Best Gaming Monitors

Your choice of a monitor can significantly impact your gaming experience and competitiveness. Monitors that eliminate stuttering and screen tearing provide more fluid visuals. High-resolution monitors render the most minor details with incredible clarity. And fast response times give you a split-second edge over competitors.

As you look for the best gaming monitor for your setup, gaming displays from Dell and Alienware offer a wide range of options for screen size, refresh rate, panel type, and more. With Dell and Alienware displays, you can take your pick of the best gaming monitors to take you deeper into every game and each environment.

What makes the best gaming monitor?

Refresh rate
The refresh rate – the number of times a monitor refreshes the image on the screen each second – can significantly impact competitive gameplay. Faster refresh rates reduce input lag and minimize screen tearing for smoother and more fluid images. A 144Hz monitoris necessary for a competitive gamer, as lower refresh rates can significantly interfere with the gaming experience.

Panel type
LCD monitors use different types of technology to illuminate pixels on the screen. Twisted Nematic (TN) panels are typically more affordable and enable faster response times and refresh rates. In contrast, In-Plane Switching (IPS) panels provide a wider viewing angle and improved color variety and color accuracy. IPS panels are often best for gamers because of the wider viewing angles, allowing gamers to view their gaming environment more clearly.

Screen size
Screen size is something of a personal choice – most gamers feel that a screen between 23 and 27 inches is the best monitor size for gaming. The best screen size for a given gamer is dependent on their distance to the monitor. Larger monitors require gamers to sit slightly farther away from the screen and require a higher screen resolution.

Response time
A monitor's pixel response time, measured in milliseconds, is the time required for a single pixel to switch from black to white or between different shades of gray. Faster response times deliver crisper images that allow gamers to react more quickly. Since gaming is often about split-second decisions, lower response times are crucial for the gaming experience. While casual gamers can usually deal with a 5 ms response time, more specialized gamers often require a 1 ms response time or lower.


Resolution
Higher resolution monitors deliver more precise picture quality and more accurate colors but require higher-end graphics cards to support them. For this reason, some gamers choose to stick with a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 rather than opting for a 4K gaming monitor


Adaptive sync
With ultra-fast refresh rates, some monitors result in a dilemma: screen tearing (multiple frames are simultaneously shown on-screen when the monitor refresh rate does not match the frame rate of a graphics card). Adaptive sync technology helps eliminate stuttering and screen tearing by dynamically adjusting the monitor's refresh rate to the graphics card's frame rate. Adaptive sync technologies include G-Sync monitors, which work with NVIDIA's graphics cards.

Alienware and Dell gaming monitors feature several attributes that gamers want from their displays.

Fast response times
Eliminate ghosting and blurred images with response rates as low as 0.5 ms GtG.

High-resolution
Choose from displays with resolutions that include full HD, QHD, UWQAD, and 4K UHD, including some of the best 4K gaming monitors in the industry.

Accelerated refresh rates
Dell Gaming Monitors are available in refresh rates of 120Hz, 144Hz, 165Hz, or 240Hz.

Fast IPS technology
Select monitors feature IPS technology that delivers precise grayscale expression, high color accuracy, and no color distortion, even when viewing the screen from extreme angles.

Adaptive sync displays
Some Dell gaming monitors are compatible with AMD FreeSync™ Premium and NVIDIA©G-SYNC© technology that will help eliminate screen tearing.

Iconic design
Dell Gaming Monitors and Alienware displays are built with timeless, aesthetically pleasing designs that will match your legendary status.

What's the best gaming monitor?
The best gaming monitor for each player is a personal decision. Some players prefer larger monitors with higher resolution that deliver jaw-dropping visuals, while others prefer smaller monitors with slightly lower resolution but faster response times. Adaptive sync technology is also helpful for ensuring fluid visuals.

What specs are important in the best gaming monitors?
Gamers tend to agree that the response time and refresh rate are critical to smooth, fluid gameplay. A faster refresh rate helps eliminate screen tearing and stuttering, while lower response times enable players to see changes on the screen a split-second sooner. The best gaming monitors on Dell.com include various Alienware and Dell displays.