Mistakes When Buying a Gaming Monitor

Anyone who loves games – whether it’s someone just starting out or a hardcore gamer with hundreds of games in their Steam library – owes it to themselves to buy the best gaming monitor for them. What constitutes the “best” can vary from person to person, but what constitutes the “worst” is universal.

There are some tips that you should keep in mind when picking up a brand new gaming monitor for your setup. We’ve put together a list of 5 of the most important mistakes to avoid when buying a gaming monitor. 

 

 

As you’ve no doubt discovered if you’ve tried to buy a gaming monitor, there are hundreds of choices out there. A gaming monitor is just like any other piece of technology. Lots of different people are creating lots of different models.

There are advanced models and budget models and 4K models and it’s all so very confusing. That’s why it’s so important that you know what to avoid when buying a gaming monitor as well as what to look for when buying a gaming monitor. Without further ado, let’s dive in. 

 

Mistake #1: Not Planning Ahead Buying a Gaming Monitor

It’s a universal truth that technology is rapidly expanding. It really is. It’s called “Moore’s Law” which states that computers double in speed every two years. Not every technology buff likes the term but most of them accept that Moore wasn’t too far off the point when e came up with that. 

What that means for buying a monitor is that you have to have a thought for the future when buying a monitor for the present. If you simply purchase a monitor without thinking about it – and considering what the future might bring – then you could easily regret it.

Computer games themselves are becoming more and more advanced. That’s why you need to buy a monitor that will last for several years and handle the kind of graphics the games of tomorrow will pump out. 

 

Mistake #2: Investing in Unnecessary and Unwanted Features 

If all you want out of a monitor is to play games on it then you shouldn’t invest extra money in features that you don’t want or really need. If you have a monitor for multiple uses and not just gaming, then that’s kind of a mistake.

You want to buy a monitor just for gaming. That means buying one with the right features to get the most out of the monitor and the games you play on it. 

Given that a gaming monitor might not be the best for everyday use, it is worth considering investing in a separate monitor for other things. More general monitors are pretty cheap and shouldn’t set you back too much. 

 

Mistake #3: Judging a Monitor by Its Looks 

This is one of the most common mistakes when buying a gaming monitor. People who aren’t used to buying a monitor for gaming and aren’t sure what to look for are more likely to choose the one that looks the best. That’s a mistake that you want to avoid. 

A gaming monitor is more about what the monitor can do than what it looks like. There are some really impressive looking monitors out there, of course. They have incredible features that may be worth the investment.

With that said, you should focus on features before you buy a monitor based on what it looks like. If you find two monitors that have the specs you need then you could go with the more attractive one. Given the potential cost of getting a gaming monitor, it makes sense to focus on getting the bare essentials first. 

 

Mistake #4: Getting a Wrong Size Monitor 

There’s a lot of choices out there when it comes to monitors and what you need from them. There’s a lot to consider about those monitors, including their actual size. You need to choose the right size monitor for your needs.

That means taking note of not just what you want from a game and monitor, but how much space you have one your desk as well. You don’t want to lug a 30-inch monitor home with you and then realize you don’t have the room for it. 

Monitor size is more important for gaming than some people realize. A big monitor means that you can get more out of your games, of course, but it also means stretching your computer and graphics card to the limit.

Bigger monitors can also be more limited in their refresh rate. The gold standard for gaming is 27 inches. It offers the ideal mixture of input lag, refresh rate, and desktop resolution. One of the best that combines it all is the latest gaming monitor by LG, the 27gl850g-B. You can read a full review of the LG 27gl850g-b on Techimperatives.com.

 

Mistake #5: Not Enough Connection Ports 

Monitors can be – and have to be – connected to a lot of other devices. That means finding a monitor that has enough connection ports for you to use. This is especially important in gaming where you need to hook things up to the monitor for best performance.

Things like speakers work much better when connected to the monitor instead of the computer tower. As well as finding a monitor that has a good few USB ports on it, you need to find one that offers HDMI input.

HDMI is becoming the standard for gaming. Every gaming console these days connects to a TV via HDMI cable. USB-C and HDMI are becoming more common in PC gaming too and you need to be prepared for it. 

 

Summary

These are some of the most common mistakes people make when buying a gaming monitor.

Keep them in mind when you go shopping for your next monitor and you’ll be able to make the kind of informed decision that allows you to choose the very best monitor for computer gaming.