The Best Gaming Monitors To Level Up In 2023

Size: 34-inch | Type: QD-OLED |Resolution: 3440 x 1440 | Refresh rate: 175Hz | Response time: 0.1ms | Curvature: 1800R

Best for: Making the most graphics-intensive games look their best.

OLED technology isn’t commonplace in gaming monitors like it is in gaming TVs, but it’s starting to slowly make an appearance, and in dramatic fashion. The Alienware AW3423DW 34-inch gaming monitor is the best looking gaming monitor ever made, leveraging Samsung’s new QD-OLED technology to great effect. This gives it greater contrast than any LCD monitor—no matter how high quality—with richer colors and wide viewing angles. It doesn’t even lose out on brightness, as this model can manage over 1,000 nits at its peak.

It’s an ultrawide curved monitor, so its resolution isn’t a typical one, but at 3440 x 1440 and 34-inches, it has loads of screen space at high detail. That’s not as demanding as native 4K, but will still need a decent graphics cards to play games natively with high detail settings. It has a high refresh rate of 175Hz too, making games look buttery smooth, and with its 0.1ms response time, you need not fear any ghosting, even in the fastest pace games.

Pros:

• QD-OLEDs give greater contrast and richer colors
• Fast refresh rate and response time
• Impressive brightness for a PC monitor

Cons:

• Expensive
• Refresh rate not as high as some LCD models

Size: 32-inch | Type: VA (Mini-LED) |Resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Refresh rate: 240Hz | Response time: 1ms | Curvature: 1000R

Best for: Playing Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 games with high brightness and smooth animation.

Most gaming TVs offer a 4K 120Hz gaming experience, but the Samsung Odyssey G8 Neo can do the same resolution at up to 240Hz, which is almost unheard of for gaming TVs. While you won’t be able to take full advantage of that when playing on consoles limited to 120Hz, it does mean you can play those console games at their maximum detail and frame rate, and then jump over to your PC and play on the same display, but at an even higher frame rate. It also has fantastic colors due to Samsung’s Quantum Dot technology, and thanks to mini-LED backlighting, it gets incredibly bright. It’s rated to hit 1,000 nits at its peak, making HDR gaming on this monitor a very different experience from most gaming monitors.

There’s a light 1000R curvature which can improve immersion when you’re sat right in front of it, and with its incredibly low input lag and fast response time, you’ll be able to have a few milliseconds advantage over those playing on older, slower monitors and TVs. With variable refresh rate support, you won’t see any screen tearing or stuttering on this monitor, either.

Pros:

• High 240Hz refresh rate is great for console and PC gaming
• Mini-LED backlighting makes this monitor incredibly bright
• Fast response time eliminates ghosting

Cons:

• Expensive

Size: 32-inch | Type: QLED |Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Refresh rate: 240Hz | Response time: 1ms | Curvature: 1000R

Best for: Enjoying high frame rates at 1440p.

The Samsung Odyssey G7 is the baby of the Odyssey range, but it’s no less impressive than its bigger cousins. It’s a classic, 1440p, high refresh rate display, which means it strikes a nice balance between visual appeal and demand on your graphics card for an aesthetically-appealing game experience. In other words, you can actually hit high frame rates in, without having the most powerful GPU in the world. While this isn’t the latest Neo model—meaning it doesn’t have Mini LEDs—its traditional LED backlighting is still powerful enough to deliver over 550 nits brightness in SDR or HDR content.

And for maximum immersion, its 32-inch wide screen and aggressive 1000R curvature sucks you right into your game. Competitive gamers should especially enjoy its 240Hz refresh rate, which helps games run smooth and fast. (Yes, this can actually give you an edge over the competition.) The Odyssey G7 also supports Freesync Premium Pro, and is G-Sync compatible, eliminating screen tearing and low-FPS stuttering.

Pros:

• Quantum dots and bright backlighting deliver a vibrant picture
• High refresh rate and low input lag make this great for competitive play
• Big screen with a steep curvature for added immersion

Cons:

• Not as bright as the latest Odyssey models

Size: 49-inch | Type: VA (Mini-LED) |Resolution: 5120 x 1440 | Refresh rate: 240Hz | Response time: 1ms | Curvature: 1000R

Best for: Ultrawide gaming at its finest.

At 49 inches wide, the Samsung Odyssey G9 Neo is a sight to behold, but you might question what separates it from the equally massive G9 and CRG9 that came before it. The key here is brightness. With Mini-LEDs providing the backlighting for this model, it can achieve a staggering peak brightness of 2,000 nits, which is practically unheard of on gaming monitors. With HDR10 support, that makes this monitor just as good for watching HDR movies as it does playing HDR games. They look ultra smooth with this monitors’ high 240Hz refresh rate, too.

It also has a staggeringly high resolution—effectively two 1440p monitors sat side by side. That’s a demanding task for many PCs to muster for AAA games. There aren’t many games that actually support a monitor of this sheer size (you’ll need to play with black bars in those cases), but for games that do support it, the immersion is incredible. Flight simulators, first person combat games and some RPGs really open up your field of view like nothing else on a monitor this big. It’s also great for multi-tasking. If you’re a streamer, you can have your game on one side or in the middle, and chat feeds, and other information on the side(s).

What our editors say: Tech editor Rebecca Isaacs says, “If you’re looking for a fully immersive gaming experience with crystal clear picture, you need to pick up this monitor. It’s not only one of the best monitors for playing top games like Far Cry 6, but it also doubles as a WFH powerhouse, giving me the ability to build out a custom split screen and still have plenty of room to write and edit important documents.”

Pros:

• Incredible brightness
• Fast 240Hz refresh rate
• Huge screen real estate for multitasking

Cons:

• Expensive
• Not much content that can utilize all of the screen space

Size: 57-inch | Type: VA (Mini-LED) |Resolution: 7,680 x 2,160| Refresh rate: 240Hz | Response time: 1ms | Curvature: 1000R

Best for: Multi-taskers who need to maximize all of their available space.

If you’re seeking to maximize every pixel on your display, the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is the ideal choice for you. Because it’s 57 inches wide, it’s a dual monitor so you’re essentially getting two 4K Ultra HD screens in one. So if you’re the kind of worker who need to pull up multiple spreadsheets, or the gamer that likes to stream games while playing them, the Odyssey Neo G9 can handle these powerful tasks.

It features a 1000R curvature for comfortable, immersive viewing for all of your gaming and work needs. The design is thin so as not to take up your desk space, and on the back panel Samsung added a fun touch of an RGB LED panel to add a fun flair.

What our editors say: Tech editor Rebecca Isaacs says, “During a hands-on session with the Odyssey Neo G9, I loved how it handled racing games, giving me a buttery smooth picture on the display. As someone who needs a monitor to multitask during the work day, I really enjoyed the bright, detailed picture on the “dual” screens. I also loved the fun touch of the built-in RGB LED design on the back.”

Pros:

• Massive screen for multitasking
• Vivid, detailed resolution

Cons:

• Expensive

Size: 34-inch | Type: VA |Resolution: 3440 x 1440 | Refresh rate: 144Hz | Response time: 1ms | Curvature: N/A

Best for: Ultrawide gaming without the premium price tag.

Ultrawide gaming monitors don’t need to be so pricey; the AOC Agon CU34G2X proves that with its impressive spec sheet. It’s a 34-inch gaming monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate and extended 1440p resolution, giving it that sweet spot that looks and performs better than 1080p gaming monitors, but isn’t quite as demanding on your system as a full 4K monitor. It also has plenty of screen real estate for gaming and streaming while having your chat open on the side of the screen—or you can just use it for a fully immersive experience.

Input lag is low, making this a good monitor for competitive gaming, and it has a strong native contrast ratio, so you can expect dark blacks (rather than greys) and it gets bright enough for daytime gaming. It doesn’t have much in the way of additional HDR brightness, however, and with no local dimming, this isn’t a great monitor for HDR gaming.

Pros:

• Affordable price
• High refresh rate and low response time
• Big ultrawide display for added immersion

Cons:

• Brightness and contrast not strong enough for HDR

Size: 48-inches | Type: OLED | Resolution: 4K | Refresh rate: 120Hz | Operating system: LG WebOS | HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG

Best for: Enjoying deep blacks and clarity in your games.

Using a TV as a PC gaming monitor never made much sense when refresh rates were low and input lag was high. That all changed with the advent of modestly-sized OLED televisions. LG’s fantastic C3 OLED range makes for an amazing gaming TV for the living room, but at one of its smaller configurations (48 inches), it’s also an astounding gaming monitor, albeit just about the largest one you can imagine. It has a true 4K resolution and native 120Hz refresh rate, and thanks to OLED technology, there’s a near instantaneous response time and zero input lag. That makes this an incredibly fast and responsive gaming monitor, as well as one that looks amazing in darker rooms thanks to its perfect blacks and infinite contrast ratio.

FreeSync variable refresh rate and G-Sync compatibility means AMD and NVIDIA gamers can take advantage of frame syncing and anti-stutter technologies. Its brightness for HDR content isn’t stellar, but it’s better than most gaming monitors, giving significant pop to visuals in all the right places. It also has full support for the most important standards, including HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. As with all OLED screens, however, this one is susceptible to burn-in, so keeping away from peak brightness—especially if playing games with static HUD elements—might be worth considering.

Pros:

• Inky blacks and vibrant colors
• Low input lag and fast refresh rate
• Much cheaper than newer models

Cons:

• Not quite as bright as more-expensive G2 model
• Peak brightness may cause burn-in

Size: 24-inch | Type: IPS |Resolution: 1920 x 1080 | Refresh rate: 165Hz | Response time: 1ms | Curvature: None

Best for: Playing games at 1080p with high frame rates and great pixel density.

Most gamers play at 1080p, so don’t feel alone if you’re still playing at what for TVs has become an antiquated resolution, in some cases bigger isn’t always better. On a good-looking, 1080p monitor around 24-inches, like the Acer Nitro XF243Y, you’ll get a crisp picture with plenty of screen space; perfect for all of the latest games and classic esports titles. With a 165Hz (overclock