The best 27-inch gaming monitors fit nicely into the middle ground of gaming monitors, and one of our favorites right now is the LG 27GP850-B. These monitors aren’t too big that you feel lost in them, don’t take up much space, yet aren’t so small that you can’t appreciate every detail. Pair a 27-inch monitor with a 1440p display and you’ll be able to enjoy PC gaming on a new level. Hey, if you really wanted to, it could double up as a TV when you want some downtime.
Since they are generally considered middle of the road, 27-inch gaming monitors often aren’t so expensive that they’ll break the bank. High-performance monitors come with high refresh rates, fast response times, and vivid colors. You can even get a decent budget gaming monitor without having to downsize.
TL;DR: These Are the Best 27-inch Gaming Monitors
- LG 27GP850-B UltraGear - Best overall
- Xiaomi G Pro 27i - Best budget pick
- Samsung Odyssey G7 - Best FreeSync
- ViewSonic Elite XG271QG - Best G-Sync
- Asus TUF Gaming VG27AQ1A - Best G-Sync and FreeSync compatible
- Alienware 27 Gaming Monitor (AW2723DF) - Best 240Hz
- MSI MPG Artymis 273CQRX-QD - Best 1440p
- RedMagic 4K Gaming Monitor - Best 4K
We've rounded up our top picks to make your selection process easier. Whether you want an affordable contender or the best of the best, you'll find it here — or click here to find them in the UK.
Additional contributions by Danielle Abraham.
1. LG 27GP850-B UltraGear
Best 27-inch Gaming Monitor
If you’re looking for an incredibly well-rounded gaming monitor, the LG 27GP850-B UltraGear is a brilliant example of just how good a 27-inch display can be. The plenty big, bright screen handles reflections with ease and fits seamlessly on almost any desk in even the brightest of rooms. There’s also a highly adjustable stand that ensures you can take a close look at your game's visuals, whether that’s high-res textures or enemies in the distance.
The LG 27GP850-B is a fast Nano IPS display that gives you exceptional color and low pixel response times, and it's reasonably sharp at 1440p. That makes for gorgeous visuals that stay pretty even while elements on screen are moving — no ugly coronas or ghosting. With a 165Hz refresh rate that can overclock to 180Hz, you get smooth gameplay visuals to keep up with the fast-paced action, and you’re getting G-Sync and FreeSync compatibility to prevent tearing. By sticking with 27 inches, all that’s on offer is available for a very reasonable price.
2. Xiaomi G Pro 27i Mini-LED Gaming Monitor
Best Budget 27-inch Gaming Monitor
The Xiaomi G Pro 27i offers the best bang for your buck among 27-inch gaming monitors. It's well-priced at around $300 and, while not the absolute cheapest, it's hard to argue that it's not an incredible value. Between it's fantastic HDR experience, full array local dimming and mini-LED backlighting, crisp 1440p resolution, and buttery smooth 180Hz refresh rate, it's pretty much the standard bearer for affordable gaming monitors this year.
Unlike most IPS monitors, which are typically lit with LEDs around the frame, the G Pro 27i features a full array of 1,152 miniature LEDs across its entire panel. It reacts to what's being displayed on the screen in real-time, reducing or turning the lighting off in dark areas of the screen for contrast similar to OLED gaming monitors more than double its price. These LEDs are also capable of 1,000 nits of peak brightness, making this one of the only gaming monitors around its price that can offer a true HDR gaming experience.
It's not the only mini-LED gaming monitor available around this price, but it's the only one as of this writing that has so many dimming zones. This makes blooming - glowing areas around bright objects on dark backgrounds - much less of an issue. If you can stretch your budget, it's well worth the pick.
3. Samsung Odyssey G7
Best FreeSync 27-inch Gaming Monitor
27-inch gaming monitors get some of the most love from manufacturers, and that's as true as ever with the Samsung Odyssey G7. This display is excellent for gamers in need of FreeSync support as it offers both a high resolution of 1440p and an astronomical refresh rate of 240Hz. Even on higher-end rigs, getting 240fps at 1440p will likely prove challenging in modern games, so FreeSync helps smooth out any frame rate dips and peaks. Better yet, you have the option to switch over to G-Sync in the future without needing a new monitor, so you won't be locked into an AMD platform if a new Nvidia GPU strikes your fancy.
Samsung ensures you get a stunning picture out of each frame by including powerful enough backlights to hit 600 nits and an IPS panel that supports a 10-bit color depth. This means you can enjoy some HDR content with rich colors, strong contrast, and brilliant highlights. It’s also a curved gaming monitor giving you some extra immersion when you're close to the screen. The Odyssey G7 has a few neat extras as well, like two USB 3.0 pass-through ports and Infinity Core Lighting to keep things organized and stylish.
4. ViewSonic Elite XG271QG
Best G-Sync 27-inch Gaming Monitor
- See it on Newegg (out of stock)
Go bigger, go brighter, go sharper, and go faster — these are all things the ViewSonic Elite XG271QG can do over a more baseline gaming display. It bumps up from a 1080p resolution to 1440p to keep visuals crisp while managing an insane 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. Motion fidelity is maintained at 240fps thanks to G-Sync support, so you’ll enjoy an experience free of screen tearing or stutter.
The ViewSonic Elite XG271QG puts a sizable 27-inch display on your desk, making it that much easier to spot enemies in the distance or smaller details that might have been lost on a 24-inch gaming monitor. For the HDR era, it’s also offering a bright IPS panel that can hit 400 nits while providing a 10-bit color depth for a more vibrant experience from your games. That 98% coverage of the cinematic DCI-P3 color space means you’re getting near-perfect color accuracy in everything from your games or shows you’re streaming. The visual fidelity of this gaming monitor is second to none.
5. Asus TUF Gaming VG27AQ1A
Best G-Sync and FreeSync Compatible 27-inch Gaming Monitor
The Asus TUF Gaming VG72AQ1A gives you an upgrade in just about every department over what you'd see from a traditional 1080p gaming monitor. This bad boy features a 1440p display with an IPS panel that can support both FreeSync and G-Sync, giving PC and console gamers alike something to take advantage of.
This monitor doesn't settle for a 120Hz or even a 144Hz refresh rate either. Instead, it can cruise at up to 170Hz. And, while a lot of monitors that focus on speed can fail to emphasize visual quality in other areas, the Asus TUF Gaming VG27AQ1A actually goes the extra mile to display a 10-bit color depth and shine with a 470-nit peak brightness. That combination will let you enjoy a hint of HDR in your games. So, if you want sharpness, speed, HDR, rich color, and variable refresh rate, you can't go wrong with this monitor, especially as it costs less $300.
6. Alienware 27 Gaming Monitor (AW2723DF)
Best 27-inch, 240Hz Gaming Monitor
A 1440p monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate offers an excellent balance of high clarity in motion and resolution, but the latest graphics cards push even faster frame rates, barely breaking a sweat. So, it's time to get a monitor that can keep up, like the Alienware 27 Gaming Monitor (AW2723DF), with its 27-inch, 1440p panel offering a blisteringly fast 240Hz refresh rate, which you can overclock a bit higher. If you’re worried about screen tearing with such speedy frames, Free-Sync support, and G-Sync compatibility ensure your display and GPU play nicely.
Not only are you getting a super-fast IPS panel with excellent motion handling and low input lag, but you're also getting a high peak brightness of 600 nits alongside 95% DCI-P3 color coverage for further immersion into the action. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the best native contrast ratio, so when playing in darker spaces, you won’t get the deep blacks that many VA panels offer. Though, we love the robust, highly-adjustable stand that ensures a solid viewing angle from just about anywhere.
7. MSI MPG Artymis 273CQRX-QD
Best 27-inch 1440p Gaming Monitor
If you want a good 27-inch gaming monitor, the MSI MPG Artymis 273CQRX-QD offers plenty of features. Among excellent image quality that’s vibrant, the carefully curved design is incredibly immersive without feeling overwhelming. However, esports gamers might want a snappier monitor that boasts 360Hz. But, for most games, it’s going to be more than sufficient.
The included RGBs are a nice touch to the Artymis, but again, they aren’t over the top. You can adjust the LEDs and syncronize them with your gameplay should you wish. If you want to customize the monitor to suit your setup, there’s 100mm of height adjustment, though the build feels a little too plastic and weak so you’ll need to be gentle. Overall, though, you’re getting a 1440p monitor that delivers a crisp and fast experience.
8. RedMagic 4K Gaming Monitor
Best 27-inch 4K Gaming Monitor
The RedMagic 4K Gaming Monitor delivers a sharp, detailed image with superb color accuracy. Its IPS panel with Mini-LEDs has an impressive 1,152 local dimming zones for a high contrast ratio ensuring punchy highlights and plenty of depth in dark, shadowy scenes, though there’s some slight blooming around bright objects. With HDR turned on, you’re viewing experience will be amplified further with a vivid image that’s on par with many OLED monitors.
RedMagic didn’t skimp on gaming features, including a DisplayPort 1.4 and USB-C with a DisplayPort mode, which both offer a 160Hz refresh rate in 4K. Two additional HDMI 2.1 ports max out at 120Hz and are perfect for hooking up a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S. Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync are compatible, so your graphics card and display pair nicely for better motion handling at those high refresh rates.
Where to Get the Best 27-Inch Gaming Monitor in the UK
What to Look for in a 27-inch Gaming Monitor
If you're already set on buying a 27-inch gaming monitor, you've already settled the big question of how large of a display is right for you. With that in mind, the biggest thing you need to consider is what resolution is right for you. At this screen size, it's worth looking only into displays that are sharper than 1080p as the pixel you get from a Full HD resolution panel are starting to spread out too far on a display this large.
Once you get into 27-inch monitors, it's best to start looking at displays with at least a 2,560 x 1,440 or Quad HD resolution. 4K isn't exactly necessary with a display this large, but it's also not necessarily a waste as the 3,840 x 2,160 resolution will still look sharper. Just be aware as you go up in resolution so will the price of the gaming monitors you look at.
27-inch Gaming Monitor FAQ
What is the best resolution for a 27-inch gaming monitor?
Monitors at this size are typically best suited for 1080p or 1440p, though 1440p is usually considered the "sweet spot" for this screen size. Ultra HD (4K) monitors are available at this size but requires scaling Windows to a larger size to remain easily usable. 1080p, on the other hand, allows you to make out individual pixels on the display and can appear slightly soft in games. 1440p is the perfect blend of crisp visuals and ease of use and doesn't require a top of the line graphics card to run.
Are 27-inch gaming monitors too big?
While this depends on your space, in our opinion, definitely not. In fact, 27-inch monitors are often the perfect size if you're gaming on a 24-inch or 30-inch desk. At a typical viewing distance, the screen appears spacious while still allowing you to see everything without turning your head.
When is the best time to buy a 27-inch gaming monitor?
If you're planning to upgrade your gaming display, pay attention to major sales events that happen every year. You can find significant discounts on 27-inch gaming monitors during Prime Day, Black Friday, and Back to School sales. While a lot of gaming monitor deals go live during the winter holidays, retailers often slash prices even further during clearance sales in January and February.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
Christopher Coke has been a regular contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology since 2013. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs and gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.
