The best gaming monitor is an incredibly important piece of a PC gamer's setup. Why spend lots of money on a gaming PC if you're going to play it through a tiny, 20-year-old workstation monitor? Fortunately, there are many great gaming monitors available today, including those offering ultra high-refresh 1080p, zippy 1440p options, high-fidelity 4K, and a slew of ultrawide panels.
While we're expecting further fantastic panels throughout 2025, right now the best gaming monitor is the MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED. It's got a stunning OLED panel, one that you normally find in some fantastic gaming monitors but for less money. Check out our guide to the best OLED gaming monitors for even more options.
You need to match your monitor choice with your PC specs to get the most for your money. A 4K monitor with a high refresh rate would likely be overkill if your rig has an older graphics card, and for those cases, the BenQ Mobiuz EX240 is the best budget 1080p monitor at the moment. If you prefer high refresh over resolution, check out our guide to the best high refresh rate gaming monitors.
Dave's been testing PC hardware for the best part of 20 years and has seen every kind of screen imaginable. As such he knows what makes a good gaming monitor and what makes a bad one, too. Whether it's LCD, OLED, mini-LED, or plain ol' CRT, he's had his eyeballs on them all and has personally checked out all of the best gaming monitors on this list.
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The best overall
This MSI 4K display is the best overall gaming monitor we've ever tested. It's a beautiful, sumptuous OLED panel, for much less than its OLED competition. Still pricey though, I'll grant you.
The best 4K
The LG UltraGear 27GR93U is LG's IPS tech at its best. It's absolutely gorgeous with colors that are accurately calibrated. With key gaming quotas reached for refresh rate and response time, it's the best in show for a standard 4K panel.
The best budget 4K
Gigabyte's more affordable 4K monitors go down a treat. They're fast and bright where it counts, and they offer USB hubs despite their good value. The stand is a bit basic, but I'll take it.
The best 1440p
Xiaomi's little 27-inch 1440p monitor is great, with an IPS screen with great contrast and colors, 180 Hz refresh rate, and a 1 ms response time. It doesn't have a USB-C port or included speakers but has pretty much everything else you would need from a monitor of its size and spec.
The best budget 1440p
The PXC277 doesn't look like a bargain basement item it might have done. At this price point, it could be forgiven for making the odd misstep, but that's not actually necessary. This monitor delivers: The Pixio PXC277 Advanced does almost everything pretty darned well.
The best budget 1080p
Strictly not to be confused with the Mobiuz EX240N—and that's very important because it's a far worse monitor—this 1080p IPS display is a proper 165 Hz gaming monitor that ticks all the boxes for mainstream PC gaming.
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The best ultrawide
This dual-4K monster does things no other gaming display can. Admittedly, the mini-LED technology can't match OLED for lighting precision and panel response. And it costs an enormous pile of money. But this is still one of the most spectacular gaming experiences currently available.
The best budget ultrawide
A contrasty VA panel, with plenty of backlight punch, reasonable pixel response, and a high enough refresh rate for most gamer's purposes. All this for $370? Impressive.
The best 42-inch
The ROG Swift brings all the best parts of the LG C2 into the gaming space, improving it in a host of ways that gamers will be better pleased with. Sure the adjustments are limited, but the PG42UQ is a gamer's bestie where it matters and another champion for the OLED cause.
The best 1440p OLED
If you prefer a smaller resolution and a higher refresh rate, this is the OLED gaming monitor for you. It's the ultimate 1440p monitor, but it's so expensive it disqualifies itself from contention for many gamers.
The best OLED ultrawide
With superb image quality, excellent text handling and a super-fast 240 Hz refresh rate, there's very little not to like about this stunning OLED display. Oh, apart from the price.
The best budget OLED ultrawide
Alienware has created one of the best ultrawide gaming monitors and changed the perception of OLED screens for gaming, not least because you can often find one for a reasonable price. This is the glossy panel version, too, and it's sumptuous.
The best high-end OLED
LG has turned the tables on Samsung with its latest WOLED panel technology. Brighter than before and combined here with glorious 4K pixel density and image sharpness, it elbows Samsung QD-OLED tech aside and slots in as the best money can currently buy. But my goodness, that price!
The best dual-mode
Should you wish for screaming fast refresh rates at 1080p but some lovely detail (and a more sedate rate) at 4K, the Alienware does its darndest to give you both. It's a pricey consideration, however, but if you want to switch it up on the regular, it's the best choice.
Recent updates
Updated February 5, 2025 to add the Acer Predator X39 OLED into the also tested section, and the Alienware AW2725QF as the best dual-mode gaming monitor, along with the odd navigation fix and copy refresh. All our recommendations were checked, and remain the same.
Best gaming monitor
✅ You want a brilliant OLED panel, but cheaper: The same great panel as some of the best OLEDs we've tested, but for less. Yep, that'll do.
❌ You're on a budget: It might be cheaper than the competition, but it's still not exactly, well, cheap. OLEDs still come with a hefty price tag, and as a result, you might be better off looking at less expensive options below.
When it comes to the best gaming monitor, we're finally in a place where we can recommend OLED displays. They've been the best for a while now, but the price has often been a holdback despite the incredible benefits of the tech. The MSI MPG 321URX is simply the best gaming monitor you can buy right now, by virtue of the fact that it uses the same panel as some of our OLED favorites, but comes in a lot cheaper.
Being an OLED, it's got response times that make other monitors blush. With a 240 Hz refresh rate and a stated 0.03ms response time, it's about as speedy as you'll get without opting for an esports-focused mega-refresh rate display, and most of those focus on 1080p resolution. Here, you get the full 4K shebang.
And what a panel. The color reproduction is sumptuous, thanks to an excellent glossy coating and all that OLED goodness, and the blacks are great, too. QD-OLED displays can look a little grey under lots of ambient light, but it's not as big an issue here as we've seen on other monitors of this type.
Of course, being an OLED display there's always burn-in to worry about, but the MSI does its darndest to mitigate that with plenty of built-in tech. And the three-year burn-in warranty should take some of the anxiety out of the equation.
The DisplayHDR 400 mode is plenty punchy, while the 1,000-nit HDR mode is better for highlights. It's a bit of a pain to switch between them, but then HDR is still a mess on Windows, unfortunately.
Design-wise, it's nothing particularly special, but then it's not a bad-looking chassis either. MSI has kept the cost down in certain regards, it's true, but really what you care about here is that fantastic panel, for a reasonable price.
What you end up with is a 32-inch 4K OLED monitor that can often be found for $899 or less. That's in stark contrast to its 32-inch OLED competition, which normally ranges around the $1,100 to $1,300 mark. And really, when you factor in what you're getting here and the substantial costs of OLED technology as a whole, that makes it a bit of a bargain.
All things being relative, of course. But this is a staggeringly good display that undercuts its rivals significantly, and as a result, it's the best gaming monitor you can buy right now. It can be a little difficult to get hold of as a result, but if you manage to snag one of these, you're getting all the main benefits of OLED tech for less.
If you still want OLED fun but don't need the 4K resolution, the MSI MPG 271QRX is well worth a look, or if you want something more budget, then the IPS Gigabyte M28U is our top pick. Still, the MSI MPG 321URX is an OLED display at prices that just about start to make sense, and as a result, it's the one to beat.
Read our full MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED review.
Best 4K gaming monitor
✅ You want a top-notch 144Hz 27-inch 4K gaming panel: While this LG model doesn't offer anything especially new, what it does have is all exceptionally good.
❌ You want OLED perfection: Let's face it, you're not going to get a quality 4K OLED for $500 right now, which leaves this LG as the best 4K monitor for most mere mortals.
The LG UltraGear 27GR93U is the best 4K gaming monitor for its stellar picture quality and all-round performance. It might not be the flashiest monitor around and doesn't have the depth of image the latest OLEDs offer, but it delivers the fundamentals of a great 4K gaming monitor better than most LCD panels and comes at a decent price, too.
LG makes a lot of panels for monitors, but it's paid particular care with this monitor to tune it wonderfully out of the box. Just plug this monitor in, boot up your favourite game (I recommend something vibrant, like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora) and you'll quickly realise just how gorgeous this screen is. There's loads of pop to the picture without going overboard and oversaturating.
As a 27-inch, 4K panel, the resolution squeezes plenty of pixels per inch. That means it's a supremely clear picture and great for gaming but also handles text with aplomb. That said, it's not as immersive as some ultrawide gaming monitors, which will wrap around your vision, and being a full 4K panel this LG will actually often require more graphical power than most traditional ultrawides with fewer pixels overall.
Being a 4K display, you'll likely need a fairly powerful graphics card to run this UltraGear gaming monitor at its fullest. It runs up to 144 Hz, which is plenty attainable with modern GPUs (especially now that Multi Frame Generation is a thing), though you might want to turn on the upscaling to help you reach full speed. It depends on the game and your personal hardware configuration, however.
We recommend you switch on HDR with this monitor, despite it only scraping in with 400 nits of peak brightness. It still looks really great with both HDR and SDR content with HDR enabled, which is a pleasant surprise.
The LG UltraGear 27GR93U is a really strong pick for gamers looking for a monitor that will show off the best of 4K gaming (this side of an OLED, anyway). Also, it's great for editing content on and working with throughout the day—it's a really flexible monitor. Though not literally, unlike some, so don't try and bend it in half.
Read our full LG UltraGear 27GR93U review.
Best budget 4K gaming monitor
✅ You want a great budget 4K panel: High-resolution panels are a joy to work and play on but they're usually very expensive. Not this one.
❌ You don't have a powerful graphics card: As with all 4K panels, running it at a lower resolution doesn't look nice and you really need a top-end GPU to make the most of this monitor.
The best budget 4K gaming monitor is the Gigabyte M28U. And yes, budget and 4K are not words often seen together. Yet Gigabyte is offering a cheaper 4K panel than most here, and it's still a glorious IPS.
With a 28-inch IPS panel, the M28U offers plenty of pixels per inch. The result is a super clear and crisp picture while gaming, which is paired well with the rich tone of the IPS. For a bright and vibrant game such as Deathloop, it's honestly stunning. As long as you avoid using it in HDR mode, that is, as like many IPS panels it doesn't offer the best HDR experience out there.
What's impressive about the Gigabyte M28U is just how much tech is stuffed into its frame for the money. Beyond the pretty speedy IPS panel, there's a USB hub on the rear that includes multiple Type-A connections. Useful if you want to keep your cables tidy and run your mouse and cable directly to the monitor itself.
The stand is perhaps the only let-down, but I'm willing to let this one slide. It's sturdy enough and offers some height and tilt adjustment, but it's a bit plasticky and not altogether as flexible as some. Though something had to give for this price bracket, and I'm happy it's the stand that's been trimmed back rather than the panel or refresh rate.
You can't go wrong with the Gigabyte M28U, assuming you have the graphics card capable of driving it. We've been using this monitor in the team for over two years now and it's still performing as well as the day we pulled it from its box.
Read our full Gigabyte M28U review.
Best 1440p gaming monitor
✅ You want the best 1440p monitor: Xiaomi has put together a venerable specification here: Mini-LED, a high refresh rate, and an IPS panel for how much?
❌ You see yourself upgrading to 4K in the future: This is the best choice for someone looking to get a 1440p monitor but, if your PC can handle it and you fancy upgrading to 4K, there are cheaper 1440p options to tide you over.
A surprise hit, the Xiaomi G Pro 27I is our pick for the best 1440p gaming monitor. It's a prized and heavily contested spot, too. I think many PC gamers would agree that 1440p and above 160 Hz is a desirable blend of speed and resolution, and that means there are heaps of gaming monitors vying for your attention. But the Xiaomi has absolutely got mine.
At 27 inches, this is about as big as you'd want to go at 1440p. While bigger is certainly possible, such as the Dell S3222DGM, you'll start to notice each pixel as the pixel density decreases. The Xiaomi offers a decent density by comparison.
With a 180 Hz refresh rate, 1 ms response time, and IPS mini-LED panel, Xiaomi is ticking many of the boxes I'd like to see ticked with a 1440p gaming monitor and more.
Mini-LED is a technology that aims to get rid of the singular bright backlight and replace it with, well, miniature backlights. This monitor, specifically, has 1,152 local dimming zones, or tiny backlit zones, each of which can light up or dim as required. The result is a screen with greater ability to show off contrast and reach high levels of brightness.
The downside is that mini-LED, despite the name, is not quite mini enough. The zones, while many, are still too few compared to, say, OLED, which uses self-emissive pixels and therefore has as many zones as pixels. That's a lot, and the Xiaomi's mini-LED backlight can't compete.
Still, it's an improvement on a traditional IPS, and we're talking about a much more affordable monitor here than even your most heavily discounted OLED. It's the best of a well-priced bunch.
Often the biggest indicator of where companies cut back on this kind of monitor is the brightness but, if anything, the Xiaomi can be a bit too bright, though turning that down is easy. If you pop this next to a normal IPS panel, it will not only outshine it but offer a greater contrast with colors, making it excellent for gaming.
The stand is also solid here, and, though it's a bit old-fashioned with four screws that attach vertically, it's more than capable of holding up that impressive screen. Unfortunately, it has no USB-C port, which means it doesn't really function as a hub and has no included speakers so you will not have to get/use your own.
However, it has tonnes of connectivity ports, which make it a great second monitor too and isn't too heavy. There's plenty to like here, especially for the cash.
Read our full Xioami G Pro 27i review.
Best budget 1440p gaming monitor
✅ You want a great value 1440p monitor: You're getting a spec list here that would have set you back double this price just a few years ago.
❌ You want to use HDR in games: The peak brightness and weak backlighting don't help the HDR experience, so you'll be sticking to SDR at all times.
The reason I've picked the Pixio PXC277 Advanced as the best budget 1440p gaming monitor is that it's such a solid all-rounder for the price. This is what you want, really, from a budget screen—no unnecessary bells and whistles, just a monitor that delivers in all the right areas.
The PXC277 Advanced certainly provides bang for your buck. For a pretty cheap price tag, you're getting a 27-inch, 165 Hz monitor with a claimed 1 ms response time and up to 320 nits brightness. (Note that this brightness is higher than many more expensive VA panels.)
Naturally, that 1 ms response time is a kind of best-case scenario, and in practice, as we'd expect from a VA panel, it's not quite so snappy. But if you get the settings just right (overdrive set to low) there's little overshoot or ghosting and it feels decently quick.
In practice, all this makes for a monitor that should suit anyone looking for a cheap but very cheerful 1440p gaming monitor today. It's sufficiently fast and snappy, and, most importantly, you're getting a damn good picture straight out of the box. Although it has a predictably lacklustre HDR experience, the monitor's pretty accurately calibrated and things look reasonably vibrant for such a cheap monitor, with the lovely deep blacks and stellar contrast that you'd expect from a VA panel.
And to top it all off, it doesn't look budget at all on the desk, thanks to its slim bezels and tri-leg metal stand. I reckon this would be a great addition to anyone's desk, and certainly for the price.
Read our full Pixio PXC277 Advanced review.
Best budget 1080p gaming monitor
✅ You just want a great budget 1080p monitor: There are no frills or fancy tech here, just a good, solid panel that's fast and looks nice.
❌ You're expecting decent HDR support: While it can handle a HDR signal, this BenQ panel is far better suited to SDR gaming. You'll only be disappointed if you try to run it in high dynamic range.
What the Pixio PXC277 Advanced does for budget 1440p gaming, the BenQ Mobiuz EX240 does for budget 1080p gaming. In other words, it's the best budget 1080p gaming monitor because it offers a very well-rounded, "can't fault that" package, focusing on delivering a solid gaming experience for a reasonable $200 price tag.
The EX240 is well-suited to budget gamers—especially competitive gamers playing esports titles—or those who don't have one of the best graphics cards capable of churning out frames at higher resolutions. This means it goes well with a budget gaming PC, too.
What the EX240 really shows, though, is how far monitors have come in such a short time span. It's not too long ago you'd be paying an arm and a leg for a 165 Hz IPS panel that reaches 350 nits peak brightness, whether 1080p or not.
This thing isn't just a looker on paper, though, it's plenty vibrant and punchy in practice, with decent viewing angles to boot. Bear in mind we're talking about an IPS panel, too, which should be more snappy than a VA, which we found to bear out in testing. Its 1 ms MPRT response time probably means something like a 2 ms GtG response time, but we found it to feel very responsive with very little motion blur. We couldn't notice any significant difference between this and a "true" 1 ms panel.
Oh, and while these things are always subjective, I reckon the chassis looks pretty great, too. It certainly doesn't scream "budget." A solid all-rounder, then, if you're looking to keep your resolution down low.
Read our full BenQ Mobiuz EX240 review.
