Gaming monitor buying guide

Graphics cards

The most important part of buying a gaming monitor has nothing to do with the monitor itself. There's little point spending a small fortune on an ultra-fast, ultra-wide, high-resolution monitor if your graphics card can't output at these settings. More pixels, faster frame rates and deeper colours all require more grunt from your GPU. Check to see what your card is capable of and then find a monitor that suits. Or, alternatively, purchase your dream monitor and then upgrade your graphics card to match. Monitors and graphics cards are the core of your PC set-up and work best when they're in harmony.

Curved vs flat screens

The first PC monitors used cathode-ray tubes and were convex shaped. When LCDs replaced them, flat screens became the dominant design. Now, the latest trend in monitor bulge is concave displays. The idea behind these new curved screens is that they envelope more of your field of vision, creating a heightened sense of immersion. They're not necessarily better, it's just a different approach.

We recommend going into a store and trying one out before purchasing because they're definitely not for everyone. It's also worth keeping in mind that, in order to get the full effect, they need to be large and have an ultra-wide aspect ratio, otherwise you've just got a normal screen that happens to warp around the edges.

Screen size

Larger monitors provide a more immersive, atmospheric gaming experience – but remember, in order to display a clear, sharp image, they need to render more pixels. This, in turn, requires more grunt from your graphics card.

Gaming monitors don't need to be as large as your TV because you sit closer to them. Anything 27 inches or larger will feel impressive.

Resolution and DPI

There are three common resolution options to choose from: full HD (1080p), QHD (2560x1440) or 4K (3840 × 2160). Resolution should be considered alongside screen size because the density of pixels per inch determines how sharp a picture is.

Although 4K is the standard for TVs, it's slightly less important in PC gaming because monitors tend to be smaller. 4K monitors also require an inordinately powerful PC to utilise them at their maximum resolution, so if you want to save some money, we'd recommend checking out QHD screens. Full HD should only be considered if speed and performance are the only things that matter to you and you're opting for a smaller screen.

Response time

Response time measures how quickly pixels in a monitor can change colour. Faster response times result in less ghosting and motion blur, particularly when games are moving quickly during action sequences. TN panels, the fastest variety, can have response times as low as 1ms. We'd advise trying to get something no slower than 4ms.

Refresh rate

Measured in hertz (Hz), refresh rate is the number of times a monitor can update and display a new image each second. A monitor running at 60Hz is displaying 60 frames per second. Higher refresh rates result in smoother gameplay experiences, but above a certain rate, many people cannot perceive the difference. 240Hz monitors have hit the market, but they're expensive and you'll struggle to run games at 240 frames per second on anything but the latest PC. In terms of price/performance balance, 144Hz is the current sweet spot – this is what you should aim for.

Contrast ratio

Contrast ratio is the difference between the whitest white and the blackest black. Most gaming monitors tend to hover between 1000:1 and 3000:1. When it comes to contrast ratio, higher is better because colours will be more differentiated; you'll see more shades rather than large uniform colour blocks.

G-Sync vs FreeSync

Screen tearing occurs when your monitor's refresh rate doesn't match the frame rate your PC is outputting; as an example, if your monitor is set to 144Hz but your PC is only running at 60fps, you'll notice stuttering and ghostly vestiges of old frames. G-Sync and FreeSync are competing technologies that solve this problem for you, automatically syncing your monitor with your graphics card. Which one you opt for should depend entirely on which graphics card you own. G-Sync is compatible with Nvidia cards, while FreeSync works with AMD cards. Match them.