Best gaming monitors in 2024: the pixel-perfect panels I'd buy myself

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 Alienware 34 QD-OLED. It uses the same excellent Samsung OLED panel as its more expensive Alienware sibling with G-Sync functionality and has the same glossy, mildly reflective coating that the more expensive Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 also comes with. And it's absolutely ace. 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.

Curated by

Curated by

Dave James

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

Best gaming monitor overall

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The best gaming monitor today is the fantastic Alienware 34 AW3423DWF QD-OLED. You might have already seen or owned an OLED TV for a while, but this panel technology has finally made it to the world of gaming monitors. Alienware has been leading the charge with some fantastic OLED models, often beating out Philips and OLED panel maker LG with its impressive screens.

What we love about the Alienware 34 AW3423DWF is its glossy panel. I know that might sound trivial in the grand scheme of things, but this anti-glare coating, in place of the OG model's matte coating, makes all the difference.

When Alienware wheeled out what was the world's first OLED gaming monitor, the Alienware 34 AW3423DW, it went straight to the top of the table. It was simply stunning. But it wasn't, you know, actually perfect but now we have another 34-inch ultrawide Alienware OLED monitor. It looks nearly identical but costs several hundred dollars less. So what, exactly, is going on?

The new Alienware 34 AW3423DWF adds an "F" on the end and loses a few on-paper features in the quest for that lower price point. For starters, the mostly pointless Nvidia G-Sync Ultimate certification and the costly G-Sync chip it requires have been ditched.

In its place you get AMD's Freesync Premium Pro and therefore perfectly adequate adaptive refresh support. Speaking of refresh rates, this new F model steps down from 175Hz to 165Hz. You're never going to feel that difference in-game and it seems like the sort of minor spec tweak designed for product differentiation. You know, to help Alienware justify the price of the more expensive model: it's 10Hz faster!

Whatever, those details aside you're mostly getting the same 34-inch ultrawide and slightly curved proposition as before. The Samsung QD-OLED panel is carried over, which is a very good thing.

This Alienware does have a brightness limiter, but it's far less aggressive than on most LG-equipped monitors and you barely notice it happening. More to the point, this monitor always looks punchy, which you absolutely cannot say of monitors with LG OLED tech.

In fact, it's better than that because the glossy really lets the OLED panel sing. In that regard, it's just like the Philips Evnia 34M2C8600, which is another member of the Samsung QD-OLED gang and also has a glossy anti-glare coating. It does wonders for black levels and contrast. Along with the Philips, this is simply the best HDR gaming experience you can currently get.

Incidentally, the coating is very well judged. It's not over reflective and distracting in that regard. It just ups the contrast and removes that slight greying of darker tones that comes with a matte coating.

This Alienware is cheaper than the Philips Evnia and compared to that monitor is only missing a USB Type-C connection, which in a gaming context isn't a huge loss. Current USB Type-C power delivery is limited to 100W, which isn't enough to keep a gaming laptop juiced, anyway.

As for reservations, well, once again it's the same story as the OG Alienware OLED. For general computing, the pixel density ain't great. It doesn't make for truly crisp fonts in Windows or super sharp image detail. The triangular rather than vertically striped RGB subpixel substructure doesn't help with text clarity, either.

And of course, this is still a very expensive monitor, even with any discounts. But you can still ink the new Alienware 34 AW3423DWF in as our new favourite gaming panel. Because it's absolutely farking fabulous.

Read our full Alienware 34 AW3423DWF review.

Best 4K gaming monitor

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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, but it delivers the fundamentals of a great 4K gaming monitor better than most.

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 144Hz, 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.

While you do have to pay for the privilege of this LG UltraGear gaming monitor, it's quite simply the best all-round 4K gaming monitor we've tested.

Read our full LG UltraGear 27GR93U review.

Best budget 4K gaming monitor

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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

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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 is 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 (we recommend an option for that, the Dell S3222DGM below), you'll start to notice each pixel as the pixel density decreases. The Thermaltake offers a decent density by comparison.

With a 165Hz refresh rate, 1ms 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

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What are the actually essential ingredients for a good gaming monitor and how much will that cost you? On paper, the answer might just be $240 with the new Pixio PXC277 Advanced. It's a 27-inch 1440p panel with 165Hz refresh and 1ms claimed response. Oh, and HDR support. That's one heck of a package for the price and easily the best budget 1440p gaming monitor.

It also meets pretty much all our key metrics. 1440p on a 27-inch panel remains a great all round compromise between size, pixel density, and GPU load. Likewise, 165Hz is plenty for all but the most demanding esports addicts. Ditto 1ms response, in theory.

Ostensibly, there's HDR support but unsurprisingly, the backlight is monolithic. There's no full-array local dimming and the rated brightness tops out at 320 nits, which is modest by today's standards.

As for the actual image quality and gaming experience, well, there are no immediate horrors. Phew. The panel's default calibration is reasonably accurate and there are none of the weird sharpening filters or backlight blotchiness you sometimes see on really cheap panels.

Even with the backlight set to maximum, this admittedly isn't the punchiest display. But it's reasonably vibrant and the inherent contrast of the VA panel tech delivers good black levels. The basic desktop experience in SDR mode is pretty pleasing.

Less impressive, predictably, is the panel's HDR performance. It will process an HDR signal and punch out broadly correct colours. But it's not remotely a real HDR experience. The HDR calibration also has some compression at the high end which results in bright details being blown out. 

Thankfully, with slim bezels on three sides, plus a bit of a chin, and a crisp metal stand, the PXC277 doesn't actually look like a bargain basement item it might have done. The external power supply does admittedly drag the tone down. It's a generic item with a cheap looking Pixio sticker slapped on the side. And the aforementioned stand is tilt-only.

But you know what? This monitor delivers. At this price point, we're willing to make a few excuses. But that's not actually necessary, as the Pixio PXC277 Advanced does almost everything pretty well.

Read our full Pixio PXC277 Advanced review.

Best budget 1080p gaming monitor

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You can find similar screens for less money, but there are few genuinely affordable entry-level screens as good as the BenQ Mobiuz EX240 and it's by far the best budget 1080p gaming monitor.

It's especially a good fit for competitive gamers who don't want to break the bank. In an age of megabucks GPUs, $200/AU$279 seems like a pitiful amount of money for, well, almost anything. But BenQ is here to tell you it's enough for a pretty darn good gaming monitor.

On paper, this 24-inch panel ticks a lot of boxes for entry-level esports. It's a 1080p model—predictable enough—hits 165Hz and offers IPS panel tech with 1ms response times.

BenQ rates the Mobiuz EX240 at 350 nits peak brightness and includes HDR10 support. There's no VESA certification or local dimming, though. So this isn't a remotely serious attempt at an HDR panel, but it will process an HDR signal correctly, which is something.

As for actual image quality, the first out-of-the-box impressions are good. This is a pretty vibrant, punchy panel. The viewing angles are good and the default color calibration betrays no real nasties. There is a little compression at the darker end of the color spectrum. But, generally, this monitor has been fairly well set up well.

Head in-game and the good news continues. BenQ claims a 1ms response by the MPRT metric. In broad terms, MPRT response figures tend to be lower than grey-to-grey for a given monitor, putting this panel roughly in the 2ms region for GtG response.

And it feels very much good for 2ms. This is a snappy little panel. In subjective terms, there's little to separate it from the best 1ms GtG IPS monitors. Sure, you could tease out the differences with high speed photography, but in terms of actual gameplay, motion blur is kept to a thoroughly acceptable minimum.

All told, there's a lot to like here. Granted, this monitor has plenty of limitations. 1080p feels pretty stingy these days as native resolutions go, but on a smallish 24-inch monitor, the pixel density is tolerable and the main benefit is that you don't need to be raiding multiple bank accounts to pay for this monitor.

That you can have a decent IPS gaming panel running at 165Hz with good pixel response, reasonable overall calibration, generally punchy and pleasing image quality, and nice low latency, all stuffed into a good looking chassis, for just $200/AU$279 is a blessed relief. For that, we can only tip our hats to BenQ for doing such a nice job.

Read our full BenQ Mobiuz EX240 review.

Best ultrawide gaming monitor

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The incredible, preposterous new Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 G95NC Dual UHD is the best ultrawide gaming monitor money can buy right now. This is no thinly disguised TV: It's a proper PC-optimised panel. And yet this 57-inch uber-wide monster still has us wondering if you can have too much of a good thing.

What you're looking at, in effect, is a pair of 32-inch 240Hz 4K gaming monitors fused into a single 57-inch ultra-curved panel. So, that's no fewer than 7,680 by 2,160 pixels, or just over 16.5 million in total and twice that of 4K.

When we say the best ultrawide, then, we're really talking about a panel of unprecedented proportions.

A single 240Hz 4K monitor would be pretty special. But double that resolution running at such a high refresh rate is genuinely unprecedented. Indeed, it's so novel that only AMD's latest RDNA 3-powered Radeon RX 7000 Series GPU can hit the full 240Hz courtesy of their DisplayPort 2.1 interfaces. Nvidia's RTX 40-series GPUs are limited to DP 1.4 and can only do 120Hz, at this resolution.

Of course, you could argue that's usually going to be an academic problem. You've got zero chance of hitting 240Hz at dual 4K in Cyberpunk with all the ray-tracing twangers maxed out, or any other graphically demanding game, even on an RTX 4090. It is a bit problematic that this most demanding of PC monitors can't run at full performance with the current world's fastest GPU.

Anyway, this display has a few additional metrics and features that are worth noting. For starters, there's DisplayHDR 1000 certification. With that comes full-array local dimming and 2,392 zones, which not surprisingly is double what you get on many 32-inch 4K panels with full-array dimming. Again, it's that dual-4K thing.

The panel itself is VA, which is what you'd expect from Samsung, though the 2,500:1 static contrast rating is a little lower than you might expect, given VA panel tech can now achieve 3,000:1 or even 4,000:1. For the record, pixel response is rated at 1ms and thus on par with most high-performance LCD-based gaming monitors. Oh, and miles off the 0.1ms or even lower response ratings of the latest breed of OLED panels.

Anyhow, out of the box, this thing is laugh-out-loud large. We're used to Samsung's 49-inch G9s here at PCG Towers, such as the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 G93SC, but somehow this 57-inch monster is still shocking. It's the combination of the huge panel size, the ridiculous 32:9 aspect ratio, and the extreme 1000R curvature. You feel like you're getting your money's worth that's for sure. Styling and ergonomics-wise, it's the usual Samsung Odyssey fare complete with that signature Stormtrooper glossy white plastic.

What really marks this display out is the elevated pixel density on an epic scale. The 140DPI is exactly the same as a 32-inch 4K monitor, it's just you've never seen this kind of pixel density on such a large panel before. It really is remarkable to experience this kind of image detail across such a huge monitor.

For pure gaming, then, there are probably better optimised options. But as an ultra-luxury, money-no-object ultrawide PC monitor, this is as good as it currently gets, flaws and all.

Read our full Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 G95NC review.

Best budget ultrawide gaming monitor

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The new ASRock Phantom PG34WQ15R2B is the best budget ultrawide monitor and gives you 34-inches of real estate, 165Hz refresh rate, 1ms response, and even HDR support, all for just under $370/AU$575. That kind of money barely touches the sides when it comes to graphics cards these days.

What more do you really need? The catch, of course, is that mere specifications rarely tell the whole story with gaming monitors. We've seen several $2,000 screens with outrageous on-paper capabilities recently that thoroughly disappointed. What are the odds that ASRock has delivered at well under $400?

Beyond those headline figures, the PG34WQ15R2B certainly is promising. Predictably, it's based on VA rather than IPS panel tech given the appealing pricing. That typically means compromising on pixel response performance, but not necessarily by a huge amount.

Brightness is rated at a punch 550 nits, which is impressive at this price point, and you get DisplayHDR 400 certification, which is entry level stuff but better than nothing. Given the punchy backlight and the fact that the VA panel offers 3,000:1 native contrast, it all bodes pretty well for a half decent entry-level HDR experience.

What about the response times? ASRock claims 1ms MPRT, but VA panel tech generally lags behind the best IPS panels. Unfortunately, the ASRock's fast MPRT mode crushes brightness so badly, that it's hard to imagine anyone actually using it.

Is it as good as the best 1ms GtG IPS screens? Not quite, but at this price point, the response is good enough. The same goes for the 165Hz refresh and overall input latency. If extreme esports are your thing, you'll be better off with a higher refresh 1080p panel. But For everyone else, the PG34WQ15R2B is going to be quick enough, it really is.

So, yeah, this really is a surprisingly nice screen for the money. 34-inch ultrawide remains a really nice form factor for immersive gaming, you get a nice, contrasty VA panel, plenty of backlight punch provided you run the screen in HDR mode (in which setting SDR content in any case looks better), reasonable pixel response and high enough refresh for most gamer's purposes.

That you can have all that for $370/AU$575 really is fantastic. That this is ASRock's first stab at a gaming screen is even more impressive.

Read our full ASRock Phantom PG34WQ15R2B review.

Best 42-inch gaming monitor