When building a gaming PC, there is not much focus given on the monitor. The reason is gaming performance is not affected by the monitor since the frame rate and the consistency of frame time are the ones that dictate the kind of gaming experience you will have. That means, if your PC can deliver 100 FPS at 1920 x 1080 resolution, it will do so whatever monitor you use. However, 100 FPS on a monitor with 60-Hz refresh rate will not look good because you will see a lot of screen tearing. One solution to that is to get a monitor with 144-Hz fixed refresh rate. Though, you may still see screen tearing on a monitor with 144-Hz fixed refresh rate when your PC fails to maintain a relatively high frame rate. Variable refresh rate technology totally eliminates screen tearing but at the cost of being tied to a GPU brand.
Currently, there are only 2 variable refresh rate technologies available – AMD Free Sync and NVIDIA G-Sync. As you might have guessed, Free Sync only works with AMD GPU’s and G-Sync only works with NVIDIA GPU’s. The main advantage of Free Sync is that monitors with support for it are generally much more affordable than monitors with G-Sync.
There is no industry standard as to what features a monitor must have to be able to classify it as gaming type. The products we selected for the chart below have at least one of the following features: 144-Hz refresh rate, ultra-wide aspect ratio (21:9), and variable refresh rate. We believe that those features give a noticeable improvement over a monitor with 60-Hz fixed refresh rate and 16:9 aspect ratio.
Just some REMINDERS before you proceed:
- The prices are based on the item listing of Dyna Quest, PC Express, and PC Hub. Price may change without prior notice so call the store to verify the updated price on your chosen day of purchase
- Check the manufacturer’s website for other specifications like compatible input type (HDMI, DVI, Display Port, etc.), VESA mounting support, input types that support the high refresh rate, Free Sync range, and product dimensions. Just search the model name in Google and the 1st page of results will likely show the product link.
- To make the chart as readable as possible, we abbreviated the resolution numbers: 1080p for 1920 x 1080 resolution, uw-1080p for ultra-wide 1080p or 2560 x 1080 resolution, and 1440p for 2560 x 1440 resolution.
To help you decide on which monitor to choose, we have prepared a chart on recommended monitors for every GPU:
GPU | Recommended Monitors | |||||
Brand | Model | Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 3 | Option 4 | |
AMD Radeon | R9 390, R9 390X, RX 470, RX 480 | AOC G2460PF | Viewsonic XG2401 | LG 23MP68VQ | LG 29UM58 | |
NVIDIA GeForce | GTX 980, GTX 1060 | AOC G2460PF | Viewsonic XG2401 | LG 29UM58 | ||
GTX 980 Ti, GTX 1070 | BenQ XL2420G | AOC G2460PF | Viewsonic XG2401 | LG 29UM58 | ||
GTX 1080 | BenQ XL2420G | ASUS MG279Q | BenQ XR3501 |
Buying Tips
- Work with a budget. Don’t go targetting a monitor only to save up for it then realize there’s options that have features you like or cheaper prices.
- Focus on what you play. Doesn’t matter what kind of system you have, your games will ultimately dictate what you see. A 4K UHD monitor for MOBAs just doesn’t make sense the same way a 165hz monitor won’t compliment a 30FPS locked console-ported title. If you play eSports titles mostly, we recommend the faster monitors. If you like visuals and eye candy, 4K is the way to go. There are compromises if you want both like a 144hz QHD monitor and that’s up to you. Your system needs to keep up though so make sure you can run them at playable levels.
- Don’t wait forever! Stop reasoning out that you’ll save up for 6 months only to have the monitor you want get phased-out and put on the bargain bin. Set a target specs and feature sheet, set a budget and decide on what’s available by the time you are ready to buy.
If you have buying tips and suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment. Happy shopping!