Best gaming monitors 2023: All the best displays for every need and budget

Whether on a powerful gaming PC or a super-convenient Xbox console, gaming at a desk is most comfortable when using a gaming monitor. There are literally hundreds of gaming monitor options from dozens of companies, though, so it can be incredibly difficult to narrow down which gaming monitor best suits your needs, your gaming setup, and your budget.

We've narrowed down the very best from our favorite, most consistent gaming monitor manufacturers. LG, Samsung, ASUS, Dell, Acer, and many other companies have a chance to earn a spot on this list if they deliver well-designed, high-quality, reliable products that offer the features PC gaming players are looking for. This includes high refresh rates, fast response times, a great balance of size and resolution, and even extra features like wide or curved screens, HDR support, and adaptive sync tech like NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync.

Need a great monitor to pair with one of the best gaming laptops or best pre-built gaming PCs? We have you covered with our definitive list of the greatest gaming monitors for every need and budget. We also have guides to help you track down more of the best monitors, including the best 4K and best ultrawide options.

Best gaming monitors: The quick list

Best OLED gaming monitor

An OLED display can provide amazing advantages, such as more vibrant colors, faster response times, and essentially perfect contrast levels. However, it's still more expensive than the more common LCD display type and is even more rare among gaming monitors. Fortunately, that's rapidly changing, and ASUS has leapt to the top of the heap with its incredible ROG Swift OLED 27" gaming monitor.

For a monitor of this size, the ASUS ROG Swift OLED (PG27AQDM) essentially ticks every box, packing all the features and specs you want in a high-end monitor. It's 1440p QHD, making it plenty sharp. It has a 240Hz refresh rate, so it pairs great with equally high-end gaming PCs that can push framerates to the max. It has a ludicrous 0.3ms response time, which bests practically all non-OLED displays on the market. It supports AMD FreeSync Premium and is NVIDIA G-SYNC compatible.

Can it get better than that? Yes, actually, because this monitor delivers in person. I used the ROG Swift OLED as my personal monitor for weeks, and it is by far the best monitor I've ever used. The colors are gorgeous and vibrant without losing color accuracy, the display gets plenty bright (especially for HDR content), and the build quality is exemplary. Thin bezels, an anti-glare screen coating, and a soft-touch texture to the razor thin chassis all contribute to the ultra-premium feel of the monitor.

ASUS also put in a ton of work to ensure this monitor lasts for years to come. It has a beefy heatsink stashed away behind the thin display panel to keep your monitor cool and boasts several software features to help preserve the health of your OLED monitor over time. It's a little more maintenance than a standard LCD display, but it's worth it for this picture quality.

I wish it supported a better HDR standard, and I did encounter a handful of bugs during my time with it, but the ASUS ROG Swift OLED monitor shown here is 100% worth its admittedly steep price tag. A penny under $1,000 is an investment, to say the least, especially since you can get higher resolutions, faster refresh rates, larger and wider screens, and curved displays at similar or lower prices. You have to want OLED and the advantages it brings to consider this monitor. If that's what you want, though, this is the best there is.

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Best LCD gaming monitor

Alienware is one of the most popular gaming brands in the world, making a wide range of gaming hardware, accessories, and peripherals for every budget. The Alienware 27" Gaming Monitor (AW2723DF) sits in the higher echelons of Alienware's monitors, offering a high-end gaming experience with a backlit, LCD display. It's comparable to the ASUS ROG Swift OLED mentioned above, but cost hundreds less.

Here, you're getting a 27-inch, 1440p screen with rock-solid build quality, support for every adaptive sync technology under the sun, eye-scorching max brightness, excellent color accuracy, and up to 280Hz refresh rate with display overclocking. Yeah, if your computer can handle it, you can crank up the refresh rate even higher than it is out of the box. There's also a plenty-fast 1ms response time, which is similar to other LCD gaming monitors.

This monitor excels in every category it aims at, plain and simple. It's insanely easy to setup (Dell typically does a great job with this), feels premium and durable, and dominates all the basic categories without getting too crazy. If you're like me and believe that 27-inches and 1440p is the sweet spot for a gaming monitor, this is the best you can get without spending a lot more on an OLED alternative.

It's well-calibrated out of the box, with high brightness and great HDR support that will make HDR content really pop on the screen. One of its only weaknesses is one that affects many LCD displays, and that's the existence of backlight bleed at low brightness levels, which results in some bright spots when the entire screen is dark. At the end of the day, this is one of the best monitors in its class, as long as you're willing to pay the price for it. There are a ton of more affordable 27-inch, 1440p monitors on the market, but none of them will be the same caliber as Alienware's AW2723DF.

It can also frequently be found on sale, which is a fantastic way to save some money and still get the monitor of your dreams. Unless you really need an ultrawide, curved, or 4K monitor, I easily recommend considering putting this monitor on your desk.

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Best 4K gaming monitor

HP may be most well-known for its consumer and enterprise computers, printers, and accessories, but its OMEN brand has been steadily growing in popularity thanks to the consistent value and quality of its products. The HP OMEN 27u 4K Gaming Monitor is among the more premium products in HP's gaming lineup, and it's worth every penny (especially if you can find it on sale).

This is a fantastic 4K monitor all-around, but it's doubly great if you're a gamer. That 4K resolution is a given, but it's also backed by great color accuracy (rated for 95% of the DCI-P3 color gamut), a decently high brightness of up to 450nits, a smooth 144Hz refresh rate, and a great 1ms response time that bests a lot of other 4K monitors. You also get HDR400 and AMD FreeSync Premium support. It's a lovely screen, and the surrounding monitor is great, too.

The HP OMEN 27u boasts a modern design with thin bezels and customizable RGB lighting on the back. There's also a USB hub built into the monitor to increase your connectivity options, and the monitor has DisplayPort 1.4 for gaming PCs and HDMI 2.1 for Xbox Series X|S. Yeah, this is an awesome choice if you want a monitor for your Xbox Series X that can support the console's full capabilities, including 4K and 120FPS, HDR, adaptive sync, and more.

This monitor has even more to give, too. An anti-glare coating helps keep the sun or bright lights from disrupting your gameplay, which I always love to see on a monitor or display. You also get integrated speakers, so you don't have to always rely on one of the best gaming headsets when you want to play games, watch videos, listen to music, and more.

If this monitor has any weaknesses, it's that HDR400 is far from the best HDR standard, and its effectiveness is limited by the max brightness of the display. HP also quotes the OMEN 27u as having a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, which is pretty average for a decent LCD display. Finally, the monitor is a tad on the expensive side, but you can at least be assured you're getting a quality product that delivers on every front. You can also find it on sale a lot of the time, helping you save your wallet from further pain.

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Best curved gaming monitor

Samsung's foray into gaming monitors has seen a lot of successes so far, including the Samsung Odyssey G7 27-inch curved gaming monitor pictured above. This monitor shirks the trend of other curved displays by retaining the traditional 16:9 aspect ration (versus the wider aspect ratios of other monitors), and brings a tight 1000R curve that will be immediately noticeable the moment you unbox it.

This aggressive curve is supposed to match the curvature of your eye, providing unmatched peripheral vision and letting you see all of the screen at once. Samsung combined this curve with a pixel dense 1440p resolution, a blistering fast 240Hz refresh rate, a 1ms response time, and support for both NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro adaptive sync technologies.

The initial assembly can be awkward (few companies make it as easy as Dell does), and you may need to calibrate the display a little during setup. Once you're situated, though, the Odyssey G7 looks incredible. The QLED panel is bright, fast, and responsive, and that curve can be beneficial for gaming and productivity. You also get HDR600 support, so HDR content really pops on this colorful display.

A high contrast ratio further aids HDR content and generally raises the picture quality, while a healthy number of ports (DisplayPort, HDMI, and a handful of USB ports for peripherals) gives you plenty of options for connectivity.

If you're looking for a curved display that isn't widescreen, this is easily among the very best. Of course, it's also on the pricey side of things, although you can now usually find it on sale to save some money. Curved monitors are very popular with gamers for the tangible benefits, but you usually have to pay a little bit more for the privilege. Samsung's offering gives you quality, features, and that lovely curve in one attractive package.

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Best widescreen gaming monitor

Alienware makes another appearance on the list, this time with the QD-OLED Curved Gaming Monitor 34". This is a premium display through and through and boasts a wide 21:9 aspect ratio with a 1800R curve for a lot more screen real estate. For those who want to multitask like a pro or play ultrawide games, this is the monitor to buy.

Alienware combined OLED and Quantum Dot technologies for incredible color reproduction, resulting in a gorgeous, vivid, and bright image. You may have to calibrate the monitor out of the box to get the image you want, but you'll be able to get it. It's not the brightest monitor, but Alienware does take full advantage of the HDR400 standard to support HDR games and other content.

Of course, this is also a gaming monitor. The QD-OLED 34-inch display supports up to 175Hz, with a 0.1ms response time with its fastest settings and NVIDIA G-SYNC Ultimate for the best adaptive sync you can get. There are also additional USB ports for peripheral connectivity, which is always nice to see. If you love your cable management and don't want to see all of those ports, the well-designed chassis also includes a seamless cover to hide it all away.

Alienware has put in thought to combat OLED burn-in over the years, too, with plenty of thermal management, a pixel refresh feature, and a three-year warranty to service the monitor or get replacements should you ever be afflicted with OLED burn-in. This problem is much less prominent than in years past, but it's still good to see companies put in further effort to improve matters.

It's an incredible gaming monitor, through and through, but there's one caveat — It's expensive. The AW3423DW monitor retails for $1,299.99, so you'll have to ensure you want a display of this caliber before pulling the trigger. If you want to save a fair bit of cash, though, the Alienware AW3423DWF is available from Dell for hundreds less. It's almost the exact same monitor, too, but you are losing NVIDIA G-SYNC Ultimate (you get AMD FreeSync Premium Pro instead) and a 165Hz refresh rate.

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Best gaming monitor for Xbox

The Xbox Series X is a beast of a console, with a lot of high-end gaming features for players to enjoy. Normally, you'd want to connect your Xbox to a large-screen TV in the living room, but the best 4K TVs that fully support the Xbox Series X's capabilities can be expensive. If you want to play at your desk and save a bit of cash in the process, the Acer Nitro Gaming Monitor 28" (XV282K) is an excellent gaming monitor... As long as it's discounted.

This 28-inch monitor has all the features it needs to make your Xbox Series X shine. It features a 4K, IPS LCD display with great colors and detail plus a 144Hz refresh rate. That means you can play all the best Xbox games at up to 4K and 120FPS with ease on the Xbox Series X. Acer's monitor also features a 1ms response time, HDR400 support, and AMD FreeSync Premium for variable refresh rate support.

You get all of this, plus 2 HDMI 2.1 ports to plug in your Xbox Series X and whatever else you want. This is important, as you need an HDMI 2.1 port (still uncommon in a lot of TVs and monitors) to make use of all the above features with a console. This means the Acer Nitro XV282K is the complete package. While the display looks great, you may need to calibrate or tweak it out of the box, though. And HDR support is great to have, but this monitor doesn't have the contrast levels or brightness to compete with the very best monitors.

Of course, those are worthwhile compromises if you can save some money, and this monitor is a good value nowadays. I wouldn't recommend buying this monitor at its full retail value (an eyewatering $900 according to Acer), but at the sub-$600 mark you can now regularly find it at? It's a great deal. We've seen the price go even lower than that during sales, and the links above will constantly be updating to give you the best price.

If the Xbox console you're planning to use is the Xbox Series S, this monitor is a little overkill, as the Series S supports up to 1440p and 120FPS and uses up to HDMI 2.0. I suggest taking a look at the next monitor, our top budget pick that is great at 1080p and 120Hz. There are monitors in between that fill the sweet spot for the Xbox Series S, so keep on eye on this page as we update it with more of the best gaming monitors you can buy.

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Best budget gaming monitor

ASUS is a massive company that makes a wide range of gear. Its TUF brand is all about delivering great gaming gear at the lowest possible prices, so it makes sense that one such product would be featured in this spot. The ASUS TUF Gaming Monitor 24.5" (VG259QR) is a simple, straightforward monitor that packs a surprising number of features while staying well below the $250 price mark.

You get a 24.5-inch IPS LCD display for amazing colors and overall picture quality, which is solid start, but ASUS made sure to bake in all the features PC gamers need from their monitor. A 165Hz refresh rate is plenty fast, especially when compared to other monitors in this price range, and you get a slick 1ms response time to ensure your monitor always keeps up with you. NVIDIA G-SYNC support ties this all together to minimize screen tearing and latency.

You get a DisplayPort and 2 HDMI ports, but you'll want to use the former to make use of that 165Hz refresh rate. Those HDMI ports mean this monitor could actually be a great value-driven monitor for an Xbox Series S, as long as you don't need HDR support. ASUS also didn't skimp on the stand, which still gives you swivel, tilt, pivot, and height adjustments.

Overall, it's very difficult to beat the sheer value this monitor delivers at just over $200. Other monitors make you choose between a quality display type like IPS LCD or a high refresh rate, but ASUS gives you both. It's not perfect, though, as the monitor may need tweaking and calibration during setup to get the most out of the display. Some users also report dead pixels either fresh out of the box or developing soon after, so be sure to keep an eye on your monitor and seek a replacement if it happens.

Both of those aforementioned issues are commonplace with budget monitors, though, which tend to cut corners with factory display calibration and (unfortunately) quality control to keep costs down. The former is an easy fix, especially when helped by an internet guide. The latter just comes down to chance, but reviews for the ASUS TUF VG259QR are overwhelmingly positive and show that only a small number of users are affected. At the end of the day, you're still getting a unbeatable value with this awesome budget gaming monitor.

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Best premium gaming monitor

Need the most ludicrous monitor money can buy and have the money to spend on it? Look no further than the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 49", one of the most feature-packed and premium gaming monitors we've seen from the company so far. This monitor does it all, but it's going to charge you a very pretty penny for the privilege of having it on your desk.

The ultrawide 32:9 display is the equivalent of two normal QHD 1440p monitors fused together, with OLED screen tech providing beautiful and vibrant colors, perfect contrast, and excellent gaming features like a 240Hz refresh rate, a 0.3ms response time, AMD FreeSync Premium support, and more. Words can scarcely describe how impressive this monitor is, but you'll need to make sure it can even fit on your desk.

This is a curved monitor with a 1800R curve, which makes it easier to view all the many, many things you can display on it. It's all encased in a premium, well-built body with thin bezels and a sturdy stand, with Samsung's Gaming Hub software baked in for good measure. You also get HDR400 support, but this monitor's average brightness means this isn't the very best monitor for HDR content. Built-in speakers provide a great built-in audio experience, and included USB ports give you more ways to connect your peripherals.

It's a brilliant blend of design and features for those who need a ton of multitasking space, want a flagship gaming experience, and desire the benefits that OLED provides. There's a lot of good things about this monitor, but it is incredibly expensive. The Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 retails for $2,199.99, which is as much as a solid gaming PC.

If you want a lot of this same experience but at a lower price, Samsung also makes a QLED version of the Samsung Odyssey G9. It's the same size, but you lose the contrast and vibrant colors of OLED, get a 1000R curve, and get a slower (but still great) 1ms response rate. You do get better HDR support with a much higher brightness, though, and the Samsung Odyssey QLED G9 49" can be had for $1,499.99 at Samsung.

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What do you need from your gaming monitor?

Monitors are complicated peripherals, with a lot of hardware and technology combining in different ways for different purposes. Creative displays will prioritize consistent, industry-leading color accuracy, high resolutions, and features like greater mounting options. General productivity displays may focus on value, durable builds, greater connectivity, and multitasking features.

Gaming monitors prioritize performance over anything. This means higher refresh rates so that your monitor matches your computer's performance to deliver smooth gameplay. It means fast response times so your monitor can keep up with even the most hectic, fast-paced action and your input. It means supporting features like NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync to ensure that your computer and monitor are always in perfect sync. Sometimes, it also means fancy features like an outlandish design or RGB lighting.

For most people, the budget will be the first consideration for your gaming monitor. You can find decent gaming monitors starting at around the $250-300 mark, but prices can quickly rise as you add more features and higher end specs. Some monitors can cost as much as a great gaming PC! After you decide your budget, you'll want to decide what you want from your monitor.

Do you want a higher resolution for greater graphical fidelity? Or do you prefer a higher refresh rate for competitive, high-performance gaming? What size monitor do you want? Do you want it to be curved or even ultrawide? What kind of display type do you want? If you need more info on display types, you can check our guide on OLED vs QLED vs AMOLED vs miniLED. The answers to all of these questions can help you narrow down what kind of monitor you want. Hopefully, we have the perfect option listed above.

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