The 5 Best 1080p Monitors - Winter 2022 Reviews

The best 1080p gaming monitor we've tested is the ASUS VG279QM. It delivers an excellent gaming experience, with an extremely fast 280Hz refresh rate, resulting in outstanding motion handling with barely any noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects, even when gaming at 60Hz. It also has an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion, which further improves the appearance of motion.

It has wide viewing angles and outstanding ergonomics, so you can easily place it in an ideal viewing position. It also has great peak brightness in SDR and decent reflection handling, so it can easily overcome a bit of glare if you're in a bright room. It supports HDR as well, but like most monitors on the market, it fails to deliver a truly impactful HDR experience, so if you're looking for an impressive HDR experience, you might be better off with a TV instead.

Unfortunately, the fairly low native resolution of this monitor results in just decent text clarity, so it's not as well-suited for office use or media creation. It also has high input lag at 60Hz, so it's not ideal for gaming on older consoles that are limited to 60Hz. Despite these limitations, it's a great monitor overall that should please even the most demanding gamers.

The best 1080p gaming monitor with a 360Hz refresh rate that we've tested is the Dell Alienware AW2521H. Its relatively small size doesn't deliver the most immersive gaming experience, but it more than makes up for it with its impressive motion handling. The standout feature is, of course, its 360Hz refresh rate, and it feels incredibly responsive. Fast motion looks clear with almost no ghosting, thanks to its exceptional response time.

Unlike other monitors in this recommendation, it has native G-SYNC support, and with that, there are quite a few extra features available. NVIDIA's Reflex Latency Analyzer lets you measure the input lag and find ways to improve it, and like most gaming monitors, you can add a virtual crosshair, timer, or frame rate indicator on the screen. There are four USB 3.0 ports so that you can plug your peripherals or dongles into the monitor for a cleaner setup. Lastly, the stand offers great ergonomics, making it easy to adjust the screen to your needs.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work at all with FreeSync, so you need a recent NVIDIA graphics card to take full advantage of this monitor. It also supports HDR, but it has low contrast, poor black uniformity, just decent peak brightness in HDR, and no wide color gamut, so there's little benefit to using HDR. Although it has a few limitations, overall, it's an excellent gaming monitor for casual and esports gamers.

If you're on a limited budget, check out the Acer Nitro XF243Y Pbmiiprx. It's an excellent gaming option with a 24 inch screen and a 144Hz refresh rate that you can overclock to 165Hz for a more responsive gaming experience. It has native FreeSync support to reduce screen tearing, and although it's not certified by NVIDIA, G-SYNC still works over a DisplayPort connection.

Gamers should appreciate the quick response time whether you're playing at the max refresh rate of 165Hz or at 60Hz. Motion looks smooth with minimal blur trail behind fast-moving objects. There's an optional backlight strobing feature to further improve motion clarity, but it only works within a narrow range. It has low input lag, meaning you won't notice any delay, and it has a flicker-free backlight, which helps reduce eye strain. It's also a great choice for co-op gaming because it has narrow viewing angles and excellent ergonomics with a full 360-degree swivel range.

Unfortunately, while it supports HDR, it doesn't add much. It can't display a wide color gamut, has low HDR peak brightness, a mediocre contrast ratio, and there's no local dimming feature, so it's better for SDR gaming. On the plus side, if you want to use it in a well-lit room, it gets bright enough to fight glare and has good reflection handling.