The 6 Best 1440p Monitors - Fall 2020
Reviews

The best 1440p monitor that we've tested so far is the ASUS TUF VG27AQ. It's versatile and should please both serious gamers or people who just want to relax and watch a few videos with friends.

The native refresh rate of 144Hz can easily be overclocked to 165Hz, delivering a better gaming experience. This helps by giving it an excellent response time, resulting in clear motion, and there's a black frame insertion feature to reduce motion blur. The input lag is also incredibly low and stays low even at 60Hz, which is great for console gamers. It has an IPS panel, so the viewing angles are wide, and you won't lose image accuracy when viewing from the side, and the ergonomics are excellent, so you can place it on your desk however you like.

Unfortunately, its contrast ratio is low, and although it supports HDR, it lacks a wide color gamut and can't get bright enough to bring out highlights, so this mode doesn't add much. However, it delivers a great overall picture quality, making it the best 1440p monitor that we've tested so far.

The best ultrawide 1440p monitor we've tested so far is the LG 34GN850-B. It's well-rounded with an impressive gaming performance that should please most people. Its native 144Hz refresh rate can be easily overclocked to 160Hz, and its 21:9 aspect ratio offers enough space to multitask and open a few windows at once.

It has native FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) support, and it's certified by NVIDIA to be G-SYNC compatible with newer NVIDIA graphics cards. It has an outstanding response time at its max refresh rate, one of the best we've seen on a monitor that doesn't have a 240Hz refresh rate. The response time remains excellent when playing at 60Hz, making it ideal for console gaming, and its input lag is also really low. It has an IPS panel, so naturally, it has fairly wide viewing angles, great for sharing your screen with others. It has great out-of-the-box color accuracy, it gets bright enough to combat glare, and it has excellent coverage of the Adobe RGB color space used in photo editing.

Unfortunately, it isn't ideal to use in dark rooms as it has a low contrast ratio and just okay black uniformity. However, it supports HDR10, it displays a good wide color gamut, and it has decent peak brightness in HDR. Overall, most people should be happy with it, making it the best 2k monitor with an ultrawide screen we've tested.

The best 1440p monitor in the budget category that we've tested so far is the ASUS ProArt Display PA278QV. It's a 27 inch screen designed for content creators, with enough gaming performance to satisfy casual gamers. It has a good build quality, and its exceptional ergonomics allow you to easily adjust the screen to your optimal viewing position. It has an IPS panel with wide viewing angles and gets bright enough to combat glare under the harshest lighting conditions.

It comes with an sRGB mode that's factory-calibrated, so you shouldn't have to calibrate it to get the best viewing experience. It has near full coverage of the sRGB color space; however, its Adobe RGB coverage is just decent and might not be good enough for professional photo editing. It has an impressive response time that results in minimal motion blur, and a 75Hz refresh rate that makes motion look slightly smoother than your typical 60Hz panel. To reduce screen tearing, it has native FreeSync support and G-SYNC compatibility.

Its downside is its low contrast ratio, which makes blacks look grayish, especially in a dark environment. Our unit has some backlight bleed, but uniformity issues vary per unit, so your experience might differ. It has four USB 3.0 ports that you can use for charging or data transfer, and an additional feature called 'Quick Fit Virtual Scale,' which lets you display an overlay to preview documents in their actual sizes before printing. All in all, this is a well-rounded and versatile monitor that's easy on the wallet.