The best gaming monitor

Likely to outlast your PC by several upgrade generations, investing in a good gaming display will go a long way.

We're now several months into 2018, but our pick for the best gaming monitor hasn't changed. The best gaming monitor is the Asus ROG Swift PG279Q.  It combines 1440p with 144Hz refresh rate, overclockable to 165Hz, and has G-Sync to keep your gameplay smooth.

Asus and Acer are expected to roll out new 27-inch 4K HDR 144Hz G-Sync monitors later this year—essentially 4K HDR versions of our top pick here. Those monitors are going to be fantastic, but they're also expected to cost more than $2,000. Unless you just won the lottery and have a mountain of cash to burn, we stand by our recommendation of the Asus PG279Q.

The great thing about displays is that, unlike graphics cards where their lifespan is usually a few years, a good display can keep you going for the better part of a decade. With such a long lifespan, it pays to get something you’ll be happy with for years to come. We'll discuss the technologies and features that make for a good gaming display, why they matter, and we have several options for a variety of price points. Right now, these are the best monitors for PC gaming.

ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q

Screen size: 27-inch | Panel type: IPS | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Response time: 4ms | Refresh rate: 144Hz (overclocks to 165Hz) | Weight: 15.4 lbs

The Asus ROG Swift PG279Q is the best gaming monitor you can buy right now. For years, gamers have been forced to make a choice between picture quality and refresh rate. Cheaper, faster TN panels delivered fast refresh speeds up to 144Hz, while IPS screens offered more vibrant colors and dramatically better viewing angles, but at much slower refresh rates. But as monitor technology has improved, there are now monitors that pair an IPS screen with a 144Hz refresh rate.

The PG279Q is a 27-inch monitor with a 2560x1440 resolution, which we currently consider the sweet spot for high-end gaming. It offers substantially more pixels than 1080p without being as demanding as a 4K panel, meaning games look sharp at 27 inches but won’t bring a good GPU to its knees. Plus, you can still get higher than 60Hz refresh rates, which isn't possible on the current crop of 4K displays. You can also comfortably run at 100 percent scaling in Windows, something that isn't always desirable with 4K panels.

Like its primary competitor, the Acer Predator XB271HU, the PG279Q is an IPS panel with a refresh rate that can be overclocked up to 165Hz. (The difference between 144Hz and 165Hz is mostly negligible though.) Inputs include DisplayPort 1.2a as well as HDMI 1.4 (one of each), a nice addition over our previous best monitor pick. Both displays also feature Nvidia's G-Sync technology for variable refresh rates, assuming you're using an Nvidia GPU. If you're an AMD user, however, you won't benefit from G-Sync and should consider a FreeSync monitor instead. Our pick for that is below. 

The biggest drawback to such a fine monitor, of course, is the price. The PG279Q can be found for less than $800/£700, but not by much. Having said that, we consider a monitor an investment. Don’t buy something cheap you’ll want to replace in two years. Buy a great monitor that will still be going strong half a decade from now. There are 144Hz IPS monitors similar to Asus’s offering, only with FreeSync instead of G-Sync, but the Asus ROG Swift PG279Q is the best choice and worth every dollar.

ASUS MG279Q

Screen size: 27-inch | Panel type: IPS | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Response time: 4ms | Refresh rate: 144Hz | Weight: 15.9 lbs

Right now there's really no competition for the Asus MG279Q: this is absolutely the best monitor for AMD users who want a FreeSync display. It's a 1440p IPS screen that can refresh up to 144Hz, like our favorite monitor above. But because it uses the open FreeSync technology instead of G-Sync, it doesn't cost as much (though price differences have narrowed of late).

Thanks to that IPS screen, colors look great even from off-angles. The base is sturdy (and allows for lots of tilting, pivoting, and height adjustments) and the bezel is fairly thin, which is nice for a 27-inch monitor that’s already taking up a good deal of space. Like most other gaming displays, it also has a light anti-gloss coating, which I like; some older IPS displays went too heavy on the coating and affected image quality, but the MG279Q doesn’t have that problem.

The contrast ratio is also great, and the ability to support multiple inputs makes this screen better for people who might want to connect a second system, like a gaming console. This is thanks to the presence of the internal scaler, one of the main differences you'll find between G-Sync and FreeSync offerings. With no other IPS FreeSync displays that can match the MG279Q on specs, this is a great monitor and an easy choice for anyone with an AMD graphics card.

Acer XR382CQK

Screen size: 37.5-inch | Panel type: IPS | Aspect ratio: 24:10 | Resolution: 3840 x 1600 | Response time: 5ms | Refresh rate: 75Hz | Weight: 23.61 lbs

If your mantra for displays is to go big or go home, Acer hears you and its XR382CQK is a massive 38-inch curved screen that looks absolutely stunning. It features a QHD ultrawide panel with a 3840x1600 resolution, with an aspect ratio of 24:10 that's slightly wider than the 'standard' 21:9 AR seen on other UW displays. The IPS panel looks great, and the size means gaming from the comfort of your couch is a viable option.

Not content to end there, the display also features FreeSync technology with up to 75Hz variable refresh rates. It's a big, bold, and beautiful looking display, and the zero-frame bezel-less approach is another welcome addition. If you're looking for something to really turn heads, this is the best widescreen gaming monitor. And boy, is it wide.

The 38-inch (technically 37.5-inch) span across its diagonal results in a 35-inch width, with a 14.5-inch height, and that's not including the stand. It's taller than the 27-inch 16:9 displays mentioned above, and nearly half again as wide, but the higher resolution means the dot pitch is actually slightly lower than that of the lesser displays. And for games that properly support ultrawide resolutions, the surround effect of the XR382CQK is incredibly immersive—sitting at your desk, the 38-inch panel completely fills your field of view.

The cost for the best ultrawide display is steep, but at least you won't need to upgrade again for many years. Over $1000 for the XR382CQK may be a bitter pill to swallow, but the beauty of this screen will wash away the nasty taste in your mouth the instant you boot up your favorite games in 21:9 glory. And barring hardware failure, this display should keep you gaming happily until 2025.

Acer Predator XB321HK

Screen size: 32-inch | Panel type: IPS | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Response time: 4ms | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Weight: 24.91 lbs

Let's face it, gaming at 4K is a premium endeavour. You need a colossal amount of rendering power to game at decent frame rates and such high resolution. Even the high-end GeForce GTX 1080 Ti fails to consistently produce 60+ fps across all games—and with many games lacking support for SLI and CrossFire, dual GPUs isn't a clear solution. If you're rocking a top-shelf graphics card, it's only fitting to use an equally exquisite monitor.

A good 1440p screen will generally offer around twice the framerate of a 4K monitor because of the demands it puts on your graphics card (assuming you're playing at native resolution). Unfortunately, opting for 4K also means compromising on refresh rate as well (60Hz here), which might be an issue for people who have grown accustomed to 120Hz or 144Hz on lower-res displays. So, is a G-Sync 4K monitor worth the money or the effort? 

The Acer Predator XB321HK answers that question with a resounding yes. At 32 inches, the XB321HK gives you enough screen real-estate to actually put its 3840x2160 4K UHD resolution to good use. (There's also a slightly cheaper 27-inch variant in the XB271HK.) It's also an IPS display, so colors are vibrant, regardless of your viewing angle.

Overall, the Predator XB321HK is an absolute beast of a monitor. The price is still a big hurdle to overcome, but this is a luxury monitor with luxury features. It's built for people that want the best, and if you've shelled out on a pair of GTX 1080 TI (or Titan Xp) cards, it's a fitting match. For mere mortals, until our graphics hardware gets to the point where you can run a 4K display from a modestly-priced single GPU, I'd recommend sticking with a lower resolution screen like the PG279Q or MG279Q we mention above. That way you get great gaming frame rates and are better able to take advantage of the benefits of the 144Hz and G-Sync/FreeSync technology.

ASUS VG248QE

Screen size: 24-inch | Panel type: TN | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 1920 x 1080 | Response time: 1ms | Refresh rate: 144Hz | Weight: 12.13 lbs

Sometimes you're forced to make compromises, like not being able to run at high resolutions or maxed out image quality on older graphics cards. For displays, one of the biggest compromises is often giving up features in order to save money. You don't have to lose out on everything in pursuit of lower prices, however, as the Asus VG248QE still supports up to 144Hz refresh rates, all on a 24-inch 1080p TN display.

Finding a great budget gaming display is difficult. Features like an IPS panel and Nvidia's G-Sync technology come with a several-hundred-dollars price premium. The Asus VG248QE keeps prices low by opting to not include Nvidia's pricey G-Sync tech, and its TN panel gives washed out colors compared to the IPS panels we've selected elsewhere. But the inclusion of 144Hz refresh rates makes this a better choice for gaming than most 60Hz 1080p displays, and pairs perfectly with our cheap and budget build guides—both of which use AMD GPUs. It also comes very highly reviewed, with a 4.5 star rating on Amazon with more than 2,000 reviews.

If you want to save even more money, the 23-inch Viewsonic VX2370Smhincludes an IPS panel and is only ~$150 online, though it's not without drawbacks and is harder to find in the UK. It's still an IPS bargain, which means there’s none of the washed out colors you get with a TN panel. Of course, going that route means you lose out on a fast refresh rate.

Testing gaming monitors

There are two main ways to test out our screens to determine the best gaming monitor. The first is by playing games on it, obviously. Subjectively testing the gaming performance of each panel isn’t necessarily going to give you the lowdown on the specifics of a particular screen, but it will let you test the functioning aspect ratio, native resolution, and any particular gamer-centric technologies they’re sporting.

Side-by-side comparative testing in this manner is also incredibly valuable for keying into the sometimes subtle differences between each panel. When you use a screen in isolation it’s easy to become blind to its comparative faults as you simply get used to them. Testing screens back-to-back allows us to discover and highlight specific issues between them.

Objective testing can be great, but it's also far more difficult. To do it properly, you need hardware for testing the true latency, color accuracy, and other metrics. Most gamers don't have access to any of this, but you can do a semblance of objective testing using the LCD calibration pages here. This site offers several test screens you can bring up on any web connected panel to make some qualitative assessments. The days of actual retail space for such things are dwindling, but if you can get a look at a screen before purchasing it, plugging a notebook or such into it and checking out the Lagom pages is very handy.

Posts in discussion

Posted: 6 years 4 months ago by Leki #2136

Best gaming monitors will be released toward the end of this year. Look for the ones with the new updated 240Hz LCD TN panels by AU Optronics

www.tftcentral.co.uk/news_archive/39.htm#panels_auo

I'll be getting a 24.5" 240Hz 1920x1080 one

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