For gamers looking to get the most performance for their money, the trick to finding the right gaming monitor is getting sufficient performance, display area, contrast and color to play games at an affordable price without sacrificing too much in other areas. Here’s our expert advice on what to consider to get the most gaming monitor for your money.
Size
All else being equal, if you’ve got the space and budget, bigger is almost always better. Screen size labeling is based on the diagonal measurement: That made it easy to compare monitor sizes when almost every screen had the same aspect ratio — essentially the proportions of the screen rectangle, which is the ratio of horizontal to vertical pixels. Wide and ultrawide screens on desktops and newer ratios on laptops (such as 3:2 or 16:10) make cross-size comparisons a little more difficult. You may need to factor in the aspect ratios your favorite games support. If they only offer 16:9 options, configuring them for a widescreen 21:9, 24:10 or 32:9 monitor can be annoying and frustrating; you may also be able to save some money.
If you remember your geometry and algebra, you can calculate the width and height of the display if you also know the aspect ratio. (Because width/height = aspect ratio and width² + height² = diagonal²) The further from 1:1 the aspect ratio is, the wider the screen and more of it will be out to the sides — and therefore in your peripheral vision if you’re sitting close. It will also let you figure out the physical dimensions of the screen, most notably the width, to ensure it will fit in the allotted space.
DPI Calculator can do the math for you, but keep in mind that the numbers only represent the panel size, not the size of the display, which includes bezels and the mount. Nor does it take into account curved displays, which tend to have smaller horizontal dimensions than their flat-screen equivalent.
Resolution
Resolution, the number of vertical by horizontal pixels that comprise the image, is inextricable from screen size when you’re choosing a monitor. What you really want to optimize is pixel density, the number of pixels per inch the screen can display, because that’s what primarily determines how sharp the screen looks as well as how big elements of the interface, such as icons and text, can appear. If you’re gaming with a controller at distances further than you’d be sitting at a desk, it can be critical. For instance, I’ve discovered that I can’t read the text well enough to even make it through a tutorial in 1440p on a 32-inch monitor from more than about 4 feet away.
Standard resolutions with a 16:9 aspect ratio include 4K UHD (3,840×2,160 pixels), QHD (Quad HD, 2,560×1,440 pixels) and FHD (Full HD, 1,920×1,080 pixels): You’re better off looking at the numbers than the alphabet soup because when you get to variations like UWQHD they can get mind-bogglingly ambiguous. When you see references to “1080p” or “1440p,” it’s shorthand for the vertical resolution. Examples of widescreen resolutions, which you’ll tend to see in 34-inch and larger curved displays, include 3,440×1,440 pixels (21:9) and 5,120×1,440 pixels (32:9).
On a 27-inch display, 1,920×1,080 has a pixel density of 81.59 ppi. On a 24-inch display, 1080p works out to 91.79 ppi. Because a higher density is better (up to a point), FHD will look better on the smaller screen. This also depends on your vision: For me, too low a resolution and I can see the pixel grid and at slightly better than that I see nothing but jaggies on small serif type. So “optimal” really depends on what you’re looking at and personal preference. My preference for working, highly detailed sims, games with a lot of text and so on is at least 100ppi; if you’re moving so fast there’s no time to stop and shoot the flowers, you can probably drop to as low as 90ppi. Once again, the DPI Calculator can do the math for you. (A related spec is dot pitch, the size of the space between the center of the pixels, which is just the inverse of pixel density. For that, smaller is better.)
Because of the way Windows (and MacOS) works, you’re always better off with the highest resolution possible: You can always change the settings to make things that are too small on a high-res screen larger and change settings to increase frame rates, but you can’t make things that are too large on a low-res screen bigger.
Screen type
OLED or QD-OLED monitors generally have the best contrast, color and pixel refresh speeds, although they may have some artifacts on text because an OLED display’s one-pixel-one-color structure doesn’t antialias (essentially blur the edges of the characters) as well as the filter array technologies (three-primaries-one-pixel-one backlight) used by other panel types. IPS screens with LED backlights are cheaper but still good, and if they use Samsung’s Quantum Dot technology, they have better color than without.
Refresh rate
Refresh rate is the number of times per second (in Hertz, or Hz) the screen can update, and can produce unwanted artifacts such as blur, tearing and stuttering which occur when there’s a difference between the rate at which the graphics card is feeding the display and the rate at which the screen updates. Pixel response, also known as Motion Picture Response Time or Gray-to-Gray time (though those two aren’t the same thing), is how fast an individual pixel can switch states from black to white or from gray to gray (the more commonly provided spec). It’s measured in milliseconds. Faster is better, and you generally want a maximum of 5ms or less GtG for all but competitive gaming. Monitors will sometimes offer a branded motion blur-reduction mode, which performs some technological sleight of pixels to reduce perceived blur. Your mileage may vary with these.
Refresh rate and pixel response time are inextricable from each other as well of inextricably linked to your computer’s gaming performance: a display with a fast refresh rate will have a fast pixel response unless something is very wrong. Both specs are sometimes provided in an overclocked mode. The current “stratospheric” refresh rates are 360Hz through 480Hz, which are primarily intended for competitive gaming. Most gamers should be fine with 120Hz to 240Hz. You can find everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the subject and more at Blur Busters.
Color
The bigger the color gamut the screen covers the better. At a minimum, you want 100% sRGB, but 90% or higher P3 (also known as DCI-P3) is best, as it delivers more colors. Look for specific gamut coverage percentages rather than terms like “1 billion colors,” which are essentially meaningless.
HDR
High dynamic range refers to scenes rendered with brighter highlights, greater shadow detail and a wider range of color, for a better-looking image. For gaming HDR, in contrast to TV HDR, it means more than just a prettier picture: the better you can see what’s lurking in the bright and dark areas, the more likely you are to avoid danger and spot clues and looks a lot better than the black-level boost settings a monitor may have.
Games used to explicitly require supported HDR as well, but Auto HDR in the Xbox Series X/S and Windows 11 changes that: The operating systems can automatically expand the brightness and color ranges of non-HDR games. It’s not the same as having a game that was rendered to use the expanded ranges, but it can give it a bump to make it look better than it otherwise would.
The HDR10 Plus Gaming standard, a variation of the HDR10 Plus that’s been available on TVs for a while, adds Source Side Tone Mapping, which adjusts the brightness range on a scene level based on data embedded by the game developer — HDR10 has a single range that has to work for the whole game. It also includes the ability to automatically trigger a display’s low latency mode, to compensate for the additional overhead imposed by the HDR data (more important for TVs than monitors), as well as support for variable refresh rates in 4K at 120Hz on consoles (still not implemented in the PS5 as of today).
Price
Unless you can’t afford it, at least $300 (full price, not discounted) for a current-generation model, closer to $600 minimum for an OLED display and/or decent HDR.
