The 5 Best 1440p Monitors - Spring 2024 Reviews

The best 1440p monitor we've tested is the Dell Alienware AW2725DF, which you can get on Dell's website. It's an excellent overall monitor that's focused on gaming, as it offers a high 360Hz refresh rate and fantastic motion handling, so there's minimal motion blur with fast-moving objects. On top of that, it delivers stunning picture quality thanks to its QD-OLED panel. It displays deep blacks without blooming, and HDR also looks excellent as it gets bright enough to make highlights pop and for colors to look vivid.

Even in SDR, it offers incredibly accurate colors in its dedicated sRGB mode, and the image remains accurate no matter where you view it from, thanks to its wide viewing angles. It also comes with an ergonomic stand, so it's easy to place in an ideal position. Unfortunately, there are some downsides to using an OLED as it's prone to burn-in when exposed to the same static elements over time, which can be problematic if you have the taskbar or icons on the screen all day. However, this is less of a concern if you use it for varied stuff, like gaming and watching content, and you occasionally use it for browsing the web and productivity.

If you're concerned about the risk of burn-in on the Dell Alienware AW2725DF or find it too much out of your price range, you can check out the LG 27GR83Q-B instead. It's a good, cheaper alternative that doesn't display the same deep blacks as the Dell and has much worse picture quality in HDR, but that's the trade-off you need to make. That said, without the risk of burn-in, it's more versatile for different uses, as you can easily use it eight hours a day for work, then game on it at night and not worry about damaging your screen over the long run.

It's focused on gaming as it has a 240Hz refresh rate, and it has everything you'd expect to find in a gaming monitor, like VRR support and a fast response time. Even if you want to use it for general desktop use, it delivers good picture quality with accurate colors and high peak brightness, meaning visibility isn't an issue in well-lit rooms. It also has wide viewing angles, so it's a good choice if you often need to share your screen with someone else, but while it has decent ergonomics, it doesn't offer any swivel adjustment.

If you prefer something cheaper, the Dell Alienware AW2724DM is a good alternative to the LG 27GR83Q-B. The lower 165Hz native refresh rate isn't as ideal for competitive gaming, but it has an overclock feature to boost it up to 180Hz, which is still good enough for most gamers. It offers a fast response time at any refresh rate and supports all common VRR formats to reduce screen tearing.

The picture quality is also good, especially if you use it in a well-lit room because it has great SDR brightness and good reflection handling. It also has wide viewing angles that keep the image consistent from the sides, which is great if you need to share your screen with someone else, and it has even better ergonomics than the LG. It has a USB hub to quickly connect your devices, but it doesn't have an audio output, which is disappointing if you want to connect speakers directly to your monitor. If that's important, you can also consider the cheaper LG 27GP850-B/27GP83B-B, but it doesn't get as bright.

If you're looking for a budget-friendly 1440p monitor, the Dell G2724D is a good low-cost option. It often goes on sale, and you can also get it directly through Dell's website. It's a step-down model from the Dell Alienware AW2724DM with fewer features. It lacks an overclock or a USB hub, so you can't connect devices directly to the monitor. If that's important to you, the ASUS ProArt Display PA278CV is a low-cost monitor with a USB hub, including a USB-C port, but it has fewer gaming features, so it isn't as versatile.

The Dell is good for gaming as it has a fantastic response time, especially at its max refresh rate of 165Hz. It also supports all common VRR formats, including HDMI Forum VRR, which not all budget monitors support. It delivers good enough picture quality for an entry-level monitor as it gets bright enough to fight glare in a well-lit room and has accurate colors in SDR. That said, it has a low contrast ratio and limited HDR picture quality, which is expected for a budget monitor.

If you need a cheap and simple entry-level gaming monitor, look into the Gigabyte GS27QC. It's different from the Dell G2724D because it has worse overall performance and doesn't get as bright, but that's what you have to expect from something cheap. It also uses a different panel type with a better contrast ratio, making it the better choice if you want to use it in a dark room. However, because it has worse viewing angles and terrible ergonomics, it's a bad choice if you need to share your screen with someone else next to you.

The Gigabyte excels with gaming because it has a fast response time at high refresh rates and a backlight strobing feature to reduce persistence blur. However, there's more smearing and blur at lower refresh rates. While it has limited versatility for other uses, like if you want to use it in a well-lit room because it doesn't get bright enough to fight glare, images look life-like thanks to its accurate sRGB picture mode.