Our Favorite Computer Monitors for Gaming
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Explosions look sicker on a gaming monitor. So do touchdowns, boss fights, and chicken dinners—it's just science. That’s because gaming monitors have special features you won't find on your everyday monitor, and I don't just mean RGB lighting. They have higher refresh rates, faster response times, advanced panel types, and admittedly, they often feature colorful LEDs.
So if you just finished putting together that new gaming PC, and you're looking for a monitor to plug into, I'll walk you through my favorite pickd for every type of gamer, from the first-person shooter to the third-person farmer. Our current favorite, the AOC Q27G4ZD, is a great affordable 1440p option with a high refresh rate, but you can upgrade to Samsung's G8S1F if you want the perfect black levels that come with a QD-OLED panel. Also, be sure to check out our guides to the Best Gaming Keyboards, Best Gaming Mice, Best Gaming Headsets, and Best Game Controllers.
General Buying Tips
Panel Type
Panel type tends to be a lot more important on gaming panels than it is for monitors you’re just using for emails and social media. This choice will determine your image quality, color and black level brightness, refresh rate, and latency. We have a great explainer if you want to know more about the technical details and differences between all of the options.
Quantum-Dot OLED is one of the latest and most premium panel technologies, delivering more vivid colors while still taking advantage of the deep blacks that you get from OLED. The important bit here is that these panels are perfect for gaming. Games are well equipped to take advantage of the deep black levels and brighter colors without any extra help. Most of the screens on our list have QD-OLED panels for this reason, and I’d recommend prioritizing the panel type, unless you have a limited budget.
Adaptive Refresh Rate
Where typical monitors run at a fixed refresh rate, most modern gaming monitors include some form of adaptive refresh technology. By syncing up the refresh rate of your screen with the game’s current frame rate, you can reduce the tearing and visual weirdness caused by a mismatch.
Adaptive refresh comes into two flavors. FreeSync is the more common offering, particularly on nongaming and budget-friendly screens, and it should work with both Nvidia and AMD GPUs. Screens that have Nvidia’s G-Sync may not support your AMD GPU, so you’ll need to check this spreadsheet for compatibility.
Aspect Ratio
While televisions may generally be limited to 16:9 screens, computer monitors have the freedom to expand or contract to whatever aspect ratio they like. Ultrawide screens running at 21:9 have become a common alternative, often in a 34-inch size with a 3,440 x 1,440 aspect ratio. There are even ultra-ultrawide panels that run two 1080p or 1440p panels side by side in the same screen.
These ultrawide screens aren’t better or worse than 16:9 panels, and they often have feature sets similar to their classically shaped siblings’. Instead, you should consider your desk space, and the sorts of games you typically play. I find ultrawide panels are great for cinematic games, where the extra screen space filling your peripheral vision can make them feel more immersive. They’re less optimal for fast-paced shooters and twitchy games, where you need to be able to spot all the information on your screen at once without moving your head or eyes.
Best Monitor for Most
My personal daily driver is the AOC Q27G4ZD (8/10, WIRED Review). A 1440p screen is a very manageable resolution for modern systems, and a great target for a new build. This AOC is a premium version, with the latest panel tech, at a very reasonable price. It quickly took the place of a less impressive 4K screen, which I think is a testament to how much of an improvement QD-OLED is over most other panel types.
It has a 240-Hz refresh rate, which is among the highest you’ll find on gaming screens, with only a few options at 300 Hz or higher. According to the Steam Hardware Survey, just over half of gamers still play at 1080p. The upgrade to 1440p, plus the refresh improvement, should feel massive to anyone looking at a 90-Hz or even 120-Hz screen.
I only have two complaints about the AOC, and one is relatively minor. The glossy finish is fine for pure gaming, but it might be a little bothersome if you intend to use the monitor for both work and play, especially if it’s in a brightly lit office. The less bothersome issue is the stand, which feels a little light for how heavy the screen is, but I recommend using a monitor arm anyway for better adjustability.
Specs Panel Type QD-OLED Resolution 2,560 x 1,440 Refresh Rate 240 Hz Best 4K Gaming Monitor
- Photograph: Brad Bourque
- Photograph: Brad Bourque
- Photograph: Brad Bourque
- Photograph: Brad Bourque
As one of Samsung's most premium offerings, the G8S1F is a seriously beefy gaming monitor, but it comes at a cost, with both price and performance demands. If you already have a powerful system and deep pockets, this is the monitor to get. It has a massive 240-HZ refresh rate, a Quantum Dot OLED panel for beautifully vivid colors and perfect black levels, and FreeSync Premium Pro to make sure every game runs smoothly.
The caveat is that I don't think most gamers can comfortably power a screen like this. Room to grow is great, but if the gap is too big, you might be frustrated to not get anywhere close to 240 frames per second (fps) at 4K. It's also over $1,000, and with awesome 1440p screens available for half that price, you might consider putting that extra cash towards a better GPU.
Specs Panel Type QD-OLED Resolution 3,840 x 2,160 Refresh Rate 240 Hz
-Reviewer-Photo-SOURCE-Brad-Bourque.jpg)
Best Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
For ultrawide screens, I’d recommend checking out the MSI Mag 34CQP (9/10, WIRED Review), which is also a QD-OLED panel. It has a smooth 175-Hz refresh rate, super high brightness for excellent HDR performance, and a price tag that’s pretty appealing for how much screen you’re getting. I was a devout ultrawide gamer for years, and I love how much more immersive games are when they take up more of your field of view. I also like them for games like World of Warcraft where I have a zillion UI elements to keep track of, but still need to see my character.
The MSI also has some unique features that justify the slightly elevated price tag. The main draw is a KVM switch, which lets you use the same keyboard, mouse, and screen with two different systems, switching between them with the push of a button. It also has some OLED-specific features to help prevent burn-in, something you’ll see some form of on most OLED and QD-OLED panels.
Specs Panel Type QD-OLED Resolution 3,440 x 1,440 Refresh Rate 175 Hz Best High-Refresh-Rate Display
For some gamers, refresh rate is the most important factor, giving you time to respond in the snappiest of shooters. At 1440p, the Samsung Odyssey G6 (8/10, WIRED Review) can reach a teetering 360 Hz, and I know some of you are already dreaming of perfectly tuning your Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant settings to get over 300 fps.
It still has an OLED panel for when you don't feel like getting sweaty, and FreeSync Premium Pro, which means you get better HDR support, even when your frame rate isn't smooth. It's a versatile screen and great for daily gaming or productivity. Unless you have the graphics card to power it, and plan on playing over 240 Hz often, it's worth saving the cash and getting the panel upgrade to the AOC.
Specs Panel Type OLED Resolution 2,560 x 1,440 Refresh Rate 360 Hz
Best Budget 1440p Monitor
If you’re willing to compromise on panel type, the AOC Q27G4XN packs 180 Hz of refresh into a 27-inch 1440p screen. The VA panel doesn’t have quite the same black levels as the QD-OLED of our other screens, but for under $200, I think it’s a great starting option, or an upgrade for your aging 1080p screen. It still has a nice high refresh rate, with adaptive sync to keep your gameplay smooth.
The major downside of VA panels is that they don’t have good off-angle viewing, so you’ll want to make sure this screen is sitting right in front of you. I put in some hours gaming on the G4XN, and it never really bothered me, but it might be problematic as a second screen if you aren't sitting right in front of it.
Specs Panel Type VA Resolution 2,560 x 1,440 Refresh Rate 180 Hz Best Monitor Under $100
If you’re on a really tight budget, you should check out the Phillips V8 Series. These 1080p VA panels feature a 100-Hz refresh rate and adaptive sync, which is a boon for gamers who may not be able to maintain a perfect 100 fps. It’s not a perfect screen, with some blurring possible at high refresh rates in snappier games, but it has the right specs for occasional gaming or less demanding titles.
For under $100, you could do a lot worse, and with a healthy four-year warranty, it would make a great second screen if you decide to upgrade down the road. With 1080p screens, I’d also recommend sizing down to 24 inches. The higher pixel density will help the lower resolution not feel as noticeable.
Specs Panel Type VA Resolution 1,920 x 1,080 Refresh Rate 100 Hz
Honorable Mentions
Alienware AW34XXDW for $350: Alienware's 34-inch gaming monitor has been both an entry point and enthusiast option for PC gamers looking to get into ultrawide gaming for years. I use the older IPS model (the AW3418DW) as a second screen for productivity, and we gave high marks to 2023's AW3423DW (9/10, WIRED Recommends) for adding a QD-OLED panel into the mix. Alienware updates the screen every year or two, so it's hard to find the older models at retail, but if you can find them on discount, they're a great buy. I'm working on getting the new 2025 model in for review, and will update here when I do.
Samsung Odyssey 3D for $2,000: It has limited game compatibility and a hefty price tag, but Samsung’s G90FX (7/10, WIRED Review) offers a glasses-free 3D experience that WIRED writer Luke Larsen calls “surprisingly compelling.” If you don't plan on using the 3D, it's a bit expensive for what it offers, so you're really paying for the special tech. I'd recommend checking out his full review for more info before pulling the trigger, particularly because it has some specific hardware limitations, but it's certainly worth checking out if you're intrigued.
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