5 Of The Best 1440p Monitors To Take Your Gaming To The Next Level

So, you've just gotten yourself a beast of a PC to play games on, and it comes fully equipped with the latest processor, ample storage to install multiple triple-A titles, but most importantly, a powerful graphics card capable of delivering hundreds of frames per second. However, apart from the keyboard, mouse, and headphones, there is still one key peripheral you need — a gaming-centric monitor.

A beefed up PC on its own isn't enough to deliver the complete experience. Even if your graphics card is pushing impressive frames — you need a monitor that is able to handle and display them gracefully. As someone who enjoys competitive gaming, picking the right monitor for me has taken the experience to another level. Shopping for a monitor that has a high refresh rate is the biggest differentiating factor that sets gaming monitors apart from regular displays.

With the rise of 144, 165, and even 180Hz monitors in the budget segment, it's hard to go wrong, no matter which display you choose to buy. However, in addition to refresh rate, you should also pay attention to the resolution. While 1080p is good enough for most, the allure of 4K displays is very real. Unfortunately, these can get quite pricey and require the top-of-the-line graphics cards to keep up the performance. For everyone else, here are five 1440p gaming monitors that strike the perfect balance between quality and value. Picks have been made based on popularity and positive customer feedback.

Samsung's Odyssey lineup is among the most popular when it comes to gaming monitors, and the G55C is an excellent entry-level 1440p display. I picked one up myself quite recently, and was blown away by its value proposition. You can find it at discounted prices of around $220 quite easily — and for that price, it's hard to find a better curved gaming monitor.

The 1440p resolution works beautifully with the 32-inch 1000R curved panel of the Samsung Odyssey G55C. Pair that with its 165Hz refresh rate, and you've got yourself the perfect display to enjoy competitive games such as "Counter Strike 2" and "Valorant". It has support for HDR10 and AMD's Radeon FreeSync that avoids screen tearing when playing games with fast-paced action. 

Coming to connectivity, the monitor offers both HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.2 for input, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack for convenient audio output. A huge drawback is the included stand, which has no height or swivel adjustability whatsoever. This can easily be fixed by mounting it on any affordable desk monitor arm — which is exactly what I did. 

However, if you are on the lookout for the best-looking 1440p monitor around the same budget, you can do a bit better than the Odyssey G55C. While it fares quite well as an overall great curved 1440p display, it does suffer from noticeable backlight bleeding and doesn't have an impressive list of features like a few other similarly priced gaming monitors do. 

The Alienware series offers some of the coolest monitors you can buy, and at $899, the Alienware AW2725DF is not exactly your run-of-the-mill budget-friendly gaming monitor — but its expansive feature set makes it worth the price. You get a 27-inch 2560 x 1440 monitor that boasts a jaw-dropping 360Hz OLED panel — making it one of the fastest displays you can buy for competitive gaming. 

The monitor comes with a total of five USB ports, including SuperSpeed 5 Gbps Type-C downstream and Type-B upstream ports. For video input, you can use the single HDMI, or the two DisplayPort connections. Although the QHD resolution of the display is not as demanding as 4K would be — it's important to consider that you would need quite a powerful GPU to take full advantage of the insane 360Hz refresh rate.

The included stand comes with height, tilt, and swivel adjustability and an overall design that gives the monitor an obvious gamer-aesthetic. You also get customizable lighting effects that can help create an immersive visual experience. Thanks to the pitch-blacks of the OLED and support for HDR400, the Alienware AW2725DF can produce impeccable-looking pictures, making it a great option for consuming content. 

If you truly want to take your gaming to the next level, the Alienware AW3423DWF delivers with its 34-inch ultrawide curved display. The 165Hz refresh rate makes it the perfect buy to enjoy your favorite triple-A titles at a high 1440p resolution. Games like "Red Dead Redemption 2", and "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" that take the best advantage of an ultrawide field of view will offer the best experience while gaming on this monitor. 

Beyond its impressive 1800R curve and 0.1ms response time, the Alienware AW3423DWF comes with similar build quality to the AW2725DF OLED variant, and features a robust stand. You also get comprehensive I/O options, including a few USB ports, two DisplayPort inputs, and one HDMI port. The monitor features VESA's DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification and is compatible with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. The display comes with a Quantum Dot OLED panel — which brings the deepest blacks to life, making it suitable to watch movies on.

An ultrawide monitor works best for open-world games — but can also double as the perfect productivity-oriented display for when work calls. Overall, for a retail price of $799, this ultrawide monitor features just about everything you'd need, and then some. 

While OLED monitors look great, they don't come cheap. A good balance between the top-of-the-line QD-OLED displays and the affordable VA panels are IPS monitors. The MSI G274QPX is a 27-inch QHD display that usually retails at around $350 — making it a great mid to high-tier gaming monitor. 

Where it lacks in the premiumness of an OLED panel, the MSI G274QPX more than makes up with its fast 240Hz refresh rate. As a gamer who has spent thousands of hours playing titles like "Counter Strike: Global Offensive" — this monitor would be the perfect combination of performance and quality. The included stand allows for height, tilt, and swivel adjustability as well, which is usually hard to find when shopping for monitors at this price point. 

Connectivity-wise, you get one DisplayPort 1.4a input and two HDMI 2.0 ports. You can also connect devices up to 15W using the built-in USB Type-C port in the monitor. Coming to its list of features, this MSI display is compatible with Nvidia's G-Sync, and comes with VESA's DisplayHDR 400 certification — which helps with added contrast.

Another great OLED option is the LG ‎27GS95QE monitor, which usually retails on Amazon for under $700 on sale. LG's UltraGear series of gaming monitors is known for its sharp appearance and gorgeous borderless design. This display not only brings the goodness of an OLED panel, but it refreshes at 240 times a second — allowing competitive gamers to make the most out of their PCs.

With support for both Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, this LG UltraGear display is compatible with pretty much any modern graphics cards — so as long as it's able to power games enough to take advantage of the 240Hz refresh rate. The inclusion of HDR400 further makes this monitor a great purchase for content consumption.  

The monitor's stand isn't just for show — it offers a great level of freedom for tilt, swivel, and height adjustability. Based on the many things you need to consider before buying a new monitor, the LG UltraGear 27GS95QE is a solid option that can deliver some of the best gaming experience out there.