Best PC Gaming Monitors 2014

A Review of the Best Low Input Lag Monitors for Gaming in 2014

Finding a good gaming monitor requires a lot of research. Competitive gaming is demanding and the best monitors for gaming not only have a fast response time, but also low input lag and a high refresh rate as well.

Knowing what monitor to choose is key, but it's difficult to know exactly what type of monitor to purchase based simply off of a manufacturer's technical details. In this post I'll give you additional information you need-to-know as well as gaming monitors which I recommend.

Choosing a Good Gaming Monitor

When you're looking for the right gaming monitor there are a couple of things that you should keep in mind. Here's a couple points that just might help you to make a decision.

Response Time is Important, but can be Misleading :

Manufacturers who sell monitors listed for gaming always promote response time as the most important specification. Response time is the time it takes for a pixel to go from black to white and back again. While some monitors advertise response times under 1ms, the truth is that they list the GTG or gray to gray response time rather than the black to white to black response time. For the most part any monitor with under 8ms response time is more than fine to use for gaming. This includes many low response time / input lag IPS panel monitors as well.
....

Input Lag:

Input lag is often confused with response time but is something completely different. Input lag is a specification which, in my humble opinion, is even more important than response time because its the lag in time from when you enter in a command with your controller or keyboard and when its actually shown on the screen.

Asus VG248QE

A Good 24" 144Hz Gaming Monitor Option:

The Asus VG248QE is the Gaming Monitor to own in 2014

Perhaps the monitor for gamers to own this year is the new Asus VG248QE which sports a super low .6ms input lag and a 144Hz refresh rate. In using it it really reminds me a lot of the CRT monitors of old. The super responsiveness of this monitor really shines when you can get your FPS in that 90 range and be able to display the additional frames on the VG248QE. 

Final thoughts on the VG248QE:

If you're going for a 24" TN panel monitor, then I feel that this should truly be your choice in 2014. You'll end up paying about $100 more for this 3D ready monitor; however, considering the price of similar monitors, $250 seems like a really good deal. In addition, it's G-Sync ready for when you're ready to upgrade.

BenQ XL2420TE A Strong Alternative to the VG248QE:

Following BenQ's recent update to their original model there is another 144Hz monitor that I'd highly recommend. While it costs a little more than the VG248QE, theXL2420TE from BenQ is probably the best TN panel monitor I've seen.

ASUS VG248QE 24-Inch Screen LED-lit Monitor

VE248H Dual Display Gaming Setup

Best 24 Inch Gaming Monitors in 2014

10 Highly Responsive Low Input Lag Options to Consider:

ASUS VE248H - A Good Budget Gaming Monitor

Asus monitors are used in professional game fighting tournaments as one of the most trusted around. This is due to their low input lag as well as response times. Probably the best or at least most well-known 24 inch computer monitors is the ASUS VH236H EVO monitor which is now a few years old and still used in the EVO championship series.

A newer Asus monitor you should consider is the Asus VE248H or the VH238H if you want a monitor that has the same panel as the VH236H in an LED version.

Some Professional Gaming Tournaments

Current Professional Console and PC Gaming Monitors for 2014

Want to be a Pro?

If you want to compete at a higher level through MLG or other tournaments, then most likely there's a specific monitor you'll need to use. These next two monitors are known for their speed and are used heavily in RTS, FPS, and fighting tournaments.

MLG PC Gaming Tournaments:

The official monitor for MLG PC gaming tournaments is the BenQ RL2450HT. It's a monitor designed by professional StarCraft II team StarTale and boasts impressive responsiveness through a 2ms response time and under a half a frame of input lag. While the console gaming version below can only tilt, the RL2450HT can actually swivel, tilt, pivot, and has height adjustment.

MLG Console Gaming Tournaments:

For console gaming you should strongly consider the BenQ GL2450HM which is the official monitor for MLG console tournaments. It looks great out of the gate on competitive games like COD, has less than a frame of input lag, and 1 super low 1ms response time.

Image Attribution: Major League Gaming, Intel Extreme Masters, and EVO Championship Series.

Samsung S23A700D 120Hz Monitor

2 Good 23 to 24" 120Hz Gaming Monitor Options

Samsung 700 SERIES S23A700D

While it costs about twice as much as a typical monitor, the Samsung S23A700D combines a 120 hertz refresh rate with a 2ms response time, 10-11ms input lag in 60Hz (under 1 frame), and one of the best images I've seen on a monitor. If you have the money to spend and don't need a tournament monitor, this is one of the best around.

BenQ XL2420T Professional Gaming Monitor

This is one of the best 2D and 3D 24 inch monitors available with a 120 Hz refresh rate, 2m response time, and Nvidia 3D Vision 2. Gaming mode presets can easily changed based on the game you're playing.

Made by professional gamers for other competitive gamers. You'll want to compare it with the Samsung S23A700D to figure out which one better meets your needs.