Picking the best gaming monitor is paramount for any PC builder. Why spend so much money on your gaming PC if you won’t pay out for a quality screen? What constitutes a quality screen will vary from builder to build—some require a great high-refresh 1080p panel, while others will want to push their graphics card to the max with a 4K or ultrawide option. Whatever you’re after, the gaming monitor you buy should be the best for your budget.
Right now, the best gaming monitor is the Alienware 34 QD-OLED. The glossy one, and the cheaper one. It uses the same excellent Samsung OLED panel as the pricier Alienware and gives it the same glossy, not overly reflective, coating that the also more expensive Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 comes with. And it’s ace.
You want 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. But if you’ve had the cash to drop on an RTX 40-series or a high-end AMD RX 7900 series GPU then you can take your pick of 4K panels.
For the competitive gamer who values speed above all else, check out our list of high refresh rate monitors running at 165Hz, 240Hz, and even 360Hz. I’ve constantly been testing gaming monitors throughout my career and have ensured that only the best for each budget has crept into this guide. It’s extensive, but there are a whole lotta gaming monitors out there, and plenty deserves your attention.
THE QUICK LIST
Alienware 34 QD-OLED
The best overall
Alienware and its use of the Samsung-made QD-OLED panel, has created the best gaming monitor, and changed the perception of OLED screens for gaming. This is the cheaper version of Alienware’s OLED and the better, glossy version.
LG Ultragear 27GN950-B
The best 4K
The LG 27GN950-B bags you a terrific panel with exquisite IPS image quality. Despite the lesser HDR capabilities, it also nets beautiful colors and contrast for your games too. G-Sync offers stable pictures and smoothness, and the speedy refresh rate and response times back this up too.
Gigabyte M32UC
The best budget 4K
In terms of value for money, Gigabyte has hit the nail on the head with the M32UC. That makes the M32UC a great choice if you’re planning ahead for a next-gen 4K-capable gaming PC or if you already have a high-end GPU but are not yet making the most of it.
Dell S2722DGM
The best 1440p
The classic 27-inch Dell S2722DGM marries that screen real estate with a 2560 x 1440 native resolution, which gives you a great pixel pitch for fine detail. At 1440p it’s also a decent resolution for getting high frame rates without the GPU demands of a 4K display.
Pixio PXC277 Advanced
The best budget 1440p
The PXC277 doesn’t actually look like a bargain basement item it might have done. This monitor delivers. At this price point we were willing to make a few excuses. But that’s not actually necessary. The Pixio PXC277 Advanced does almost everything pretty darned well.
Alienware 34 QD-OLED
The best ultrawide
As well as being the best overall gaming monitor, and the best OLED, too, the Alienware has to go down as the absolute best ultrawide gaming monitor as well. A triple threat, then. The broad sweep of its curve, that 34-inch expanse, and the quality of the panel itself are all telling.
ASRock Phantom PG34WQ15R2B
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 that for $370 really is fantastic.
Asus ROG Swift PG42UQ
The best 42-inch
The 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 ROG Swift is a gamer’s bestie where it matters, and another champion for the OLED cause.
Dell S3222DGM
The best 32-inch
It’s worth remembering that pricing for this class of display—a 32-inch 165Hz 1440p panel—extends all the way up to $800 in the Corsair Xeneon 32QHD165. So, while the Dell S3222DGM isn’t all that exciting from a technical point of view, for the money, it’s pretty convincing.
By Dave JamesContributions from
Phil Iwaniuk, Kizito Katawonga, Jeremy Laird, Jacob Ridley, Jorge Jimenez
HPS Magazine 