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In this video Paul guides you through the five best gaming monitors of 2026, including displays for every budget and play style. Upgrading your gaming displays can be one of the fastest ways to enhancing your gaming setup, and new technologies are revolutionizing high performance monitors, like next gen RGB Stripe OLED panels, ultra fast refresh rates 240Hz and higher, and productivity enhancing Picture by Picture and KVM features.

Whether you’re looking for an ultrawide OLED or the best value in gaming displays, this buying guide will have you covered.

What to expect:

Monitors at a range of sizes and resolutions
The latest gaming monitors from Asus, Alienware, and MSI
Productivity features for home office and creative work
Detailed specs for each display

Category

🤖
Tech
Transcript
00:00We've tested five of the best gaming displays that you can get today to help you find the
00:03perfect match for your setup. So whether you're on a tighter budget and need the fastest refresh
00:08rates or a large gaming monitor that's also great for productivity, this buying guide has got
00:13something for every gamer and you'll find all the best deals link down below. If you're looking for
00:18the best overall gaming display, our new favorite pick is the ASUS ROG Swift 34-inch OLED. We first
00:24saw this monitor at CES where it won our best display in show, and it's not hard to see why.
00:30It's got a great balance of size, speed, and display quality. It uses a next-gen 21x9 360-hertz
00:38OLED panel. It uses this RGB stripe with RGB subpixels that improves text clarity and reduces
00:45color fringing, making it one of the most visually impressive OLED monitors that we've tested.
00:50ASUS has even added black shield film, which makes this OLED panel more scratch-resistant
00:55and adds to its contrast ratio. There's also a proximity motion sensor, which automatically gives
01:00the OLED panel a rest whenever you leave your desk, a feature I'd love to see more on other OLED
01:06display
01:06to help prevent burn-in. I also think the ASUS Swift 34-inch ultra-wide panel gives you that added
01:13immersion and productivity boost without taking up much more desk space than a traditional 27-inch monitor.
01:18It's 3K resolution may not be quite as sharp as 4K, but it does help you hit those higher frame
01:23rates a little bit more easily. On the back, you'll find a ton of ports, including DisplayPort 2.1,
01:29an optical audio port HDMI 2.1, USB hub with built-in KVM switch, handy if you use this monitor
01:35with two
01:35computers hooked up. There's also a bunch of really cool lighting, both on the back of the panel
01:39and underneath. The previous-gen ASUS ROG Swift retail for around $1,000, so you can expect similar
01:45pricing here, which, yes, is expensive, but this has the specs a lot of gamers are looking for right
01:50now. But if price is a concern, you can get our next pick for much less. This is the Alienware
01:56AW2525HM,
01:59and it's one of the fastest budget gaming displays they can get for around $200. No fancy RGB lighting
02:05here, but I think that helps it fit into a home office really well if you wanted. It's even got
02:10this
02:10unique blue color that lets it stand out from the sea of black displays out there. But it's still
02:16got lightning quick 320Hz refresh rate and 0.05 millisecond response time, so it's definitely fast
02:22enough for competitive gaming. It's 1080p resolution might seem a little bit low, but it does mean that
02:28your PC will have a much easier time hitting the high refresh rates that this monitor can push out.
02:33While you miss out on things like built-in speakers, check this out.
02:37You have a built-in headphone holder. Pretty handy. This also supports HDR,
02:44which is a rarity on budget monitors, and it has really great color accuracy,
02:48outperforming many competing models at the same price point. Sure, it's not as feature-packed as
02:53our other monitors on this list, but the Alienware AW2525HM is an excellent value pick if you want a fast
03:02gaming display. Now, if you're a fan of console gaming from your desk, then you need to check out
03:08our pick for the best 4K gaming display. This is the MSI MPG321URXW. This uses a 31.5-inch 240Hz
03:19QD OLED
03:20display, which looks absolutely gorgeous, and it has very impressive HDR and contrast ratio. The only thing
03:27I'm not a fan of is that it's pretty reflective, so keep that in mind if you plan to use
03:31this in a
03:32sunny room. Besides its specs, though, this is one of the sleekest monitors I have ever tested. You've
03:37got subtle RGB lighting on the back. You can either get it in its black or white color like we
03:41have here,
03:42and check this out. This is super thin. It keeps the weight down and makes this one of the easiest
03:47monitors at this size to mount or move around. Its USB-C port offers one cable connectivity for your
03:54laptop with 90-watt PD power delivery, and it also has a built-in KVM switch, which lets you control
03:59multiple connected devices using the same keyboard and mouse. And like I said, this is also a great
04:06choice for console gaming. Playing your games from your desks means you're a lot closer to the display
04:11compared to a TV, so that 4K resolution on a smaller display when you're sitting closer looks much
04:18sharper. And because this is using a standard 16 by 9 aspect ratio, you're not going to have the black
04:23bars on the side when you're playing on Xbox, PS5, or Switch 2 like you would with an ultrawide monitor.
04:29But the other reason I really like this for consoles is that the MSI MPG32 can connect up to
04:35four devices at the same time, two of which being consoles over HDMI. But look, I get it. At $900,
04:41this is more expensive than many TVs, but if you're looking to get the best quality 4K display for your
04:47desk that is also a great way to play your console games, we definitely recommend the MSI MPG32-1URXW.
04:57But for a lot of PC gamers, playing at 2K resolution is actually the sweet spot, and we think
05:03this is the best gaming monitor for playing games at 1440p, the Alienware AW2725D. For around $500,
05:12this monitor is about double the price of our budget Alienware pick, but you're getting that
05:17higher resolution, a much larger display, and most importantly, an OLED panel. If you didn't know
05:24already, the reason gamers love 1440p so much is that it's 77% sharper than 1080p without the extreme
05:31high-cost performance demands of 4K. This 27-inch OLED runs at a fast 280Hz and 0.03ms response time.
05:39You can obviously find non-OLED models with similar specs here for a lot less, but trust me,
05:44if you can stretch your budget a bit, OLED makes a huge difference for gaming. It provides vivid
05:50colors, excellent contrast, and get this, this is one of the brightest OLED monitors that we have
05:55tested to date. The design here is very similar to our budget pick, but a couple key differences.
06:00One, the Alien on the back lights up, and two, unfortunately, we do lose out on the headphone
06:06holder. But this design still works really well for most desk setups. The only thing really missing
06:11here are built-in speakers, but that is not going to be a deal breaker for most gamers.
06:15If you've never had a chance to play your games on an OLED, this monitor is a fantastic starting point,
06:21which is why it is our top choice for best 2K gaming display.
06:25Finally, if you're after maximum screen size, you have to check out the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 5SD,
06:33our pick for the best ultrawide gaming display you can get today. This 49-inch beast has an immersive
06:3932 by 9 aspect ratio and a ridiculous 1800R curve that provides one of the most immersive single
06:46monitor gaming experiences you can get. Your vision is completely surrounded by this screen,
06:51even if you're sitting a few feet away, and its combination of a 240Hz refresh rate and QD OLED
06:58makes this an incredible choice for gaming. And without a doubt, this should definitely be on
07:02the shortlist for any fan of sim racing. Now, if you've seen my desk setup video from 2026,
07:08you might recognize this monitor sibling the G9 1SD, which can be had for around $1,000 less,
07:14but uses a micro LED panel instead and isn't quite as curved. I definitely think the OLED model here
07:21looks more punchy, and if I had the extra cash, I would definitely be making that upgrade.
07:26Personally, the reason I've been recommending the Samsung G9 series for so many years is that it's
07:31like having two 27-inch 16 by 9 monitors side by side, but without that annoying bezel in the middle.
07:37Perfect for multitasking or when you want to have one really long video timeline if you're an editor
07:42like me. And its picture-by-picture mode also lets you have two different inputs displayed
07:47at the same time, which I really like when I'm running my Mac and gaming combo setup at the same
07:52time. It's also got really cool integrated RGB lighting on the bag, which can be programmed to
07:58match what's on screen. Now, get ready for some sticker shock. Samsung MSRP here is $1,900,
08:04but it's not too hard to find it for as low as $1,300 when it's on sale. And for
08:09what it's worth,
08:10it's got better than average internal speakers, Wi-Fi, remote control, and a ton of built-in
08:16streaming apps, making this basically a curved smart TV too. So, if you've got the desk space,
08:23the budget, and really want one of the best monitors for immersion and productivity,
08:28then few monitors match what the Samsung Odyssey OLED G95SD offer.
08:34So, that's all the monitors for this guide. If you're interested in picking up any of these,
08:39you can check out the links down below for the best deals. But, did I miss your favorite model,
08:43or do you have anything that I should test out for next time? Let me know in the comments.
08:47Stay subscribed for more buying guides and follow me to see what other cool tech I'm testing. And,
08:51until the next one, I'll catch you later.
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