The best gaming monitor looks different depending on what you need. Maybe you’re after a 21:9 aspect ratio. Maybe you want a 1440p or even 4K gaming monitor, or upgrade to a higher refresh rate to complement it. 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 monitors also support adaptive sync, including AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, which reduces screen tearing during gaming, 1ms response time or less, and HDR.
While gaming monitors tend to be expensive, they are not all created equal. If you want the best 24-inch monitor, look no further Acer Predator XB253Q GW (Available on Amazon) . It gives you the feeling of an extra-large, extra-fast gaming monitor that costs hundreds less than the average ultra-wide-screen display. However, if you don’t mind going a little bigger, our list has several great choices, some of which are faster or offer better picture quality overall.
Credit: Review / Matthew S. Smith
Acer’s 24-inch beauty packs a punch on all fronts, making it the best gaming monitor for most people.
Credit: Reviewed / Tim Renzi
The Gigabyte G24F 2 has good color accuracy and a brilliantly fast refresh rate on a budget.
Other gaming monitors we’ve tested
How we test gaming monitors
examiner
Matthew S. Smith is a technology journalist, reviewer and editor with 14 years of experience. He has tested more than 600 laptop and desktop displays over the past decade, keeping a log of his findings for future reference. In addition to evaluating monitors, laptops, and other gear for Reviewed, you can find his monitor reviews published on Insider, IGN, and Digital Trends.
The tests
We used a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration tool to objectively assess monitor quality for this list. This tool can measure numerous technical details of a monitor including: brightness, black level, contrast ratio, white point, color gamut, color accuracy, gamma curve and uniformity.
Gaming monitors should also be tested for motion clarity and responsiveness. We judged this by first observing Blur Buster’s UFO Test And then running several games to measure real-world performance. We look not only for motion clarity but also for 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 is easy to adjust. They offer USB ports and a wide range of image customization. We consider these features when making our final selection.
These results are logged and kept in a spreadsheet Reviewing uses an in-house rubric to balance our recorded results and provide an objective ranking.
Price is important, as well. The most expensive monitors tend to perform better, but that’s not surprising given their cost. We think a great gaming monitor should deliver amazing visuals, smooth gameplay and unmatched value.
What you should know about gaming monitors
What size gaming monitor do I need?
Finding the right size 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:
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24-inch monitor: They are popular among both competitive and casual gamers and offer the highest possible refresh rate ensuring smooth and responsive gameplay. The most common resolution for this size is 1080p.
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27-inch monitor: The most common next step, and the largest size that makes sense to most people. These monitors range from budget options to over $1,000 and range in 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions.
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32-inch monitor: Provides plenty of screen real estate but may be too large to fit on most people’s desks. The most common resolution for this size is 4K, as anything less than this can appear blurry and make text unreadable.
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Ultrawide Gaming Monitor: Typically about 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 every desk.
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Extra large monitor: The largest gaming monitors you can get and include everything from curved 48-inch flatscreen OLEDs to 49-inch ultrawide monitors and beyond. Unless you’re sitting a few feet from your desk, these monitors are a poor fit for competitive gaming because large portions of the screen will be in your peripheral vision.
What resolution do I need—1080p, 4K, or something else?
Gamers have many choices in resolution, but your choice may be guided by your budget and the performance of your gaming PC.
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1080p: 1920 x 1080 resolution, better known as 1080p, is very common in budget gaming displays, and is found in most displays that exceed a refresh rate of 144Hz. It does not provide sharp images but can offer extremely smooth gameplay. It works well alongside a mid-range video card which is a major advantage.
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1440p: 2560 x 1440, abbreviated to 1440p, is a resolution rarely called for outside of PC gaming. It is very popular in mid-range gaming monitors and offers 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.
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4K: 3820 x 2160, better known as 4K, gets a lot of hype but is not often used in gaming monitors, as 4K monitors with increased refresh rates are practically expensive. In fact, no 4K high-refresh monitors are recommended in this guide. In addition to the price of the monitor, you also need to factor in the cost of a new high-end video card.
Three LCD panel types: IPS, VA and TN
A monitor’s LCD panel sits between its glass or plastic surface and the LED backlight behind it, and is largely responsible for a monitor’s picture quality. There are three different technologies that you may encounter here.
- IPS: It stands for “in-plane switching”. IPS panels tend to be brighter, with better colors and ghosting behind fast-moving objects. However, IPS cannot show deep black levels, which is a problem in movies and games.
Despite this, many gaming monitors use an IPS panel because it’s a cost-effective and efficient way to achieve smooth motion. Gamers are often willing to trade some image quality for this benefit.
- VA: It means “vertical alignment.” This panel technology has a much higher contrast than IPS or TN and its color performance is not bad either. VA panels have poorer viewing angles than IPS, but this problem is less noticeable on a monitor, since you’ll usually be sitting directly in front of it.
The motion clarity of the best VA panels is similar to that of an IPS display, but with more variation. In general, this technology is best for gamers who are willing to trade some motion clarity for better image quality.
- TN: It means “twisted nematic”. These are the cheapest panels and usually perform poorly in color, contrast and viewing angles They have fast response times and are a popular option for very affordable, high-refresh gaming monitors.
Newer and more responsive IPS panels have eroded TN’s advantage, and we expect TN to become completely obsolete within a few years.
Want more general help buying the right type of monitor? Check us out Guide to buying a monitor.
Other gaming monitor features to consider
HDR Meaning “high dynamic range”. HDR Monitors have a wider color gamut and contrast, giving you higher diversity and color intensity. You’ll see brighter whites and darker blacks, and all colors in the spectrum with greater vibrancy and clarity.
coherent Features like GeForce’s G-Sync and AMD FreeSync match your monitor’s refresh rate to your graphics card’s refresh rate to keep your images moving smoothly. Without it, you may see visual stuttering, or even “screen tearing” that creates horizontal breaks in your video. If your graphics card operates at 56 frames per second, a good sync software will refresh your monitor at 56Hz.
In addition to smoothing out video, it can also reduce input lag, where you experience a delay between pressing a button on your controller and seeing an action performed in-game. Input lag is frustrating in any gaming situation, but it’s especially life-or-death in multiplayer games.