Best gaming monitor 2025

If you're after the one gaming monitor that can do it all right now, the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE is it. Thanks to its ability to switch between running at a 4K resolution at a 240Hz refresh rate and a 1080p resolution at a 480Hz refresh rate it offers the best of both worlds. Whether you're looking to run some games at stunning detail levels and others at ultra-fast frame rates, it can do the lot.

Not only is this large, 32-inch screen versatile with its resolutions and refresh rates but its OLED panel also delivers fantastic image quality with deep contrast, dazzling colors and a dizzyingly fast response time that means games run at 480Hz look incredibly smooth. All this and the screen even has half decent speakers.

There are just three slight downsides. One is that this panel doesn't completely do away with the slight colored fringing that can add a shimmering effect to the edges of high contrast objects such as text when viewed on OLEDs. It's much more subtle here than other OLEDs we've tested but it makes this panel just a little less sharp than an equivalent LCD.

The second factor is that OLEDs still have an inherent limited life due to the panel technology degrading over time. You'll still get many years of use out of a panel but if you're looking for a display that will withstand being on all day, everyday for work, and hours more for gaming, an LCD may still suit you more.

Finally, there's the price. At an MSRP of $1,299, this is one pricey panel. But, if we were saving up right now, this is the display we'd set our sights on.

Find out more in our LG Ultragear 32GS95UE review.

If you're after a monitor that's good for esports but won't cost a fortune, this is just about the cheapest option you're going to find. It's not long ago that the first 360Hz monitor was released and it cost $750. Here we are now and the G2524H is not only less than $500, but even less than $250.

Going for a budget choice does come with a few limitations, though, such as the lack of HDR and rather slow 7.8ms response times. The latter means that despite its fast 360Hz refresh rate, this display isn't immune to ghosting and other issues related to a slow-responding LCD display. It's still great for fast gaming but just not as good as more expensive 360Hz displays.

The other obvious limitation here if this is only a 1080p display, so it's not going to deliver an awe-inspiring image when watching 4K video. However, if you just want a really speedy gaming monitor for playing the likes of Fortnite and CS2 without spending megabucks, it's a great buy.

Read our full Dell G2524H review.

The MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED is an incredibly capable monitor, offering blazing-fast gaming performance thanks to its speedy OLED response time and 360Hz refresh rate. Its image quality is also fantastic, with HDR that although it doesn't get dazzlingly bright is still really absorbing. Crucially, it also handles text much better than WOLED monitors like the AOC AG276QZD so is decent for work as well as play.

It is a very no-frills monitor, though, with few extra features, such as speakers. Its design isn't all that interesting either. What's more, in general, the value of 27-inch OLED gaming monitors is questionable, as you can get a much bigger OLED screen for not that much more money. That said, this MSI offers amongst the best value for a screen of its type right now and is an ideal option for those wanting an great all-rounder screen for blisteringly fast gaming and everything else too.

Just be aware that if you need a monitor for gaming and all-day work duties, you might be better off with an LCD, as OLEDs can suffer from burn-in. The Asus PG27AQN would be a great alternative to this panel for those sorts of situations.

Read our full MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED review.

As consistently one of the cheapest known-brand OLED gaming monitors available, the AOC Agon Pro AG276QZD is inherently tempting. Crucially, that value temptation isn't misguided as this is indeed a fantastic gaming display.

The combination of its ultra-fast OLED response time with its 240Hz refresh rate of 2,560 x 1,440 resolution makes it a great all-rounder for gaming, able to turn its hand to high-speed competitive FPS or more graphically rich HDR games. Video looks lovely on it too.

Where it falls down slightly its ability to produce sharp, easy-to-read text. Its pixel density combined with the LG WOLED panel it uses can make text look a little fuzzy - far worse than an LCD of this size and resolution - and produce noticeable red/blue/green dot colored edges to text and other high-contrast edges. As such, it's not our top choice for an all-round work and gaming display but is great if entertainment is your main focus.

Read our full AOC Agon Pro AG276QZD review.

For many gamers, nothing else will do than to have an OLED gaming monitor, thanks to their lightning-fast response time and effectively infinite contrast. However, if you're after a display that balances being great for work as well as blazing fast gaming, the Asus ROG Swift PG27QAN is it.

The crucial aspect here is that OLED displays suffer from two issues right now. One is that they tend to have less sharpness for any given screen size and resolution, which can particularly result in text looking a bit fuzzy. Combine that with the fact that OLEDs can suffer from burn-in, especially when used all day for static images like Word documents and email, and you have several reasons to consider an LCD instead. And, as far as LCD gaming monitors go, the PG27AQN is perhaps the ultimate one.

With a blazing-fast 360Hz maximum refresh rate combined with a 1440p resolution, this 27-inch IPS LCD panel can deliver super speedy gaming while providing a great screen size and resolution combination for work. What's more, this panel has a really fast response time for an LCD, plus you get official Nvidia G-Sync support with a built in Reflex Analyzer for assessing the latency of your PC.

All this and the PG27AQN can deliver impressive DisplayHDR 600-grade HDR and it can switch to an esports mode where it runs at 1080p in a 25-inch size window.

It's an incredibly expensive display for a 27-inch LCD but it is also clearly the best 27-inch LCD around and an absolute monster for both competitive gaming and more mundane desktop duties.

Read our Asus ROG Swift 360Hz PG27AQN review.

If you want a display that can deliver a high contrast image for bringing video and cinematic games to life while also providing a slightly wraparound view to draw you into the image, the MSI MAG 325CQRF QD is the display you want.

For just over $300, you get a 27-inch LCD panel with a 1440p resolution and a 180Hz refresh rate. What does that mean? It means this panel is a great value all-rounder. It can turn its hand to working all day, to firing up visually stunning games, and to gaming to a reasonably competitive level. It's not the last word in high speed gaming performance for esports games but it's fast enough for many gamers.

Read our MSI MAG 325CQRF QD review for more.

We've long been of the belief that if you're going to have a 4K screen for a gaming monitor, there's no point going smaller than a 32-inch panel. Yes, technically you can make out the extra sharpness when using a smaller screen but the day to day benefits are tiny.

That's why the Corsair Xeneon 32UDH144 is a great option for those seeking a 4K panel that's great for all uses. Crucially, while the LG 32GS95UE is amazing, its use of an OLED panel means it's super expensive plus the susceptibility of OLED to suffer from burn in means it's not as well suited for work as an LCD like the 32UDH144. You can leave this display on 24/7 with a full white image and it will suffer no ill effects. The same can't be said for an OLED.

Along with this core ability for LCD to survive the rigors of all-day use, this panel also provides great image and reasonably speedy gaming performance. At a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz, it's not ideal for really competitive gaming but it's great for a smooth feel when playing more cinematic games. The main caveat to this display's performance is its meager HDR. It looks merely ok.

Read our Corsair Xeneon 32UHD144 review for more information.

If you're looking for a single 27-inch gaming monitor to do it all, the Alienware AW2725QF should be at the top of your list. Its IPS LCD panel packs in a 4K resolution, providing a pin-sharp image that looks stunning in games and video and is incredibly useful for a wide range of uses. It can even run that 4K resolution at up to 180Hz to provide a really smooth feel when gaming.

The really neat trick with this display, though, is that it can be switched to run at 1080p with a refresh rate of up to 360Hz. That transforms this display from one able to provide a nicely smooth feel for AAA, high-detail games into one that's pushing the limits of competitive, ultra-high refresh rate gaming. The response time of the panel is a little on the slow side for such a high refresh rate, at 4.1ms, but its still a lot faster than the cheaper Dell G2524H and still makes for a decently fast experience overall.

Meanwhile, contrast can't compete with OLED panels and the display does suffer a bit from what's known as IPS Glow but these are reasonable compromises considering everything else the display can do and that's it's very reasonably priced.

Read our full Alienware AW2725QF review for more.

With the advent of OLED display technologies, genuinely great high dynamic range gaming is slowly but surely becoming more of a reality. Now, the Alienware AW3423DW is here to put all the longstanding pretenders on the market to shame.

Armed with a QD-OLED panel, the ultrawide gaming monitor features 1,000 nits peak brightness and an infinite contrast ratio. All of this contributes to an unrivaled HDR performance, and it's much cheaper than some of its competitors to boot.

Its 21:9 panel boasts a native resolution of 3440×1440, a whopping 175Hz refresh rate, and a 0.1ms response time that all make for a wonderfully responsive gaming experience.

Read our Alienware AW3423DW review.

The Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 stands out from the crowd thanks in part because of its stylish, white and silver design but primarily because of the addition of Philips' Ambiglow technology to this OLED gaming panel. Ambiglow has been around on Philips TVs for years and it essentially consists of lights on the back of the panel that shine light onto the wall behind the TV. Crucially, the lighting color matches what's being shown on screen.

The addition of Ambiglow means this display is just so absorbing when watching video or playing atmospheric, graphically-rich games. The wash of color spilling from the back of the panel really does enhance the experience.

All this and this panel's use of a Samsung QD-OLED panel means you get true blacks with effectively infinite contrast, making for an even more deep, absorbing and rich view. However, this is a slightly older OLED panel - from 2023 - so its maximum brightness is behind the latest panels and even though it has a decent 3,440 x 1,440 resolution, its text clarity isn't great (OLED's just don't look as smooth as LCDs when it comes to text right now). As such, it's a great display for gaming and video but not a great all-rounder option for work and play.

Read our full Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 review for more information.

The Lenovo Legion R34-30 isn't setting any new records in image quality or gaming performance but if you're after an ultrawide, 34-inch gaming monitor with solid performance across the board for a not crazy price, it's a decent bet. However, that's based on it already being discounted from its original $450 MSRP. Get this display for the <$350 we've seen it listed for and it's a good buy.

As it uses a VA LCD panel, this display boasts a decently high contrast ratio of precisely 2,987:1 in our tests, providing a deep black level that brings a depth to its image.

What's more, despite VA panels being notorious for having a slower response than other types of LCD - and far slower than OLED - it performed decently in our tests. Its 3.73ms average initial response time is ample when combined with its 180Hz refresh rate for getting a snappy-feel during fast-paced gaming sessions.

Read our full Lenovo Legion R34-30 review for more information.

The Samsung G9 G95SC is one of the ultimate gaming monitors you can buy right now. With its huge 49-inch expensive, it's the same size as two 27-inch monitors sat side-by-side. It combines that colossal size with a massive 5,120  x 1,440 resolution (again equivalent to two 1440p 27-inch displays) for a truly jaw-dropping expereience.

Not only is this display massive but its use of a Samsung QD-OLED panel means you get amazing visuals too. It has effectively infinite contrast and dazzling HDR colors that bring movies, games, and more to life. In some ways it's almost too big for most games - and is even too wide for most ultrawidescreen movies too - but when its full size is filled it's amazing.

You also get a blazing-fast 240Hz refresh rate so this display can really rip when it comes to competitive gaming, though we'd recommend running most competitive titles in a smaller window than trying to fill the whole panel.

All that and this massive monitor also includes great and even has built-in WiFi with smart TV features that can be controlled by a remote control. The latter do kind of just get in the way for normal PC use, but it's still a cool extra.

Crucially, all this comes at a not crazy price. It's an expensive panel but considering its size, it's actually pretty spectacular value.

Read our Samsung Odyssey G9 G95SC review for more information.

Sony's big entrance into PC gaming monitors is an interesting one as it's really standout feature isn't necessarily one you'd expect, which is amazing HDR. Thanks to it housing dozens of indivudual backlights, rather than using a single uniform backlight, it can brighten or dim the lights depending on what you're viewing, allowing the night sky to be inky-black while a headlight dazzles your face.

Not only does this result in some of the best HDR available on an LCD monitor but Sony has also equipped this display with a 4K resolution, making for an incredibly sharp image. Add in the ability to run at up to 144Hz and this monitor really can do just about everything. Plus, of course, it can deliver the full range of capabilities of the PS5 Pro, if you want to also plug in your console.

What's more, right now this monitor is incredibly value in the US, costing under $500. Sadly, in other regions it's not so competitively price, with the UK pricing making it very expensive, though still cheaper than the Asus PG27AQN. If you're wondering which of the two to get, the Asus is best for faster, competitive gaming, the Sony is better for everything else.

Read our Sony Inzone M9 review.

The big appeal of this monitor is its huge size and wraparound 800R curve. This makes it amazing for use as a single screen for racing and flight sims games. It can't quite replace a multi-monitor setup but it's the next best thing.

Crucially, this size is matched with fantastic image quality thanks to the incredible contrast and color reproduction of this screen's OLED panel. Its 240Hz refresh rate and ultra-rapid response time also mean it can hold up to the fastest user inputs and still provide a really-responsive feel.

The key downside to consider is that its 3,440 x 1,440 resolution, while plenty for most uses, results in quite a low pixel density on such a huge screen. Sit really close and it doesn't look amazingly sharp, which is why we wouldn't recommend this as a normal monitor for use on a desk, particularly not for a daily work screen. However, sit back a little with your flight stick, racing wheel, or game controller and this screen looks amazing.

Read our full Acer Predator X45 review for more.