What should a good gaming monitor have?
Well, obviously it depends on what you need. If you are looking for the best gaming monitor that will suit your needs, there are some factors to take into consideration:
- Resolution (must be high). It's better if the monitor has a 2k resolution, but it's not a must-have requirement; 4K is also acceptable nowadays.
- Refresh rate speed (should be at least 60 Hz). If you want to play games at 144 Hz - do not look for anything less than 120 Hz (although some monitors with lower Hz like Dell S2716DG can go up to 165hz)
- Response time speed (should be low). The response time should be as low as possible so your screen won't have much blurring.
- Screen type (most people prefer a TN monitor).
- Your monitor's size. The bigger your screen, the pricier it'll be. Take this into consideration as well as the resolution and response time speed for a perfect gaming experience. You can take a look at our best 24-inch monitor list to know what kinds of monitors are the most popular among gamers and see their prices and specs.
- The design. Although it doesn't affect your gaming experience, this is a nice-to-have requirement.
Finally, you need to check if your graphics card can handle the monitor's resolution. For example, if you use a 1080p monitor with a 1GB graphics card (which is extremely common nowadays), it'll be slow and you'll get fewer fps than if you set the game to 720p.
Now that we've discussed the factors that should be taken into consideration before buying a gaming monitor, let's review some monitors that are on the market now.
What games are indicative of a gaming monitor?
So, if you already have a monitor and want to check out whether it would be good during the process, you can start certain games.
All of them are quite demanding and graphics-intensive, so a monitor that can render them in high resolution and with the least possible blurring is a good candidate for a gaming monitor. However, even if you have a great gaming PC it might happen that your GPU does not have enough power to render all the details of the game at once. This does not mean that you should buy an upgrade immediately - you can change some settings in your graphic card drivers.
So, here are these games:
- Crysis 3 (for AMD cards try older versions)
- Battlefield 4
- Metro: Last Light Redux
- Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor.
You can find full specs and min reqs for these games on official websites. So, if you want to keep it simple - just try out some of the most popular new games on your current monitor. If you get an error message that the graphics card doesn't support the required resolution or has serious lags, you might consider buying a gaming monitor with better hardware specs.
So, here are the best gaming monitors for you to look through.
Dell S2522HG
Main characteristics
This monitor has a TN panel. It provides Full HD (1920x1080) resolution, which is perfect for gaming at 60 Hz. Having a response time of 5 milliseconds and a refresh rate of 60 Hz, this monitor is very popular among gamers, especially among those who play FPS games like Counter-Strike or Battlefield.
Design
Dell S2522HG is quite stylish, it has a thin frame and well-made stand (especially for its price). It is made of matte black plastic, but it still looks pretty nice. The only downside about the design is that this monitor has quite narrow viewing angles.
In terms of connectivity, Dell S2522HG is not that good. For some reason, it has only 1 HDMI port and one VGA port. Of course, there is a DVI-D port present as well. This monitor also doesn't have a USB hub, but considering the price, it might be a fair deal for you to make this purchase with no complaints about its ports!
Resolution
The level of clarity in Dell S2522HG is outstanding - you can hardly tell the difference between playing on a TN panel or an IPS one. This monitor provides Full HD 1920x1080 resolution, which allows you to see an excellent level of detail at all times. Response time goes up to 5 milliseconds, while refresh rate stays at 60 Hz, so expect no blurring or ghosting. Finally, there are 2 built-in speakers with incredible quality for this price range.
Image quality
Dell S2522HG is a TN panel that has an average contrast ratio and maximum brightness. It's not as good as other types of panels, but it still provides good picture quality during dark scenes. The only thing we didn't like about this monitor - the level of black isn't so great.
Pixel response time is 5 milliseconds, so you can play FPS games without any lags or blurring.
Pros:
- Good display quality thanks to Full HD resolution and great pixel response time;
- Stylish design with a thin frame and well-made stand;
- Affordable price compared to other best gaming monitors.
Cons:
- Lack of USB hub and poor viewing angles.
Acer XV252QF
Main characteristics
As for Acer XV252QF, it has a TN panel and Full HD resolution. Response time goes up to 2 ms which is perfect for FPS games. The refresh rate stays at 60 Hz which might be limiting if you want to play racing or sports games at 144 Hz. In addition, the display comes with AMD FreeSync technology.
Design
At first glance, Acer XV252QF looks stylish yet simple at the same time - high-quality plastic casing and thin bezels surround a matte black screen - giving this monitor a luxurious look. The stand is well made and doesn't take too much space on your desk either.
Acer XV252QF has two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a USB hub which prevents you from hooking up multiple devices at once. Also, there is no VGA port even though most of the older laptops don't work without it nowadays.
Resolution
Acer XV252QF provides Full HD 1920x1080 resolution with great pixel response time. Viewing angles are not so good, but you won't be really bothered by that fact because you're going to use this monitor for gaming only.
Image quality
Acer XV252QF has great picture quality - the level of detail is amazing thanks to Full HD resolution and stunning pixel response time (2 ms). The display provides high maximum brightness and average contrast ratio. However, since Acer XV252QF is a TN panel monitor, the level of black is not as good as it should be.
Pixel response time goes up to 2 ms, so you can play FPS games without any lags or blurring.
Pros:
- Stylish design with great build quality;
- Two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort;
- Good display color accuracy due to high maximum brightness and average contrast ratio.
Cons:
- Poor viewing angles.
- There are no USB hubs present.
MSI G273QF
Main characteristics
While other monitors are not that good for playing games on, MSI G273QF is an exception. This display has a TN panel with Full HD resolution and a superior pixel response time of 1 ms. The refresh rate stays at 120 Hz which provides you smooth gameplay even if the FPS count goes very high.
Design
MSI G273QF is a well-made monitor withstand that offers full adjustability - height, tilt, pivot, and swivel. Bezels are thin but slightly bigger around the screen than other best gaming monitors have to offer. As for connectivity ports, this monitor comes with one HDMI port and two DisplayPorts along with built-in speakers that sound great.
Resolution
MSI G273QF comes with Full HD 1920x1080 resolution. The level of detail is great because this display has a high pixel density. Viewing angles could be better, but you won't really bother about the fact that it's a TN panel monitor if you're going to play games with it.
Image quality
Overall image quality is good - color accuracy and viewing angles are not perfect here due to being a TN panel monitor. However, the result is still satisfactory. Maximum brightness makes bright colors look more vivid while the contrast ratio provides deep blacks which give images deeper shadows for extra realism in dark scenes of FPS games. Pixel response time goes up to 1 ms which means there will be no lags or blurring during fast gameplay.
Pros:
- Great design with maximum adjustability on the stand;
- Good display color accuracy due to high maximum brightness and average contrast ratio.
Cons:
- Slightly bigger bezels around the screen than other best gaming monitors have to offer.
ASUS XG27AQM
Main characteristics
ASUS XG27AQM is an affordable 4K gaming monitor that can be used for various purposes. This best gaming monitor comes with a 27" AH-IPS display with 3840x2160 resolution and 350 cd/m² maximum brightness. The pixel response time is impressive - only 1 ms, which provides crisp gameplay during FPS games.
Design
ASUS XG27AQM has a great design with a high build quality - solid stand and thin bezels make the display look stunning from every angle. In addition to the classic round base of the stand, there are blue LED stripes on each foot of this stand as well as on the back of the screen which makes this monitor look even better in dark rooms. Connectivity ports include one DisplayPort 1.2 and two HDMI ports.
Resolution
Due to the 4K Ultra HD resolution, ASUS XG27AQM provides incredibly detailed images with a stunning level of detail. To get the most out of this best gaming monitor, you will need a powerful graphics card that can handle such high resolution (further information in this article ).
Image quality
ASUS XG27AQM has great picture quality - IPS panel ensures wide viewing angles while color accuracy is good even on default settings. The level of black is not as high as it could be due to having an average contrast ratio, which makes dark scenes in FPS games look not so realistic due to low black levels. Pixel response time goes up to 1 ms which means no lags or blurring during fast gameplay.
Pros:
- Impressive pixel response time for an IPS panel;
- Good design with maximum adjustability on the stand;
- Great display color accuracy due to high maximum brightness and average contrast ratio.
Cons:
- Slightly bigger bezels around the screen than other best gaming monitors have to offer.
AOC CU34G2X
Main characteristics
AOC CU34G2X is a curved 34" gaming monitor with 3440x1440 resolution and a 100 Hz refresh rate. The level of detail provided by this WQHD display is great because the pixel density here is high. To get the most out of this best gaming monitor, you will need a powerful graphics card that can handle such high resolution (further information in this article ).
Design
As for design, AOC CU34G2X has a solid stand that provides good adjustability - height, tilt, and swivel. There are many connectivity ports on this monitor - HDMI port, DisplayPort 1.2, two USB 3.0 upstream ports, etc. The curved display gives stunning look to every game you will play on this screen. With a VESA mount, you can easily hang it on the wall or place it in a specialized monitor stand for optimal comfort.
Resolution
AOC CU34G2X is a 34" monitor with UltraWide QHD resolution - its pixel density goes up to 109 PPI which makes images look extremely detailed. You will need a powerful graphics card to play games with settings maxed out at a native resolution of this best gaming monitor, so it's no surprise that AOC has also installed FreeSync technology in order to increase the frame rate on compatible AMD graphics cards.
Image quality
AOC CU34G2X has an impressive display color accuracy due to high maximum brightness and great contrast ratio - 1000:1 static. Even though this best gaming monitor uses an IPS panel, the black level isn't as low as VA panels can offer, you won't probably notice that as this best gaming monitor has a really good response time as well as an amazingly fast refresh rate - 100 Hz.
Pros:
- Great pixel response time for an IPS panel;
- High maximum brightness and great contrast ratio;
- Clear and crisp image with a high level of detail thanks to WQHD resolution.
Cons:
- Slight color-shifting problem due to the curve of the display.