How do we rate the Best Gaming Monitors
The ultimate PC gaming experience is an expensive affair. By the ultimate experience, I mean getting super powerful processors, the best gaming keyboards, the best gaming mouse, an excellent gaming headphone and now the best gaming monitors. When you get the best of all these accessories, then you can confidently shop for any game out there knowing that there is nothing you can throw to your system that it won’t be able to handle. At least not in the near future. The issue, however, is that getting all the best of these accessories to make a single system is perhaps as expensive as trying to assemble the Avengers. But let’s say you are lucky enough to have a budget decent enough to get you the best monitor in the market. Let’s say that you’ve managed to save some cash on the gaming CPU, keyboard and headphones, making it possible for you to spare enough cash for a proper monitor.
The biggest question for you, therefore, is which is the best gaming monitor in the market today? The best gaming monitor has to be the Acer Predator XB273K. After testing dozens of monitors, The Acer Predator XB273K didn’t just tick all the relevant boxes, but it performed well above its peers within and above its price point. The monitor packs impressive refresh rates, excellent image quality, and incredibly low response time, making it an excellent buy. The best part? Even with all the brilliant features, Acer still provides this monitor at a very reasonable price of less than $1000 putting to shame a big majority of the rather standard monitors retailing at insane prices simply because they are coming from glorified brands.
Gaming Monitors Buying Guide
The truth of the matter is that there is no one particular unit that is capable of suiting everyone. Our goal is to make sure that you get a monitor that is perfect for your unique situation. This means that we need to do more than just mentioning our top picks. It’s for this reason that we are committed to giving you a proper guide on all the crucial factors that you need to consider when shopping for a gaming monitor. When you know what you are looking for, it becomes easy to choose an item that is in line with your needs and even better, you will save yourself from having to spend more on features that you are probably never going to need.
That said, here are the crucial factors to consider when buying a gaming monitor:
Refresh Rate
If you are all about dominating the Battlefield V and other shooters games, then refresh rate should be up there in your priorities. Refresh rates directly translate to how many frames your monitor can display in one second. Therefore, a high refresh rate is crucial for a seamless gaming experience, especially if you are trying to get an extra cutting edge over your opponents.
At the moment, gaming monitors come in all refresh rates from as low as 60Hz going all the way to 200Hz or even higher! For any serious gamer, 60Hz can’t punch it while over 200Hz seems like overkill plus monitors with such high refresh rates are usually very expensive. With that in mind, you should be able to find the middle point where you can get the appropriate refresh rate while sticking within your budget. For instance, most people settle for around 144Hz. This saves them a couple of dollars without taking anything from their gaming experience.
While checking refresh rates, you may also look out for G-Sync from Nvidia and AMD’s FreeSync technologies. This tech helps in reducing input lag, but they are usually very expensive, plus they require a powerful supporting GPU to work effectively.
Response Time
In competitive gaming, a single extra second in response time is more than enough to stand between you and the championship. To prevent latency, you need to make sure that you are getting a monitor with the lowest response time possible. Of course, this will also result in a higher price tag, but it is the price you’ll have to pay to remain the champion on Fortnite Battle Royale.
If you know that you are not going to get into a lot of competitive gaming, then you don’t need to pay too much attention to response time. You can compromise a bit on this part and pay more attention to the next factor in our list.
Resolution
Everyone wants crystal clear pixels, and this plays a vital role in immersing you into the surrounding of your games. Getting the excellent resolution is, therefore in the best interest for all gamers. But, how sharp do you really need the images to be? Bear in mind that a screen with superb resolution requires an equally outstanding graphics card. This is especially the case when you start to move from 1080p resolution to 4K monitors. Therefore, if you cannot invest on a powerful graphics card, then you are better off settling for a Full HD display.
Screen Size
At this point, it’s more about enhancing your experience than anything else. A big screen with equally large aspect ratio will improve your gaming experience significantly. It’s highly recommended that you go for such screens if you have the resources to pull it off i.e., financial muscles and enough room to house the monitor.
1.Acer Predator XB273K
The Acer Predator XB273K is one of the most impressive gaming monitors you’ll ever come across. The 27” beast delivers 120Hz refresh rate which can be pushed further to 144Hz through the display port. This is further supported by the Nvidia G-Sync, resulting in remarkable results. The refresh rate, together with the G-Sync makes sure that your gaming experience is super smooth, giving you the desperately needed advantage over your opponents. The brilliant refresh rate also future-proofs this unit, making it a valuable investment in the constantly changing gaming world.
The CB273K also comes with one of the most stunning displays you’ll find in any gaming monitor. The monitor features a 27-inch UHD 4k IPS display with a 175-degree viewing angle which makes sure that you are fully immersed into the game. If that wasn’t enough, the manufacturer went ahead to add DisplayHDR 400 for more vibrant images, and that’s not enough. The monitor also features Quantum Dots that breathe life into all the images displayed. This delivers a staggering realism into all the images with superb color accuracy and saturation.
The Acer Predator XB273K is also packed with various other features that will make your gaming experience smooth even when during a triathlon. For instance, the monitors are designed with Acer VisionCare whose sole purpose is to protect your eyes from the lighting you’ll be subjected to during your long gaming sessions. We also loved the ErgoStand of this system. The stand allows you to pivot, swivel, and adjust the height of the screen. This basically means that everyone can adjust the monitor to sit at an angle that is in tune with their gaming setup and preferences.
Gamers will also have the option of choosing from more than four modes. These modes have been adjusted to suit the specific type of content you are playing, and the best part is that it isn’t just designed for different genres of gaming but also for watching movies. These modes include Racing, Action, Sport, Standard, User, Graphic, ECO, and Movie.
Other Features
- 4ms (GTG) response time at 4K
- DCI-P3
- Ports: 1 HDMI 2.0, 1 Display Port 1.4, 4 USB 3.0 ports
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2.ASUS ROG PG279Q 27” Gaming Monitor
The ASUS ROG PG279Q is the ultimate gaming monitor for every gamer using a GeForce graphics card and with a slightly tight budget. This monitor is perfectly tailored to make sure that GeForce gamers get all the advantage they need to move up the leaderboard.
One of the best things about this monitor has to be the insane refresh rate. While your typical monitors cap your refresh rate at 144Hz or below, the PG279Q can deliver up to 165Hz! This eliminates motion blur and lag completely, making sure that even the most demanding of games are breezing their way through your system. This aspect is further supported by the 4ms response time. Combine the impressive refresh rate and this minimal response time, and you will get all the advantage you need to dominate the Black Ops 4. Unfortunately, this refresh rate is only available through the display port. If you resort into using an HDMI, you’ll only get 60Hz at QHD resolution.
Smooth gaming is paramount for every gamer. The last thing a fast-shooter game needs is unnecessary lags because a single second is all it takes for the enemy to blow your brains out. To make sure that you experience none of that, ASUS has included Nvidia G-Sync technology which synchronizes GeForce GPU with the 165Hz refresh rate to make sure that your gaming experience is fast and accurate.
The PG279Q comes with a 27-inch QuadHD 1440p display. The first thing that will catch your attention with this display is how thin the bezels are. This gives the display a rather elegant and full look. In fact, the screen allows you to get as much as 70% more in terms of desktop space as compared to other 1080p displays.
ASUS has also thrown in a couple of features to improve your experience. This includes four filter settings with an Ultra-Low Blue Light filter option that is designed to protect your eyes from harmful light. The monitor is fitted with a five-way joystick that allows you to navigate through the display menus and customize the settings.
Other Features
- 27-inch QuadHD 1440p display
- TUV certified flicker-free
- 165Hz refresh rate
- IPS sRGB gamut display
- NVidia G-Sync tech
- VESA compatibility
3.Samsung Electronics CHG90 Curved Gaming Monitor
The CHG90 adds to the long list of innovative electronics coming from Samsung. If you know anything about electronics, then you know that Samsung is among the leaders in the industry and this does come with some strings attached the biggest one being price. The CHG90, for instance, goes for a staggering $1000 and you could end up paying even $200 more depending on where you are buying it. But, let’s take a step back and look at what it really offers and determine whether it is worth it.
The first thing that’s guaranteed to take your breath away while unboxing this monitor is its crazy size. Our two picks above were only 27-inches, and Samsung has decided to change the game completely by bringing not just a bigger display but a curved one for a vivid experience.
Set up this monitor and power it on and you will feel like it’s a piece of tech cut from a Sci-fi TV show. This monitor won’t just change how your gaming station looks like, but it will completely transform the atmosphere and your experience. Some experts are even terming it as the next best thing to virtual reality, and there’s some sense to that. Sitting in the middle of a 49-inch 1800R curved screen takes full advantage of the human eye view to give you all the details going on in your games as if you are in it.
Of course, a big curved screen would mean nothing if it doesn’t nail it when it comes to running games. The Samsung CHG90 has a 144Hz refresh rate and HDR support. What steals the show here is the 1ms response time which you’ll appreciate in all your highly-competitive games.
You can also adjust the height, swivel, and tilt the monitor to get it in the right position and angle.
Unfortunately, big displays such as this always come with various issues, and the biggest one is usually on space. To get full advantage of this monitor, you will need sufficient space to house it and have extra space left for your mouse, keyboard, and other accessories. This means spending more on a gaming station.
Another issue with the CHG90 is the resolution, which is a bare 1080p. At 49-inches, you are likely to notice the individual pixels of this monitor when you check closely or when playing high-contrast games.
Other Features
- 1ms MPRT
- Massive 32:9 aspect ratio
- Quantum dot tech (QLED)
- Radeon FreeSync 2
- Factory Calibration
- Adjustable stand
- Game mode
- Eye-saver mode
- 60Hz & 120Hz settings included
- Arena Lightings which adjust automatically based on the audio output
- Connectivity: HDMI, Display Port, USB-A, Mini-Display Port