6 Best Low-Input-Lag & Console Gaming Monitors for FPS Gaming

1. ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q

The large size of the monitor (27”) paired with a crisp resolution of 2560x1440 IPS lets you see finer details of the game scene. The viewing angles and the gray uniformity are top-notch. Thanks to the gray uniformity, the colors look pretty uniform, which helps when you’re watching panning shots. 

If you’re planning to upgrade to a dual monitor setup, its great ergonomics allow you to easily tilt or swivel the monitor in any position you like. 

On the software side of things, it comes with Asus’ standard GamePlus menu. It provides hotkey access to various features that help gamers practice and improve their gaming skills. 

The Crosshair feature lets you choose from 4 different crosshair types and adjust the position to match your gaming environment. The FPS counter displays the refresh rate in real-time. It enables gamers check for screen lag during the gameplay. The Timer feature is helpful when playing Real-time Strategy games like Ages of Empires and Halo Wars. It lets gamers measure their target frame rate easily.

The only downside is that it doesn’t support HDR, which means it’s a no-go for HDR gaming. If you’re looking to buy a monitor that supports HDR gaming, take a look at the Samsung CHG70. Also, non-native resolutions might have some issues, but since most graphics cards do the upscaling, it shouldn’t be much of a problem.

2. ViewSonic XG2402

If you’re on a budget, the ViewSonic XG2402 is hands-down the best gaming monitor you can find you can buy without burning a hole in your pocket.

It’s swift motion handling, and quick response time results in no visible blur while you’re playing. The ViewSonic XG2402 is a FreeSync monitor, and is the excellent pick for Xbox One S/X gamers, or if you have an AMD graphics card.

Let’s dive in to find out where the ViewSonic XG2402 excels, and where it falls short.

An incredible refresh rate of 144HZ ensures that you won’t experience any screen tearing while you play. While both, G-Sync and FreeSync VRR technologies are designed to eliminate issues such as screen tearing and ghosting, the G-Sync certainly has the edge over FreeSync. You can access the wide FreeSync range over both, DisplayPort and HDMI, unlike the ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q.

If you’re playing graphically demanding games, you might typically experience a drop in the frame rate. In such cases, the ViewSonic uses AMD’s Low Framerate Compensation (LFC) technology to compensate. LFC works by doubling the frame rate when you get less than 48 FPS by showing the same frame twice. As a result, Freesync works at less than 48 FPS, which ensures that you get a tear-free gaming experience.

Being the cheapest gaming monitor on our list, the ViewSonic does lag a little behind in some areas.

The picture quality is half-decent, and the contrast isn’t upto the mark. The screen doesn’t look good especially in a dark room, so your late-night gaming sessions might not be as exciting as you’d like them to be. The viewing angles are sub-par, too.

It doesn’t come equipped with software features such as the frame rate and crosshair. However, it does come with other gaming-related software features to help you improve your gameplay. Some of them include enhancing dark object visibility in gaming scenes, controlling the red accent lighting on the back of the monitor.

One other downside is the absence of any cable management features. The inclusion of cable management features would have been nice, though I can’t complain at this price point.

Overall, the downsides aren’t necessarily deal breakers. We believe that the ViewSonic XG2402 is still the best fit if you’re looking to get a low-input lag monitor on the cheap. 

​3. BenQ Zowie XL2540

4. Dell S2716DG

If you’re looking for a monitor that can run something visually pleasing at 165hz with an excellent motion for a modest price tag, look no further than the Dell S2716DG.

Let’s see what Dell has got in store with this beauty.

The high 144hz refresh rate, quick response time, flicker-free backlight makes it an excellent choice for gaming. Nvidia’s G-Sync support means that there’s little to no screen tearing or ghosting even for the most competitive gamers. Black Frame Insertion (BFI) simulates CRT flicker which helps to clear up motion further. BFI is pretty useful when displaying games running 60 FPS on 120Hz+ monitors.

The Dell S2716DG has a large 27" 1440p panel, which will please during almost any usage. It also has excellent low input lag, good enough for even competitive gamers.

Now let’s get to the downsides.

It comes with Dell’s ULMB feature which aims to reduce eye-tracking motion blur. This backlight flicker feature adds a little input lat, but it isn’t significantly visible.

Unfortunately, Dell doesn’t seem to work with non-native resolutions over DisplayPort. This shouldn’t be a major issue though, as most graphics cards will upscale automatically.

Perhaps the number one downside to this is the color banding problem, which is a typical TN display problem. This “color-shift” problem results in inaccurate color representation at different viewing angles.

If you’re using this monitor for gaming, the color banding shouldn’t be much of a problem. However, if you plan on doing some graphics or UI/UX work that demands color accuracy, you might want to pass this and get something like the Samsung CHG70.

The colors may appear washed-out out of the box, but they can pop with only a couple of minutes of tinkering. [best settings]

Overall, sub-par picture quality and narrow viewing angles aside, the Dell is again a great gaming monitor. If you don’t want to compromise on picture quality, we’d recommend you to go with ASUS ROG.

5. LG 34UC79G-B

If you’re looking for a widescreen and immersive gaming experience with almost no input lag, the LG 34UC79G-B is hands-down the best you can buy.

So what all features makes the LG a great monitor for gaming?

LG boasts a superior 34-inch ultrawide display and packs in a low input lag, high refresh rate, and sizeable FreeSync range. This makes for a killer combination and lets you enjoy a responsive and fluid gaming experience. Its ultrawide aspect ratio is particularly great for more casual games as it makes the experience quite immersive.

Unlike the Dell S2716DG and the BenQ Zowie XL2540, the viewing angles on LG 34UC79G-B are pretty solid.

The LG 34UC79G-B has a decent picture quality. Since this monitor has an IPS panel, dark room performance is just above average, as blacks tend to look more like grays than blacks and black uniformity is disappointing. However, when the monitor is used in a bright environment like office space, the perceived picture quality is much better. 

Almost all the monitors have a fast response time, but very few offer a complete package of motion features. It has got all the components for a great motion handling: a fast pixel response time, a flicker-free backlight, a high refresh rate. FreeSync variable refresh rate technology, and optional black frame insertion.

Ergonomically, this monitor could have been better regarding adjustments. The narrow range of height and tilt makes it a little challenging to adjust it to desired positions.

But perhaps my biggest gripe with this is the mediocre 1080p display on the otherwise beautiful display. A bump in resolution would have allowed taking advantage of the extra width and would have made browsing the web a charm.  Also, the brightness could've been better.

It doesn’t come with support for modern wide gamuts, so it doesn't make a great choice for graphics editing work. 

​6. Samsung CHG70

If you’re looking to buy a low-input lag monitor especially for HDR gaming, the Samsung CH70 is our top pick. This monitor is a great buy for anyone who has a PS4 and PS4 Pro and is looking to make use of the HDR features.

The Samsung CHG70 comes in two sizes: the 27” and 32”. Both come equipped with a 1440p resolution.

For the uninitiated, HDR gaming makes the picture more realistic and immersive by enabling a superior contrast and wide color gamut. We tried the HDR feature on various games such as Infamous First Light and Uncharted 4. The color accuracy is pretty spot on out-of-the-box, and we liked the immersive gaming experience. ​

Just like the LG 34UC79G-B, the t is a complete package when it comes to gaming. The high-refresh rate of 144 Hz, extremely low-input lag, excellent motion handling, fast response time, and flicker-free backlight.

It supports AMD’s FreeSync variable refresh rate technology for a tear-free gaming experience. Optional BFI mode is also supported for a smoother gaming experience.

Surprisingly, the VA-panel used in this monitor is unlike your typical VA-panels. It brings superior black levels which translates into great contrast ratio and makes the colors pop.

As already mentioned, if you’re looking to do HDR gaming on your PS4 and PS4 Pro, this monitor is a great pick. The HDR implementation on PC could have been better though. The HDMI 2.0 input makes it a particularly good choice for those that also want to use their monitor with an Xbox One X.

Some users have reported a “dirty screen effect” (DSE). For the unaware, It's basically the uniformity of grey color on display. In most cases, it’s not noticeably visible to affect.

Due to the nature of the VA panel used, the display pops when you use it in a dimly lit environment. The experience dips a bit when you use it in a brightly lit environment, but here’s a quick “hack” you can use: Adjust the black equalizer for brighter blacks.

Another aspect where the Samsung lags back: it has a bad local dimming with only eight dimming zones.

Local what, you wonder?

Let me explain.

Local dimming is a feature of LED displays that help dim the backlight behind the darker parts of the screen. If you’re watching movies or playing games with darker scenes, this feature makes the darks appear even more in-depth.

Ergonomics adjustments could have been better too.

Samsung CHG70 is not perfect, but overall, it’s a pretty great gaming monitor for the price. If you play games on your PS4, PS4 Pro, or even Xbox One X, and have a nick for HDR gaming-- this is hands-down the best monitor you can buy. 

ASUS VG248QE: Why we don’t recommend

If you do a quick search, you’ll find many websites recommending the Asus VG248QE.

However, we don’t recommend it buying it in 2019. 

Don’t get us wrong. We’re NOT saying that the Asus VG248QE is a bad pick, but there are much better 144hz monitors that have come out in 2019 or so. 

If you’re looking for a great alternative to it within the same price bracket,

we recommend going with the ViewSonic XG2402. 

Expert Tip

Manufacturers DO NOT advertise a display’s input lag either on the box or even on the manual. Read on to find out why. 

Expert Tip

For most games,  a lag of <10 ms is a great value to have. Monitors usually need to have a difference of +/- 5 ms to see a substatntial and noticeable difference during gameplay.