The latest generation of consoles from both Microsoft and Sony offer amazing gaming performance, reaching 120FPS at 4K in some games. Unfortunately, you cannot take advantage of this performance with any display, so you’re likely looking for a high-end monitor to pair with your console and make the most of it. In this article we’ll go through some of the specs you should look for when buying a monitor for your console.
Connectivity
(Image Credit: WePC)
The Xbox Series X and PS5 both take advantage of HDMI 2.1 to transmit their image at the highest quality possible, and only offer this port as a video output. While a monitor with HDMI 2.0 will in most cases still be compatible, it will be limited to 4K@60FPS, so you should look for one of the new monitors that offer HDMI 2.1 compatibility. Make sure to also use a cable that’s up to the HDMI 2.1 spec, as otherwise, you could limit your console and monitor’s performance.
Motion Performance
When you’re competing in fast paced games, your monitor shouldn’t prevent you from performing your best, so you should look for a monitor that offer the lowest input latency possible to ensure the video output is displayed immediately without any delay. This will ideally be a 1ms measurement using the monitor’s overdrive mode, but you can also find a few other features that will improve the monitor’s performance.
(Image Credit: Blur Busters)
Some high refresh rate monitors offer a motion blur reduction feature, often using backlight strobing as a blur reduction method. This feature allows the monitor to run with the best motion clarity possible, offering a significant benefit in fast-paced games. Each manufacturer’s implementation may be advertised under different names, and the quality may vary depending on their tuning and component choices. In some cases, like the Dough Spectrum, the blur reduction can be fully customized by each user, while presets are also offered.
Finally, for the Xbox Series X, you can look for a monitor that offers FreeSync compatibility. FreeSync is an adaptive synchronization technology that helps sync the content frame rate with the monitor’s refresh rate, reducing screen tearing and stuttering. The best FreeSync certification tier is currently FreeSync Premium Pro.
Color Performance
All new gaming consoles and media payback devices offer HDR, which will allow your content to be displayed with much better dynamic range, contrast, and color accuracy. If you plan to take advantage of this, you’ll need a compatible monitor, but we also recommend looking for a few specific features to ensure the best experience.
To get an image with the best dynamic range possible, you’ll want to find a monitor that offers a high peak brightness, which will be measured in nits or cd/m². Ideally, the monitor should also offer multiple backlight dimming zones, allowing the screen to turn off entirely in the areas that are displaying black, or dim in darker zones, making for a much better contrast ratio.
HDR uses DCI-P3 as its color space, so a monitor that offers as close to 100% coverage of this space as possible will be ideal, displaying an image that accurately represents the source.
The Dough Spectrum
The Dough Spectrum 4K@144Hz monitor is a perfect match for the latest gaming consoles. Thanks to its dual HDMI 2.1 ports, you can have both an Xbox Series X and PS5 connected at once, and switch between them with a single click of the monitor’s joystick. You’ll be at an advantage in competitive games thanks to it’s 1ms response time and backlight strobing tuned by Blur Busters, and you’ll never have to worry about screen tearing or stuttering thanks to its FreeSync Premium Pro certification.
It's VESA HDR600 certification is backed by a 750cd/m² peak brightness rating, 16-zone backlight, and 98% DCI-P3 coverage. We’re sure you’ll also make use of the extra community-requested features it offers like its integrated crosshair and frame rate counter.