The Best Gaming Monitor

Buying Guide

When you sit down to game, you want the best gaming monitor for a flawless picture. Although technology is ever-changing, there are a few highly rated monitors on the market specifically for the gaming community today. After checking out all the options, you won’t regret investing in your game with a new gaming monitor.

A monitor is an essential piece of technology needed to access all your computer’s information. It allows you to see what is in your storage and files that lie within the computer console. There are several factors that can increase or decrease a monitor’s performance for gaming. In addition to the specifications of the monitor itself, corresponding processing power within the computer console is an important factor as well. The following are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for gaming monitors:

Resolution is a major contributing factor to the gaming quality of a monitor. Resolution is the measure of pixels, which is an area of illumination that comprises an image, that can fit on the screen of a monitor. So, the higher the number of pixels noted on the description of a monitor, the more precise picture you will see displayed. Most monitors have a minimum of 1080p but the best gaming monitors can have upwards of 4K for display.

Response time is an additional feature to consider when looking into gaming monitors. When you hear the phrase response time, it means the amount of time it takes for a monitor to switch the color of the pixels, either from black to white or between shades of gray. When the response time is long, it creates blurry images for viewers. The lower the response time, the better quality you’ll see in the monitor. The absolute best monitors have close to 1ms response time while the longest response time in today’s technology is roughly 5ms. Monitors with a 1ms response time lend themselves to an outstanding gaming experience.

It’s important to remember that bigger numbers are best for refresh rates. The refresh rate is the number of times new information is updated on the monitor. It is measured with hertz and it’s assumed that consumers know it is per second. The minimum you’ll want for gaming is a monitor with, at least, a 75Hz refresh rate. Most consumers searching for monitors opt for a higher refresh rate of 144 Hz for the smoothest experience.

Doug Brennan, an avid gamer for the past 20 years and a writer for the blog Digital Addicts, agrees, adding that you’ll also want to factor in the number of frames per second.

“In my opinion, 60hz is the absolute minimum required for a stable gaming experience, while 120hz/144hz and above is far more optimal,” he says. “Fortunately, most modern gaming monitors will come standard with a 120hz or 144hz refresh rate. That being said, it’s important to remember that the monitor’s refresh rate is only half of the equation. The other half is playing on a computer (or console) that can keep up by running the game at a stable FPS (frames per second) that’s equal to or greater than the monitor’s refresh rate. If the computer (or console) cannot keep up, the user will experience screen tearing, which will distort the image during graphically intense moments.”

Curved monitors versus flat monitors is another feature for gaming monitors in today’s market. The curved monitors often present glare issues because of the angles but offer gaming consumers a bigger view. Flat monitors will mount to walls better than curved ones, which will stick out quite a bit. However, there isn’t a huge difference in quality between the two, making it a personal preference decision in the end.

Now for the best gaming monitor to function at its best, it’s important to install a good graphics card. This is where the processing power comes into play. The graphics card is inside the computer console and will make the monitor perform at its possible best. Most choose a great graphics card to get the most out of their gaming monitor.

• A bigger budget does not always equal a better gaming monitor.
• Take your time to decide on the features that you want based on what matters most during your gaming experiences and the types of games you play.
• Remember to keep the combination of a high refresh rate with a low response time.
• When you choose a lower resolution but have a quality graphics card. you can achieve fast refresh rates.
• Be sure to do extra research on the monitor you are considering because input lag (the time it takes between pushing a button and the output by your graphics card) is not usually listed in the general specifications.
• Some gaming monitors have motion blur reduction or ultra-low motion blur, a feature that can be useful if the resolution is on the lower end of the spectrum.
• You may not need motion blur reduction, and you actually cannot use it in combination with certain graphics cards and their features.
• You have a choice of LED or LCD panels.
• LCD panels come in three types: twisted nematic (TN), vertical alignment (VA), and in-plane switching (IPS).
• The best-suggested gaming monitor among the three LCD panels is the twisted nematic, also known as a TN panel.
• Contrast is the biggest contributor to the quality of the image and is usually noted as 5,000:1 in the good range versus 1,000:1 in the lower range.
• The higher the refresh rate of your monitor, the more expensive graphics card you will need to buy.
• Monitors in the 32-inch area are currently the most popular and best functioning size among gaming monitors. Some even have a bit of a curve for an interactive experience.