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If you're looking for an upgrade from that old 1080p monitor, there are arguably too many good choices. If you've got the cash, OLED and 4K look great, but we've been mighty impressed by mini-LED and its uber-bright ways.
KTC's 1440p M27T6S got a 90% score in our review literally yesterday, and it is not only a strong middle-ground for budget to mid-range rigs, but with a $50 coupon at Amazon, it's a great price for $300.
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So, what's this mini-LED thing all about, then? Effectively, instead of hiding a couple of LED strips behind the screen to provide light, it packs thousands of individual light-emitting diodes in there, making it not only super bright but also immune to burn-in and other long-term monitor complaints.
Our Jeremy started his review of the monitor sceptically, self-admittedly, but it managed to win him over in testing. That's because you get absolutely sizzling HDR performance, thanks to its 1,000 nits brightness and 1,152 dimming zones.
Whether you are gaming in a dark room or positioned near a window, this KTC panel can handle any lighting you want to throw at it. And good brightness isn't just strong for fighting the rays of the sun, it's also notable for game performance. If you want your screen to really pop, accurately displaying environments and capturing darkness, it's a strong choice.
It also has solid stats otherwise, like a 200 Hz refresh rate, 1 ms response time, and DisplayHDR 1000 support.
Although it's down to $300, that is arguably 4K pricing territory, with the dual-mode 4K/1080p MSI MAG 275UPD just $250 at the time of writing; even the 1440p OLED Acer Predator X27U Z1bmiiprx is only $80 more at $380. Still, all of these are very viable choices for different kinds of gaming setups.
The OLED will offer superior vibrancy and true blacks, the 4K choice is capable of processing a higher resolution (should you have the hardware for it), and the mini-LED gives truly great HDR performance. The KTC is a little cheaper on KTC's own website, too, though Amazon's free shipping for Prime members and generous returns policy would make that my choice, personally.
Though the memory crisis is continuing to tear apart the pricing of many PC components, gaming monitors are only getting more reasonable, and this KTC pick is truly great value, even at full price.
1. Best overall / 4K:
MSI MPG 321URX
2. Best budget 4K:
Asus ROG Strix XG27UCG
3. Best 1440p:
MSI MPG 271QRX
4. Best budget 1440p:
KTC H27T22C-3
5. Best 1080p:
AOC Gaming C27G4ZXE
6. Best Ultrawide:
Gigabyte MO34WQC2
7. Best budget ultrawide:
Xiaomi G34WQi
8. Best 32:9:
Samsung Odyssey OLED G9
9. Best dual-mode:
Alienware AW2725QF
