Gaming Monitors

A high-quality gaming monitor is an essential bit of kit for gamers of all ages and abilities. With the latest AAA titles pushing the boundaries of graphical processing, a high-spec gaming monitor can completely transform your gaming experience.

Gaming in 1440p is increasingly becoming the norm, with GPUs such as NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX series of graphics cards even opening up the possibilities of 4K gaming.

If you want to make the most of that kind of processing power, then you’re going to need a serious gaming monitor.

And, those are exactly the sorts of gaming monitors you’ll find here at Comet.

Our team of buyers has extensive experience working in the gaming industry, and have helped us to create the ultimate collection of gaming monitors on the internet.

The question is, which one is right for you? Let’s take a look…

Choosing a gaming monitor

Gaming monitors have more features and tech than ever before; which can make buying one a considered process. Below, the Comet team has provided our top tips to buying a gaming monitor.

Monitor size

First and foremost, you’re going to want to decide what size monitor is best for you.

And, don’t automatically assume that bigger is better!

It may sound rather counterintuitive, but the most common sizes for gaming monitors tend to be between 24” to 27”. This provides a sufficiently immersive experience, without completely dominating your desk and workspace. Remember, if you choose a monitor that’s too big, you’ll need to sit further away from your screen to take it all in.

Nevertheless, if you do want to scale things up a bit, you’ll find gaming monitors of all sizes here at Comet. Our collection spans from 22” all the way up to 55”.

Resolution

Selected your size? Great, the next step is to think about what resolution you want.

Which resolution monitor is best for you will be closely tied to the performance capabilities of your PC or laptop.

If you’ve a computer that’s in any way recent and modern, then you’re going to want a monitor with a resolution of at least 1080p. This, until recently, has been the resolution in which most people have played games.

However, advances in graphics cards, processors and general computing power in recent years have allowed people to play games in higher resolutions. As a result, there’s now plenty of choice in terms of monitor resolution:

• 1080p (Full HD).
• 1440p (QHD 2K).
• 2160p (UHD 4K).
• 2880p (5K).

When it comes to resolution, there’s a good rule to bear in mind - the higher the resolution, the sharper the image quality.

So, should you just buy the highest resolution monitor you can afford?

Yes, and no.

You may just want to buy a monitor that will be of the resolution that your computer can play games at. For example, if you have a computer with a budget GPU such as an RTX 3050, then you’ll get the most out of a 1080p monitor (or possibly a 1440p monitor for some games where you’ve turned down the graphics settings).

On the other hand, if you think you may be upgrading your computer in the near future, you may want to buy a higher resolution monitor and effectively ‘future-proof’ it. For example, you could buy a 4K monitor if you think you’ll be buying a PC with a high-end NVIDIA 40 Series graphics card soon.

Panel type

This is a slightly more obscure buying consideration, but you should certainly think about it if you're serious about buying a top gaming monitor.

Gaming monitors are available with different ‘panel types’. This refers to the type of LCD panel a monitor has. There are three main panel types you’ll find on gaming monitors:

• TN (Twisted Nematic) - TN panels are popular for gaming as they offer quick response times and good refresh rates. However, they don’t always offer the best viewing angles.
• IPS (In Plane Switching) - IPS panels have become very popular on gaming monitors. Whilst they tend to have a slightly higher price tag than TN panels, they are able to offer excellent refresh rates and response times.
• VA (Vertical Alignment) - VA panels tend to be viewed as the ‘mid-point’ between TN and IPS panels. They offer decent (but not amazing) response rates and refresh times, but are typically a bit cheaper than IPS panels.

Note - you will also see variations on these panel types such as IPS-AHVA (the AHVA standing for Advanced Hyper Viewing Angle, which aims to overcome the viewing angle issues typically associated with IPS panels), and Nano IPS (a form of IPS panel that uses nanoparticles to improve the colour range of the display).

Refresh rate

You’ll have seen mention of refresh rate above, but what exactly is it? And what does it have to do with buying a gaming monitor?

Without going into too much detail, refresh rate refers to the number of times an image on a screen changes in a second. As you can imagine, in games of all types, this can be a big deal. That’s why the refresh rate is one of the most important things to look for in a gaming monitor.

Selecting a monitor with a good refresh rate can mean the difference between a juddery, jarring gaming experience and a silky smooth, fast one.

If you’re serious about your gaming, then you’ll want a monitor with at least a 120Hz or 144Hz refresh rate. However, if you really want to push the boat out, then it’s possible to buy gaming monitors with refresh rates of 240Hz.

Note - if you do want to run a monitor with a very high refresh rate, you’ll need to check that your computer is capable of supporting it. This is often determined by the spec of your GPU (and the resolution you’ll be playing games at).

Response time

So far, so good. But, now it’s time to think about the response time of your chosen gaming monitor.

If you’re relatively new to the world of gaming monitors, then you may be wondering exactly what response time refers to.

Put simply, response time is a measurement of the length of time it takes the pixels on a display to change from one colour to another.

As you can imagine, this has a big impact on how you visually perceive a game - especially if it’s a fast-paced one. In the gaming world, a monitor with the lowest possible response time is the best.

Monitor response time is measured in milliseconds (ms) - with the top gaming monitors having a response time of 1ms or less. The absolute best monitors have response times of 0.5ms or less.

At Comet, many of our gaming monitors have a response time of 1ms or less - even our cheapest budget models.

Display inputs

It’s important to check what inputs you require on a gaming monitor before committing to a purchase.

If you’re going to be using the monitor with a console (such as a PlayStation 5), then you’ll need a monitor that has HDMI inputs. Should you be buying a monitor for a gaming PC or laptop, then you may want a monitor that supports DisplayPort. DisplayPort is a newer interface that supports high refresh rates and resolutions. DisplayPort is also a good choice if you’re going to be using two or three monitors simultaneously.

Adaptive sync

Adaptive sync is a feature that you’ll strongly want to consider for your gaming monitor.

Adaptive sync relates to the way in which the monitor communicates and interacts with your computer’s graphics card. There are two forms of adaptive sync technology found on today’s gaming monitors; AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync.

Both types of adaptive sync are designed to ‘streamline’ the connection between your computer’s GPU and the monitor, eliminating annoying things like screen tearing and input lag.

FreeSync is AMD’s version of this technology and will only work with AMD graphics cards. G-Sync is NVIDIA’s version of this technology and, as you’ve probably already guessed, only works with NVIDIA graphics cards.

Other monitor features to look for

Apart from those really ‘techy’ points above, there are some other useful features to look for in a gaming monitor:

• Built-in speakers - saving you the hassle of buying and setting up external speaker sets.
• USB hubs - these allow you to charge multiple devices from your monitor.
• Built-in webcam - this is becoming a standard feature on more and more monitors, especially as a growing number of people embrace the WFH lifestyle.
• VESA mount - with a VESA mount it’s possible to mount your gaming monitor on an adjustable arm or on a wall.

Get gaming with Comet

Enjoy the ultimate gaming experience with a gaming monitor from Comet. Our team has worked hard to create a collection that has something for everyone; from gamers on a budget, to gamers where money is no obstacle.

You’re bound to find your perfect gaming monitor at Comet.

If that’s not attractive enough, consider that our gaming monitors are available with flexible payment options. Choose PayPal Credit or Klarna Pay in 3 at checkout and spread the cost of your new monitor across three, interest-free payments.

We also offer express delivery options for when you want your new monitor in a hurry.

Finally, if you want to stay up-to-date with our latest gaming deals and discounts, sign up to our newsletter!