Most gamers' current endgame monitor is a 32-inch, 4K, 240Hz OLED or QD-OLED, like the Alienware AW322QF. The combination of the best panel type with a high resolution and high refresh rate suits most gaming needs. But some types of games need a different set of specifications. When you're playing competitive multiplayer, every fractional advantage from lower latency peripherals and higher refresh rates adds up and can be the difference between winning or losing.

The fix for those gamers is to prioritize the refresh rate at a lower resolution so that the computer's hardware can feed the panel enough frames. That's why we have monitors at 360Hz and even up to 540Hz on some monitors to meet the needs of those ultra-competitive gamers. If you play both types of games, that either means buying two monitors or buying the one you'll use most and compromising on part of your gaming time, but not anymore.

A new wave of monitors has hit the market, with dual-mode panels that can either prioritize resolution or refresh rate, so you can have two high-performance monitors inside one. The most common panel is a 32-inch W-OLED with 4K resolution running at 240Hz, just like the previously mentioned endgame. But it can also natively display a 1080p resolution picture at a staggering 480Hz refresh rate, making it perfect for competitive gaming. IPS dual-mode panels are also joining the fray, so you have budget-friendly dual-mode options as well. They're going to be a big hit for gaming, but they should be on your radar regardless.

4 Pick the mode for your content

Immersive resolution or fast-paced refresh rate

The eternal struggle for gamers who play a variety of games is which monitor to get to display them all to their best. If your budget allows, OLED or QD-OLED is far superior to any other panel type right now, but then you have a choice between lower resolution at high refresh rates, or higher resolution at a slightly lower refresh rate. Or do you get two monitors, one for fast-paced action and one for immersive gameplay experiences? That's before you even consider ultrawide or other aspect ratios, and it's a conundrum for sure.

With dual-mode monitors, you get the ability to enjoy immersive, high-resolution single-player experiences and fast-paced multiplayer action on the same panel. You only need space for one monitor, you only need one monitor arm if you're planning on mounting it (and I suggest you should), and you only have to buy one monitor. You don't have to compromise with anything, and it almost feels too good to be true.

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3 No blurred vision or scaling issues

The issues of using a panel at less than native resolution don't apply

Every monitor, whether used for productivity or gaming, is best when it's at its native refresh rate and resolution. You might think that buying a 4K resolution monitor but running it at 1080p instead would give you a higher frame rate for competitive gaming, and you wouldn't be wrong. But that wouldn't change the maximum refresh rate the panel can support, so you might get more frames than can be displayed, leading to tearing and frame pacing issues.

It would also reduce the visual quality of your game. Whether the scaling is done on the GPU or on the monitor, you'll end up with blurry edges, fuzzy objects, or sections of color that don't match up. That's because even though 4K has four times the pixel density of 1080p, the pixel pitch is smaller on a 4K panel, so it results in oversharpening the image when integer scaling is applied. With any other scaling method, the amount of unwanted visual artifacts would be higher, so it's not really a desirable way to do things.

But with a dual-mode display, both modes run at their native resolution and refresh rate. There are no scaling issues because the computer isn't doing any scaling; it's outputting a native image to the panel. The result is perfectly crisp images, whichever mode you're running.

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2 Both modes still have a high refresh rate

I'm not seeing any drawbacks yet

One thing that would make me pause on a dual-mode panel would be if the higher resolution mode had a substantially lower refresh rate. After using 144Hz+ panels for over a decade, I don't want to go back to using a 60Hz refresh monitor for desktop use. I can see the mouse cursor skip across the screen on a lower refresh panel and other animations judder, giving me a headache.

But none of the dual-mode panels that have come out go that low. The OLED options are 240Hz at their highest resolution and 480Hz at their lowest resolution. The IPS option so far is 160Hz when at 4K and 320Hz when at 1080p. That's more than enough for smooth animations on the Windows desktop, leading to an enjoyable experience.

1 Relatively affordable

IPS dual-mode is cheaper than you'd think

Credit: Source: Asus

We've reviewed two OLED dual-mode monitors so far, and the bad news is that the price tag is astronomical. $1,400 is a lot of anybody's money, although it's not quite as bad as the prices that OLED fetched at launch or when the first 4K 144Hz IPS panels launched. But you don't have to go OLED to get dual-mode panels, and the IPS versions are relatively affordable.

The Asus ROG Strix XG27UCG is a hair under $500, which isn't crazy good, but it's not crazy bad either, and you do get the abilities of two 27-inch monitors for that. Plus, these are just the first few dual-mode monitors on the market. As more companies release them, the price will go down, and they might end up on our budget 4K monitor list before long.

  • Asus ROG Strix XG27UCG

    This 27-inch IPS gaming monitor can display 4K/160Hz or 1080p/320Hz with G-Sync compatibility, HDR, USB-C input, and more, so you can enjoy immersive or fast-paced games at their best.

  • ASUS ROG PG32UCDP
    $1105 $1299 Save $194
    Screen Size
    31.5"
    Display Technology
    W-OLED
    HDR
    DisplayHDR™ TRUE BLACK 400
    Resolution
    3840 x 2160 (4K)
    Aspect Ratio
    16:9

    The ASUS ROG PG32UCDP offers some of the deepest contrast and vibrant colors in a large, sharp panel. As an OLED, it also has virtually instant response times, and its 240 Hz refresh rate guarantees some of the cleanest motion. Better yet, the display can reduce its resolution to ramp up the refresh rate up to 480 Hz, bringing life-like motion to your battlestation.

  • LG UltraGear 32GS95UE
    Screen Size
    31.46"
    Display Technology
    W-OLED
    HDR
    DisplayHDR™ TRUE BLACK 400
    Resolution
    3840×2160
    Aspect Ratio
    16:9
    Refresh Rate
    240 Hz (4K); 480 Hz (1080p)

    LG's new Dual Mode monitor brings innovation to competitive gamers. With the press of a button, the display can switch between 4K 240 Hz and 1080p 480 Hz. Paired with the deep contrast and virtually instantaneous response times of OLED, the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE is one of the most responsive and visually striking experiences you can get. It also has some of the best built-in monitor speakers with what LG calls "Pixel Sound", which vibrates the glass to produce sound through the screen.