You might be ready to invest in a high-end gaming monitor to take your gaming experience to the next level. It's a great time to buy a gaming monitor, since OLED displays are finally becoming affordable, resolutions and refresh rates have never been higher, and a lot of excellent models have launched in the last two years. That said, you should head in with your eyes open, since the blend of half-baked information and impressive marketing can mislead you into buying the wrong display. I recommend spending enough time on the research phase, getting into the oft-ignored aspects of modern gaming displays, and knowing the quirks of the specific model you're buying. At the end of the day, minimizing post-purchase regret should be your top priority.

Not taking the PC's capabilities into account

Your PC should be up to snuff

You're buying a new monitor to enrich your gaming sessions, but the most critical piece of that puzzle is your PC. Unless your PC's caliber matches that of the fancy new monitor you're considering, you're not going to enjoy the display to the fullest. The mismatch between your PC's maximum performance and your monitor's next-gen capabilities will make your brand-new purchase feel underwhelming. For instance, a budget or mid-range graphics card from a few years ago will probably not spit out anywhere close to 240 FPS at 1440p, even with the help of upscaling. Buying a 1440p 240Hz monitor for such a setup isn't ideal unless you also plan on upgrading your graphics card.

You could argue that a variable refresh rate will allow almost any display to match your PC's FPS, but then you don't need a high-end display for that. You could simply get a budget 1080p or 1440p display with a 144–180Hz refresh rate, which would be a much better fit for a budget gaming PC. Before spending days shortlisting 1440p or 4K displays with high refresh rates, revisit your PC's contemporary performance in the games you intend to play. A couple of YouTube benchmarks should be enough to help you get a good idea. Only then should you decide which monitor specs make sense for your setup, so that you avoid wasting your money.

Prioritizing resolution over everything else

There's more to gaming than a sharp image

If you haven't bought a monitor in the last 7–10 years, you're probably gaming at 1080p. And there's nothing wrong with that. The thing is, however, that when buying a new gaming monitor, your sole focus might be on finally upgrading your resolution. While an important element of any display, it's only one aspect among many that you need to consider. A 4K monitor will undoubtedly provide you with the sharpest image, but it will be significantly harder on your graphics card compared to a 1440p display. Your PC might still be able to get a smooth framerate at demanding 4K settings, but you'll feel something is missing in fast-paced shooters. This is why many gamers opt for a 1440p mid-to-high refresh rate monitor instead of a more expensive 4K one to hit that sweet spot of image clarity and performance.

Another aspect to consider is the size of the monitor. A 27-inch display with 4K resolution will have a greater PPI than a 32-inch model with the same resolution. That said, you still might feel that the larger display is more immersive. Similarly, many gamers will prefer a curved ultrawide monitor instead of a flat one for that wraparound effect. Next, a lower-resolution monitor with a better panel can often feel more premium than a higher-resolution one with an inferior panel. For instance, a 1440p ultrawide OLED display might be a better return on investment than a 4K flat IPS model. It would not only provide you with better image quality and response time, but also allow your GPU to deliver a higher FPS. You still might have your reasons to avoid OLED displays, but the important thing is that you look at a monitor holistically instead of fixating on a high-res panel.

Ignoring the radius of the curve

You might be surprised by the differences

I touched on curved ultrawide displays being more immersive in the previous section, but the radius of the curve can make a huge difference to your experience. You'll see specs like 1800R, 1500R, 1000R, and even 800R when researching curved monitors. The number represents the radius of the circle (in mm) formed by the monitor's curve. The lower the number and, hence, the radius, the more aggressive the curve. For instance, the LG UltraGear 45GR95QE's 800R curve is much more pronounced than the Alienware 3425DW's 1800R curve, making the former feel much more immersive, since it covers more of your field of view.

You might not perceive the true impact of a monitor's curve in the product images, so it's recommended to watch reviews and check Reddit posts about people's real-life experiences. Personally, I don't like too aggressive curves on my monitor, but you might feel that a gentler curve is unimpressive, and as good as a flat display. A more pronounced curve might also be more prone to reflections, depending on your room and available light sources. This is why it's so important to see your shortlisted monitor in as many situations as possible before actually buying it.

Focusing only on the ultrawide resolution, not the aspect ratio

Not an aspect you'd want to ignore

The larger size and higher resolution of an ultrawide display compared to a flat one might feel premium, but it also comes with some quirks linked to the non-standard aspect ratio. A 27" monitor with a regular 16:9 aspect ratio will always enjoy superior compatibility with games and media compared to a 34" monitor with a 21:9 aspect ratio, or a 49" super ultrawide monitor with a 32:9 aspect ratio. While most modern games will support ultrawide aspect ratios, you can still encounter titles that will run with pillar boxing, i.e, black bars on the sides.

You could use programs like Flawless Widescreen to force ultrawide resolutions on some supported titles, but you should be ready to deal with the non-standard aspect ratio in unsupported games, movies, and other applications. If you don't do anything other than gaming on your PC, this might not be a big issue, but if you work from home or use your system for other tasks, you might want to weigh the pros and cons of an ultrawide panel before parting with your money.

Falling for meaningless monitor marketing

Nice alliteration, right?

Monitor manufacturers will use a mix of misleading and less-understood technical jargon to make their displays better than they are. That's just how marketing works, so it's on you to cut through the fluff. The objective here is to avoid spending on models that don't do what they advertise, at least not completely. It could be as basic as product images tricking you into believing a monitor has thinner bezels than it does in reality. It could also be a bit more nuanced, such as a display with an HDMI 2.1 port that doesn't support all the features of the interface. Another common marketing gimmick is slapping on a DisplayHDR rating that doesn't translate to a worthwhile HDR experience. It's generally recommended to look for DisplayHDR 600 or better if you expect decent HDR performance.

Even the "1ms" response time claims on many gaming monitors aren't achievable in most real-world configurations. Built-in speakers, tear-free gaming, and high contrast are all marketing checkboxes unless there's real hardware underneath to back them up. You can safely ignore most of these terms and head straight into reviews to get a better understanding of how a monitor will perform on your desk.

Not spending enough time on third-party reviews

Do it at your own peril

Third-party reviews, at least from reputed and impartial creators, are a must when buying almost any product, but especially a highly technical one like a gaming monitor. What the product page and marketing videos won't tell you will be laid bare in detailed third-party reviews, allowing you to compare various models and make a more informed decision. The most important things to keep an eye for are full-screen brightness (HDR and SDR), contrast ratios, response times, color gamut coverage, and the quality of panel tuning. Reviews will also uncover any flaws to look out for, such as visual artifacts and a subpar on-screen display (OSD).

Even if you don't get into every single aspect of a monitor covered by a reviewer, you'll still get a sense of where a particular model lands among the competition, and whether it justifies its MSRP. If the display you're considering is relatively new on the market and doesn't have many reviews, it's better to wait or check Reddit for fellow users' first-person accounts.

Assuming any single panel type is the "best" for gaming

It's always a trade-off

It's easier to classify a particular panel type as great or terrible for gaming, but things are much more nuanced than that. OLED displays might boast the best image quality, thanks to per-pixel dimming and near-instantaneous response times, but not everyone will be happy with them. Even OLED monitors have quirks, such as the constant nagging by pixel refresh prompts, inferior brightness compared to LEDs, and subpar text clarity. Modern OLEDs have improved on a lot of these areas, but these high-end displays aren't perfect yet. As a gamer, you might want a more no-nonsense IPS monitor with excellent image quality and brightness, a conventional subpixel layout, and a lower price tag. You might be okay with some backlight bleeding, but not the looming threat of burn-in.

Similarly, VA panels might be considered inferior to both IPS and OLED by many gamers, but they feature higher contrast than IPS models, and the higher-quality ones manage blooming well enough so that it's not noticeable. Many gamers consider VA panels more versatile than OLEDs, since they combine decent blacks with better handling of everyday tasks. Every panel has its pros and cons. What works for someone else might not work for you. Hence, it's necessary to assess your use case before declaring one panel tech superior to the other.

Don't waste your money on the wrong monitor

Before blowing a hole in your pocket, think long and hard about what you really prioritize in a gaming display. Do you want a versatile display or one that excels in image quality and motion clarity above all else? Do you want an economical display that still looks good during gaming or a premium model that you're ready to use for a longer period? Make sure your rig is equipped to make use of the monitor's capabilities, and don't forget to consume third-party reviews before making your purchase.