The 6 Best Gaming Monitors - Spring 2024 Reviews

The best monitor we've tested for gaming is the Dell Alienware AW3225QF. It's a premium monitor that features high-end perks like a 4k resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, and QD-OLED panel, providing both outstanding picture quality and gaming performance. Motion looks extremely clear thanks to its near-instantaneous response time, so there's almost no blur behind fast-moving objects. On top of that, it supports all common VRR formats to reduce screen tearing.

Besides its outstanding gaming performance, its QD-OLED panel delivers perfect blacks in dark rooms without any blooming around bright objects. It also gets bright enough for small highlights to pop and colors to look vivid. Thanks to its 4k resolution, images also look sharp and realistic, and it even has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth to take full advantage of modern graphics cards, which is great if you have a high-end PC gaming setup. It also has a few extra features like Dolby Vision and eARC. Other monitors use the same panel and have different features, like the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM, which has a USB-C and 90W of power delivery but costs more.

If you don't need such a premium monitor with a high 4k resolution, like if your computer setup can't even maintain such high frame rates with that resolution, check out the Dell Alienware AW2725DF. It costs slightly less than the Dell Alienware AW3225QF, and you can buy it directly through Dell's website. With a lower 1440p resolution, images aren't as detailed, but it actually has an even higher 360Hz refresh rate, which makes it ideal for competitive gaming, especially if you don't need the most detailed images. It has fewer features than the bigger AW3225QF, like the lack of HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, so you can only reach the max refresh rate with a DisplayPort connection as it can't take advantage of HDMI 2.1 graphics cards.

Besides that, the AW2725DF delivers the same outstanding gaming experience with a near-instantaneous response time for incredibly sharp motion, and it has VRR support to reduce screen tearing. It also has a QD-OLED panel that displays deep and inky blacks, and it's fantastic for HDR gaming thanks to its bright and vivid colors.

If you don't need an OLED's high-end performance and picture quality and prefer saving some money, check out a mid-range option like the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx. There are a few trade-offs as it doesn't deliver the same deep blacks or have a near-instantaneous response time like the Dell Alienware AW2725DF. This monitor also has a lower refresh rate, which isn't ideal for competitive gaming. It's still a good PC gaming monitor that offers good motion handling across its VRR range, but it doesn't eliminate all motion blur.

On top of its gaming perks, it has decent picture quality whether you're gaming in SDR or HDR. It has a decent Mini LED local dimming feature that helps it display deep blacks next to bright highlights, and it also gets bright enough to make highlights pop. There are some downsides, though, as it has increased input lag at 60Hz, which is disappointing for playing games at low refresh rates. If that bothers you or you can't find this model in your region, the LG 32GR93U-B is a decent alternative with a 4k screen but worse picture quality.

There are still some great gaming monitors you can get in the lower mid-range price category, but these tend to have worse picture quality than more expensive options, and that's the case with the Dell Alienware AW2724DM. It has a much worse local dimming feature than the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx, so it can't display the same deep blacks, and highlights don't pop as much. It also has a lower 1440p resolution than the Acer, so images aren't as sharp, but this is the trade-off for getting something cheaper. That said, it still offers good gaming performance with a 165Hz refresh rate that you can overlock to 180Hz and provides support for all common VRR formats.

Motion looks smooth thanks to its fast response time, but it doesn't have an optional backlight strobing feature to further improve the appearance of motion. It has a few added perks, like a USB hub to which you can 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 to you, you can also consider the cheaper LG 27GP850-B/27GP83B-B, but it doesn't get as bright.

Even if you want a budget gaming monitor, some good options exist. You'll have to sacrifice a few features, but you can still get a monitor with impressive gaming performance, like the ViewSonic XG2431. It has a lower resolution than the Dell Alienware AW2724DM and a smaller screen, so it doesn't deliver the same immersive gaming experience with detailed images. That said, if you want a higher resolution, there are still some 1440p options you can look into, like the Dell G2724D, but these have lower refresh rates.

What makes the ViewSonic great for gaming is that it has a high 240Hz refresh rate, which is ideal for PC gaming. This helps provide an extremely fast response time for crisp motion, and it also has an optional backlight strobing feature, which reduces persistence blur. Unlike many monitors, you can customize this feature's flicker, but like many monitors, it doesn't work at the same time as VRR. It has FreeSync and is G-SYNC compatible, so it works with almost any source.

If you want a simple and cheap gaming monitor, plenty of options are available from different retailers at a low cost, but most have limited gaming performance. Still, if that's what you're interested in, check out the ASUS TUF Gaming VG249Q1A. It's different from the ViewSonic XG2431 because it has a lower 165Hz refresh rate, which is expected for a cheap monitor, and it doesn't support HDR. It also has lower peak brightness and isn't as good of a choice for brighter rooms.

Luckily, its motion handling is fantastic and provides a crisp motion. It also has FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility to reduce screen tearing, though VRR only works over DisplayPort. It has wide viewing angles, so it's good for local co-op gaming with a friend. However, it has terrible ergonomics, so it's more difficult to set the monitor in your preferred position for a long gaming session. Sadly, it has limited picture quality as it has a low contrast ratio, so if that's important for you, the Gigabyte GS27QC is a decent alternative with higher contrast, but it has worse motion handling.