When factoring in the refresh rate of a monitor, 144Hz arguably strikes the sweet spot for price and performance.
Not only is it high enough for PS5 and Xbox owners to take full advantage of their graphical grunt, but it’s also a realistic target for the vast majority of PC gamers. Go much higher than this, and you’ll need a seriously powerful PC to benefit from those extra frames.
For those unaware, a higher refresh rate allows for smoother visuals, at least when a gaming is running at up to 144 frames per second. This is very important for online shooters, as being able to see the extra frames will help to improve your accuracy.
The problem is, there are so many different 144Hz monitors on the market that it’s difficult to know what’s best. This is where we come in, as our team of experienced experts review multiple monitors every year, using professional-grade equipment to evaluate picture quality.
The 144Hz monitors that score highly are then considered for this buying guide, giving you a quick view of the absolute best options available today. So if you’re looking for a new 144Hz monitor, check out our top picks below.
And if you are willing to branch out and take a look at some of the other monitors we’ve reviewed, check out our best gaming Monitor roundup, which features a multitude of options.
Best 144Hz monitors at a glance:
- Best overall 144Hz monitor: AOC Agon AG405UXC – check price
- Best Mini LED 144Hz monitor: Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 – check price
- Best 4K 144Hz monitor: Acer Predator XB323QK – check price
- Best ultrawide 144Hz monitor: Asus ROG Swift PG49WCD – check price
How we test
We use every monitor we test for at least a week. During that time, we’ll check it for ease of use and put it through its paces by using it for everyday tasks, gaming and more specialist, colour-sensitive work.
We check its colours and image quality with a colourimeter to test its coverage and the display’s quality.
Finally, we check gaming performance by measuring input lag and seeing if its speakers are powerful enough to offer an immersive experience.
- Superb value for money
- USB-B and USB-C connectivity for full KVM support
- Impressive colour accuracy
- Colour gamuts could be wider
- Some smearing and ghosting apparent in testing
- Massive screen
- Sublime picture quality
- Bright enough for HDR
- Useful smart features
- Low refresh rate for the price
- Limited adjustability options
- Size will be difficult to accommodate for
- Colourful, bright and colour-accurate
- Sharp and bright 4K panel
- Good refresh rate and response times
- USB hub for work, RGB backlight for play
- Minimal HDR capability
- OSD navigation is rather frustrating
- Loud but raucous speakers
- Clunky KVM implementation
- Bright in SDR and HDR modes
- Full KVM support
- Excellent panel uniformity
- Top-notch motion fidelity
- Refresh rate on the low side at 144Hz
- No speakers
AOC Agon AG405UXC
Best overall 144Hz monitor
Pros
- Superb value for money
- USB-B and USB-C connectivity for full KVM support
- Impressive colour accuracy
Cons
- Colour gamuts could be wider
- Some smearing and ghosting apparent in testing
If you’re looking for a top-quality 144Hz monitor, while also not breaking the bank, the AOC Agon AG405UXC gets so much right.
The basics of this display are that it sports a 144Hz 1440p IPS panel. That’s, admittedly, not specs to knock your socks off. It isn’t Mini LED or OLED, but the results are astounding, especially at under £600/$600. The display performed tremendously well in our benchmarking, offering stunning colour accuracy alongside impressive HDR performance for an IPS screen.
It’s a 40-inch monitor that offers lush colour and punchy detail. For gamers looking to take full advantage of the 144Hz refresh rate, this monitor works like a dream. It’s also equipped with AMD FreeSync Premium to prevent pesky screen tearing and 3ms GtG response time.
It doesn’t shirk on features either, despite already offering a lot of screen for its low price. It comes with a 6-port USB hub that offers KVM functionality, allowing this monitor to function as a home for all your USB-compatible devices whatever machine you’re using alongside it.
Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full review: AOC Agon AG405UXC Review
Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 (2023)
Best Mini LED 144Hz monitor
Pros
- Massive screen
- Sublime picture quality
- Bright enough for HDR
- Useful smart features
Cons
- Low refresh rate for the price
- Limited adjustability options
- Size will be difficult to accommodate for
It isn’t cheap, but the Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 is the 144Hz monitor for you if you’re after some of the latest and greatest screen specifications.
The star of the show is the huge 43-inch 4K Mini LED display. Its large size gives off serious TV vibes and, along with the high resolution, makes it a great option for doing the job of multitasking without the need for a dual monitor setup. As a luxury Samsung product, it dons stylish looks too, with a thin black bezel around the front and futuristic white hue around the back.
The display itself makes this a strong option for all kinds of content, from getting work done and watching movies to some serious gaming. The 4K resolution offers up a crisp experience while the Mini LED technology makes for an impressively accurate and stunningly bright watching experience. The combination is breathtaking, with high contrast and excellent colour coverage being the key highlights.
The 144Hz refresh rate may not be enough for serious eSports players and you should aim to get something higher for this price if that is your bag. But, for many gamers, this rate is more than enough, offering plenty of headroom above pleasing 60fps, 90fps and 120fps standards.
Reviewer: Ryan Jones
Full review: Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 Review
Acer Predator XB323QK
Best 4K 144Hz monitor
Pros
- Colourful, bright and colour-accurate
- Sharp and bright 4K panel
- Good refresh rate and response times
- USB hub for work, RGB backlight for play
Cons
- Minimal HDR capability
- OSD navigation is rather frustrating
- Loud but raucous speakers
- Clunky KVM implementation
Like the Samsung Odyssey Neo G7, the Acer Predator XB323QK is another excellent 4K 144Hz monitor pick. But, the Acer slightly reins in the luxury, with no Mini LED here, to focus on premier gaming prowess.
It may be games, games and more games with this Acer monitor but it doesn’t look half bad either, justifying its near-£1,000 price. You won’t find overly aggressive gamer garishness here, this is a high quality monitor option. Along with the inviting selection of ports, the Acer has a KVM switch meaning you can use this device as a handy USB hub for all your peripherals, including using the 65W USB-C port to charge your laptop. It is wondrously useful to have all this functionality right on your desktop. The one bit of gaming-flavoured style is an RGB light strip that runs along the top and side of this monitor, using the Acer Light Sense app to take cues from the content on screen and light up your room accordingly. It’s delightfully implemented.
The Predator XB323QK image quality is, unsurprisingly, key to the excellence of this monitor. This stylish IPS display offers gloriously crisp visuals alongside vibrant colour reproduction. At 140dpi, the detail provided by the Acer was expected but it looks so impressive in person. There’s strong viewing angles too, and we noticed very little ghosting in our testing.
For gaming fans, the 144Hz refresh rate is there for you to take full advantage of, along with a 1ms GtG response time. You’ll also find G-Sync compatibility and, in our experience, we found very little screen tearing to speak of.
Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full review: Acer Predator XB323QK Review
Asus ROG Swift PG49WCD
Best ultrawide 144Hz monitor
Pros
- Bright in SDR and HDR modes
- Full KVM support
- Excellent panel uniformity
- Top-notch motion fidelity
Cons
- Refresh rate on the low side at 144Hz
- No speakers
Ultrawide gaming monitors are becoming really popular, and for good reason. The extra screen space maximises immersion while gaming, while also proves useful for work since you can have multiple tabs/browsers open simultaneously. The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG49WCD is the best ultrawide monitor we’ve reviewed with a 144Hz refresh rate.
This huge 49-inch monitor has a curved OLED display with a 5120 x 1440 resolution. This results in a fantastic picture that we were seriously impressed by during testing. This is an especially bright monitor, while colour accuracy is pinpoint too. HDR performance is fantastic too, so there really are no complaints with the actual screen quality.
The Asus ROG Swift PG49WCD also flaunts a stylish design, with a glow-up ROG logo on the rear. The port selection is excellent too, including DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.1, USB-C and USB-A. There’s even full KVM support here, allowing you to seamlessly switch between multiple sources with the same keyboard, mouse and monitor combo.
So if you think you’ll benefit from the ultrawide design, and are still adamant about a 144Hz refresh rate, then the Asus ROG Swift PG49WCD is our top recommended option.
Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full review: Asus ROG Swift OLED PG49WCD review
FAQs
High refresh rates are a key spec any gamer should look out for when picking a monitor. However, 144Hz isn’t the fastest option available. There are 165Hz, 240Hz and even 360Hz options on the market at the moment. On top of that, refresh rate is only one part of what makes a great gaming monitor. Screen quality, HDR support and audio also play big parts.
Higher refresh rates are useful for a lot of other reasons than pure gaming. They can help make general scrolling and navigation feel smoother, and help other reaction or precision-based tasks, like digital painting.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
