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Choosing a monitor or TV for gaming

Score big with a screen made for gameplay…

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Getting serious about your gaming? Not sure about what you need for a proper gaming set up? If you’re thinking about getting a new monitor or TV to upgrade your action, here’s a quick guide to help you choose.

TV vs monitor for gaming: What’s the difference?

A few years ago, TVs didn’t live up to what specialist gaming monitors had to offer. But TV tech has come on leaps and bounds since then.

You can now get all the things you love about monitors (low input lag, fast response times and better connectivity) in a gaming TV. Plus, the latest TV displays look amazing from any distance.

In a nutshell: monitors are great for up-close and intricate gaming. TVs are better for enjoying the sheer spectacle and immersing yourself in the action.

What is input lag?

Input lag is the time taken to do something with your controller and seeing it happening onscreen. For example, moving the thumbstick and seeing your character moving.

TVs come with game modes designed to drop the input lag when you’re gaming. But monitors still have the edge here, as they can keep input lag low and un-noticeable, even when you’re close up to the screen.

The best screen sizes for gaming

Screen sizes all depends on your gaming setup. For standard PC gaming, 21” to 27” are the most popular sizes as you’re usually sitting right up close to the screen.

But if you’re into console gaming, or plan on streaming movies, you’ll want to consider larger gaming monitors or TVs bigger than 40”.

The best refresh rates for gaming

A TV or monitor’s refresh rate is measured in Hertz (Hz), and tells you how often the image on screen is refreshed per second. The higher the refresh rate, the faster and smoother your graphics will appear.

Go for at least a 120Hz refresh rate on your TV and gaming monitor, and your games will render smoothly and less blur.

The best monitors for gaming

When you’re choosing a gaming monitor, the key things to consider are monitor resolution and response time.

Monitor resolution
The higher the resolution, the better the quality of the image. Gaming monitors are typically Full HD 1080p, Quad HD 1440p or 4K Ultra HD 2160p.

Response time
Measured in milliseconds (ms), a gaming monitor’s response time tells you how quickly pixels take to change colour. When it comes to response time, lower is better, so keep an eye out for 1 ms monitors. This means that when fast-moving action is on screen there won’t be any motion blur.

Dual monitors
You might also want to think about a dual monitor gaming set up. If you’re a serious gamer this gives you some big benefits and advantages:

· You can have different apps open for multi-tasking. Play your game on one screen, and browse the web for important info and tactics on the other.

· You can use both monitors to give you a wider field of view.

· You can stream your gameplay more easily, with a separate screen for all your streaming software.

Here are a couple of monitors that are perfect for fast-paced and immersive gaming:

The LG UltraGear 27" gaming monitor

This LG UltraGear monitor really brings games to life. Its 27" screen will fill your field of vision with amazingly crisp 4K image, so you can enjoy every whisp of smoke, or carving on your gun. Meanwhile, the 144 Hz refresh rate makes all the action look like it's happening in real life.

The Acer Predator 31.5" gaming monitor

Go big or go home! The huge 4K display on this Acer Predator gaming monitor brings amazing detail to the onscreen action, with HDR adding super-sharp contrast and impressive brightness. Its 144 Hz refresh rate keeps everything flowing smoothly, and with 1 ms input lag you'll immediately see every little movement of your mouse or trigger button.

The best TVs for gaming

TVs tend to have higher resolutions than gaming monitors, because you need extra pixels when you’re sitting further away. That’s why 4K TVs are cheaper than 4K monitors – because they’re more regularly made.

TVs are also more likely to have HDR 10 support. HDR – high dynamic range – is a technology that increases both the bright and dark areas of an image, creating a bigger contrast between the two.

Also, look out for TVs with HDMI 2.1 inputs. This is the most recent version of HDMI, designed to support higher refresh rates and resolution, including 8K video at 120 frames per second. It also supports enhanced audio formats including Dolby Atmos, which gives you immersive all-round sound.

LG OLED C2 55" TV

This LG OLED C2 4K TV has a self-lit OLED evo display. It’s the most advanced OLED picture quality, designed for gaming and all sorts of other entertainment. With wide viewing angles, immersive sound, and smooth motion, you’ll be able to keep going no matter how ferocious the action gets.

Unlike LED TVs and LCD TVs, an OLED doesn’t use a light at the back of the display to light a scene. Instead, each individual pixel lights itself. This gives you pinpoint colour accuracy, and it means that when the screen goes black during a dark scene in a game, it’s completely black – so no distractions when you’re in the middle of a night battle or racing through a tunnel.

This TV also has an eye comfort display, giving you a safer and more comfortable experience during all those intense gaming sessions.

Any questions?

Need more help choosing a monitor, gaming TV or any other piece of tech? Our TV buying guide is a great place to start. And if you’d like to talk to an expert, pop in-store or have a video chat using ShopLive.

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