The Best G-SYNC Monitors (2023 Reviews)

Even though you can now use FreeSync with NVIDIA cards, there are still upsides to utilizing your GeForce graphics card with a gaming display that has a dedicated G-SYNC module.

In comparison to FreeSync or G-SYNC Compatible monitors, G-SYNC displays have a special chip installed, which in addition to providing a wider variable refresh rate range, offers lower input lag and variable overdrive.

However, sometimes a G-SYNC Compatible monitor will be just as good as its G-SYNC counterpart, but at a much lower price.

Therefore, we’ve put together this buyer’s guide consisting only of the G-SYNC gaming monitors that are actually worth considering.

Make sure to also check out the alternatives we mention in the review summaries below as we’ll compare our G-SYNC model picks to cheaper adaptive-sync alternatives so that you can decide whether NVIDIA’s module is worth the extra cost yourself.

You can view our changelogs for this buying guide at the end of this guide.

About The Monitor

Want the best G-SYNC monitor for competitive gaming there is? The Dell Alienware AW2521H is for you!

Image Quality

Based on a 24.5″ 1080p IPS panel with an sRGB color gamut, a 400-nit peak brightness and a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, the Dell AW2521H offers the same viewing experience as the more affordable 144Hz and 240Hz models with these specifications.

So, you get accurate and consistent colors, wide viewing angles, a decent pixel density, and more than enough brightness even for well-lit rooms.

However, thanks to its rapid 360Hz refresh rate, it delivers the most responsive gaming experience possible, which is why competitive games will absolutely love it.

To a casual gamer though, the difference between 360Hz and 240Hz most likely won’t be worth $700, which is how much this display goes for – however, it’s often on sale for ~$400.

One of the reasons for such a high price is the G-SYNC module, but it ensures a buttery-smooth variable refresh rate and overdrive performance with no ghosting or overshoot across the entire refresh rate range. 

Features

Moving on, the Dell AW2521H offers plenty of extra gaming features, such as on-screen timers, various pre-calibrated picture modes and Dark Stabilizer for better visibility in darker games.

It also supports the NVIDIA ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur) backlight strobing technology, which works at 144Hz and 240Hz.

This technology further reduces motion blur, but it sacrifices picture brightness in the process, and it cannot be active at the same time as G-SYNC.

For more information, visit our Dell AW2521H review.

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the Dell AW2521H monitor offers full ergonomic support with up to 130mm height adjustment, +/- 20° swivel, -5°/21° tilt, 90° pivot and VESA mount compatibility.

Connectivity options include two HDMI 2.0 ports (limited to 240Hz), DisplayPort 1.4, a headphone jack, and a quad-USB 3.0 hub.

Alternatives

The Acer Nitro XV252QF is a 1080p 360Hz IPS gaming monitor with no dedicated G-SYNC module going for ~$500. It’s not certified as G-SYNC Compatible but offers stable VRR performance with both AMD and NVIDIA GPUs.

Moreover, its MBR implementation allows for backlight strobing all the way up to 360Hz – and even 390Hz when overclocked.

Since most competitive gamers don’t use variable refresh rate but rather play with uncapped FPS or with backlight strobing, we recommend checking out our Acer XV252QF review to find out which monitor is best for you.

About The Monitor

If you want a larger screen with a higher resolution, check out the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM.

Image Quality

Thanks to its QHD resolution of 2560×1440 pixels, you get the ideal pixel-per-inch ratio of 108 PPI on the 27″ viewable screen of the ASUS PG279QM.

As a result, you get plenty of screen real estate as well as crystal-clear details and text, without any scaling necessary.

Additionally, the monitor has a wide 99% Adobe RGB color gamut, which makes for vibrant and saturated colors (~150% sRGB).

There’s also an sRGB emulation mode that can restrict the monitor’s native gamut to ~100% sRGB for more accurate color output.

On top of that, the monitor’s peak brightness goes up to 550-nits for HDR content and there are 16 dimming zones that can dim parts of the image that need to be dark, without greatly affecting the bright areas.

Features

Other noteworthy gaming features include various picture presets, AuraSync RGB lighting, Dark Boost, on-screen timers and a refresh rate tracker.

Design & Connectivity

The stand boasts premium build quality and versatile ergonomics with up to 100mm height adjustment, +/- 25° swivel, 90° pivot, -5°/20° tilt, and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4, three HDMI 2.0 ports (limited to 144Hz), a headphone jack, two 2W built-in speakers and a dual-USB 3.0 hub.

Keep in mind that DisplayPort 1.4 is limited to 8-bit color at 240Hz. For 10-bit color, you’ll need to lower the refresh rate to 144Hz.

Luckily, the difference between 8-bit and 10-bit color is not really that noticeable in video games.

Alternatives

The ASUS PG279QM goes for around $900, which is really expensive. The Gigabyte M27Q-X is another 1440p 240Hz 1ms IPS gaming monitor that goes for only $500! It doesn’t have quite as wide color gamut or as good HDR image quality, and you need to manually adjust the overdrive according to your frame rate, but it generally offers much better value for money.

About The Monitor

In case you can afford something pricier, the ASUS ROG Swift PG32UQX offers an amazing HDR viewing experience as well as responsive gameplay.

Image Quality

The 4K resolution results in even sharper details on 32″ sized screens, but you will have to use scaling in order to make small items such as text readable.

What makes this gaming monitor so special though, is the 1152-zone mini LED full-array local dimming (FALD) solution.

Unlike the 16 edge-lit zones on the ASUS PG279QM, the ASUS PG32UQX has 1152 zones across the entire screen allowing for better dimming control.

On top of that, the monitor has a stellar 1600-nit peak brightness and covers 99% of Adobe RGB color space.

These things combined provide you with the true ‘HDR’ viewing experience with deep blacks, bright highlights, and vibrant colors.

Now, as there are 1152 dimming zones and over 8 million pixels, in certain scenes, some light may bleed into the surrounding zones creating a halo/bloom effect.

It’s usually not visible in games or movies, and it’s mostly negligible when it is.

It can mainly be annoying in regular desktop use (for instance, when moving a white cursor across a dark background), but you can simply disable local dimming when not playing games or watching videos.

Besides the lower refresh rate than that of the ASUS PG279QM, the ASUS PG32UQX also doesn’t have quite as fast pixel response time speed, so some minor ghosting might be detectable in some scenes, but it’s tolerable.

Features

In the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu of the monitor, you’ll find plenty of useful features, including pre-calibrated picture presets, on-screen timers and crosshair overlays, and RGB lighting adjustments.

Visit our ASUS PG32UQX review for more information.

Design & Connectivity

Due to the full-array local dimming solution, the bezels are a bit chunky, but the stand is well-built and fairly ergonomic with up to 70mm height adjustment, -5°/20° tilt, +/- 20° swivel and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC, three HDMI 2.0 ports, a headphone jack and a dual-USB 3.0 hub. There’s an extra USB 2.0 port at the top of the screen and a mounting socket for a webcam.

The HDMI 2.0 port on this monitor also supports 4K 120Hz with 4:2:0 color format for the Xbox Series X.

Alternatives

There are a lot of mini LED gaming monitors announced for 2022. You can check the full list here. All of them will offer better value for money than the PG32UQX as they feature similar specifications for over $1,000 less.

The AOC PD32M, for instance, also features an 1152-zone mini LED FALD backlight and DisplayHDR 1400 but with a faster IPS panel, FreeSync, HDMI 2.1 and USB-C (90W Power Delivery) for $1,800!

About The Monitor

Interested in an ultrawide display? Meet the Dell Alienware AW3821DW with a 144Hz refresh rate and a 38″ 3840×1600 IPS screen!

Image Quality

A 38″ 3840×1600 ultrawide gaming monitor provides you with a high pixel density of 110 PPI, which results in sharp details and plenty of screen space without the need to use scaling.

The ultrawide aspect ratio also offers a wider FOV (field of view) in compatible games, which results in a more immersive gaming and viewing experience.

The extra horizontal screen space is also great for productivity work and audio/video editing.

Further, the Dell AW3821DW has a high 600-nit peak brightness, a wide 95% DCI-P3 color gamut, 32 dimming zones and a 1,000:1 static contrast ratio.

Sadly, it doesn’t have an sRGB emulation mode. So, if you need accurate sRGB color output, you’ll need a colorimeter.

Features

Gaming features include Dark Stabilizer (for better visibility in darker games) and various pre-calibrated picture presets.

Visit our Dell AW3821DW review for more information.

Design & Connectivity

The stand is quite sturdy as well as versatile. You can elevate the screen by up to 130mm, swivel by +/- 20°, tilt by -5°/21°, or VESA mount it via the 100x100mm pattern.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.0 ports (limited to 85Hz), a quad-USB 3.0 hub and a headphone jack.

Alternatives

• Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 – A 49″ 5120×1440 240Hz 32:9 super-ultrawide gaming monitor based on a fast VA panel with a 2048-zone mini LED backlight. However, it doesn’t have a dedicated G-SYNC module, so VRR performance won’t be as smooth.

About The Monitor

The Dell Alienware AW3423DW features a QD-OLED panel with instantaneous pixel response time speed, an infinite contrast ratio, high peak brightness and an exceptional color gamut! The best part, it costs just as much as the 38″ AW3821DW model, making it a much more appealing product for most users.

Image Quality

OLED panels don’t need a backlight; instead, each pixel is self-emissive, resulting in true blacks, an infinite contrast ratio and nearly instant response time speed. So, there’s no backlight bleeding, glowing, haloing, ghosting or any other visual artifacts that can take away from the overall gaming and viewing experience!

The 3440×1440 resolution also isn’t very demanding on your CPU/GPU yet it looks great on 34″ sized screens due to the high pixel density of 110 PPI.

Now, the AW3423DW has peculiar RGB subpixels in a triangular layout, so some fringing can be observed on tiny text, but most users won’t be bothered by it. In games and videos, you won’t be able to notice it at all.

Another drawback of this QD-OLED panel is the risk of permanent image burn-in. However, if you’re playing varied content and make use of Dell’s integrated pixel/panel refresh burn-in prevention features, you won’t have any issues. In fact, Dell offers a three-year warranty that covers burn-in.

Moving on, the Dell AW3423DW has a wide color gamut, covering 99.3% DCI-P3 and 95% Adobe RGB color space for vibrant and rich colors. There’s also an sRGB emulation mode for better accuracy when viewing SDR content.

It also has a strong peak brightness, capable of reaching up to 1,000-nits for a 5% white window and 250-nits for a 100% white window.

Features

G-SYNC is supported up to 175Hz for tear-free gameplay, but there’s no MBR/ULMB support.

Other features include Dark Stabilizer, crosshair overlays, on-screen timers, various picture presets, a refresh rate tracker, a built-in sensor for automatic brightness adjustment and AlienFX RGB lighting.

Check out our full AW3423DW review for more information.

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is robust and versatile with up to 110mm height adjustment, -5°/21° tilt, +/- 5° slant, +/- 20° swivel and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

The screen has a moderate 1800R curvature and a semi-gloss finish that makes for more vibrant image quality than usual matte coatings, but it’s also reflective and can make blacks appear grayish under direct lighting.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.0 ports (max 100Hz), a headphone jack, line-out and a quad-USB 3.0 hub.

Alternatives

For $200 less, you can get the Dell AW3423DWF, which is the same monitor but without the G-SYNC module. It has both advantages and disadvantages, you can check our full review and comparison here.

Conclusion

That’s it! Did you find the best G-SYNC monitor for you? If not, leave us a question below!

Overall, you can’t go wrong with the Dell AW3423DW.

For competitive gamers out there, the Dell AW2521H (or the Acer XV252QF with FreeSync) is the obvious choice.

As for the other models, make sure you’ve checked out the alternatives we recommended – and if you find the premium features of G-SYNC worth the cost, go for the one you prefer.