Friday, April 19, 2024

Enhance your PS5 experience with one of the best monitors

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Not everyone picking up a PS5 goes for a 4K TV. Whether it’s due to space, setup, or simply preference, some players prefer to choose from the best 4K monitors, so when they’re playing the best PS5 games available, everything looks as good and runs as smooth as it was originally intended. We’ve rounded up and highlighted a couple of select monitors, so if you’re one of the PS5 owners forgoing a TV, these are the options you should choose from.

Electronics such as monitors are heavily limited right now due to low stock and high demand, so the availablity of the items we’ve listed here may fluctuate.

Best Overall: LG 27GN950-B

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The LG 27GN950-B features a sleek build, with minimalist bezels that result in a screen with virtually no borders. As a result, the 27-inch display’s viewing angles are great no matter how your desk is set up. It’s a full 4K UHD display (3840×2160) while using an IPS panel, meaning you get incredibly low lag, with LG advertising a mere 1ms of input lag.

Quality HDR monitors are hard to find but the LG 27GN950-B provides a wide color gamut and range with DisplayHDR 600. It doesn’t hold up to what you’ll find on quality HDR TVs but for a monitor, considering the other features and the price, it’s quite nice.

You should keep in mind that this monitor supports HDMI 2.0, not the much newer HDMI 2.1 certification, the latter of which is only present in a tiny handful of TVs and, at the time of this writing, no monitors. This means it can display 4K games at 60 FPS, or 120 FPS games at up to 1440p, but 4K 120 FPS gaming is off the table. While this is disappointing, it’s worth keeping in mind there’s only a short list of PS5 games with 120 FPS support, the majority of which don’t run even close to 4K with 120Hz options enabled, so you’re not really missing out.

Pros:

  • 4K @ 60hz, or up to 1440p @ 120hz gaming
  • Great HDR
  • Low input lag
  • 27-inch size can fit almost anywhere

Cons:

  • No HDMI 2.1 support, meaning no 4K @ 120hz gaming
  • Expensive

Best Overall

LG 27GN950-B

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  • $970 at Amazon
  • $800 at Best Buy

The best 4K monitor available

If you’ve got the cash, the LG 27GN950-B with its low input lag is the best 4K monitor for PS5 owners to grab.

Best Value: Dell S2721Q

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So, maybe you’re on a bit of a budget but still want a solid, quality 4K UHD monitor. That’s where the Dell S2721Q comes in. At just $300, this is a fantastic low-cost option. It includes a 27-inch 4K UHD display, meaning you won’t sacrifice any pixel quality. While it doesn’t sport the lowest input lag we’ve ever seen it’s not bad for gaming either, still using an IPS panel that supports 4K 60 FPS gaming with 4ms input lag. It also supports AMD’s FreeSync, which means you can use your AMD graphics card to reduce motion blur and smooth out the graphics. It even has built-in speakers if you want to use them, although you’ll still want to use some of the best PS5 headsets anyway.

This’ll be more than enough for the majority of PS5 games, though it does mean you won’t be able to play any titles at 120 FPS. The Dell S2721Q also supports HDR content, so you’ll get a wider range of colors than a generic 4K display. That being said, the HDR quality isn’t the best, falling short of what’s offered with the LG 27GN950-B and well behind the best 4K HDR TVs.

Pros:

  • Inexpensive
  • 4K @ 60hz gaming
  • Supports HDR content
  • AMD Freesync
  • Built-in speakers

Cons:

  • No refresh rate higher than 60hz
  • HDR quality is mediocre

Best Value

Dell S2721Q

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  • From $300 at Amazon

Quality for less

The Dell S2721Q isn’t the best 4K monitor available but at just $300, it provides a solid experience that’s hard to beat for the price.

Best 8K Monitor Dell Ultrasharp UP3218K

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Let’s be clear here, you don’t need an 8K Monitor. There’s almost no 8K content right now and while the PS5 will work with an 8K TV or monitor, it doesn’t support playback of 8K content right now, though this is set to change with an update sometime in the future. It’s also highly unlikely any games will be developer with native 8K resolution anytime soon.

With that said, if you’re going to get an 8K display for your PS5 (and seriously future-proof your entertainment setup) then you’ll want to choose the Dell Ultrasharp UP3218K. This monitor comes with a full 8K UHD (7680×4320) display, along with an IPS panel that has a low 6ms input lag. It’s also a 31.5 inch screen, so you get a nice big picture close-up for any games you’re playing. It’s worth noting that this is also is just a 60hz display, so no 120 FPS gaming will be had with this.

Pros:

  • 8K UHD display
  • Big 31.5-inch screen
  • Low input lag
  • IPS panel for great viewing angles

Cons:

  • Incredibly expensive
  • 60hz display

Best 8K Monitor

Dell Ultrasharp UP3218K

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  • $4,100 at Amazon $4,092 at Walmart

Set for years and years

No one really needs an 8K monitor right now but if you’ve got the cash and you want to go ahead and grab one, this is a great pick.

Best Balanced: Acer Predator XB273K

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So, maybe everything so far is either too cheap or too pricy for your needs. In that case, consider the Acer Predator XB273K. It’s got a 4K UHD screen with low input lag, while it supports DisplayHDR 400, which isn’t the best HDR available in monitors (that’ll go to the LG 27GN950-B) but it’s better than what most monitors have to offer. You’ll also get a 120hz display, meaning this will also support any 120 FPS games you want to try out.

The only major drawback is just how bulky it is — images should make it quite clear that the “shade shield” means there’s no thin bezels to be found, so it may be a bit trickier to fit on your desk or into your entertainment setup.

Pros:

  • 4K UHD display
  • Low input lag
  • 120hz refresh rate
  • Supports HDR content

Cons:

  • Extremely bulky
  • HDR isn’t the best available

Best Balanced

Acer Predator XB273K

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  • $630 at Amazon $700 at Walmart

Best of all worlds

The Acer Predator XB273K isn’t the absolute best monitor but it’s well above average in a lot of ways, making it a great balanced pick.

Bottom line

While most console players opt for one of the best 4K HDR TVs these days, there are attractive reasons for grabbing a monitor instead and if that applies to you, one of the above is sure to fit. Personally, although it’s definitely pricy, we’d recommend the LG 27GN950-B as its set of features just can’t be beaten right now. Unlike when comparing the Xbox Series X with the Xbox Series S, there’s no different specs to keep in mind shopping for a monitor for your PS5, regardless of whether you have the regular PS5 or PS5 Digital Edition.

Grabbing a PS5 isn’t easy right now, as PS5 restocks are rare but if you’re fresh off of buying your new console and not looking to spend a lot on a decent 4K monitor, then we’d recommend going for the Dell S2721Q. It’s got a fantastic display with low input lag that’ll still show off all your favorite PS5 games with ray-tracing in great detail.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

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Samuel Tolbert Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, specifically focusing on PlayStation on Android Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.

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