The Best Gaming Monitors

If the ViewSonic was better than the Acer then why did you push gsync on the Acer so much? You'd think that Resolution would be in descending order rather than ascending order.....
 
I can wholeheartedly recommend the Acer XB271HU, I've been using it for one and a half years, it's a beast. You have 27" IPS G-Sync 165Hz, excelllent coating (very clear), great colors from factory (I calibrated it to 100/99/100 RGB the first time). It has everything you need for a fantastic gaming experience. The next step would be basically the same but with 4K resolution and HDR (and maybe a few more inches why not), until then this is as good as it gets guys trust me. Even considering that the 1080 Ti can move quite a few games over 60fps @ 4K, you really want those >100fps for the perfect experience
 
I picked up a HP Omen 24" 144hz Freesync monitor for 199 at a local BestBuy (I buy local so if there are dead pixels they are easier to return), and it works great. Bright and buttery smooth while gaming.
 
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poohbear said:
No disussion of the Asus PG279Q aside from a quick mention? Its supposedly the best, but u just mentioned it in passing as an expensive alternative to the Acer. I would debate theres more to it than that! The IPS panel quality and image quality isnt superior? Would love more details on it.

And Viewsonic! Wow I remember that company from CRT days but thought they totally disappeared! Theyve made a comeback?
Click to expand...

We use ViewSonic monitors at work. They never went anywhere, they just kind of fell out of prevalence.
 
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Good article Tim,However!
I won't be able to do 24/27" ,@ 30" right now. 1440p ,nope ,@1600p currently,
When I do upgrade , I hope there is finally something wrong with my 10 year old 30" Dell@ 2560 x 1600.Just kidding, I hope it lasts forever.

But If ya don't mind I'll have a curved, 36/38",4K @ 144Hz +,+Gsync , best type panel. VA,IPS, W/E,
I'm waiting. if price was an issue I would never have gotten the Dell 30"er, I know many try to save where ever they can, I'm no different ,but @ the display is where it all comes together,before it hits the eyes.sometimes pay to much,sometimes ya get what you pay for..I did.

I prefer to spend a little extra for Brand recognition, I find a little better QA , helps displays and other devices last longer.the panel itself maybe the same .but the other hardware in side, power supply,backlighting,inverter, and the rest of the parts, may not be of the same quality .saving a couple hundred ,may shave years off the lifetime. that's my 3 cents worth,

for RGB effects I have 5 Antec multiple color LED, cold cathodes , surrounding the panel on the fairly wide Bezel, that respond to music and gaming sound. I would also like that included in my next display, please and Thankyou. :p
 
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Forebode said:
I'm going to have to disagree with the Ultrawide suggestion. Please go to TFT Central and read both reviews. It's worth the extra $250. (I'm not even going to point out the viewing angle issue, because who cares if you're not the one playing it), if you're lazy scroll to the bottom. Also read reviews, or play on a 100 vs a 120hz... you notice the difference. That alone is worth the money. Also, even though the alienware is overclocked to get the 120hz, so is the aoc.. its a 60 @100hz. It's an ok monitor, but not the best in its class. ips > va | 120 > 100 | no noticeable overshoot (6.9ave/13.5 max) > (10.2ave/48.0 max) response time |

Also disagree with the 27" 1080p. 1080p is for 22-24" any bigger within 1-3' feet of the screen and good eye sight, can see the difference. Stating that you guys like 27" over a smaller resolution.. reminds me of a conversation I had with someone that was using a 70" projection tv and didn't want to upgrade to a 65" 4k screen because of the size. Granted this isn't as drastic as that.

Maybe the 1080p choice was strictly aimed at refresh rate.. well then maybe the the rest of the monitor choices should follow suite. Or at least a guide. Where would you put the option weights? refreshrate > response time (min/ave/max)> contrast > overshoot > overclock? > price > availability (would be dumb to suggest a hard to find monitor) > Panel type > resolution > blackscreen+dark room > styling? (power ranger feel or space craft feel > LEDs? RGB?
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I agree 100% about the Alienware monitor absolutely being worth the extra money. In addition to having an IPS panel (which is major) at 100Hz native that oc's to 120Hz vs. 60Hz oc'd to 100, the AW also has the lowest input lag of any 34" curved monitor to date. I've read in forums that the Acer and Asus models from 2015 (?) did not always reach 100Hz. The AW is guaranteed to hit 100Hz and 120Hz was easily achieved with a few clicks.

One thing that never get's talked about is Dell's exchange program. If the monitor dies or develops a problem they'll ship out a replacement overnight. Then you put the old one in the same box and send it back with prepaid shipping. No credit card number required for the cross shipping- it's done in "good faith". I'd imagine that the AOC repair would result in a few weeks of downtime. That insurance alone is worth the extra money.
 
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Forebode said:
Also disagree with the 27" 1080p. 1080p is for 22-24" any bigger within 1-3' feet of the screen and good eye sight, can see the difference. Stating that you guys like 27" over a smaller resolution.. reminds me of a conversation I had with someone that was using a 70" projection tv and didn't want to upgrade to a 65" 4k screen because of the size. Granted this isn't as drastic as that.
Click to expand...

I actually agree with you here. I recently made the switch from a 1440p, 60hz, 27" monitor to a 1080p, 144hz, 24" monitor and they look pretty much the same, though I obviously have less overall room on one.

Nothing feels "blown up" nor does it feel too small and games run better (thanks to the lower resolution) and I can reach over 60 FPS. Pretty nice.
 
I don't understand how monitor makers have no problem going wider & wider, but can't make the screens TALLER to increase screen real estate. BRING BACK THE 16:10 RATIO!

I have a 30" 16:10 2K monitor (2560x1600). Everything now is either 16:9 or 21:9. The extra screen real estate is SO nice that I will not be giving it up any time soon. And I see no reason why monitors can be made wider & wider till the screen dimensions have the ratio of a pencil, but not TALLER. Yet, it seems no one is interested in making 16:10 monitors anymore.

Since the old 8bit PC days, all monitors used a 4:3 ratio. When screens got wider, horizontal resolutions continued the same progression (so 1,024x768 4:3 became 1280x768 16:10. Same height, just wider.) HDTV's decided to follow a different ratio (16:9) and many PC monitors are just repurposed TV's. We need to get back to x:10 dimensions. Computer monitors are not TV's.
 
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I like the Alienware, but I've got my eye on The Samsung LC49HG90 ($1000)

When I need to upgrade my three 19 inch monitors into a single monitor, I'll consider it - and by then it will be cheaper.
 
ddferrari said:
The Samsung is interesting but it's only 1080p, which was a deal-breaker for me. Each to their own, of course.
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1080p is a problem, and the fact that there's no amd 1080ti level card. I do wish nvidia would support VESA adaptive-sync. G-sync is still superior. Could they be holding it in their back pocket for when the Radeon is more competitive? I don't think Nvidia is in the position where they should be worried about losing customers. It's like they signed a contract stating that they wouldn't adapt VESA_adaptive-sync until... So that manufacturers of gsync monitors didn't feel like they were being screwed..

There are bound to be a good amount of nvidia owners that can't/wont pay for the premium of Gsync, but will buy a freesync monitor today if it was supported by nvidia.

I bought the 1080ti ftw3 because amd dropped the ball on the vega64 (they made huge strides, but couldn't top a 5 month old card). Freesync isn't perfect, but many seem ok with it.
 
Asus MG279Q does not support 144hz in Freesync. Though the pannel does when no using freesync.

max rage is 90hz unless you do some overclocking/firmware mods

I felt forced to look at the Korean Screens. Have Crossover 27Fast144 (IPS and all that fun stuff). But again, would have loved something of a larger brand.

Still, love this review
 
The Freesync price advantage has been eaten up by the fact you can't find reasonably priced AMD cards. Nvidia cards are high too, but AMD seem even worse.

I have the Dell S2417DG 24" 1440p 165hz G-Sync. It's a great monitor, especially if you don't want a huge monitor and find it on sale.

I had an R9 280X (which doesn't support Freesync) so I was looking to upgrade my video card before picking a monitor. I originally thought I wanted a Freesync, but could never find an AMD card at a reasonable price. Ended up finding an GTX 1080 for $449 after rebate (back before latest mining boon), so defaulted to G-Sync.
 
CBTex said:
The Freesync price advantage has been eaten up by the fact you can't find reasonably priced AMD cards. Nvidia cards are high too, but AMD seem even worse.

I have the Dell S2417DG 24" 1440p 165hz G-Sync. It's a great monitor, especially if you don't want a huge monitor and find it on sale.

I had an R9 280X (which doesn't support Freesync) so I was looking to upgrade my video card before picking a monitor. I originally thought I wanted a Freesync, but could never find an AMD card at a reasonable price. Ended up finding an GTX 1080 for $449 after rebate (back before latest mining boon), so defaulted to G-Sync.
Click to expand...

I agree with that Dell Monitor being great, unfortunately I received two defective ones and by the third replacement I didn't even open it up ands old it off out of frustration due to moving on. Great while it worked and I would still recommend it oddly enough.

I am back down to 1080p with the crazy smooth Gsync/240Hz Alienware/Dell monitor. I can't say I am displeased. I think it's easily or likely the best 1080p monitor you can buy for gaming provided you can find it at the right price.
 
I also have an XB271HU for the past year or so, and still love this thing today. Still the right amount of pixel density, high refresh rate, low latency, good color accuracy, good contrast and overall viewing size. Probably one of my best investments for my setup.
 
poohbear said:
Any word on when a 30"+ 1440p gaming monitor might come out? Ive had Dell's 27" IPS since as far back as I can remember.:p
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They have been out for at least a few years, in 3440x1440 form. Acer, Asus, Samsung and Dell Alienware offer 1440p 34" curved ultrawides with refresh rates of 100Hz-120Hz and Gsync/FreeSync. The HP Omen is also out at 35". Most of them sport IPS panels. LG has some cheaper options too. I'm sure there are other brands too that I haven't listed here.

They require a powerful GPU however: 3440x1440 (21:9) is ~5 million pixels whereas 2560x1440 (16:9) is ~3.7 million. 1920x1080 is ~2 million pixels, for comparison.

I have the Alienware model (120Hz) and my OC'd 1080 Ti doesn't reach 120fps (or even 100fps) in quite a few games- not that it's a problem to me.
 
ddferrari said:
They have been out for at least a few years, in 3440x1440 form. Acer, Asus, Samsung and Dell Alienware offer 1440p 34" curved ultrawides with refresh rates of 100Hz-120Hz and Gsync/FreeSync. The HP Omen is also out at 35". Most of them sport IPS panels. LG has some cheaper options too. I'm sure there are other brands too that I haven't listed here.

They require a powerful GPU however: 3440x1440 (21:9) is ~5 million pixels whereas 2560x1440 (16:9) is ~3.7 million. 1920x1080 is ~2 million pixels, for comparison.

I have the Alienware model (120Hz) and my OC'd 1080 Ti doesn't reach 120fps (or even 100fps) in quite a few games- not that it's a problem to me.
Click to expand...

True...
But. What games are you not reaching 120fps? The actual game matters.
Also note that when paying upwards of $1k for a monitor, it's unlikely that you're looking to upgrade that monitor for at least a few years(if not longer). The 120hz adds some future proofing//extending...

Due to the supposed costs of higher refresh rates for these freesync/gsync monitors that are coming out soon.... I'd rather they work on QC of all current generations. Every monitor seems to have a much greater gap in quality, which is odd for a performance part. Granted reviews on amazon/newegg are only a portion of purchasers. Another request/argument is, why can't these be calibrated before they're shipped? Sure we can run to TFT for a fix, if there is one... but doesn't anyone else thing that's kind of stupid?
 
Forebode said:
True...
But. What games are you not reaching 120fps? The actual game matters.
Also note that when paying upwards of $1k for a monitor, it's unlikely that you're looking to upgrade that monitor for at least a few years(if not longer). The 120hz adds some future proofing//extending...

Due to the supposed costs of higher refresh rates for these freesync/gsync monitors that are coming out soon.... I'd rather they work on QC of all current generations. Every monitor seems to have a much greater gap in quality, which is odd for a performance part. Granted reviews on amazon/newegg are only a portion of purchasers. Another request/argument is, why can't these be calibrated before they're shipped? Sure we can run to TFT for a fix, if there is one... but doesn't anyone else thing that's kind of stupid?
Click to expand...
I wasn't able to hit 120Hz (or even 100Hz generally) in ROTTR, Prey, ME Andromeda, and currently The Evil Within 2. That said, 80-90 fps w/ Gsync still makes for a great experience.

I plan to use this monitor for at least 3 years, and for my games (not competitive or online) 120Hz is plenty. I agree that factory calibration should be part of the process. The Dell has good calibration out of the box and the ICC profile I downloaded from TFT only made a few small tweaks.
 
ddferrari said:
I wasn't able to hit 120Hz (or even 100Hz generally) in ROTTR, Prey, ME Andromeda, and currently The Evil Within 2. That said, 80-90 fps w/ Gsync still makes for a great experience.

I plan to use this monitor for at least 3 years, and for my games (not competitive or online) 120Hz is plenty. I agree that factory calibration should be part of the process. The Dell has good calibration out of the box and the ICC profile I downloaded from TFT only made a few small tweaks.
Click to expand...

Dell does some wierd stuff too though. They sell refurbished versions with only a 90 day warranty. I'd think something of this level, it should come with a year warranty. Refurbished doesn't always mean fixed. It could mean symptoms were fixed.

The biggest Issue I have with expensive Monitors is buying online. Sure you can ship it back if it's broken.. but that's a pita. And passing QC doesn't necessarily mean it gets to you in satisfactory condition. There are some pretty bad backlight bleeding aw3418dw's images out there. I'd hope they didn't get past QC....
 
Forebode said:
Dell does some wierd stuff too though. They sell refurbished versions with only a 90 day warranty. I'd think something of this level, it should come with a year warranty. Refurbished doesn't always mean fixed. It could mean symptoms were fixed.

The biggest Issue I have with expensive Monitors is buying online. Sure you can ship it back if it's broken.. but that's a pita. And passing QC doesn't necessarily mean it gets to you in satisfactory condition. There are some pretty bad backlight bleeding aw3418dw's images out there. I'd hope they didn't get past QC....
Click to expand...
The AW 3418 DW comes with a "3-Years Advanced Exchange Service and Premium Panel Guarantee". The whole thing, including a guarantee against ANY dead pixels is 3 full years.

Their warranty service is the best in the biz:
1) I call support and tell them the problem, such as flickering, no power, dead pixels etc.
2) They try to resolve it over the phone, such as unplug for 10 minutes, etc. If they can't resolve the issue then:
3) They send out a new panel the next business day with overnight shipping, no charge. No deposit required either. So if I called on a Monday, the new panel would be at my door on Wednesday.
4) I put the defective panel in the same box the replacement came in, slap on the prepaid return shipping label they included, and leave it for/bring it to FedEx.

About as painless as it gets. This is why Dell's reputation for customer service is so good, at least when it comes to monitors.

My monitor has very little blb and all IPS panels (especially curved) have some. It's impossible to notice 99% of the time- more than good enough.
 
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I have another recommendation for the Ultrawide Gaming Monitor category.

I recently bought the Acer Predator X34P that uses the exact same panel as the Dell Alienware AW3418DW with the exact same specs and OSD joystick.
I can't compare the build quality, but I'm very satisfied with the Predator.

My panel have minimum BLB, no dead pixels and OC to 120 hz without a problem, although I keep it at 100 hz.

Went from a Dell Ultrasharp U2715H to the Predator and in my opinion the picture quality is just as good. And boy do I feel the difference from 60 -> 100 hz + G-Sync and the immersive 21:9 format. Sometimes I swirl my mouse just to experience the awesome smoothness when gaming :)
 
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