Sony's PlayStation 5 console may still be tough to find, but we can help you find a gaming monitor that works great with one—no problem!
More than a year after its release, the Sony PlayStation 5 remains an elusive item to find on the open market. If you’ve persevered (or just got lucky!) and managed to get your hands on a PS5, you might well be playing it on a big-screen TV. And that’s just fine for plenty of gamers.
But maybe you’re strapped for space for a giant screen? Or perhaps you play twitch-reaction, competitive PS5 games at high refresh rates? Then you’ll need a proper gaming monitor to match. Accessories like extra PS5 storage are helpful, sure—especially if you play epic titles like Call of Duty: Warzone. But one of the best outright upgrades you can make to your console-gaming and content-viewing experience is a better display.
The thing is: The PS5 has a specific set of resolutions and refresh rates that it supports. So you need to know the nuances of its video output to figure out which monitors will serve the PS5 well, and which would just be overkill. Let’s break down the details.
First up, there’s the issue of screen resolution. Currently, the PlayStation 5 supports only two of the most popular gaming-monitor resolutions: 1,920 by 1,080 pixels (a.k.a. full HD or 1080p), and 3,840 by 2,160 pixels (UHD or 4K). The console technically also supports 8K output, but anyone expecting an 8K gaming experience (or even a robust 4K one) is vastly overestimating just how much gaming power is in the PS5’s chassis. As of this April 2022 writing, anything relating to the PS5’s theoretical 8K video playback or gaming capabilities is locked down by the system’s firmware.
Though the resolution is popular with PC gamers, 2,560 by 1,440 pixels (aka, 1440p) is not an option for the PS5, despite many developers claims that activating it should be as easy as changing a setting. The middle resolution has become a sweet spot for many competitive single-player gamers on PCs, who want more pixel density than 1080p while retaining the responsiveness that only less-than-4K monitors can deliver in competitive esports games. At least for now, though, forget it: no 1440p support from Sony.
That’s why all of our monitor picks, at least this year, fall into just two resolution categories. Microsoft Xbox consoles, meanwhile, support a host of resolutions depending on the model and task. Here’s a glance at how that particular messy mix shakes out…
By contrast, the PS5 keeps it real simple: 1080p or 4K gaming, period (with 8K perhaps, in theory, someday).
Considering that games like Fortnite have been optimized to run at up to 120 frames per second (fps) on select Xbox consoles at 1080p, players of that and similar titles may want to look at monitors that regularly hit refresh rates (that is, peak screen redraws) of at least 120Hz or above. But there’s some PS5-specific nuance there, too. So let’s get into that key issue next.
The PS5 supports different resolutions and refresh rates, including a monitor refresh rate of up to 120Hz at either 1080p or 4K resolution (output from the PS5). The thing is, only a few games can run at frame rates as high as 120fps at 4K, and not as many as you’d think that can even do it at 1080p.
With the PS5, support for refresh rates above 60Hz is game-dependent. And furthermore, it is by no means consistent! Here is a list (as of April 2022, courtesy of PlayStation Universe) of PS5 titles that offer 120Hz gameplay, with special notes for those that will render the game at customized resolutions under 1080p depending on the developer’s limits:
Borderlands 3 (at 1080p)
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (at lower resolution)
Call of Duty: Vanguard (at lower resolution)
Call of Duty: Warzone (at lower dynamic resolution)
Centipede Recharged (at native 4K)
Destiny 2 (at lower resolution, specifically in Crucible matches)
Devil May Cry V: Special Edition (at 1080p)
Dirt 5 (at lower resolution)
Doom Eternal (at 1584p)
Fortnite (at lower resolution)
Ghostrunner (at lower resolution)
Gunborg (at scalable 4K)
Jumanji: The Video Game (at scalable 4K)
Knockout City (at dynamic 4K)
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (at native 4K)
Nioh 1, Nioh 2, and their DLC (at lower resolution)
Olli Olli World (at lower resolution)
Quake (at 4K)
Rainbow Six Siege (at lower resolution)
Rocket League (at lower dynamic resolution)
Rogue Company (at dynamic 4K)
The Touryst (at native 4K)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 (at 1080p)
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (at 1080p)
WRC 9 (in Performance Mode)
As you can see, the 120Hz support can vary by resolution or even by in-game mode of play.
Most gaming monitors fall into one of the following maximum-refresh-rate tiers: 60Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz, 165Hz, 200Hz, 240Hz, or 360Hz. If you plan to play only on your PS5 (that is, without any PC gaming projected in your future), choosing a model that tops out at either 120Hz or 144Hz is good enough; beyond that, you could be paying for extra frame-rate potential you’ll never see on the screen.
Next, a small detour to talk about cables. While previous consoles usually maxed out around the HDMI 2.0 level, both the PS5 and the latest version of the Xbox Series X support HDMI 2.1.
Our primer on the current state of HDMI 2.1 will give you a deeper understanding of why this is a crucial distinction. The HDMI 2.1 spec supports up to 120fps at either 1080p or 1440p resolution. However, if you’re trying to play PS5 games at 120fps in 4K, you’ll need a 4K monitor that’s compatible with the HDMI 2.1 spec and that supports at least a 120Hz refresh rate at 4K. You’ll also need an HDMI 2.1-compatible cable, dubbed an «Ultra High Speed» HDMI cable. (More about that at the link above.)
Monitors with HDMI 2.1 support, 4K resolution, and a 120Hz or higher refresh are pretty scarce at this writing, though we’ve tested one, the MSI Optix MPG321UR-QD.
Finally, just in the past month, Sony has delivered firmware updates for the PS5 that enable two critical features if you take competitive gaming seriously: variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low-latency mode (ALLM).
VRR is the console’s version of Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync, two technologies that sync the graphics chip inside your console with your TV to make sure they’re on the same page. For games like Fortnite that might exceed 60fps or 120fps at times, VRR makes sure that the frames of the game are synchronized with the timing of your monitor’s screen redraws, reducing screen artifacts and an issue known as «screen tearing.» With tearing, partial images from two different screen draws misalign with one another during action sequences. VRR keeps your image clean from tears and visual stutters during fast motion.
ALLM, meanwhile, helps to reduce the input latency between your console and display. Input latency affects how long it takes for an action such as a button press to be reflected onscreen. The lower the number, the more quickly you’ll be able to react to what your character does in response to your inputs.
Look for monitors that support these features. Several of the models we’ve listed in our roundup will have VRR, ALLM, or both buried somewhere in their settings for you to turn on and take advantage of during high-intensity multiplayer battles. Because these features are new for PS5, we did not address them at the time the monitors were reviewed, but you should look for them on monitor makers’ spec sheets for any models you may be considering.
Ready to make your PS5-centric pick? Above and below, we’ve provided a guide to some of the best gaming monitors we’ve tested that are a good fit for the latest PlayStation. Keep in mind that a few of the high-refresh-rate 4K displays are compatible only with DisplayPort 1.4b connections (which is to say: with PCs only), though they’ll support ordinary HDMI for PS5 play at 60Hz. (We’ve included them in the event you want to connect to either a PS5 or a high-powered gaming PC.) With that out of the way, let’s dive into the list. (Plus, you might want to check out our favorite PS5 games to snag.)
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Chris Stobing is a hardware analyst at PCMag. He brings his experience benchmarking and reviewing consumer gadgets and PC hardware such as laptops, pre-built gaming systems, monitors, storage, and networking equipment to the team. Previously, he worked as a freelancer for Gadget Review and Digital Trends, spending his time there wading through seas of hardware at every turn. In his free time, you’ll find him shredding the local mountain on his snowboard, or using his now-defunct culinary degree to whip up a dish in the kitchen for friends.
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