Hz and 360Hz, the hole between new frames shortens to eight.33ms, 4.17ms and a couple of.78ms, respectively. Put one other means, though a 360Hz monitor can show 50 % extra frames than a 240Hz display in a given time interval, you’ll solely see a speedup of 1.14ms between body intervals. And all that depends upon your GPU’s skill to render a constant 360 frames per second.
In the end, a quick monitor will do you no good if you do not have a graphics card that may sustain. For instance, with a 1440p 360Hz monitor, you realistically want a GPU just like the RTX 4070 Tremendous or RTX 4080 Tremendous to saturate that show whereas enjoying aggressive video games like Overwatch 2 and Valorant.
There’s additionally extra to movement readability than refresh charges alone. Simply as vital are response occasions, or the period of time it takes for pixels to transition from one coloration to a different after which again once more. Displays with sluggish response occasions have a tendency to supply smearing that’s distracting it doesn’t matter what type of recreation you’re enjoying. Sadly, response occasions are additionally one of many extra opaque features of selecting the very best gaming monitor to your wants.
Many LCD monitor producers declare their merchandise function 1ms gray-to-gray (GtG) response occasions, but they don’t deal with movement blur to the identical commonplace. One of many causes for that’s that many firms are inclined to cherry decide GtG outcomes that make their displays look higher on paper. In 2022, the Video Electronics Requirements Affiliation (VESA) created a brand new certification program to handle that downside, however the grading system is unwieldy and, so far as I can inform, hasn’t had a whole lot of pickup from producers.
For now, your finest wager is to show to assets like Rtings and Displays Unboxed when searching for a brand new gaming monitor. Each shops conduct in depth testing of each display they overview, and current their findings and proposals in a means that’s simple to know.
FreeSync vs G-Sync
Regardless of how highly effective your system, it’s going to generally fail to take care of a constant framerate. In reality, you need to count on body fee fluctuations when enjoying graphically-intensive video games like Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk 2077. For these moments, you need a gaming show with adaptive sync. In any other case, you’ll be able to run into display tearing.
Adaptive sync applied sciences are available a number of flavors. The 2 you’re most definitely to come across are AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync, and every has its personal set of efficiency tiers. With G-Sync, as an illustration, they’re – from lowest to highest – G-Sync Appropriate, G-Sync and G-Sync Final.
The excellent news is that you simply don’t must suppose an excessive amount of about which adaptive sync expertise a show helps. Within the early days of the tech, it was uncommon to see a gaming monitor that provided each FreeSync and G-Sync, since together with the latter meant a producer needed to equip their show with a devoted processor from NVIDIA. That modified in 2019 when the corporate launched its G-Sync Appropriate certification. In 2023, if a monitor helps FreeSync, it’s virtually definitely G-Sync Appropriate too, which means you’ll be able to take pleasure in tear-free gaming whether or not you’re utilizing an AMD or NVIDIA GPU.
In reality, I’d go as far as to say you shouldn’t make your buying resolution primarily based on the extent of adaptive sync efficiency a monitor gives. As of the writing of this information, the record of G-Sync Final-certified shows is lower than two dozen fashions lengthy, and a few are a number of years outdated now.
Inputs
Virtually each gaming show available on the market proper now comes with at the least one DisplayPort 1.4 connection, and that’s the port it would be best to use to attach your new monitor to your graphics card. For those who personal a PS5 or Xbox Sequence X/S, it’s additionally value searching for displays that include HDMI 2.1 ports, as these will help you get essentially the most out of your present technology console.
A phrase about HDR
As quick and responsive gaming displays have change into in recent times, there’s one space the place progress has been frustratingly sluggish: HDR efficiency. Nearly all of gaming displays at present on sale, together with most high-end fashions, solely meet VESA’s DisplayHDR 400 certification. As somebody who has owned one such monitor, let me inform you proper now it’s not even value turning on HDR on these screens. You’ll solely be upset.
The excellent news is that issues are getting higher, albeit slowly. The discharge of Home windows 11 did so much to enhance the state of HDR on PC, and extra video games are delivery with competent HDR modes, not simply ones that improve the brightness of highlights. Sadly, if you’d like a correct HDR expertise on PC, you’ll doubtless must shell out for an OLED monitor.
Gaming monitor FAQs
Are curved displays higher for gaming?
It depends upon private desire. Many manufactures declare curved displays supply a extra immersive gaming expertise as a result of means the show wraps round your sight view. Nonetheless, I discover the sting distortion distracting, notably if you improve the sector of view in a recreation. Strive one for your self to see in the event you just like the impact.
What facet ratio ought to I search for in a gaming monitor?
The quick reply is both 16:9 or 21:9. The lengthy reply is that the overwhelming majority of 24-, 27- and 32-inch gaming displays function 16:9 facet ratio panels, and that’s been the case for a few years. In reality, practically each recreation made within the final 20 years helps 16:9 resolutions similar to 1,920 x 1,080 and a couple of,560 x 1,440. And in the event you purchase a normal sized monitor, you gained’t want to fret about letterboxing.
Within the case of ultrawides, 21:9 is the most typical facet ratio, with some very broad fashions sporting 32:9 panels. Amongst video games, help for 21:9 and 32:9 resolutions is way from common, so don’t be stunned if a recreation doesn’t fill the whole lot of your display. Nonetheless, in the event you’re set on an ultrawide, it’s a small value to pay for the additional display actual property.
Is OLED good for gaming?
Sure, OLED displays are glorious for gaming. Not solely do they provide glorious movement readability and enter latency, however they’re additionally simply the very best shows for HDR gaming. If cash is not any object, and also you primarily use your PC for gaming, you’ll be able to’t go fallacious with an OLED monitor.
How a lot does gaming monitor price?
Whilst you may simply spend greater than $1,000 to acquire the very best gaming monitor available on the market now, the truth is that the finances and midrange classes have by no means been extra aggressive. In 2015, I spent $500 CAD to purchase a 1080p monitor with a 144Hz refresh fee and TN panel. The $110 AOC mannequin I spotlight above will not be solely cheaper than my first gaming monitor, it encompasses a quicker 180 Hz refresh fee and the next distinction VA panel.