You might need a lot of high-end components for a premium gaming PC, but something you can't truly experience your high-end PC without is a gaming monitor that is on the same level. No matter how many frames your PC can spit out, it's all sadly wasted on a monitor with a sub-par screen, poor refresh rate, and a low resolution.

When you finally decide to upgrade your gaming monitor, it's worth considering a few crucial things before you spend hundreds of dollars on a bad purchase. Focusing only on specs and brand names is a shoddy way of buying something that will likely be a part of your setup across multiple component upgrades.

6 Is your PC ready for a new monitor?

Time to judge your own hardware

If you're upgrading to a new gaming monitor in 2024, chances are you're eyeing at least a 27-inch, 1440p, 165Hz+ model with an IPS or VA panel. This category of monitors might have fallen in price over the years, but it can still be overkill for some older gaming PCs. Consider a rig with a GTX 10 series or RX 5000 series GPU and a first or second-gen Ryzen processor. 1440p high-refresh-rate gaming isn't exactly ideal for such a setup anyway.

If you're still planning to squeeze more value out of your existing gaming PC, it's better to delay the monitor upgrade for now.

1440p is a sweet spot for gaming as it's much more visually impressive than 1080p, but much easier on the GPU than 4K. Still, driving 100+ FPS at 1440p high settings with some ray tracing effects can be too much, unless you have a modern mid-range or high-end graphics card and a decent 6-core CPU. If you're sure you'll make other hardware upgrades soon, then get that high-end gaming monitor, by all means.

On the other hand, if you're still planning to squeeze more value out of your existing gaming PC with older components, it's better to delay the monitor upgrade for now.

5 What type of gamer are you?

Pick your panel type carefully

On the surface, the panel technology used in your gaming monitor might just seem like one of many technical specifications. The impact it has on your gaming experience, however, is disproportionately large. TN monitors might boast insane refresh rates, but they come with relatively poor colors and viewing angles. VA panels excel at contrast and refresh rate, but can produce smearing in dark scenes. IPS monitors have great colors, refresh rates, and viewing angles, but can look awful due to backlight bleeding.

Then there are the newer OLED and QD-OLED monitors that seem to combine the best aspects of every panel tech, resulting in infinite contrast, near-instant response time, high refresh rates, and superb HDR. They can still suffer from continuous "pixel cleaning" cycles and screen burn-in though. And, despite having a burn-in warranty, when it still happens anyway the whole ordeal to get a replacement can be a hassle to go through. Mini-LED monitors, especially the newer budget models, can be a decent stop-gap if you're saving up for an eventual OLED upgrade.

If you like to play a bit of everything, a budget or mid-range IPS or VA panel might be more than enough, especially considering the level of performance they come with now.

If you're an esports player through and through, you might prefer an ultra-fast TN monitor or even one of the newer IPS or VA models with higher-than-ever refresh rates. If you instead like to play a bit of everything, a budget or mid-range IPS or VA panel (based on your preference between black levels and perfect colors) might be more than enough, especially considering the level of performance they come with now.

On the other hand, if 240Hz, 360Hz, and other insane refresh rates don't matter to you, and you value a top-notch visual experience for your single-player story titles, pick an OLED or QD-OLED panel if you can afford it. A cheaper Mini-LED panel could be a good alternative, if you can live with poorer HDR than OLEDs and some blooming around bright objects.

4 Don't obsess over response time and input lag

It's tough to end up with a particularly atrocious model

The pixel response time and input lag are important factors when buying a gaming monitor, but it doesn't help if you get bogged down by these numbers. Manufacturers will do anything to slap a "1ms" response time logo on their monitor, even if the conditions under which it's actually possible will never happen in a real-life gaming scenario.

Response times and input lag on the best monitors have become too similar to make a huge difference.

While it's true that OLED monitors can be way faster than IPS or VA models, you probably won't feel the difference anyway. Unless you happen to jump in blind, ignore all reviews, and somehow end up with one of the worst gaming monitors on the planet, you'll probably be fine. Things like the form factor, panel type, refresh rate, and PPI will play a bigger role in how much you end up liking what you buy. Response times and input lag on the best monitors have become too similar to make a huge difference.

3 Please obsess over form factor and VRR

Flat or curved ultrawide? What about HDMI 2.1?

Whatever else you ignore, don't gloss over the pros and cons of buying a flat vs. curved panel. Your existing monitor might be flat, but it's worth considering the increased immersion of a curved monitor, especially for gaming. The form factor of your monitor will have the biggest impact on your gaming experience, and a curved ultrawide model can be one of the best investments you can make as far as your gaming setup goes.

HDMI 2.1 is necessary if your PC can output more than 60 FPS at 4K, or if you want to connect your console to your monitor.

Curved monitors are not without their downsides, but if you have the budget to grab one of the premium models, the overall experience could be worth it. Another crucial aspect is the type of VRR (variable refresh rate) implementation on the monitor you're about to buy. These days, FreeSync or G-SYNC are common features, but what isn't as common is HDMI 2.1, which is necessary if your PC can output more than 60 FPS at 4K, or if you want the best experience on your console connected to your monitor.

2 Do you need a monitor for gaming and work?

You might need to spend more for the best of both worlds

You might not be thinking about work when buying a new gaming monitor, but many people might go down this route. If you're in your 30s or 40s, prefer gaming on the same setup where you work all day, and want a versatile display that can handle everything, you need to prioritize certain features over others. For instance, you could pick a model that has a KVM switch to easily switch between two computers without changing the keyboard and mouse.

For the best text clarity, you might look at the best 4K monitors instead of a 1440p display.

You could also look for a monitor that has a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alt Mode, so you can hook up your laptop to your monitor and charge it as well, with a single cable. In case you have multiple devices as part of your work setup, you'd want enough USB ports on the monitor. For the best text clarity, you might look at the best 4K monitors instead of a 1440p display.

Talking about text clarity, an IPS monitor with a regular sub-pixel layout is recommended over an OLED with a weird layout that can cause text fringing issues. Lastly, decent viewing angles, a color-accurate screen, and versatile ergonomics can be other features you might need on a monitor for work and play. I'm not saying you'll find each of these things in a single model, but then again, you might not need everything for your work setup.

1 No gaming monitor is perfect

Find what works best, ignore the rest

No matter what gaming monitor you buy, it won't excel at every single thing. Just like every panel technology has its drawbacks, a monitor that's too large can hurt your experience as well. Massive curved ultrawide screens can easily overpower your desk, leaving little room for your peripherals and accessories. Larger screens might also look less sharp if the resolution is not high enough. And it's almost impossible to pivot a huge display if you want a vertically oriented screen for your work.

If you've found an otherwise great gaming monitor whose downsides aren't something you'll often notice, it's a good deal.

Many gaming monitors perform their best in a certain refresh rate range, so if your gaming PC can't achieve those numbers, your experience might be riddled with flickering, even with Freesync/G-SYNC enabled. If your gaming room is too dark, an IPS panel might look horrible in dark scenes due to the infamous IPS glow (backlight bleeding). And, for a bright room, you might want to look for a monitor with a matte coating instead of a glossy one to minimize reflections.

It comes down to this — you need to choose which drawbacks you can live with. If you've found an otherwise great gaming monitor whose downsides aren't something you'll often notice, it's a good deal.

High-end gaming monitors are cool, but do you really need one?

If you have a seriously old monitor, even a decent budget IPS/VA gaming monitor will be a huge upgrade, and depending on the specs, might last you for years. On the other hand, if you're already using one of the best gaming monitors, you'll need a big upgrade to justify dropping hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on another display.

Upgrading your monitor is something you should do only if you aren't satisfied with your existing one. If you're just experiencing FOMO, and want a taste of the latest and greatest tech, it's better to hold out for longer. The greatest models will get even better in a few years, plus your monitor will be genuinely due for an upgrade at a later time. For now, enjoy your games on your already excellent display, and most importantly, try to find more time to actually sit down and game.