The Gaming Monitor Buying Guide 2024! 😍 The Best Monitors For YOU!

if you clicked on this video then chances are you're asking one simple question what is the best gaming monitor for yourself and there are so many different options to choose from right you've got ones that are big ones that are small cheap expensive HDR well I don't really know what the opposite of HDR would be you wouldn't be looking for lood on now would you well everybody fear not because in this video we're going to find you the perfect gaming monitor specifically for you and explain literally everything you need to know about the subjects before handing out my very top picks at every single Pro point and budget so get ready to have the hard work done for you right after a short word from this video sponsor elgato's prompter has arrived and it's here to revolutionize your workflow this teleprompter transforms your videos presentations and calls all thanks to the fusion of a display camera H and software suite with this elegant all-in-one solution you can look professional and make your streams and recordings so much easier or with a device that is extremely simple to set up and use learn more today with a link down below let's start start with the basics what exactly is a gaming monitor well as the name suggests it's a display that's specifically designed for gaming with any gaming monitor that's worth its sort having a fast and responsive screen and a low level of input lag a decade ago this would have come at the expense of image quality with washed out panels and terrible viewing angles but these days you just don't have to pick between picture quality and performance let's break down the key things to look for starting with refresh rate probably the key statistic to watch out for the refresh rate tells you exactly how many times the images refresh per second the more refresh Cycles the smoother the image will be and the lower the lag will be but don't go thinking that this is some kind of Silver Bullet because lag is made up of several different components as we will discuss shortly but at first glance it is your strongest indication of speed do keep in mind of course that these are the maximum refresh rates that these panels can work at and crucially rely on your gaming PC or console to actually Supply the frames per second that the monitor will need to work at its best for example a 165 HZ monitor will only feel as smooth as a seal if you're outputting at 165 frames per second not that I'm a seal expert or anything I just assume they're pretty smooth the lesson here is to work out what exactly your gaming PC is capable of and then buy something appropriate don't go and purchase the most expensive display you possibly can with the highest resolution panel if you're only rocking a GTX 1050ti cuz spoiler alert it won't really work and of course resolution is indeed the other side of this equation as the more pixels your screen has the harder it is for your graphics card to actually output to running a game at 1080p full HD isn't actually that difficult 1440p and ultrawide are hard but reasonable whilst 4K well that's four times the number of pixels in full HD so your frame rates will be roughly four times lower we do have these new scaling techniques like dlss and FSR to help us have higher resolution panels while still keeping very high frame rates but if you do want to play multiplayer games then I would always choose a lower resolution at a higher frame rate any day day of the week besides do the math lower resolution panels are cheaper to buy and then you don't need such a powerful GPU CPU and power supply to actually drive it in the first place the main reason to buy a high resolution display in my eyes is for screen size larger sizes require more pixels to look sharp and when you're using a bigger screen all of that detail gets shown in its full glory and it can make your games look simply stunning as a general rule I'd look at 1080p for a 24 in display 1440p for 27 in and 4K for 32 in and above but it's not an exact science besides form factors are so different now that these screen sizes only really apply to standard 16x9 widescreen displays I mean we've got Ultra wides super ultra wides I don't know gaming TVs posing as monitors there are so many different things to choose from Big format displays are fantastic for gamers that want to stretch back with a controller and regularly watch Netflix Ultra wides for those that want to do a bit more multitasking and have increased immersion while super ultra WID actually replicate two 16x9 monitors sandwiched together all without a bezel the thing that really separates one monitor from another though is the type of panel that each one uses this will not only affect the colors and contrast of the display but exactly how much motion blur and smearing each modor will have whilst gaming each panel type comes with a series of pros and cons so there isn't really a best per se but the most common display types into 2024 are VA IPS and OLED now VA or vertical alignment monitors tend to blend fantastic contrast and refresh rates with affordability they're great options for those that watch a lot of movies or video content and play games that are perhaps a little bit slower in Pace this is because the main drawback is that they're actually pretty prone to something that we call smearing where fast moving images leave behind this horrible dark mess some monitors are definitely better than others but it is a common Trend with V8 panels if you've already been doing a little bit of shopping around yourself then you probably notice that the most common panel these days is IPS or inplane switching IPS panels usually have stupendous color reproduction High refresh rates amazing viewing angles and decent response times but they are prone to something known as IPS glow this is where several parts of the monitor will appear as distracting light blotches when viewed in dark environments and it's also worth noting that cheaper IPS panels can struggle to get anywhere near as dark as va8 panels in the first place glow or no glow oh ignore me for a second my back is killing me been sitting this chair for far too long but I'm still here to tell you about the new technology around the block OLED and you probably heard of this it's popular in a load of TVs as it has been really for the last sort of 10 years or so but now it's making its way to monitors and for maybe one pretty big floor it pretty much is the best monitor technology out there OLED stands for organic light emitting diodes and these displays work by emitting their own light source which means that every single Pixel can shut off entirely for completely black blacks and technically infinite contrast not only this but the displays usually have the best color reproduction are more power efficient and crucially have much faster response times this means that fast images won't have that horrible smearing found on some VA panels nor the motion blur or glow from IPS in fact I've actually found that a 240 HZ OLED actually looks very similar to a 360hz IPS display all because that motion blur is significantly better however don't go thinking that these things are perfect though as the drawbacks are pretty much twofold firstly cost they ain't cheap as you're looking at well over £500 minimum for an OLED Monitor and secondly and perhaps even more importantly they're prone to something we call burning burning is where you have an image retained on screen after using it for several years and it's caused by Static elements like logos of taskbars now as far as I know I'm yet to experience any of this on any of my displays I've got a OLED Monitor and then OLED TV but just because I've not seen it I'm not specifically looking for it doesn't mean it doesn't exist and especially if you're going to use your display for a lot of work like spreadsheets all day if you're an accountant by day gamer by night then chances are the risk is perhaps a little bit too high now the final panel type to note is called Tenn or Twisted pneumatic and thankfully we don't really see these panels very often anymore as the tech is quite old and outdated the strength of TN is that they're pretty cheap to produce and naturally have faster response times than both VA and IPS but unfortunately they do suffer from subpar viewing angles and questionable image quity that firmly demotes them to hardcore Gamers on a budget only these days let's talk properly about lag though as this is probably the single most important aspect of a gaming display and is measured in a few different ways what most people think about is endtoend system latency from when you click the mouse to actually seeing something happen on screen this is the sum of all aspects of your setup with everything including your PC display and peripherals whenever we're talking about gaming monitors though we're mainly talking about two main metrics the input lag and the response time input lag is the time it takes for the monitor to receive your signal and then actually display on screen response times on the other hand are a measure of exactly how long it takes for a pixel to fully change from one color to another this doesn't really affect the feel or the lag of the system but as discussed the amount of motion blur that you're going to see on screen another thing to keep an eye out for is HDR or high dynamic range displays and assuming everything's working properly top tip grab Windows 11 don't use Windows 10 cuz it can be a little bit funny assuming everything's working properly then an HDR signal when displayed properly is going to have better contrast could have a higher brightness much better color and the overall image is going to have a lot more pop to it and overall look a whole lot better OLED displays arguably do the best job at HDR thanks to the infinite contrast ratio per pixel level dimming system to avoid Halos and blooming and lack of any backlight but any monitor can display HDR that has a Zone dimming system it's pretty simple really the higher the number of zones the better the image will be as smaller sections of the pi piure can be set to Bright or dark if you're serious about HDR then ideally look for a mini LED display if not going OLED as you have plenty of zones and usually a high peak and sustained brightness do note though that not all games actually support HDR and a lot of these cheaper HDR monitors will say that they are HDR but unless they're actually rated as display HDR 600 or higher then the end result will probably look a little bit flat and it won't really be worth buying at all I mean it might be for SDR but not for HDR and while we're on the topic of looking a little bit flat a quick word on panel Coatings oh I'm sounding like a right nerd here aren't I you wanted to just find out what's good for gaming and we're talking about panel Coatings but it's important so yes nerdy hats on everyone for a second because panel Coatings can be either matte or glossy and short story shorts glossy panels can look better in ideal conditions with more contrasty Punchy and vibrant characteristics but of course can give off awful Reflections when you put them near a window or other bright light sources map panels meanwhile get around this problem with a non-reflective coating but some monitors take this a little bit too far with a grainy moay that can hamper the overall experience especially when viewing white backgrounds and then finally before we move on to the recommendations do also be aware of variable refresh rate technology perhaps more commonly known as both g-sync and freesync these monitors accept a variable refresh rate signal from your gaming rig and then matches the display refresh to your in-game refresh rate this reduces the stutter and tearing your see in game and allows for a much smoother experience than playing without in a nutshell for the best experience look for those rated as gsync compatible or with amd's free sync premium but now is the time that I know you guys have been waiting for the recommendations but of course do bear in mind that I haven't tested literally every single monitor so if there's one that you want me to test or ask on I don't know my thoughts whether I like it whether I hate it let us know down in the comment section below and we'll do our best to answer you let us begin with my budget gaming monitor pick the AOC 24 G2 spu this is a 24 in 1080P IPS display that costs roughly 150 quid now it's not going to win any awards for its Cutting Edge spec sheet but it gets pretty much everything right for that all important core gameplay experience thanks to a 165 HZ refresh rate it's also great that it does support amd's free sync so gaming should be super smooth across the board even if your gaming PC is starting its golden years and about to claim its pension just do be aware that the image quality is merely okay and it's not going to compete with those costing a whole lot more if you let me I'll also throw in a budget Ultra wide option here as I know there are some fellow wide boys like myself out there now I want to be clear on this one I have not actually used this display personally but I have collated reviews on this and it's definitely worth considering the gigabyte m34 WQ it costs a whole lot more than aoc's G2 but it is a lot more monitor too with a 34in IPS screen and a resolution of 3440 x440 now it's not quite as fast running at a mere 144 HZ but with 92% of the DCI P3 color space covered it'll look phenomenal and be a whole lot more immersive too just do be aware that this is one of the many monitors that is only rated as display HDR 400 so the HDR isn't going to melt your face off like any good proper HDR monitor should now in rather surprising news I think we've got an interruption because our next recommendation actually comes from the Prest of Pros himself Mr TFT Central thanks for having me Marcus um you've left me a pretty broad category there but I think that for most people the 27 in 1440p gaming displays they're probably going to be your best General all around Choice without breaking the bank too much I mean there's loads to choose from but I think my personal pick in this category right now would probably be the coola master Tempest gp27 Q the reason for that is that it's one of the few options in this size and price range that's got one of the high-end mini LED backlights so that makes it a far better choice than the vast majority of screens in this size to handle modern HDR gaming so it's got a nice bright display with significantly improved contrast thanks to that backlight and along with its solid IPS panel and very good response times it's a really good choice it's got 165 HZ refresh rate as well and so it sits somewhere in the middle when it comes to the pricing tier for this kind of size monitor moving on to our next category we have 4K and maybe you want this for the sharpness maybe you have a next end console and you want to unlock it for potential well do be aware most of them out there even if they call themselves gaming monitors are typically 60 HZ but in order to actually qualify for this video and needed to do 120 or more my initial picks for this were both the gigabyte M32 U and 28u two very similar 4K monitors both running at a maximum refresh rate of 144 HZ and both supporting HDMI 2.1 to unlock 4K 120 on console on the 32-in version that we tested the image quality was great not only in terms of that pin sharp resolution but also from a rich and vibrant IPS panel that let your games sing I think most of us will agree that we'd rather have the 32in version as 4K is far more suited to a larger screen size but unfortunately is a lot more expensive than the 27 so actually choosing between the two could be a bit of a tough decision moving on to a monitor I know better than any other one in this list because it's my personal display let's go for the best luxury ultrawide I've been using alienware's aw 3423 DW QD OLED monitor ever since launched and it is my favorite gaming monitor I have ever used it shares the same 3440 x440 resolution as our budget pick but this time it is OLED baby this means that you get that beautiful infinite contrast that makes any movie or game look Divine and the motion blur the motion blur is as good as any you can get on an ultra wide today it's also properly HDR as while it's not quite as bright as some other mini LED displays on the market the true blacks more than make up for that and the whole thing is just incredibly comfortable to use of course you do need to be aware of burning though and do also be aware that the freezing version of this is actually a fair bit cheaper but is otherwise essentially the same so I would strongly consider going for that one to save yourself a pretty penny but as you guys are constantly telling me time and time again not everyone wants to go Ultra wide others just want to go big LG's 48 GQ 900 came into the studio a while back and while it was too big for me personally as an all round entertainment display it was awesome as it also uses an panel you can expect very similar contrast and image quality as its smaller siblings but now we can really experience all of the detail that 4K resolution will bring you can multitask for days watch Netflix whilst gaming and of course lean back into an extended playthrough or your favorite RPG I'll also add in the Asus Rog Swift pg42 uq here it's a bit smaller than the LG that you tested it's 42 in in size which I think is just about okay as a desktop monitor it's an OLED panel again with with 4K resolution and this time a 138 HZ refresh rate but unlike some of the screens in this kind of size it's been built specifically as a desktop monitor so it's got useful features like display port standby mode and even PC USB hub ports and I also point out that while some people hate Ultra wide others love it so much they want to take it to the next level and go for super ultra wide I mean there's no way around it they are absolutely ginormous but technically speaking they do take up slightly less space than two monitors would and of course you can game on them as one giant display I mean don't get me wrong this isn't going to work for every single game both on a technical level and then like a nausea inducing level if that technically makes sense but in particular if you are going to play racing games and you want full immersion without going to VR they are a fantastic choice the one to go for is probably going to be the newest version of the Samsung Odyssey G9 now it's yet to arrive in the studio we will be testing it hopefully very shortly but this is 240 HZ and now it is OLED which again will bring you a whole lot less motion blur and stupendous image quality I had a chance to review this screen as well actually recently and found it a great performer with really good motion Clarity and all the benefits of OLED that you've just talked about I did find the built-in Smart TV operating system a bit of a pain to use to be honest and you had to get a few things configured correctly like the HDR mode for instance but once you got past that kind of initial experience it was a really good gaming screen moving on once again I'm pleased to say that our next category is the penultimate one and it's actually a brand new one for 2023 one that has a bit of an odd name I'm calling it the bestest fastest gaming monitor as I'll now explain my pick here is the Asus RG pg27 aqn a monitor that's not only 1440p but tops out at a whopping 360 HZ the overall experience was pretty wild when I used this earlier in the year with such a tiny amount of input lag that I've never really felt more connected to a game in my life now image quality wasn't quite as good as OLED as this instead opts for IPs but you pair this with any Esports title like valerin or csgo and you're going to be a real force to be reckoned with but here's the thing I think most people would actually be better off going for a different kind of monitor entirely one that's slower but one that's OLED and only 240 HZ I mean sure if you can run your game at 360 HZ then a 240 HZ OLED isn't technically going to be quite as good but bear in mind most games won't actually be drivable at these sort of refresh rates anyway then it makes sense to go for OLED that has much better response times contrast and image quality because it's just going to look way better for the majority of games plus the lg27 gr 95 QE is actually much cheaper at the gate anyway so you're saving money for going for the better option I also want to add in the Asus Rog Swift Pro pg248 QP into the mix here as well for competitive and orts Gamers it's pretty niche as a display goes it's small it's 24 in in size it's got a 1080p resolution and it's even built around an aging TN film panel but it is the fastest monitor we've tested to date with a whopping 540 HZ refresh rate and amazingly quick response times it's got a native Nvidia g-sync module in the screen so it also supports nvidia's ul mb2 and their reflex latency analyzer technology so it's a really top end gaming screen with all the bells and whistles that you might want this then folks leaves us firmly at the end of the road with just one topic left my favorite or I should say our favorite gaming monitors and mine is really easy we've already spoken about it it is that alen Weare ultrawide but I believe Simon from TFT has a pick of his own gosh uh there's so many to choose from and so many different use cases but I think I'll go with the Asus R Swift pg27 a qdm for all that OLED goodness at least until we get 32in 4k OLED monitors next year anyway well then everybody there we are everything you need to pick the perfect gaming monitor for you I really hope this video has been helpful if it has please let us know by Smashing that like button let us know your thoughts down in the comment section below including your top picks and of course get subscribed for more monitor reviews and loads of other helpful PC gaming videos if you do want to check out current pricing by the way on any of the monitors featured you can find these all linked down below with our affiliate links along with all the full detail reviews from both myself and Mr TFT Central and while you're down there why not check out elgato's prompter this all-in-one solution has everything you need to get started including a USB powered display camera Hood working with mainstream cameras and elgato's webcams and of course elgato's complete software solution you can even get twitch chat on the screen for the most immersive streaming experience learn more today with the link down below thank you so much for watching we'll catch you in the next [Music] one

Channel: PC Centric

Views: 357,861

Keywords: pccentric, gaming, pc gaming, gaming computer, pc centric, pc build, gaming pc, gaming monitor, best gaming monitor, monitor buyers guide, monitor buying guide, best gaming monitor 2023, best gaming monitor 2024, oled, oled monitor, 4k 120, console gaming monitor, ultrawide, ultrawide gaming monitor, oled gaming monitor, 4k gaming monitor, 1440p, 1440p gaming monitor, hdr gaming monitor, 165hz monitor, budget gaming monitor, lg, alienware, gigabyte, m32u, m28u, freesync, gsync, rog, asus

Id: BMHHYed0vrI

Length: 20min 57sec (1257 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 13 2023