Introduction
The best gaming monitors out there that pair perfectly with PCs, consoles, and more.
Quick List
- Best overall: LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B
- Best budget: KOORUI GN02
- Best 1080p: AOC 24G2 / 24G2U
- Best 4K: Dough Spectrum Black 32
- Best QD-OLED: Alienware AW2725Q
- Best high refresh rate: AOC AGON Pro AG246FK
- Best curved: LG UltraGear 45GR95QE
- Best ultrawide: Samsung Odyssey OLED G9
- Best for PS5: Sony Inzone M9
The Best Gaming Monitor Overall: LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B
Expert Review: https://monitorcritic.com
It's not every day you find screens like the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B that can serve as two gaming monitors in one. Yet, this 32-inch OLED can hop back and forth between 4K 240Hz visuals and a competitive-grade 1080 480Hz mode, all while boasting incredible contrast, colors, and brightness.
Reasons to Buy
✅ You want a versatile monitor: Whether you're playing competitive FPS games or big budget adventures, LG's dual resolution mode has you covered.
✅ You want fast refresh rates: As a 4K 240Hz display, this monitor represents some of the fastest UHD screens on the market, and its 480Hz mode puts many bespoke competitive screens to shame.
✅ You're looking for fantastic visuals: This OLED screen boasts everything that makes the tech worthwhile for gaming, including incredible contrast, colors, and black-levels that are hard to beat.
Reasons to Avoid
❌ You don't need dual mode: If you have zero use for a 1080p 480Hz dual mode, there are cheaper 4K 240Hz monitors out there.
❌ You play at 1440p: LG's monitor doesn't feature a native 1440p mode, and there are plenty of OLED options out there for players who prefer QHD.
Features
As you probably guessed, the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B's showstopping feature is its dual resolution mode. With the click of a switch at the front, you'll be able to turn the 4K 240Hz panel into a 1080p 480Hz display, which is phenomenal given that displays with the latter specs cost hundreds on their own. Effectively, you're getting two screens in one here, and you won't even have to sacrifice fidelity or OLED goodness.
Design
The 32GS95UE-B is the kind of monitor that'll blend in with your existing setup while featuring just enough UltraGear vibes to look like a gaming device. That's great for players who want something stealthy for a shared living space, but it's also flashy enough to stand out at LAN events or within your gaming room. Its hexagonal base and pedestal do look a bit like the Apple Studio from the front, so it's more likely to have wider appeal than traditional screens for gaming.
Cable management is easily achieved with the 32GS95UE-B using a wide, oval hole at the back, so keeping on top of wire clutter is a breeze. You'll also be able to swiftly raise, lower, pivot and tilt this display thanks to its smooth mechanism, which I find particularly handy for work scenarios or playing arcade games in TATE mode.
Performance
LG's new flagship gaming screen punches hard with its OLED panel even without dual resolution mode. As a 4K 240Hz display, this UltraGear screen is out to impress with superb contrast, inky blacks, and stellar HDR abilities. It's actually slightly surreal being able to play at 1080p 480Hz on a monitor of this calibre, as competitive models for FPS games normally opt for traditional TN or VA tech.
The 32GS95UE-B is a heavy hitter in its speed as well - I've only seen a faster panel on the AOC AGON Pro AG246FK. The AOC uses a 540Hz refresh rate and is solely designed for competitive gaming, whereas LG's display has the edge in every other department. Plus, even esports enthusiasts won't be grumbling at this 480Hz and 0.03ms response time combo, as it pretty much blows last year's competitive displays out of the water.
Verdict
At its full price, the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B will likely be outside of many players' budgets, and some slight cons include not including a remote control or a USB-C hub for handhelds. Yet, even those slight omissions can't keep the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B from the throne, and its unique dual resolution abilities are already changing the gaming monitor scene as we know it.
How We Test Gaming Monitors
Monitor Critic, every gaming monitor that comes our way is put through its paces to check whether it's worthy of your attention, or one you should consider avoiding. Our full testing process includes a mixture of more subjective visual impressions and more quantitative speed and reliability tests. We keep our reviews process strictly real-world focused, though, keeping these panels out of lab conditions and using them as we would a display we'd bought with our own money. After all, that's how you're going to be running your panel. That means we use each display across both PC and consoles, leaning more towards one or the other if marketing or features specifically call for them.
The first thing we test is setup. We're noting how easy that initial assembly process is, keeping a keen eye on build materials, manufacturing precision, form factor, and packaging to ensure everything runs smoothly and is likely to last. Once that screen is flicked on, we're scanning every portion of the display to check for light bleed, pixel degradation, and idle artifacts.
Then we move onto the actual screen quality. We look for different things from different panels, but overall we're always making sure a display's colors are well balanced, brightness is at a suitable level, and resolutions are maintained through sharp visuals. We may prioritize our testing of color saturation and contrast in a more expensive OLED panel, for example, but we're still evaluating these features on an IPS or TN model as well.
Then we get to speed. We use three games to test the experience of running each gaming monitor at its highest native refresh rate; Halo Infinite, Overwatch 2, and Apex Legends. To ensure we're getting a full clean read, we run these games at lower settings to fully explore higher refresh rate models.
We use all available features on every monitor we test. That means hooking up multiple inputs to test the speed and reliability of KVM switching and USB-C hub properties while also running through the full menu of visual controls.
Finally, we assess a monitor's build, form factor, performance, and feature set against its price tag and other competitors in its field. This allows us to determine whether a reviewed device is worthy of this guide based on value for money.