When it involves upgrading our PCs, we so usually neglect that one of the essential elements of our system is the large black field sitting proper in entrance of us, which is why we’re right here that can assist you discover the perfect gaming monitor to fit your wants and price range. Let’s face it – shopping for a brand new monitor is difficult. It’s one factor to take a look at the specs, however making an attempt to guage whether or not that display screen truly produces a superb image or not is nigh on unattainable to do from the consolation of your personal dwelling.
Fortunately, we’ve executed the laborious be just right for you, as beneath you’ll discover a listing of all our high suggestions throughout a mess of various display screen sizes and resolutions. Tried and examined at Castle Shotgun itself, the one displays you’ll discover listed below are those we’ve had sat in entrance of our personal eyeballs and measured with our trusty X-Rite Display i1 Pro calibrator. Naturally, this implies we’ll be updating this listing as and when new gaming displays are available that we predict deserve a spot on our coveted sizzling listing. Case in level: BenQ’s new EW277HDR, which sits newly-crowned as our greatest 27in 1080p monitor.
We’ll additionally take you thru every little thing you should learn about display screen sizes, resolutions, refresh charges, panel varieties, inputs and adjustable stands. By the time you’re executed right here, you’ll be totally outfitted to seek out the perfect gaming monitor for you. Let’s start!
Below, we’ve obtained a listing of our present greatest displays, starting from entry-level shows all the way in which as much as fancy, high-refresh fee mega displays. We’ll be including extra displays to this listing as we get extra in for testing, however if you happen to’d slightly skip straight to our monitor shopping for information, hop on over to web page two.
Best 24in monitor: AOC G2460PF
Key options: 24in, 1920×1080, TN, 144Hz, AMD FreeSync
The AOC G2460PF is among the most fully-featured 24in displays you should buy immediately. It’s about to get replaced by AOC’s upcoming G2590FX, which is equivalent in each means save its considerably slimmer bezels and ever-so-slightly bigger 24.5in display screen, however till I get one in for testing (simply to make certain its TN panel is simply pretty much as good as its predecessor), it’s the G2460PF that is still my best choice within the 24in gaming monitor class.
Packed inside this tiny display screen, you get a TN panel with a 1920×1080 decision, a beneficiant 144Hz refresh fee, AMD FreeSync assist for slicing down on tearing and stutter once you’ve obtained a suitable AMD graphics card, a full suite of inputs (VGA, DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort), a four-port USB hub and a peak adjustable stand.
That’s lots for a monitor of this measurement and worth, and really provides you extra to your cash than a few of the bigger screens additional down this listing. You’ll want a reasonably respectable graphics card to make the most of its excessive 144Hz refresh fee – see our Best graphics card rankings for more information if you happen to’re out there for a type of as nicely – however even when your graphics card isn’t fairly as much as the duty of tremendous excessive body fee gaming, its AMD FreeSync assist ought to at the very least give AMD graphics card house owners a little bit of a leg up if you happen to can’t fairly hit that 60fps sweetspot. One factor you possibly can depend on, although, is the G2460PF’s very good image high quality, which covers 95.2% of the usual sRGB color gamut.
Read extra in our AOC G2460PF review.
UK costs:
£219 from Amazon UK
US costs:
$195 from Amazon US
Best 27in 1080p monitor: BenQ EW277HDR
Key options: 27in, 1920×1080, VA, HDR
For these after one thing barely larger than the AOC G2460PF, the BenQ EW277HDR is the subsequent neatest thing. This doesn’t include as many options because the AOC (or certainly as many ports or any type of peak adjustment), however it’s a heck of lots cheaper – at the very least for these shopping for within the UK, that’s.
The EW277HDR might not have a excessive refresh fee or any type of variable body fee know-how integrated into its 27in 1920×1080 VA panel, nevertheless it does include HDR (or excessive dynamic vary) assist. You can learn extra about what HDR means and what it does in our purchasing information on the subsequent web page, however basically HDR permits a monitor to show brighter whites, darker blacks and extra of each color in between in comparison with a non-HDR monitor. This means extra vibrant, vivid and life-like photos and video games, in addition to extra element within the gentle and darkish areas of the display screen.
There are, admittedly, higher displays on the market for these after ‘proper’ HDR, which actually go to city on the brightness aspect of issues in addition to the prolonged color gamut, however you’re actually not going to seek out any of these going for much less £200 / $250 just like the EW277HDR. It might not have the identical brightness capabilities as these higher-end displays, however what the EW277HDR does rather well is the color gamut a part of HDR, displaying 99.8% of the usual sRGB color gamut and a powerful 91.9% of the broader DCI-P3 gamut. For comparability, the AOC above can solely present round 70% of this gamut.
That’s fairly rattling good for such an affordable monitor, and whereas its 1920×1080 decision isn’t precisely ideally suited for a display screen of this measurement (issues begin to get a teensy bit fuzzy once you begin stretching that many pixels throughout a 27in panel), it’s nonetheless a superb solution to get a giant display screen with out spending an arm and a leg on one thing with the next decision just like the MSI Optix MPG27CQ beneath.
Read extra in our BenQ EW277HDR review.
UK costs:
£166 from Amazon UK
US costs:
$230 from Amazon US
Best 27in 1440p monitor: MSI Optix MPG27CQ
Key options: 27in, 2560×1440, curved VA, 144Hz, AMD FreeSync
If you actually wish to go all out on a 27in monitor with a 2560×1440 decision, the MSI Optix MPG27CQ is actually one of many higher methods to do it. With a curved VA panel, height-adjustable stand and Steelseries RGB integration (those that aren’t firmly embedded within the RGB camp shall be glad to know you can too flip all of it off), that is one monitor that basically instructions your consideration.
Picture high quality is excellent, too. Covering 100% of the sRGB color gamut and a good 87.6% of the DCI-P3 gamut (which is fairly good going for a non-HDR monitor), photos look wealthy and punchy always on its default User mode, and its intuitive onboard menu system means it’s straightforward to make any final minute changes or play about with its black tuner management.
If all that wasn’t sufficient, it’s additionally obtained a 144Hz refresh fee for top body fee gaming (supplied you’ve obtained a beefy sufficient graphics card, that’s – which you’ll want in case your goal is 144fps at 2560×1440) and AMD FreeSync assist to assist eradicate tearing and judder for AMD graphics card house owners. Round that off with two HDMI 2.zero inputs, one DisplayPort 1.2 and a two-port USB3 hub and also you’ve obtained your self among the best 27in displays round.
Read extra in our MSI Optix MPG27CQ review.
UK costs:
£450 from Scan
US costs:
$413 from Newegg
Best price range 4K monitor: BenQ EL2870U
Key options: 28in, 3480×2160, TN, AMD FreeSync, HDR
The BenQ EL2870U is certainly not the perfect 4K HDR monitor on the market, nevertheless it is among the least expensive, which makes its slightly underwhelming HDR a bit extra forgivable. Indeed, getting your fingers on any type of 4K monitor today is a little bit of a problem, however if you happen to actually can’t watch for one thing higher to come back alongside or don’t have the money to splash out on one thing a bit fancier, then the EL2870U is at the moment your greatest wager.
Picture high quality continues to be fairly affordable, however with an sRGB gamut protection of 83% (and 62% DCI-P3), it’s not precisely sensible both. Still, in case your main aim is having lots of pixels at your disposal, the EL2870U has that in spades. With its 3840×2160 decision unfold throughout its 28in TN panel, the EL2870’s sharp pixel density of 157 pixels-per-inch (PPI) is considerably larger than every other display screen on this listing. A 27in 1080p monitor can solely ever have 81 PPI, for instance, whereas a 27in 1440p monitor is barely a fraction higher at 108 PPI.
You’ll in all probability nonetheless need to make use of a few of Windows’ scaling settings to make issues like textual content and desktop icons even remotely legible, however at the very least every little thing will look beautiful and crisp within the course of. Admittedly, if you happen to’re shopping for a 4K monitor to max out your shiny new 4K-capable graphics card just like the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080Ti or AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (though ideally the Vega given the EL2870U’s AMD FreeSync assist), then there are in all probability higher screens to spend your cash on than this one. Really, I’d solely advocate this as a 4K monitor for working functions, and 4K gaming provided that you’re on a very tight price range. I’ve but to seek out the right 4K monitor that I’d be comfortable recommending for each work and play, however you possibly can wager your backside greenback I’ll be updating this listing as quickly as I do.
Read our full BenQ EL2870U review.
UK worth:
£395 from Amazon UK
US worth:
$432 from Amazon US
Best ultrawide monitor: Philips 349X7FJEW
Key options: 34in, 3440×1440, curved VA, 100Hz, AMD FreeSync
When I heard Square Enix have been including 21:9 side ratio assist to Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, I knew what needed to be executed. No one wants to play Final Fantasy XII in 21:9, however hey, if you happen to’re going to do it, you may as nicely do it on the Philips 349X7FJEW. Out of all of the ultrawide displays I’ve examined up to now, that is the one which ticks probably the most bins for me.
I’m not the most important fan of its white chassis, all informed, nevertheless it’s far by one of many least expensive 21:9 displays on the market today, and its picture high quality is simply pretty much as good because the significantly dearer AOC AG352UCG and Acer Predator Z35p. Of course, a part of the rationale why AOC and Acer’s displays are so dear is as a result of they arrive with Nvidia G-Sync assist. The Philips, however, solely has AMD FreeSync assist, which received’t be a lot good to anybody with an Nvidia graphics card, however at the very least you’re saving your self a number of hundred kilos / {dollars} within the course of.
To be sincere, I’d heartily advocate each the AOC and Acer for anybody with an Nvidia graphics card, as they’re nonetheless fairly top-notch displays with equally good image high quality. Is simply will depend on which one you just like the look of extra and the way a lot you’re ready to spend with the intention to get it. For those that’d slightly save themselves from the dreaded G-Sync tax, although, the Philips is certainly the higher worth for cash selection.
Read extra in our Philips 349X7FJEW review.
UK costs:
£600 from Amazon UK
US costs:
$650 from Amazon US
Best HDR monitor: Samsung CHG90
Key options: 49in, 3840×1080, curved VA, 144Hz, AMD FreeSync 2, HDR
This ludicrously extensive monitor might simply be our high selection in the perfect ultrawide class as nicely, however what actually units the CHG90 other than the Philips, AOC and Acer displays is Samsung’s implausible implementation of HDR, which is well the perfect I’ve seen outdoors the realms of TVs. This is due to its AMD FreeSync 2 assist (sorry Nvidia graphics card house owners) and built-in native dimming zones, which permits smaller elements of the display screen to shine extra brightly with out affecting the remainder of the picture round it.
This might change as soon as Nvidia’s G-Sync HDR displays come in the marketplace, nonetheless, as screens just like the Acer Predator X27 and Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ are far, far brighter than the CHG90 and have 4K resolutions besides. The CHG90, in the meantime, solely has a decision of 3840×1080, which is 4K length-ways, however clearly not on the vertical. It’s basically two 27in 1920×1080 displays in a single, so it runs into the identical pixel density drawback because the BenQ EW277HDR above. That’s not ideally suited for such an costly monitor, however at the very least you get loads of area for work and video games alike.
Personally, I’m actually fairly keen on ultrawide displays, and far desire them to having two 16:9 displays. The CHG90 might take up much more room in your desk than two such displays, nevertheless it actually beats having to flick backwards and forwards throughout totally different screens and having enormous bezels interrupt every little thing within the center. More and extra video games are beginning to assist ultrawide side ratios as nicely, and I managed to get each Final Fantasy XV and Far Cry 5 trying very, very beautiful certainly on the CHG90 to beautiful impact.
Combine that with its 144Hz refresh fee, fashionable design, plentiful provide of ports and inputs and intuitive onboard menu, and the CHG90 goes a great distance in justifying its £1000 / $1000+ worth.
Read our full Samsung CHG90 review.
UK worth:
£1074 from Ebuyer
US worth:
$1000 from Samsung US
