Many people make the mistake of thinking a larger screen size is always better. While this is mainly true in televisions most people find that sizes ranging from 24” to 27” are best for gaming. You’ll generally be sitting about 3-4 ft away from the screen and monitors in this size range will still allow you to see everything at once – something crucial for competitive gaming. Having said that, larger monitors are now becoming increasingly popular amongst today’s gaming community – providing greater levels of immersion and entertainment. Remember though, moving up the theoretical screen size ladder can add a premium to the final price tag.

Also, remember – you have to be able to fit it on your desk!

What Resolution Do I Need For Gaming?

The resolution you need for gaming will ultimately be determined by your PC’s GPU, and how much of a budget you’re working with. Expect to pay more when you are wanting to enjoy high resolution gaming.

1080p is the most common resolution amongst gamers but, as new games and PC technology are released, expect 1440p and 4k to be the de facto standard for the everyday gamer.

One thing to bear in mind, however, is that going from 1080p to 1440p (or 4k) will have a significant impact on the performance of the PC. This will have a particularly large impact on gaming performance, reducing the number of frames your PC can drive in any one game.

Below, we’ve listed optimal gaming monitor sizes for each of the popular resolutions. If you want our detailed explanation to why, check out our article on the best monitor size for gaming. Also, on average, remember that larger size and/or higher resolution will cost more money.

• 1080p and 24 inches/27 inches – Most common, should work fine with most setups.
• 1440p and 27 inches – Less common, will need mid-to-high-end hardware to make the most of.
• 4K and 27+ inches – Least common, will need the best hardware to make the most of.
• 8K and 32+ inches – Emerging technology, will need the best hardware and currently there aren’t any native 8K games available.

Aspect Ratios

Resolution is undoubtedly important when you’re looking for the best gaming monitor for your setup, but one thing that is often overlooked is the aspect ratio.

Below, we’ll take a look at the different aspect ratios available to choose from, and how each one is better suited for individual gaming setups.

Widescreen (16:9) Or Ultrawide (21:9)?

The resolution of a monitor is one of the features that will make your games look great. With a higher resolution comes more pixels on the screen, and with more pixels comes better clarity and picture quality. Although this won’t give you a competitive edge, it sure will make your games look great and will add to the overall immersion.

The size of the monitor will also affect the resolution you intend to run. Most gamers play on a 1080p resolution which looks great on 24” monitors. However, if you intend to push up your resolution to 1440p or even 4k, you’ll want a larger screen size.

We also discuss this in the best monitor size article, but the short version is: use a single 16:9 monitor for gaming. Ultrawide and multi-monitor setups can work, but their support for gaming is limited, and in some cases can be outright worse, especially in multiplayer titles (where they won’t allow you to utilize a wider FOV since it can be considered a competitive advantage).

Before you go out and buy a huge screen, make sure you have the video hardware to support these sizes, as the increased number of pixels will create a larger workload for your GPU. If it’s high FPS you’re going for, you’re going to need a top-end system to support the increased resolution.

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