The 5 Best 4k Gaming Monitors - Winter 2023 Reviews

The best 4k gaming monitor we've tested is the Samsung LS32BG852NNXGO. It's a fantastic gaming monitor that's future-proof because it's the first 4k, 240Hz monitor available to the consumer market. While you can't hit the max refresh rate with a 4k resolution now, you at least won't have to worry about buying another monitor when technology starts to support it. In terms of its gaming performance, motion looks incredible thanks to its very fast response time, and it has low input lag for a responsive feel. It also has native FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) support and G-SYNC compatibility to reduce screen tearing. However, there are some flicker issues with VRR enabled with low frame rates, but it's only with dark scenes and hard to see with most content.

Another advantage of this monitor is the excellent picture quality. It uses Mini LED backlighting to produce a decent local dimming feature and, combined with its high native contrast, it displays deep blacks with minimal blooming for good picture quality in dark rooms. That makes it a good choice for HDR gaming as some colors look vivid, highlights pop, and it displays a wide range of colors.

If you want to save some money while getting nearly the same features, consider getting an upper mid-range monitor like the Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 S32BG75. It's a lower-end model in Samsung's lineup compared to the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 S32BG85, with the main difference being that it has a lower 165Hz refresh rate than 240Hz. While it provides a high refresh rate for 4k gaming, you can't achieve higher refresh rates even with a lower resolution. Still, you get the same 32-inch screen with Mini LED backlighting to provide great picture quality in dark scenes, and highlights also pop in HDR thanks to the decent HDR brightness.

It provides excellent gaming performance as it has a quick response time across its entire refresh rate range, and it has an optional backlight strobing feature to reduce persistence blur. However, it only works within a narrow range. It has low input lag for a responsive feel with most settings, and it has native FreeSync VRR support with G-SYNC compatibility. Like with the Neo G8, there's flicker with low frame rate signals, and Samsung added a setting to reduce the flicker, but it also increases the input lag.

If you don't need the best of the best but still care about gaming performance, then the Gigabyte M32U is a good alternative to the Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 S32BG75. It has a quick response time, low input lag, and VRR support for a smooth and responsive gaming experience. It also has a few extra features like a frame rate counter and a few different virtual overlays, including a dashboard that shows all the vital information from your PC, like the CPU and GPU temps, memory, and other helpful information.

While it has the same 32-inch screen, the Gigabyte lacks a Mini LED backlight and has worse contrast, so it doesn't look as good in a dark room. On the other hand, it has wider viewing angles than the Samsung monitor, making it a better choice for co-op gaming, as the image remains accurate from the sides. There are also similar monitors from Gigabyte that don't cost much, like the Gigabyte M32UC, which is a very similar monitor with a higher contrast ratio for better dark room performance. However, it has worse viewing angles and worse response times, so the M32U provides better motion handling.

If you find that the 32-inch screen size of the Gigabyte M32U is too big or you want something cheaper, look into the Gigabyte M28U. It's essentially a smaller version of the M32U with a slightly worse stand, and there are some minor differences in performance too. The M28U has many of the same gaming features with HDMI 2.1 bandwidth that lets you play 4k games up to 120 fps.

It has low input lag for a responsive feel and an excellent response time with high-frame-rate signals. While there's more overshoot with 60 fps signals, it's still good, and the overall appearance of motion is great. It also has a backlight-strobing feature, and unlike most monitors, it works at the same time as VRR and flickers within a wide range, helping reduce persistence blur.

Most 4k gaming monitors tend to cost more than regular 4k monitors, so if you want one, you'll have to be prepared to spend some money. However, if you're on a tight budget and want a basic 4k monitor for console gaming, the Dell S2721QS is the best budget 4k gaming monitor we've tested. Although it's designed for the office, it still provides decent gaming performance at a low cost, and it's good enough for playing 4k games up to 60 fps from the PS5 or Xbox Series X. However, because it doesn't support HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, you can't take full advantage of the consoles, so you'll need to spend more on the Gigabyte M28U if you want that.

As expected for a basic office-oriented monitor, its motion handling isn't special, but it's still okay, and there isn't too much blur behind fast-moving objects. It has low input lag for a responsive feel while gaming, lower than 4k TVs, which is an advantage of getting a monitor for gaming, even if it's not gaming-specific. It even has VRR support that works with the Xbox but not with the PS5 because the PS5 requires HDMI Forum VRR support.