Set on getting a 144Hz monitor after hearing about how great they are for gaming and general use around the house but not sure which to get, or why they’re better than lower refresh rate units?
The answer to the final question’s simple: 144Hz monitors can display more images per second than most regular units, which have 60Hz refresh rates. This makes them feel more responsive and can give a competitive advantage in reaction based activities, like gaming.
But even with that out of the way, knowing which to get is still incredibly hard. There are loads of 144Hz monitors on the market right now covering a range of different sizes and prices. On top of that, having reviewed monitors for nearly 20 years, we can confirm not all 144Hz models are created equal. In fact, in today’s market if you want the absolute best gaming experience, we’d actively suggest you don’t limit yourself to 144Hz models.
These days our best gaming monitor list is full of devices with higher refresh rates than 144Hz. This is a key reason some of the units in this list only earned 3.5/5 scores after we ran them through our stand suite of tests and checks.
If you’re not perturbed by that information and are still dead-set on 144Hz units there are still some solid options, many of which are surprisingly affordable. To help you pick the right one for your specific budget and needs we’ve created this guide detailing the best 144Hz monitors we’ve reviewed that are still on sale.
How we test
We use every monitor we test for at least a week. During that time, we’ll check it for ease of use and put it through its paces by using it for both everyday tasks, gaming and more specialist, color-sensitive work.
We check its colors and image quality with a colorimeter to test its coverage and the display’s quality.
Finally we check gaming performance measuring input lag and seeing if its speakers are powerful enough to offer an immersive experience.
LG UltraGear 38GN950
The best premium option
Pros
- Excellent colour quality
- Versatile widescreen form factor
- Impressive RGB LEDs
- Solid adjustment and connectivity
Cons
- Middling contrast ratio
- Subtle curve design
- Extremely expensive
If money is no object then the LG UltraGear 38GN950 is the best option currently available. Though you can get higher refresh rate monitors, like the Samsung Odyssey G9, for roughly the same price, if you want a premium 38-inch curved screen 144Hz monitor this is the one to get.
Out of the box, our reviewer immediately noted the monitor has the iconic looks and premium build quality that’s become synonymous with the brand.
Powering up our trusty colorimeter and using it to play games it also offered excellent performance in most of the key areas gamers care about.
The large 38-inch panel is wonderfully sharp and in most instances offers brilliantly bright picture quality. Colors were also noticeably more accurate than what we generally see on gaming monitors.
Support for Nvidia G-Sync and AMD Freesync Premium Pro are also welcome features. G-Sync and Freesync meanwhile is a great feature that reduces screen tearing when playing games. Coupled with the realistic color reproduction this gave titles we ran on the monitor a pleasing natural look, that was significantly more photorealistic than the oversaturated experience we get on many cheaper gaming monitors.
While you can get higher refresh rate monitors for the price, we also found the 144Hz refresh rate and excellently low input lag we detected makes it good for both single-player and multiplayer games.
The only downside that stopped us giving a recommended badge and spot in our main best gaming monitors list is its HDR performance. Though it beat its main rival in the 144Hz space, the Alienware AW3821DW, the Samsung G9 is significantly better based on our checks.
Reviewer: Mike Jennings
Full review: LG UltraGear 38GN950 Review
Dell S2721HGF
The best affordable option
Pros
- Great contrast ability
- Solid mainstream 144Hz specification
- Reasonable colour accuracy
- Very affordable
Cons
- Few extra features
- Underwhelming design
- Mediocre adjustment
- Better colours available elsewhere
If you’re after something a little cheaper then the Dell S2721HGF is the monitor to get. During our tests we found, while it’s far from perfect, the Dell offers surprisingly competent performance for a unit that costs less than $250/£200 .
Out of the box it may not look as exciting as many of the other gaming monitors on this list. Our reviewer described it as looking more like an office monitor than a gaming monitor when he first unboxed it.
And yes, it is missing a few key features like HDMI 2.1 support, which will stop it from taking full advantage of the PS5 and Xbox Series X’s more advanced features, and it only has a 1080p resolution. But for the money during our checks we found it offers stonking contrast, decent refresh rates and a much more immersive gaming experience than anything else we’ve tested at this price.
To get a better experience you’ll have to pay more and opt for a more expensive unit, like the Samsung Odyssey G7.
Reviewer: Mike Jennings
Full review: Dell S2721HGF Review
Asus ROG Strix XG43UQ
The best big screen option
Pros
- Huge, immersive form factor
- Bold contrast and great colours
- Powerful, high-quality speakers
- Some future-proofed speakers
Cons
- Consistently a little blurry
- Won’t suit every situation
- BGR rather than RGB pixel layout
- Unsubtle HDR performance
If you are one of the growing number of PC gamers that have taken over the lounge and are looking for a TV sized monitor to fully take advantage of your newfound freedom then the Asus ROG Strix XG43UQ is the best 144Hz option.
Testing the device it’s biggest selling point was immediately apparent: it’s giant 43-inch, 4K resolution screen. The screen is so large we actually had to move our test setup from a desk to the area we normally review TVs.
But, it’s not just its size that impressed us. During testing we found the monitor offers a wonderfully immersive big screen gaming experience that’s aided by power 10W twin speakers. The speakers are the punchiest we’ve heard on a gaming monitor in quite some time and really added to the immersion level when playing online titles, like CoD, with every shot and explosion causing a meaty rumble.
It also performed well in HDR, with us detecting a suitably high post-1000 nit max brightness and deep 0.2 nit black level, which add up to give it a brilliant contrast ratio of 5350:1. A nit is a measurement of brightness. You want a high count for max brightness and a low count for black level to get the most immersive picture possible.
The only reason we didn’t score it higher is that there are higher refresh rate models this price and on occasion the screen could suffer from ghosting and haloing around moving objects. That’s why the higher refresh rate Samsung Odyssey G9 remains our top pick for gamers with cash to burn.
Reviewer: Mike Jennings
Full review: Asus ROG Strix XG43UQ Review
Cooler Master GM34-CW
The best for HDR performance
Pros
- Incredibly vibrant colours
- Decent HDR performance
- Effective widescreen design
- Potentially cheaper than rivals
Cons
- Missing connectivity features
- Disappointing software
- Mid-range refresh rate ability
Cooler Master is a company that’s more famous for its CPU coolers than gaming monitors. But if you’re set on 144Hz then the Cooler Master GM34-CW is one of the best available for HDR performance.
The 38-inch monitor’s rear RGB lights may be a little much for some buyers but its size and curved design fit neatly onto most desks and its screen performance is among the best we tested on a unit this price.
With the HDR mode active its max brightness skipped well beyond 450 nits, while its black level remained suitably deep to give games and movies a wonderfully immersive feel. To our surprise, the gamut coverage is good enough for some creative work.
If you want the best HDR performance possible for less than $700 this is a solid choice. But, like all the other entries on this list we have to caveat there are better options available if you don’t limit your search to 144Hz options.
The Samsung Odyssey G7 and MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR offer better connectivity, more intuitive software and higher refresh rates, for example.
Reviewer: Mike Jennings
Full review: Cooler Master GM34-CW Review
FAQs
High refresh rates are a key spec any gamer should look out for when picking a monitor. However, 144Hz isn’t the fastest option available. There are 165Hz, 240Hz and even 360Hz options on the market at the moment. On top of that, refresh rate is only one part of what makes a great gaming monitor. Screen quality, HDR support and audio also play big parts.
Higher refresh rates are useful for a lot of other reasons than pure gaming. They can help make general scrolling and navigation feel smoother, and help other reaction or precision based task, like digital painting.
Trusted Reviews test data
You can see a breakdown of the test data we collected reviewing all the entries in this list. The key things you should look out for are contrast ratio, max brightness and color temperature, as these will heavily inform how immersive your gaming experience will be.
Comparison specs
You can see a full breakdown of all the monitors in this lists specs in the table below.
