- Top Pick: Sceptre New 22-Inch Gaming Monitor, FHD 1080p, Up to 144Hz, HDMI, DisplayPort, Built-in Speakers, Machine Black (E225W-FW144 Series, 2026)
- Best Value: SANSUI 24 Inch 180Hz Gaming Computer Monitor, FHD 1080P for Game Office
- Premium Choice: SANSUI 24 Inch Curved 160Hz Gaming Monitor,1500R Curved Gaming Monitor
Picking a monitor for PS4 and PS5 is really two separate decisions wearing one trenchcoat. The PS4 tops out at 1080p (or checkerboard 4K on Pro, no VRR, 60fps ceiling in almost everything). The PS5 does native 4K, 120Hz on select games, and VRR over HDMI 2.1. If you’re buying one screen to cover both consoles, the PS5’s specs should drive the purchase, since a good PS5 monitor still displays PS4 games fine, but a PS4-tier monitor will bottleneck a PS5 badly.
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1080p, 1440p, or 4K
This is the first fork in the road and it’s mostly about distance and budget, not bragging rights. At a typical couch distance of 6-8 feet, 1080p on anything over 27 inches starts looking soft, you’ll see pixel structure if you look for it. But most people aren’t using a monitor from couch distance, they’re sitting 2-3 feet away at a desk, and that changes the math a lot.
At desk distance, 1440p on a 27-inch screen is the sweet spot for PS5. It’s sharp, GPUs (and the PS5’s GPU) can push high frame rates at this resolution more easily than native 4K, and panels in this class are cheap now. 4K at 27-32 inches looks genuinely better, especially for single-player, cinematic games where the PS5 is targeting 30-60fps anyway. The trade-off is that 4K at 120Hz needs HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, and not every “4K 120Hz” monitor actually does full 4:4:4 chroma at that combo without compression, so check the actual input spec, not just the marketing bullet.
If you’re mostly a competitive multiplayer person (Fortnite, Warzone, fighting games) and you have the console in a mode that supports higher frame rates, 1080p or 1440p at high refresh will serve you better than 4K. Resolution doesn’t win matches, response time and frame rate do.
Refresh rate: what the PS5 actually uses
The PS5 can output up to 120Hz, but only in games that support it, and even then frequently at 1440p or a dynamic resolution rather than true 4K. A 144Hz or 165Hz monitor isn’t wasted even though the console caps at 120, because headroom means you’re never fighting the panel’s limiter, and the same screen is useful if you ever plug in a PC. For PS4 and PS4 Pro, none of this matters since those consoles are hard-locked to 60fps, so a 60Hz panel is not a bottleneck there at all.
Where refresh rate actually changes a game is input feel and motion clarity. Going from 60Hz to 120Hz in a shooter is a bigger upgrade than going from 1080p to 4K. If you have to choose between a sharper image and a higher ceiling, and you play anything fast-paced, pick the frame rate.
Panel type: VA, IPS, OLED
VA panels dominate the budget-to-midrange gaming monitor space because they do high contrast and deep blacks cheaply. The catch is black smearing in dark, fast scenes, noticeable in games like horror titles or dark dungeon crawlers. IPS panels fix that motion issue and have better color accuracy and viewing angles, but historically weaker native contrast, meaning blacks look more gray in a dim room, though modern IPS has closed this gap a lot.
OLED is the one that actually changes how games look, with near-infinite contrast, instant pixel response, and no motion blur to speak of, which pairs extremely well with the PS5’s VRR and 120Hz modes. The downsides are real: static HUDs (health bars, minimaps) sitting in the same spot for hundreds of hours create a slow burn-in risk, and brightness in a bright, sunlit room is still a notch behind a good IPS or mini-LED screen. If your setup is a dim or controlled-light room and you play varied content, not just one game with a fixed UI for years, OLED is worth the premium.
| Panel | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| VA | Budget builds, movie/story games, dark-room contrast | Black smearing in fast dark scenes |
| IPS | Color accuracy, competitive play, bright rooms | Weaker native blacks (less so on newer panels) |
| OLED | Best overall motion and contrast, VRR pairing | Burn-in risk with static UI, cost |
HDMI 2.1 isn’t optional for PS5
If you want 4K at 120Hz, or 1440p at 120Hz with VRR, the monitor needs a real HDMI 2.1 port, not just the label on the box. Some budget monitors advertise HDMI 2.1 but only support it at reduced bandwidth, which caps out certain resolution/refresh combos. If a listing doesn’t specify bandwidth (look for 40Gbps or 48Gbps) or doesn’t mention VRR support explicitly for PS5, assume the worst and check reviews before buying. This is the single most common disappointment people run into after upgrading to PS5 and keeping an old monitor.
Size and viewing distance
27 inches at 1440p or 4K is comfortable at arm’s length. 32 inches starts to want a bit more distance, or you’ll be turning your head to track action at the edges of the screen, especially in fast games. If you’re after something closer to a TV-replacement setup, a lot of players end up skipping the 32-34 inch ultra-wide/curved screens for PS5 since the console’s UI and most games aren’t built for ultra-wide aspect ratios, and you’ll get black bars or stretching rather than a wider field of view.
What to actually buy
For a budget PS4/PS5 combo setup, a 1440p 144Hz IPS monitor in the 27-inch range covers both consoles well without overspending on resolution the PS4 can’t use. Browse 1440p 144Hz gaming monitors for solid midrange options.
If PS5 is the priority and you want to use its full 4K/120 capability, look at 4K 120Hz HDMI 2.1 monitors, and double-check the HDMI 2.1 bandwidth spec before buying.
For the best possible picture and motion handling, and if burn-in risk doesn’t bother you, OLED gaming monitors for PS5 are the current high end, though you’re paying a real premium for it.
None of this means the cheap option is wrong. If you mostly play story-driven single-player games at 30-60fps and sit a few feet from the screen, a plain 1080p or 1440p 60-75Hz monitor will look fine and save you real money, the upgrades above matter most once fast motion and high frame rates enter the picture.
