Gaming Monitor vs Gaming TV: Which One to Pick?

Find out which one can provide the best gaming experience depending on the user's needs and preferences.

When it comes to gaming, players can choose between the latest PlayStation, XBox, or Nintendo consoles, or even a robust PC to play their games on. But the often afterthought is the screen which is literally how the game delivers its virtual world. So how does one choose between a gaming monitor vs gaming TV and what are the unique differences to keep in mind when buying one?

There are several factors that make the gaming monitor better than a gaming TV and vice versa. When selecting either a gaming monitor or a gaming TV for one's setup, it often comes down to how the screen will be used and what the player's preferences are. Both gaming monitors and gaming TVs offer a range of features that will provide a better gaming experience for players. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing between a gaming monitor vs gaming TV.

Three Features to Keep in Mind When Choosing Between Gaming Monitor vs Gaming TV

1. Screen Size and Resolution

One of the most basic things to consider is the screen size and resolution of a gaming monitor or gaming TV. According to TechRadar, gaming TVs offer a larger display for those who want to be thoroughly immersed in their gaming worlds. However, gaming TVs do not necessarily offer HDR support, robust refresh rates, adaptive sync, and low latency modes, especially for budget models, TechRadar warned.

Gaming TVs are also limited in the sense that delivering millions of pixels to it will put a strain on the PC's graphics card for those playing on a computer. PC gamers may opt to go for a lower-resolution gaming monitor if they want to strike a balance between performance and great picture quality. This is the advantage of gaming monitors, which are smaller in size but can deliver sharper image quality than huge gaming TVs.

2. Performance and Response Rate

There are several factors that affect a gaming monitor and gaming TV's performance, such as input lag, refresh rate, and pixel response times, IGN reported. Input lag refers to the time between the user's input and the moment it plays out on the screen.

Refresh rate is the number of times a display refreshes its image and is measured in Hertz. Gaming monitors and gaming TVs with higher refresh rates offer smoother video quality. Typical gaming would require refresh rates of 144Hz to 160Hz. Gaming TVs often come with 120Hz refresh rates, while some higher-end gaming monitors offer 300Hz or more.

3. HDR

Simply put, HDR or High Dynamic Range is one of the main selling points of a number of 4K TVs because it offers more information on how an image is built and provides a wider range of color and brightness, PCMag reported. HDR offers better picture and video quality and creates deeper and more vivid colors, which is great for exploring gaming worlds. This is where gaming TVs have a leg up, as they often already have the HDR10 standard, Gamespot reported.

Those who are looking to choose a gaming TV over a gaming monitor must be sure to get one that supports HDR10 or Dolby Vision, which provides excellent brightness, vibrancy, and accuracy.

When it comes to selecting a gaming monitor vs gaming TV, keep in mind user preferences, as this will be key in guiding one's purchase. Does picture quality mean more than performance, or does performance play a larger part in one's overall gaming experience? List down the must-haves and consult the salesperson for more questions on product details to learn more before deciding which one to purchase.