PC gamers can enjoy today’s competitive pricing in CPUs, graphics cards and other PC hardware to build a highly capable gaming machine without having to spend a ton of money (unless you want to). We’re glad to report we continue on a builder’s friendly environment and this extends to gaming monitors. You can now get 144 Hz options for just a few hundred dollars, which has opened up this monitor category to more buyers. For 2020 we’ve decided to take a different route for recommending gaming monitors. With such a vast array of options, we’ve recognized a few segments that deserve our full attention. Today’s guide will cover exclusively 1440p gaming monitors which is perhaps the most mainstream and popular category. We plan to cover budget monitors under its own guide, and we’ll discuss other potential segments later on. While 2560 x 1440 monitors have been around for quite some time, they’ve been growing in popularity thanks to lower prices and improving specs with higher refresh rates. This sort of resolution and refresh rate combination is the sweet spot for PC gaming. Current mid-range GPUs are well suited to 1440p and with a high refresh rate it gives you room to grow as you upgrade to more powerful hardware down the road. We’ve broken down our recommendations in five monitor categories, covering the major LCD technologies - IPS, VA and TN - in both high-end and budget configurations.

Best 1440p IPS Best 1440p VA Best 1440p TN Best Budget IPS Best Budget VA

Best 1440p IPS Gaming Monitor

If you’re buying an RTX 3080, you can expect to hit pretty close to 144 FPS consistently in today’s games using Ultra settings at 1440p. You might not get all the way there in titles like Horizon Zero Dawn, but 144Hz is a great buy for the now. And if you’re looking to spend $400 to $500 which is where most of the best 1440p 144Hz monitors sit, here’s what we’d be looking at. The LG 27GL850 will typically set you back $500, but there’s a few other options with similar performance if you don’t want to spend that much, or have other features in mind. The LG 27GL83A for example, offers similar response times to the 27GL850, but cuts out wide gamut support in favor of just sRGB coverage. That’s still going to give you a great experience for gaming, but you’ll shave off at least $100 to the price tag. We’d also be on the lookout for the LG 27GN850, which is a 2020 refresh of the GL850 and might be a better deal in your region. Another option that’s gathered a lot of interest is the Dell S2721DGF. We’ve yet to test it, but it uses the same panel as the 27GL850, so by all reports it performs roughly the same. One reason to get this over the 27GL850 might be its slightly higher refresh rate of 165Hz, which is offered at the same $500 price point. When you have tech that ticks all those boxes, it’s bound to be the high-end option that commands a price premium, however high-quality 1440p high-refresh IPS monitors have come down in price substantially in the last two years. Case in point, we can find flagship gaming monitors priced as low as $500, with budget offerings dipping below $400 for the first time. Our recommendation for the best 1440p IPS monitor is the LG 27GL850 (read our full review), a hugely impressive monitor that offers TN-like response time performance with the color and viewing angle benefits of an IPS screen. This makes it ideal for gaming and especially high refresh rate gaming, given this is a 144 Hz display with adaptive sync support. The differences between the 27GL850 and other 1440p IPS monitors is stark. The 27GL850 puts up an average grey to grey response of around 4ms in its optimal configuration, which is much faster than competing options that at best pack a 5ms average, or at worse are up near 7ms. Although this is advertised as a “1ms” monitor, performance is equivalent to TN displays that also advertise “1ms,” which is impressive any way you look at it. The LG 27GL850 also has great wide gamut support, around 95% of the DCI-P3 spectrum in our testing, which is wider than any VA or TN offering we’ve seen. It lacks true HDR like most 1440p displays, but if you need wide gamut for creative work or just want a vibrant picture, the 27GL850 delivers. Uniformity and viewing angles are good, certainly better than most competitors, which allows the 27GL850 to deliver this great balance of color quality and performance. Black levels and contrast ratio are not the best, which makes it a less ideal monitor for gaming in a dark environment. If you are in that position, we’d recommend a VA display instead. There’s also no blur-reducing backlight strobing mode, if you want that feature we’d opt for the Asus VG27AQ with its strong ELMB-Sync implementation. Those two concerns aside, we strongly recommend the LG 27GL850 as the best all-round 1440p display on the market right now, and at $500, it’s honestly quite the steal. One last thing to note is all high-refresh 1440p IPS monitors are currently 27-inch. If you want something larger, like 32-inch, you’re out of luck as the best panels at that size top out at a measly 75 Hz which we don’t recommend for gaming. If you want a larger panel, our next monitor category will be of interest to you. The best 1440p IPS gaming monitor is the LG 27GL850 (read our full review), a hugely impressive monitor that offers TN-like response time performance with the color and viewing angle benefits of an IPS screen. This makes it ideal for gaming and especially high refresh rate gaming, given this is a 144 Hz display with adaptive sync support. The differences between the 27GL850 and other comparatively priced 1440p IPS monitors is stark. The 27GL850 puts up an average grey to grey response of around 4ms in its optimal configuration, which is much faster than competing options that at best pack a 5ms average, or at worse are up near 7ms. Although this is advertised as a “1ms” monitor, performance is equivalent to TN displays that also advertise “1ms,” which is impressive any way you look at it. The LG 27GL850 also has great wide gamut support, around 95% of the DCI-P3 spectrum in our testing, which is wider than any VA or TN offering we’ve seen. It lacks true HDR like most 1440p displays, but if you need wide gamut for creative work or just want a vibrant picture, the 27GL850 delivers. Uniformity and viewing angles are good, certainly better than most competitors, which allows the 27GL850 to deliver this great balance of color quality and performance. Black levels and contrast ratio are not the best, which makes it a less ideal monitor for gaming in a dark environment. Those two concerns aside, we strongly recommend the LG 27GL850 as the best all-round 1440p gaming display on the market right now, and at $500, it’s honestly quite the steal.

Best of the best

Acer Predator X27 4K / 144 Hz 27"

If you’re the kind of gamer who wants the best of everything, has deep pockets, and owns a monster rig, then look no further than Acer’s Predator X27. This monitor ticks all the gaming boxes: 4K, 144Hz, G-Sync, true HDR with 1000 nits of brightness, and 384 zone FALD backlight. You will, of course, need a monster graphics card to get the most out of it, and while the $2,000 launch price has dropped, it’s still an eye-watering $1,649.

The ultrawide option

LG 38GL950G 38" UltraGear

Fans of ultrawide gaming should check out LG’s two amazing choices at two well differentiated price ranges: The LG 34GK950F offers 3440 x 1440 at 144 Hz, and does so with a curved IPS panel that’s excellent quality out of the box and offers over 95% DCI-P3 coverage for wide gamut work. The HDR experience isn’t great, but response times near 6ms and adaptive sync that works with AMD and Nvidia GPUs headlines a feature set that’s outstanding for ultrawide gamers. This monitor is one of best ultrawides for gaming, but it will set you back a handsome $850 which is actually considerably less than when it was released. The newer and larger 38" LG 38GL950G UltraGear is the best ultrawide monitor on the market bar none. Essentially it takes every feature we got with previous flagship ultrawide displays, and takes it up a notch. The resolution and panel are physically bigger, if only slightly, which we think is really good. We love this size and the bump up from 3440 x 1440 to 3840 x 1600 is handy. In our opinion offers a more immersive experience and it’s also better for split-screen productivity work. The only caveat, it’s much more expensive at $1,800.

Best 1440p VA Gaming Monitor

There are also some things that VA does better. Key advantages are contrast ratios and black levels: VAs have 2-3x better contrast ratios than their IPS counterparts, with some of the best models pushing even higher. They are also available in a wider range of sizes at this resolution, including 32-inch models, and curved models. Picking a “best” VA monitor is a little tricky because in most circumstances we’d recommend you to buy an excellent IPS display like the LG 27GL850. Instead we’re going to recommend one of our favorite VA monitors which combines better-than-average performance, an attractive price tag, and a size IPS doesn’t offer. The 32-inch LG 32GK650F (read our full review) once held our best value 1440p monitor spot. It’s an excellent VA display that stands out because of its great performance. Most 144Hz VA displays at 1440p deliver response times in the 7-8ms range or above, with some pushing 10ms. Compared to the IPS options we’ve just been talking about that’s pretty slow. But the 32GK650F offers some of the best VA response times we’ve tested, at a 6.50ms grey to grey average, which is around the mark of a typical IPS display. This helps minimize a lot of the ghosting and smearing issues that early VA adopters have complained about. The 32GK650F does suffer from dark level smearing, which is a downside to all VA monitors that sees dark transitions blur more than other display technologies. However, the 32GK650F is better than average in this regard compared to most VAs we’ve reviewed. Response times are also fast enough that we’re getting a true 144Hz experience, which you couldn’t say from other first few generations of high-refresh VA monitors. The 32GK650F has plenty of other benefits, like a contrast ratio above 2000:1 and very low input lag, below 1ms. It’s also easy to achieve great color performance with a few tweaks, and it has great viewing angles thanks to its flat panel. There are also some things that VA does better. Key advantages are contrast ratios and black levels: VAs have 2-3x better contrast ratios than their IPS counterparts, with some of the best models pushing even higher. They are also available in a wider range of sizes at this resolution, including 32-inch models, and curved models. Picking a “best” VA monitor is a little tricky because in most circumstances we’d recommend you to buy an excellent IPS display like the LG 27GL850. Instead we’re going to recommend one of our favorite VA monitors which combines better-than-average performance, an attractive price tag, and a size IPS doesn’t offer. The 32-inch LG 32GK650F (read our full review) once held our best value 1440p monitor spot. It’s an excellent VA display that stands out because of its great performance. Most 144Hz VA displays at 1440p deliver response times in the 7-8ms range or above, with some pushing 10ms. Compared to the IPS options we’ve just been talking about that’s pretty slow. But the 32GK650F offers some of the best VA response times we’ve tested, at a 6.50ms grey to grey average, which is around the mark of a typical IPS display. This helps minimize a lot of the ghosting and smearing issues that early VA adopters have complained about. The 32GK650F does suffer from dark level smearing, which is a downside to all VA monitors that sees dark transitions blur more than other display technologies. However, the 32GK650F is better than average in this regard compared to most VAs we’ve reviewed. Response times are also fast enough that we’re getting a true 144Hz experience, which you couldn’t say from other first few generations of high-refresh VA monitors. The 32GK650F has plenty of other benefits, like a contrast ratio above 2000:1 and very low input lag, below 1ms. It’s also easy to achieve great color performance with a few tweaks, and it has great viewing angles thanks to its flat panel.

Best 1440p TN Gaming Monitor

Top of the line TN offerings are much faster than any current IPS/VA panels, combining the 1440p resolution with 240Hz refresh rates. This combo will punish your GPU, but it’s terrific for esports titles like CS: Go, Rocket League and Overwatch. The sort of motion handling you get at 240Hz is simply not achievable at lower refresh rates, and the only way to get this very high refresh is with a TN panel right now. The 27-inch HP Omen X 27 is a great monitor, boasting of an elite 3ms response time average, allowing for a true 240Hz experience with very low ghosting and blur. Input lag is nearly 0, the fastest we’ve ever tested, and the adaptive sync experience is flawless. This is a really, really fast display, the fastest 1440p monitor you can get. All the usual TN flaws and trade offs are still present – viewing angles, contrast ratios or wide color gamuts – this is not a monitor suitable for color accurate work, for example. But gaming? Oh, this is a beauty. The Omen X 27 is available for around $580, which is not inexpensive, but it is much cheaper than its main competitor, the Lenovo Y27qg, which at around $900 we just can’t recommend. Get the Omen X 27 if you’re after a TN, and enjoy the blistering performance.

Best Budget 1440p IPS for Gaming

The VX2758 is popular enough that’s out of stock quite often, so you’ll have to be hot on the buzzer to get one, but at $300 we don’t think you’ll find anything that offers better bang for buck. Of course, the VX2758 is slower than the other high-end 1440p monitors we’ve recommended. Peak performance can be in the ballpark, but on average this display offers a 7ms grey to grey experience, and that’s perfectly fine for a mid-range monitor. The real selling point here is the 144Hz refresh rate and IPS display, so you’re still getting a nice high refresh rate with adaptive sync, as well as great color performance with excellent viewing angles. It’s a well calibrated display out of the box, which is a rarity. The main drawbacks include a lack of height adjustability with the stand – ergonomics are very basic – along with general reductions to performance. But at $300 this is such great value that we continue to recommend it. You can also be on the lookout for the Pixio PX277 Prime, which is similar to the Viewsonic but offers a higher 165Hz refresh rate, along with a height adjustable stand, at the expense of wide gamut support. It’s a slightly better performing display, but also costs a bit more at $330, and isn’t as widely available. The Gigabyte M27Q has also piqued our interest in this segment but we haven’t tested it yet. Starting with the higher priced item, the ViewSonic VX2758-2KP-MHD has a terrible name, but it’s such a great value choice. For $320 it offers a 27-inch 1440p 144Hz IPS panel. We get many benefits from the IPS tech, including great color performance with excellent factory calibration, decent contrast and brightness, wide viewing angles, a nice flat panel, and superb uniformity. On top of that, there’s the obligatory high refresh rate for gaming with adaptive sync regardless of your GPU, but we also get great response time performance for a relatively low motion blur experience. The panel used isn’t as fast as the latest nano IPS panels used in premium monitors like the LG 27GL850, but the mid-range experience we get from this ViewSonic monitor is still good for gaming. At 144Hz using optimal overdrive modes, we’re seeing a ~4.4ms average response time with a small amount of overshoot. Performance isn’t as good at lower refresh rates, where it falls back to the pack a bit, but we still get great response time compliance for a true 144Hz experience, and no dark level smearing. Input lag is also outstanding. The VX2758-2KP-MHD is not perfect, as it lacks height adjustability, backlight strobing and the top-end performance of the best IPS displays, but right now there’s no better monitor for around $300. On the more affordable side, once again we turn to AOC to recommend either the AOC CQ27G1 or AOC CQ27G2, depending on what is available in your region and at what price, with the CQ27G2 being the better of the two monitors. Right now, only the CQ27G1 is available in the US, but for just $250 it’s a great buy. The CQ27 series are 1440p 144Hz curved VA panels with a 27-inch size, so there are a couple of downsides compared to the more expensive Viewsonic IPS option. Curved panels come down to personal preference, and personally I don’t like them for 16:9 displays, and uniformity can be questionable. VA also tends to be a slower technology than IPS and especially with 1440p monitors, tends to suffer from dark level smearing. At the same time, you get 2-3x the contrast ratio of IPS monitors, making these VAs ideal for those that game in dark environments.

Generally speaking the AOC CQ27G2 doesn’t perform as well as the ViewSonic VX2758-2KP-MHD, but response times aren’t terrible and we still get a borderline true 144Hz experience. While performance figures may not excite speed demons that demand the best response times, it’s far from a bad panel at just $250. We also get a height adjustable stand, acceptable color performance, great contrast and low input lag, with overall brightness being one of this monitor’s weaker points. Both the AOC CQ27G series and the ViewSonic VX2758-2KP-MHD deliver fitting performance at their price points. As for other options, if you desperately want IPS and 1440p at $250, your best bet is the Pixio PX275h, although you’ll be limited to just a 95Hz refresh rate. It’s a good monitor at a great price, but most gamers will be better served with the higher refresh of the AOC. The LG 27GL83A is also worth exploring as a faster upgrade to the ViewSonic VX2758-2KP-MHD if you can afford it. It’s priced around $380, which is a good price for what it delivers, but starts to feel less “budget” and more “mid-range”. If you want a larger monitor, there are no amazing options in this price range, with one of the better performers being the LG 32GK650F. It relies on a flat VA panel though generally we’d recommend sacrificing a bit of size to go with the ViewSonic IPS instead due to its better performance. Naturally, the VX2758 doesn’t offer the same performance as our best IPS monitor choice, the LG 27GL850. It uses a cheaper panel, so it ends up providing more mid-range to entry-level performance. But it’s still quite good, with best case response times of around 4ms and an average throughout the adaptive sync range of 7ms. That’s typical of a mid-tier IPS panel and quite similar to some more expensive options out there, like the Gigabyte Aorus AD27QD and the Asus VG27AQ. You’re just getting this performance for less. The VX2758-2KP-MHD, despite its terrible name, offers a true 144Hz experience with low input lag, decent brightness and contrast, excellent viewing angles and well above average factory calibration. It also has much less dark level smearing than cheap VA panels, and is a flat panel, which is ideal considering this is just 27-inch. As a budget gaming monitor, performance will be behind flagship IPS displays, no wide gamut support, and the stand is more limited, lacking height adjustability. But that’s about it. If you can deal with those concerns, there is no better monitor on the market for $320. Other monitors to consider in this segment include the LG 27GL83A, though that’s a bit more expensive than the ViewSonic. The Pixio PX7 Prime offers a 165 Hz refresh rate which may tempt some buyers, but performance is mostly the same as the Viewsonic. For less money, the Pixio PX275h is a cheap IPS monitor that sacrifices a 144Hz refresh rate for just 95Hz to hit its $260 price point. It’s a good monitor that performs well, has excellent viewing angles, and packs 95% DCI-P3 gamut coverage.

Best Budget 1440p VA for Gaming

Naturally, there are some compromises to get here. Performance sits below, but not that far below, our budget IPS choice. It can be a little harder for these monitors to provide a true 144Hz experience with response time averages typically in the 7-8ms range, so about 1ms slower than the ViewSonic VX2758-2KP-MHD, but they’re not terribly slow. They don’t deliver a bad experience, they’re still high refresh, and very responsive with low input lag, you just won’t get quite the same clarity and motion handling as higher-end monitors, which is to be expected as they’re half the price. You’re also going to be stuck with a curved monitor. Samsung’s budget curved VA panels dominate this space, with 27-inch on offer for $250, and 32-inches for around $300. Brightness from these panels isn’t great, which may make gaming in a bright environment tricky, although most typical setups will be fine. On the other hand, contrast is outstanding, typically at least 3000:1 for these panels, with deeper blacks than IPS competitors. Wide gamut isn’t out of the question either depending on the model, and viewing angles tend to be very good, although again not quite as good as our budget IPS choice for about $70 more. All this talk without actually mentioning any specific monitors… Right now our top pick is the AOC CQ27G2, which performs really well for a budget VA, getting close to our IPS picks with a 7.26ms grey to grey average at 144Hz which delivers a borderline 144Hz experience. However, the monitor just hit the market and pricing is still not where we want it to be. If that’s not available for around $250, the last-gen model, the AOC CQ27G1 would be our pick of the bunch. We have liked Viotek’s GN27D which uses essentially the same panel, but AOC’s better ergonomics including a height adjustable stand see the CQ27G1 get my tick of approval. The CQ32G1 and GN32D are also good options if a 32-inch panel size is more what you’re after, although in our testing of the panels, the 32-inch model isn’t as good as the 27-inch.