What does it take to make a great 1440p gaming monitor? We look at the features and what they really mean so you can upgrade with confidence. Then we consider ten popular 1440p gaming monitors and evaluate them for their performance.
Should You Invest in a 1440p Gaming Monitor?
Is it time for you to invest in a 1440p Gaming Monitor? Time to say goodbye to that old trusty 1080p? They’ve come down in price, but is it the right choice for you?
Best Overall
ASUS PG279QZ
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Best for Esports
Ben Q Zowie
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Best Value
AOC AGON AG241QX
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ASUS PG279QZ
Best Overall
“Excellent monitor with a decent refresh rate and bright well-defined colors.”
Technical Stats:
- Screen Size 27”
- Resolution 2560×1440
- Refresh Rate 144Hz
- Screen Type IPS
- FreeSync NVIDIA G-Sync
- Connectivity DisplayPort, HDMI Port, USB Port
Overall this is an excellent monitor with a decent refresh rate and bright well-defined colors. For an IPS screen, there is surprisingly little input drag.
The monitor on the stand can be adjusted in all directions. You can tilt it, pivot it and swivel it. Naturally, you can also adjust the height. It comes fitted with the VESA mount to either slot it onto a monitor arm or hangs flat on a wall. The design incorporates a light up base. The lights only work when the monitor is in landscape or portrait. Not when tilted or pivoted. The monitor is well constructed and sturdy.
The 27-inch screen is large enough to be seen at a distance if you choose to wall-mount the monitor or use it as a TV screen when you are not gaming. The IPS screen allows for a wide viewing angle for two players and an excellent display of graphics for clarity and color. It is an IPS screen so the contrast is low meaning that the deep blacks cannot be seen in a dark room. This monitor is best used in a reasonably bright room.
The G-Synch ensures that you will not experience stuttering or screen tearing. If the excellent refresh rate of 144Hz is too low for you, then you can overclock it to 165Hz. The monitor has been designed by ASUS to remove blue light and to eliminate flicker. This makes the screen easy on the eyes and thus less tiring when used for a long time.
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Dell Alienware AW3418DW
The top curved 1440p Gaming Monitor
“The 1900R curved infinity screen provides an immersive gaming experience.”
Technical Stats:
- Screen Size 34”
- Resolution 3440×1440
- Refresh Rate 100Hz
- Screen Type IPS
- FreeSync NVIDIA G-Sync
- Connectivity DisplayPort, HDMI 1.4, 4 USB
This is a large curved screen. The curve radius is 1900R. It could be wall-mounted but then you would lose the benefit of the curved futuristic appearance. Plus being curved it is not going to lie flat against the wall. This is a monitor that is best kept on its stand. It can be height adjusted by about 5 inches. It can be swiveled and tilted but you can’t rotate it to portrait. But that isn’t a problem as you wouldn’t want to. The whole point about that wide curved screen is to increase your peripheral awareness of the game. An effect that would be totally lost in the vertical.
The standard refresh rate is 100Hz but this can be overclocked to 120Hz. This is still better than the typical 60Hz offered by the old 1080p monitors. It should be noted that the G-sync will only work through the DisplayPort and not through the HDMI. The HDMI port has a disappointing refresh rate of 50Hz.
An interesting lighting feature is the Alien FX lighting. There are four lighting zones that are fully customizable with colors and will react during games that are supported by AlienFX such as Battlefield 3.
The 1900R curved infinity screen provides an immersive gaming experience. The IPS panel gives an excellent color definition. The monitor doesn’t have internal speakers so to get sound as well as vision you are going to need to connect speakers via the jacks. The large curved screen gives a good range of vision and reduces the necessary eye movement. This gives a less tiring game time.
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BenQ EX3501R 35”
The largest 1440p Gaming Monitor Screen
“This monitor is best suited to those games where rich visuals and a slower pace prevail.”
Technical Stats:
- Screen Size 35”
- Resolution 3440×1440
- Refresh Rate 100Hz
- Screen Type VA
- FreeSync AMD
- Connectivity DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C port, Upstream and downstream USB
This is an ultra-wide curved monitor just a little bigger than the Dell Alienware. The stand is adjustable for height and it can be tilted. This is a relatively uncommon VA screen so it offers a rich contrast allowing the deep black tones to be seen very clearly rather than the greying effects with other screens.
There are some problems with ghosting and blurring in the action scenes and so this monitor is best suited to those games where rich visuals and a slower pace prevail.
An interesting feature is the automatic adjustment of brightness and color in reaction to both the onscreen content and the ambient lighting in the room. A neat bit of technology labeled as Brightness Intelligence Plus. The screen is flicker-free and there are filters to reduce the blue light levels. This makes it a great screen for reducing eye fatigue.
It’s a relatively expensive model but will also be suitable for watching film due to its great color contrast. There is no wall mounting option.
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Acer Predator XB271HU
The Best TN Screen
“The TN screen option gives the fastest refresh options and response rates.”
Technical Stats:
- Screen Size 27”
- Resolution 2560×1440
- Refresh Rate 144Hz
- Screen Type IPS or TN
- FreeSync NVIDIA G-Sync
- Connectivity DisplayPort, HDMI, 4USB ports
The TN screen option gives the fastest refresh options and response rates. Ideal for action games. If you prefer brighter, sharper colors then you can opt for the IPS screen. The refresh rate can be overclocked to 165Hz.
This is a flat screen with a decent compact stand. The flat-screen gives good viewing from many angles. The stand is stable and accented in red, which is a nice touch. Almost 6” of height adjustment with both swivel and tilt. In addition, the screen can be rotated from landscape to portrait in either direction. This is a useful feature for adding inputs and controls to your preferred side.
The borders to the screen are quite thin which is useful for a multi-monitor set-up. It is designed to be used as a desktop monitor but it is not the most compact screen. The screen is more reflective than similar monitors. This is only likely to be a problem in brightly lit rooms. The screen is flicker-free through the use of DC dimming so it is easy on the eyes.
This has a good overall performance as a gaming monitor with all the desired features. It doesn’t perform spectacularly in any area but it is a decent monitor.
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Acer Predator 34” ultrawide curved monitor
Best for Casual Gamer
“This is an expensive model and probably more suited to the casual gamer.”
Technical Stats:
- Screen Size 34”
- Resolution 3440×1440
- Refresh Rate 60Hz
- Screen Type IPS
- FreeSync NVIDIA G-Sync
- Connectivity DisplayPort, HDMI, 4USB ports
The In-built speakers are comfortable to listen to but the sound quality will still be better with external speakers. This is an expensive model and probably more suited to the casual gamer. It looks good with the thin zero-frame. The stand allows for height adjustment as well as tilt and pivot. The lights underneath the monitor can be adjusted to a prearranged color to add that extra touch to your desk.
The color accuracy is excellent so as well as gaming it is a useful monitor for editing images. It is a curved screen and like all curved screens suffers from backlight bleed around the edges if viewed at the wrong angle. It is equipped with technology to filter the blue light and to eliminate flicker to protect your eyes.
The refresh rate can be overclocked to 100Hz but the panel does have a slow response game so not the one for fast-moving games.
It’s a decent monitor with many good features but very highly priced in comparison to other monitors.
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AOC AGON AG241QX
Best Value
“Compact, high performance and low-cost model that is great for your desk.”
Technical Stats:
- Screen Size 24”
- Resolution 2560×1440
- Refresh Rate 144Hz
- Screen Type TN
- FreeSync NVIDIA G-Sync compatible/AMD FreeSync
- Connectivity DisplayPort, 2 HDMI, 4USB ports, DVI port, VGA port
This is a compact, high performance and low-cost model that is great for your desk. This is not a monitor that you would put on the wall and sit on the couch to use. It will handle fast-paced games with ease with a 1ms response time and a fast 144Hz response rate. The NVIDIA G-Sync will ensure that there is no screen tearing or stuttering to break up your flow of concentration.
You can easily switch between high contrast when you want to see a little more of the scenery and low contrast, for when you are a bit too busy to worry about the scenery. This is a good-value gamer’s monitor at a truly outstanding low price.
This is a TN screen so by comparison with either an IPS or a VA panel there is less picture quality, but the pay-off for the gaming experience is the faster response time. For such a small screen the resolution of 2560×1440 is excellent, giving a packed 123 pixels per inch resulting in good crisp, clear images. But, the screen is small and the text will also be small. So, if you are using the monitor for other purposes – like emails, then you will need to scale up the text for easy viewing.
Despite the small size and price this gaming monitor is packed with quality features. There is an integrated blue light filter and it is flicker-free to minimize eye strain and fatigue. In addition, there is shadow control and game color option to increase the ability to see objects in dark corners. Improved night vision if you will. In order to customize the monitor’s performance, there are pre-set picture configurations – FPS, FTS, Racing and three game modes that you can set up for your needs. If that wasn’t enough there are also four overdrive options and three gamma presets.
We cover monitor gamma in more detail in the ‘what features are important’. The gamma settings are to do with color reproduction. The improvement of shadows and highlights and general picture quality. The pre-sets allow adjustment to the visuals displayed on the screen.
The design of this compact monitor is stylish with a combination of red and black. If space is very tight then you can mount it on the wall. But, remember it is a small screen and you will ideally need to be within arm’s length for best viewing. The height can be adjusted and you can swivel, tilt and pivot.
For such a bargain price this model gives you a lot of connection options. All the ports are represented along with a headphones jack, a microphone jack. There are two decent integrated speakers.
To conclude this is a really affordable gaming monitor packed with plenty of useful features.
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Ben Q Zowie
Best for Esports
“It is configured to suit gamers, particularly those games with fast actions that demand the fastest response times.”
Technical Stats:
- Screen Size 27”
- Resolution 2560×1440
- Refresh Rate 144Hz
- Screen Type TN
- FreeSync AMD FreeSync
- Connectivity DisplayPort,2 HDMI, USB Hub, DVI-DL
This is the monitor that has been adopted by the professional eSports tournaments across the globe. Naturally, it is configured to suit gamers, particularly those games with fast actions that demand the fastest response times.
The selling feature for this model is smooth gameplay with excellent control so players can really show off their gaming skills.
The response time is 1ms and the refresh rate an excellent 144Hz allowing for the very best experience in FPS and MOBA games.
Colour is important and the black equalizer makes sure that you can see objects and targets in the dark corners of the screen. The colors can be fine-tuned with good grading of colors. There are 20 settings so you can set the images up to your personal preference from virtually monochrome to intense colors.
The stand is easily adjustable with just one finger so that you can get it to the optimum height for you. If you prefer you can mount it on the wall. There are preset modes for the different types of games. The screen is flicker-free and minimizes light reflection keeping your eyes strain-free.
This is the gaming monitor for the professional (or wannabe) player. The features have been carefully thought out to enhance the gaming experience. With this monitor, it is all about the game and nothing but the game.
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ViewSonic XG2703-GS
The best IPS Gaming Monitor
“Excellent visuals normally mean a poor response time but the response time of 4ms is great.”
Technical Stats:
- Screen Size 27”
- Resolution 2560×1440
- Refresh Rate 165Hz
- Screen Type IPS
- FreeSync NVIDIA G-Sync
- Connectivity DisplayPort, HDMI, 4 USB
This monitor has been aimed at those gamers who demand stunning visuals. In addition to the great visuals, it has an excellent refresh rate and is very competitively priced. As far as game monitors go that is. The NVIDIA G-sync module ensures good smooth gameplay. The inclusion of this module is reflected in the slightly higher price tag compared with models in a similar performance bracket.
The colors are beautifully balanced. The monitor features Darkboost which insures the blacks are rich and, well black and the colors are vibrant. Excellent visuals normally mean a poor response time but the response time of 4ms is great. It’s not the ultrafast 1ms of the TN screen but it is good enough to avoid movement blur for the vast majority of games. The colors can all be tweaked in the standard way for a monitor.
You get a massive 178° viewing angle with great color. An antiglare coating on the screen and a fully adjustable stand. The monitor and stand package are well designed and can be adjusted in all the directions. You can set the color of the lights on the base to red, blue or green.
There are six pre-set gaming profiles (set at the press of a button) and two sets available for individual customization. There are four viewing modes (Standard, Game, Movie, and Web) which covers most of what you are likely to want to do with this monitor.
For an IPS monitor, this is a great gaming monitor, especially for the quality of its visuals.
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Dell S2417DG YNYID
Best Compact Monitor
“It is excellent for fast-paced games.”
Technical Stats:
- Screen Size 24”
- Resolution 2560×1440
- Refresh Rate 144Hz
- Screen Type TN
- FreeSync NVIDIA G-Sync compatible
- Connectivity DisplayPort, HDMI, 4 USB
This is a flat-screen typical dell monitor. Poor contrast quality for the colors resulting in grey tones instead of black but you would be buying this model for its fast response time. A standard 144Hz that can be overclocked to 165Hz.
The screen can move in all the usual ways. Tilt, swivel and rotate. You can move the screen easily between landscape and portrait depending on your viewing preference. It has an ultra-thin bezel that allows a seamless multi-monitor set up. It’s a compact screen at 24” and so best as a desk monitor but you can wall mount it if that is your preference.
The monitor screen has been treated with a light-matte finish. This cuts down on reflections by diffusing them across the screen. This can result in a hazy effect but it is so slight that you really won’t notice it. The effect is mainly seen in brightly lit rooms and the alternative of glaring reflections would be much worse.
It is excellent for fast-paced games. The image can be flickered to reduce the inevitable blurring that occurs at speed. You can set it to a fast overdrive mode but this is not really desirable because of the overshoot problem. The best performance is during the normal overdrive setting.
The backlight is flicker-free to reduce eye strain, but you can add flicker to reduce the amount of blur in a fast-paced action game. There is an additional pulse width option to reduce the blurring even further. The downside to using this option is that the brightness is also reduced.
The monitor supports BFI (Black Frame Insertion) through the DisplayPort at three specific refresh rates: 85Hz, 100Hz, and 120Hz.
The connectivity is average and there is no microphone capability in this model. Neither are their internal speakers so you will need to hook up a speaker to enjoy the audio provided with the game.
This is a good compact gaming monitor with a decent TN screen and performance.
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ViewSonic VP2768
Best for Picture Quality
“Excellent resolution and color definition suitable for the most highly detailed images.”
Technical Stats:
- Screen Size 27”
- Resolution 2560×1440
- Refresh Rate 60Hz
- Screen Type IPS
- FreeSync N/A
- Connectivity DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, 2 HDMI,
- USB Hub (one upstream, 4 downstream)
This is a mid-priced monitor with an excellent color definition that is aimed at the working market but is also suitable for gaming.
The design is a standard black but the zero-bezel cabinet has the effect of making the 27” screen appear far larger. It has all the tilt, swivel, pivot and height adjustments that you would expect of any reasonable monitor. It is ready to hang on the wall and it has great connectivity.
It has excellent resolution and color definition suitable for the most highly detailed images. But you are going to have to calibrate it with some extra software if detailed color matching is something you need – for work.
There are a lot of built-in adjustments for picture quality. The standard three – brightness, sharpness, and contrast. Then you have eight color space pre-sets one of which is medical imaging. As we mentioned before this is an excellent work monitor where images are your stock in trade.
For gaming purposes (as well as watching films and surfing) there is a range of color settings. There are six that allows you to set the color temperature. There are six to adjust the hue and saturation levels. You can adjust the gamma. You can adjust the Black. You can change the red, green and blue. Need we go on? However, if you are not in to individually tweaking each and every aspect of the picture then there are also six viewmode presets for gaming, watching movies, etc, that will do all that tweaking for you.
If all this tweaking wasn’t enough then there is also the flicker-free technology and the Bluelight filter to protect your precious eyes so you can continue to enjoy the superb images. And there’s more – Eco modes and sleep modes.
The 14ms response time is not ideal for gaming, or at least not the fast-paced action games but this was never designed for that type of gameplay. It is excellent for games where you want to enjoy the scenery and for any application where picture quality is of primary importance. Throw in a reasonable price and you have a fine quality monitor.
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What Features are Important in the 1440p Monitor?
As in so many areas of life, the best features depend on what you want and need. The 1440p monitors are reviewed for performance on a certain number of key qualities.
Screen Size
The screen size determines how close you need to be to the monitor to see the action. On a desk set up, you are typically an arm’s length away from the monitor. The screen size can be quite small. If you are going to sit away from the screen then the screen will need to be larger so you can see all the action without eye strain. Or binoculars.
The screen size is quoted in inches. Remember this is the diagonal measurement. Remember good old Pythagoras and the squares and triangles? No? Suffice it to say that the height and width will be smaller than the diagonal.
The screen will vary in size from a petite 24” to a much bigger 34”. Most monitors fall in the midway 27” category. But wait, I can get a much bigger TV screen than that. Yes, you can but a TV screen has not been optimized for gaming. We could go into a great deal more detail on how all pixels are not completed equal … but let’s leave it at that. You can play your games on a TV screen and if you are a casual player and that suits you, go for it. If you want to get the best out of your favorite games then you will be better off with a gaming monitor.
Screen Shape
The screen can be flat or curved. It can be extra wide and curved. The shape of the screen influences how immersed in the game you feel. A curved screen fills in some of your peripheral vision, giving you a more immersive experience. A flat-screen allows more than one player to see all of the action because a curved screen works best when you face the middle of the curve.
The new frameless screens allow you to set up multiple monitors close to each other. These are arranged to touch edge to edge. The screen shape and dimensions that are right for you will depend on the type of games you like to play.
Screen Type
The display panel will be for a gaming monitor will be either VA, IPS or TN.
VA stands for vertical alignment. IPS means In Plane Switching and TN means Twisted Nematic. These technical terms describe the workings of the LED (Light Emitting Diode) screens. TN is the older panel technology that was developed in the eighties. It does have some drawbacks and IPS was developed to counter these.
TN Panels
These cost less than the IPS equivalent. They have low-quality color reproduction. They have a narrow viewing angle in that there is more color shifting if you see the screen at an angle. Particularly around the edges. Their big advantage is that they have a fast response time. Generally 1ms. This means less screen tearing and reduced blurring during an action. The 240Hz esports monitor has the fastest response time on the whole market and is understandably the game industry’s choice for competitions.
If your game of choice involves fast action then the TN panel is the best option.
IPS Panels
These were developed to overcome the limitations of the TN panels. The advantages of the IPS panel are the better image quality. There is more accurate color reproduction and depth to display the most stunning visuals and graphics. The screen can be viewed from a wide variety of angles with no distortion. The screen is also clearer even in direct sunlight.
IPS screens can suffer from “glow”. This is when the backlight shines through dark scenes. It can be quite distracting. Generally unnoticeable except to the most sensitive viewer.
This image quality has been found at the expense of the response time. The response time is slower than the TN screen. Typically, around 5ms. This results in more blurring during action scenes. The difference is very slight to the average user. This screen is best for the slower-paced RPG (Role Playing Games) where the visual and graphic elements provide much of the enjoyment.
VA screens
Like IPS screens, these offer good wide viewing angles. VA generally has the slowest response times which makes them less of a viable option for a gaming monitor. These types of screens have the very best contrast which tends to make them a natural choice for TV screens and movie watching but that slow response time is not ideal for gamers. A 10ms response time is about the best you can get with this type of screen.
Refresh Rate
The refresh rate refers to the rate at which the graphics are displayed on the screen. A high refresh rate makes for a smooth transition from scene to scene. A low refresh rate may result in stuttering. The refresh rate is measured in frames per second. 60Hz indicates that the monitor will display 60 frames every second.
There is no point in having a monitor with a very high refresh rate if the gaming rig can’t match it. Generally, a 144hz refresh rate is excellent giving a smooth and easy gaming experience.
Some reference is made to “overclocking” to produce a higher refresh rate than the factory setting. If the monitor allows this then it is a way of increasing the number of frames displayed per second. The value of doing this depends on how smooth you perceive the action to be. The human eye is not that sensitive over small ranges.
Overclocking sounds dramatic and dangerous, but really, it’s not. Think of it as a dial. You can ramp it up and you can ramp it down. The monitor has been designed to be overclocked if you want to. When you see reviews that show a really high refresh rate for the same monitor then they are talking about the rate you can achieve with overclocking.
The refresh rate you actually achieve will depend on your connection port. We talk about that later.
Adaptive Sync Technology
This is a bit of tech that lets the monitor synchronize its refresh rate to the GPU’s frame rate. This is important as it eliminates input lag and that annoying screen tearing. This gives better gameplay with fewer distractions.
Screen tearing is the result of the graphics card displaying one frame while the monitor displays another. That is why it is important to get the monitor and the GPU unit to work together to display the same frame.
If the GPU unit is producing 100 frames per minute and the monitor can only handle 60 frames per minute then the Vsync component in your GPU will slow down the GPU frame rate to match that of the monitor. But, it’s still producing all those extra frames. Hence the screen tearing and stuttering. The adaptive sync technology provided with the monitor matches the monitor and the GPU unit so that the frame production is the same. Basically, it keeps both devices on the same page at the same time.
When the GPU and the Monitor work in harmony the game action flows seamlessly and you just get on with it.
The two main types of adaptive sync technology in monitors are Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync.
AMD does not charge monitor manufacturers’ royalties or license fees. Therefore, monitors using this technology tend to be a little cheaper.
Nvidia insists that the monitor must meet certain standards before they are allowed to use their G-Sync technology. Therefore, fewer monitors are produced to this standard and the price is higher.
If the monitor does not have adaptive sync technology then the graphics card has the option of using V-sync (vertical synchronization) to reduce the game frame rate to the monitor frame rate. As explained above. This can result in some input lag and is not the ideal solution.
The ideal solution is to choose a monitor with the adaptive sync technology already installed. Or one that is compatible with it.
Connection Ports
Under connectivity, most monitor reviews will list the ports available and either praise them for having “good” connectivity or bemoan the “poor” connectivity.
The main function of the ports is to connect the monitor to the games rig, possibly to another monitor and maybe to more than one game set up. All ports are not equal.
All 1440p gaming monitors will contain at least one DisplayPort (or DP or DPort). If you find a rare monitor that does not have this then DO NOT BUY it. Seriously, you probably won’t find one on sale but if you do, move on.
Why are we making a fuss about this? That adaptive sync technology that makes for the best and smoothest gaming experience depends on the refresh rate. Also, it tends only to be supported when connected through the DisplayPort. Not when connected to your GPU through HDMI. If you connect through HDMI you may only get a refresh rate of 50Hz which is less than the 1080p monitor default.
The more ports and different connection points on the monitor the more things you can connect. Like speakers, headphones, and if your monitor will support it a microphone. And you are going to want to connect speakers because those monitors that do have in-built speakers tend not to have the best quality speaker.
Monitor Gamma/Color Adjustments
Colour handling takes place over the whole gaming rig, not just the monitor. Color handling is referred to as gamma characteristics. Gamma in this context has nothing to do with radiation but is simply called after the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In image processing on a monitor it is particularly concerned with shades of grey.
The color on the monitor is made by combining the three colors – red(R), green(G) and blue(B). Each RGB color has 8 bits of data. Now, take a deep breath, full color has 16.77 million colors. That’s right. Too many to count and so subtle that the human eye cannot distinguish between the shades. But all these colors build that gaming world on screen. And this is the current standard for PC monitors.
Still with us? Now your gaming rig sends the input to the monitor to tell it what colors should be displayed. This is a transmission of color information. Ideally, the transmission rate would be 1:1 and the monitor would display the information exactly as the programmer intended. But that never happens. The gamma characteristics of the monitor tend to make the intermediate tones dark. Now your PC may have been programmed to counteract this by sending over brighter tones.
What does all this geek talk mean? If the monitor has gamma pre-sets then you can adjust the visuals on your monitor to be more pleasing to your eye. In exactly the same way as you apply photograph filters. You can do this at the touch of a button rather than tweaking the settings. Remember the human eye may see those millions of shades but the brain has a more broad-brush approach to the whole color imagery.
Generally, when we talk about color optimizing we won’t refer to it as gamma, but that’s what it is. These monitors will usually allow you a wide variety of color adjustment tools including some pre-set viewing modes that can be accessed either by an on-screen menu or the touch of an external button.
Some feature some really cool tech like DarkBoost (makes your blacks blacker) and pulse adjusters. Mainly though you can just tweak the monitor color controls, choose your viewing mode and get on with the game without paying any of this any attention at all. But you’d miss it if it wasn’t there.
Resolution
Resolution is all about the pixels. To be precise the density of pixels on your screen It is expressed as a numberx1440 in the product reviews. It’s important for both color and crisp clear graphics. More pixels give more detail. So, the resolution is not discussed in detail because it is a no brainer. More pixels are always better but don’t overspend just to get more pixels. All the 1440p gaming monitors will have an abundance of pixels for your gaming pleasure.
Image Flicker
The images are shown as a series of short pulses on the screen. The change results in a flicker. A static image is not adversely affected but a moving image can appear blurred as a result.
Flicker can be deliberate as a way of improving the clarity of a moving image. This is referred to as BFI or Black Frame Insertion. Also known as backlight strobing. It seems strange to add a flicker to stop blurring when a flicker causes blurring. But, it works. It’s all down to how the brain processes images. It’s why we can believe an image on a screen is actually moving when in reality it is just a series of static pictures. Ah, the magic of pixels and technology.
The flicker can also be incidental as part of how the monitor works. By pulsing colored light to produce the images. Most monitors are configured to stop this, as a flickering screen produces eye strain over a long period of time.
Motion Blur
Motion blur is seen as a trail following moving objects such as a running character. It results from poor response time. When we talk about response time, we are talking about the ability of the screen pixels to respond to the input from your gaming rig. This blur is sometimes referred to as ghosting.
Overdrive/Response Time
The response time is the time it takes for the pixel to change from one color to another. It is measured in microseconds (ms) 1ms response time is excellent but up to 5ms is adequate for most purposes.
You can adjust this on the On Screen Settings (OSD) part of the monitor. It can be called tracefree, response time or overdrive or something like that. The response time has to be faster than the refresh cycle. If, not then the color from the last refresh is still shown on the next frame, giving a trailing effect.
A modern monitor like a 1440p gaming monitor will not have a response time that is less than the refresh time. But the manufacturers will allow you to tweak it. Too much overdrive will actually cause ghosting and trailing so it’s important to be sensible with your tweaking.
TN panels normally have an excellent 1ms response time which is why gamers prefer this type of panel. IPS panels are slower and VA panels are the slowest. But these panels have excellent image quality.
The G-Synch has a variable overdrive setting and will automatically change the overdrive depending on the refresh rate. Very occasionally the overdrive will be too much and cause overshoot.
How Do You Get the Best Monitor?
The best monitor is going to vary from time to time as manufacturers continue to compete with each other to improve that gaming experience. Gaming monitors can outperform the available gaming rigs at the present time. That’s why we are not recommending a leap to a 4k monitor just yet. By the time the gaming rigs catch up those expensive monitors will be far more affordable. A good 1440p gaming monitor will help you enjoy all the gaming features of the best games on the market.
Are your favorite games fast-paced and exciting? A TN screen, high refresh rate, and rapid response are your top priorities.
Prefer to enjoy the scenery and not worried about a lurking sniper? The best visuals and color reproduction will be met with an IPS screen A little less response time but not enough to spoil your enjoyment of the game.
Whatever your gaming style and the depth of your pockets there is a 1440p gaming monitor that will be perfect for you.
We’ve reviewed ten monitors for their affordability and performance. We’ve outlined their specifications so you can tell at a glance if it is likely to be what you are looking for in a monitor. We discuss some of their more relevant features to give you a flavor of what it would be like to own that monitor.
Conclusion
Whatever your requirements, a fast response speed or glorious visuals, there is the perfect 1440p gaming monitor for you.
