Best high refresh rate gaming monitor in 2024 (2024)

For the gamer than values speed above all else there's nothing better than a high refresh rate gaming monitor. Providing exceptionally high refresh rates often upwards of 240Hz, these panels ensure you're never left wanting in competitive games like Counter-Strike 2.

The fastest gaming monitor I recommend is the MSI MPG 271QRX. Fit with a 360Hz refresh rate, this OLED monitor also benefits from naturally speedy response times around the 0.03ms mark. That's a fraction of the response time we're used to seeing with LCD-based screen technologies, such as IPS.

You can still score a refresh rate over 144Hz even on a tighter budget. The BenQ Mobiuz EX240 comes with a 165Hz refresh rate and snappy response time from a good-looking IPS panel. It's a fraction of the cost of the 360Hz MSI, too.

The quick List

The best 360Hz gaming monitor

The MSI MPG 271QRX is awarded our pick for the best 360Hz gaming monitor. It combines two things we love: an extremely quick refresh rate and an OLED panel.

The exact panel used here is Samsung's QD-OLED, which we've seen many times before, including the excellent Alienware 34 AW3423DWF, but never with such a high refresh rate as this. MSI is really pushing the panel to new heights here, though this is also using a newer generation QD-OLED panel that Samsung has itself pushed to 240Hz in the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9.

A snappy response time of 0.03ms is also made possible by the inclusion of an OLED. That's far and away above what even the faster IPS panels can muster.

Beyond speed, OLED offers a rich and vibrant picture that can't be beaten by your standard LCD screen. It's rare that a monitor can claim both picture quality and speed, but this MSI also comes with decent HDR ratings, too. The generally high picture quality comes in handy for single-player games or times when you're happy to game at a slower pace in exchange for a higher graphics preset.

You will have to be considerate of burn-in on any OLED panel, and this MSI is no different. Luckily, MSI does include some OLED protection measures as standard, and there's a three-year burn-in protection warranty for peace of mind.

You will need a powerful graphics card to get the most out of this monitor. Even with an RTX 4090 under the hood, you'll struggle to maximise the 360Hz panel without turning down the graphics settings and maybe even the resolution. That's the one major downside to this screen's 1440p resolution: competitive players may prefer 1080p for the performance gain.

Otherwise, there's no escaping that price premium here, but that's come to be expected from an OLED. The technology is becoming more prevalent but it remains a premium technology. In many ways, an OLED is worth the extra dosh, and the MSI MPG 271QRX still gets my vote as the best high refresh rate gaming monitor. You'll find a budget option below if you want to save some cash.

Read our full MSI MPG 271QRX review.

The best 280Hz gaming monitor

The Alienware AW2723DF is the best 280Hz gaming monitor, and much like the MSI, it somehow delivers both speed and quality in a single package.

This Alienware offers an IPS panel that's capable of screeching speed and a surprisingly little ghosting. The final 40Hz is accessed through overclocking, which we'd usually expect to introduce some spectres into the system, but surprisingly few show up. There are three overdrive options available on this monitor, and even the most aggressive is very good at keeping ghosting to a minimum.

The punchy backlight helps produce a vibrant and colorful image on this IPS screen. Rated to 600 nits, HDR is very much a thing this monitor can do. It's not the best HDR panel around, namely for a lack of depth to the black levels, and that's where an OLED stands out. Still, it's good to know you're not only scoring a fast panel here—it's also of a high picture quality.

Alienware's stands are some of the best around and there's also a generous four-port USB hub on the rear of this monitor. No USB Type-C connectivity, but that's not a deal breaker.

Inclusive of both FreeSync and G-Sync compatibility, this monitor should pair well with just about any graphics card on the market today capable of pushing 280Hz at 1440p. That's something to bear in mind: a high refresh monitor requires a high-end graphics card to fully utilize it in all but the best performing, low-rent games.

Read our full Alienware AW2723DF review.

The best 165Hz gaming monitor

The Alienware 34 AW3423DWF offers 165Hz of OLED goodness. That's a more pedestrian speed than some on this list, but it's faster than most monitors around today. The Alienware has a few other enviable characteristics, too.

You can expect awesomely quick response times in the region of 0.1ms on this OLED monitor, or a tenth of the time it takes for a speedy LCD panel to change a pixel's value. That's paired with FreeSync Premium Pro support, which will work to keep your graphics card and monitor singing the same tune at the same time.

HDR is a strong point for the AW3423DWF. It's not often that we're praising a PC monitor for HDR performance, but the combination of an OLED panel with practically infinite contrast and a glossy finish helps to produce a vibrant picture that brings out the best bits of HDR games.

Epic color reproduction, contrast and black levels make the Alienware a wonderful all-round monitor for gaming. That's why we also rate it as the best gaming monitor. Funny that. But with some impressive refresh rate and response time stats, it'll also make a good stand-in for competitive gaming if you can't quite stretch your setup to 360Hz.

Read our full Alienware 34 AW3423DWF review.

The best budget high refresh rate gaming monitor

There are few genuinely affordable 1080p gaming monitors as good as this, but it's our pick for the best budget high refresh rate gaming monitor because it rocks an above average 165Hz refresh rate.

It can be beneficial for some competitive games to reduce the load on your graphics card to the absolute minimum and keep any extraneous graphics options disabled. Within reason, anyways—no one should be gaming at 480p for a 'competitive edge'. 1080p is sacrifice enough. The EX240 is a 1080p panel, which makes reaching a full 165Hz refresh rate that much easier on cheaper graphics cards.

The EX240 is also a 24-inch monitor, which usually would be seen as a touch on the small side but is surprisingly often seen as preferable for gamers hoping to keep everything in their vision while sat close to the screen.

You won't find any of the premium features of an OLED panel or even a high-end IPS here: peak brightness is 350 nits and HDR is basically a no-go. Though this is still an IPS panel, and that means the picture quality and color reproduction is generally very good.

The EX240 is a great example of how far your money can go when it comes to a gaming monitor in 2024. It's a great all-rounder with lots to offer all kinds of gamer.

Read our full BenQ Mobiuz EX240 review.

The best high refresh rate 4K gaming monitor

The best high refresh rate gaming monitor with a 4K resolution is the LG UltraGear 27GR93U, but that's more because it's the best 4K monitor right now and less that it's particularly quick. It won't let you down with its 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, but that's nothing compared to 360Hz, right?

The thing is, you won't be able to get anything close to 360Hz with a 4K monitor. That's too many pixels flying around the screen at any one time for even the most impressive modern graphics cards to keep up. That's why 144Hz is a really rather reasonable refresh rate to expect at 4K—even this can be a push without upscaling technologies like DLSS and FSR coming to the rescue.

The UltraGear 27GR93U is a superb monitor in many ways, and its IPS panel is absolutely staggeringly good-looking. We had begun to think IPS panels were old hat once OLED arrived, but LG has proven you can still get more out of the display technology. This IPS monitor really pops, and we want our IPS monitors to pop.

Another strong point is the pixel density. That shouldn't be a surprise from a 27-inch 4K panel, but that combination really crams a lot of pixels into every inch. If you like a crisp, sharp image, this is one of the better ways of securing that. LG does charge a lot for this privilege, however, and the UltraGear 27GR93U could deliver better HDR for the price tag LG's asking.

While we await further 4K gaming monitors built with OLED panels capable of blisteringly quick refresh rates and response times, the LG UltraGear 27GR93U gets our recommendation.

Read our full LG UltraGear 27GR93U review.

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