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- When it comes to gaming monitors, it's all about the high refresh rate, great image quality, and quick response time.
- The Acer Predator XB271HU Gaming Monitor is the best gaming monitor with its high refresh rate, high resolution screen, G-Sync tech, and sleek design.
As long as your computer can run games, you could use any old monitor for gaming - assuming it has the proper inputs, of course. While possible, that setup isn't exactly ideal. Most monitors aren't created to display the ultra-high frame rates PC gamers love so much, and, furthermore, may hurt how well you perform in game.
Through hands-on testing and reviews from buyers and experts, we've tracked down the best gaming monitors you can buy. Each of slides below covers a different type of gaming monitor, with everything from 4K to budget displays. Feel free to jump around to find the section that suits you.
There are a few considerations when choosing monitors. First, the monitor has to have a high refresh rate. Without getting too technical, refresh rate is how often a display can refresh what's on screen, wheres as frame rate is the number of unique frames displayed when the monitor refreshes. For example, a 120Hz refresh rate from a 60fps (frames per second) signal will display a duplicate frame each time upon each refresh.
Gaming is all about having a high frame rate, so if you have a display capable of 60Hz but 120fps coming from your game, you'll be missing half of the unique frames. In short, a higher refresh rate means there's less motion blur between frames, making for a sharper gaming experience during intense action.
Other considerations include resolution, response time, and overall monitor design, but high refresh rate is king. All of our picks have a resolution 2,560 x 1,440 pixels or higher - except for our budget pick - which should be enough for gaming.
Here are the best gaming monitors you can buy:
- Best gaming monitor overall: Acer Predator XB271HU
- Best 4K gaming monitor: ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ
- Best gaming monitor on a budget: ASUS VG248QE
- Best ultrawide gaming monitor: Massdrop Vast
- Best G-Sync gaming monitor: ASUS ROG Swift PG279QR
Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.
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