PC Monitors + Xbox Series X

Bombardiers,

Last year, I got suckered by marketing and some misleading reviews into a BENQ EL2870U... I should have done more homework, but was sold on 4K and "HDR" (it's 300 nit brightness which is not HDR). My honest assessment, the monitor is trash.

In the short-term, I plan to have both my Xbox Series X and PC (Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB) hooked up to this monitor, but going forward it will be my PC only monitor.

Based on limited research, for PC monitors, it sounds like 1440P 120HZ is the sweet spot for the Xbox Series X. I play a lot of Call of Duty, so I am looking for great response time.

Any recommendations on monitors? I have used a number of "review" sites, but its hard to tell what is the best hook-up for the Series X and G-Sync compatible for my PC.

Thanks for all the help!

@skuski: I wish I knew a more updated version of my monitor! I have the exact setup you're outlying; 1440p and 120hz and have been very happy with it. I haven't tried to hook up any consoles to it aside from the PS4 for a bit, though.

All I'll say is that BenQ is overrated these days. They might have been something special 5 or 10 years ago when they were paying for a lot of advertisement time, especially during fighting game tournaments where they supplied the monitors competitors were playing on. However, now a days, most people either pay a lot of money for a 55 inch, 4K, LG OLED TV, which also make good gaming monitors at 120Hz, or they get a 1440p Gigabyte, ASUS, or an Ultrawide LG monitor. Anything from 144Hz and up is good. You can easily turn the framerate down to 120Hz if you feel you need to, but as most competitive gamers will tell you, the more frames the better. Though I believe anything above 160Hz is overkill. I have a 27 inch, 1440p, 144Hz Gigabyte monitor with decent HDR and awesome SDR. I think its a great gaming monitor for the price.

@rorie what type of monitor are you using? I am in the market for a good 1440p and 120HZ monitor to replace my BenQ. Thanks!

@av_gamer thank you! I am in the process of moving and plan to get a shiny new LG C1 OLED, and potentially an Asus ROG Strix XG43UQ.

I will look into the Gigabyte monitors in the meantime.

Rtings.com recently updated their Xbox Series X monitor recommendations based on different categories. It's worth consulting and even their Notable Mentions are still solid picks.

In general, look for a monitor that has a high refresh rate and supports a 1080p or 1440p resolution. The exception would be if you have the money to game on 4K which will, generally speaking, lock you into a 60 Hz refresh rate. If you value couch co-op and wide viewing angles, make sure it is a IPS panel. However, VA panels are better for darker environments.

@skuski: I have an Asus Predator from a few years ago! I think the newer models are higher refresh; mine tops out at 120hz.

tbh for console gaming I think monitors are overpriced, especially if HDR matters to you. You could get a 50inch 120hz Oled for about the same price or lower than a monitor with actual HDR and high refresh etc. I think Hardware Unboxed on youtube does good reviews for monitors if that's the route you really wanna go, but they are expensive as fuck IMO. I think Rtings.com is a good site for TV reviews if you go that route

Check out Hardware Unboxed on youtube. They one of the most trusted sources for monitor reviews: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7m5C6_P_lnXb9cHwdo0Ct1TTZ7KUwm3e