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 2024, 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 be overkill if your rig only packs a GTX 1060, 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.
The Quick List
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, we'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 with us. They're fast and bright where it counts, and they offer USB hubs despite their good value. The stands are a bit basic, but we'll take it.
The best 1440p
Thermaltake has stormed out the gate with its first gaming monitor; it's a zinger. A 27-inch IPS panel with a 165 Hz refresh rate and 1 ms response—standard, yes, but it's really good-looking.
The best budget 1440p
The PXC277 doesn't look like a bargain basement item it might have done. At this price point, we were willing to make a few excuses, 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 the most spectacular gaming experience currently available.
The best budget ultrawide
A contrasty VA panel, plenty of backlight punch provided you run the screen in HDR mode (where SDR content looks better anyway), reasonable pixel response, and high enough refresh for most gamer's purposes. That you can have all this for $370 is fantastic.
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 most 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. This is the cheaper version of Alienware's OLED and the better, glossy version.
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 boy, oh, boy, that price!
Recent updates
Updated October 4, 2024 to check that all of our recommendations are up-to-date and include our most recent monitor reviews. We've even done a bit of spring cleaning to fix a few greebles even though it's not spring.
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 hold back, 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 a three year burn-in warranty that 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 benefits of the 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 showing off lots of text. 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 computational power than most traditional ultrawides with fewer pixels overall.
That's the thing, you will need a mighty graphics card to run this UltraGear gaming monitor at its fullest. It runs up to 144 Hz, which is attainable with modern GPUs, though you'll likely want to turn to upscaling methods to help you reach full speed. It depends on the game, 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 single-player gamers looking for a gaming monitor that will show them the best of their games and the best of 4K gaming. 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 yeah, budget and 4K are not words often seen together. Yet Gigabyte is offering a cheaper 4K panel than most here, and yet 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 is stuffed into the Gigabyte M28U 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 on the M28U, 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 got it.
Read our full Gigabyte M28U review.
Best 1440p gaming monitor
✅ You want the best 1440p monitor: Thermaltake hasn't rewritten any rules with this model but it has produced a very good 1440p gaming panel.
❌ You want to power a laptop with the USB hub: The KVM switch is very useful but the 15W USB-C power delivery is barely good enough for a phone, let alone another PC.
A surprise hit, the Thermaltake TGM-I27FQ 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 165Hz are the perfect blend of speed and resolution, and that means there are heaps of gaming monitors vying for your attention. But the TGM-I27FQ has absolutely got ours.
This is one of the first gaming monitors out of Thermaltake. Ever. You wouldn't expect such high results from a new entrant, yet it's becoming something of a theme in gaming monitors. After all, ASRock's first line of gaming monitors are also fantastic, and superb value. But less about them, let's talk Thermaltake.
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 Thermaltake offers a decent density by comparison.
With a 165 Hz refresh rate, 1 ms response time, and IPS panel, Thermaltake is ticking all the boxes we would like to be ticked with a 1440p gaming monitor. In a way, then, this monitor isn't doing anything radical, but it's the best of a well-priced bunch that we've seen in getting this stuff right.
The stand is also solid here, and offers proper adjustments including rotation, if you're into that. The only weird bit of this entire monitor is the little Thermaltake logo projector, which I'd rather Thermaltake kept for themselves. I don't need a brand name beamed onto my desk, thank you very much. At least the RGB lighting on the rear isn't so egregious.
With both AMD and Nvidia variable refresh rate support, this is what we'd consider a great 1440p gaming monitor for a wide range of PC gamers.
Read our full Thermaltake TGM-I27FQ 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 we'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 delivers in the right areas. 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 most mainstream gamers today. It's sufficiently fast and snappy, and, most importantly, you're getting a damn good picture experience 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, this thing doesn't look budget at all on the desk, thanks to its slim bezels and tri-leg metal stand. We 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. Which 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. And 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, we reckon this thing's chassis looks pretty spectacular, 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.
