Best Gaming TV 2024: The best TVs for gaming

You’ll still need to pay a fair amount for the privilege of an 8K TV, with the original RRP for this size of the QN900C starting at £5399 / $5499, but you do get outstanding gaming support.

We measured peak brightness up to 2260 nits on a 10% window, which is a good few hundred nits better than even the best OLED models for brightness such as the OLED65G3 can muster. We measured input lag at 10.5ms, which is slightly slower than Samsung’s 4K TVs, but you have to factor the TV is upscaling the image up to 8K resolution.

VRR, ALLM, 4K/120Hz are supported across all the HDMI inputs, with refresh rates up to 144Hz supported for PC gaming. Compatibility with AMD FreeSync VRR ensures a fast, responsive and improved picture performance with compatible games on a PC, while there’s uncertified Nvidia G-Sync gaming possible too.

Other gaming related functions include Game Bar, that gives users quick access to settings at the bottom of the screen. Game Motion Plus improves image quality at a hit to latency while PC gamers get features in the Super UltraWide Game View mode that widens games to a 21:9 or 32:9 aspect ratio that mirrors the type of performance you get from Samsung’s curved Odyssey Neo screens.

We found the picture performance to rival that of OLED in terms of deep, rich blacks. The brightness of the panel also allows for colourful, and wide-ranging HDR colours. The backlight isn’t perfect, there are still instances of blooming and haloing, but they are reduced compared to previous generations.

The OTS sound system offers a wide soundstage with impressively accurate positioning of sounds. Voices are clear, soundtracks come across as balanced and detailed, and it plays nicely with Dolby Atmos too.

Reviewer: John Archer
Full Review: Samsung QE75QN900C

Although we didn’t rate the OLED65C3 as a big step up on the OLED65C2 in terms of overall performance, it’s still a formidable gaming TV.

It carries HDMI 2.1 support across all its HDMI inputs, allowing it to output at full 4K/120Hz with compatible games on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. VRR and ALLM are supported, with PC Gamers benefiting from AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync and when it comes to input lag, we measured latency at 12.9ms.

The OLED65C3 also features very good picture quality thanks to its OLED Evo panel that produces strong contrast and perfect blacks, although we found the C3’s picture performance to not be quite as punch as other models. Features such as Dolby Vision Gaming help to increase the amount of detail visible in the brightest and darkest parts of the image for a more revealing picture.

The Game Optimiser menu customises the LG C3’s performance for whatever game you’re playing, whether it’s adjusting the latency or changing in-game brightness levels. The LG OLED65C3 also supports game streaming service such as Nvidia’s GeForce Now and Utomik, so you don’t even need a console or PC as long as you’re willing to pay a subscription fee.

When it comes to sound quality, we were disappointed by the OLED65C3’s speakers, which put in an underwhelming performance. While it’s clear and spacious with Dolby Atmos for a wider soundstage, audio lacks heft and power, so we’d suggest getting a separate dedicated soundbar.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: LG OLED65C3

The Samsung QN85C has dropped considerably since we first reviewed it with several hundred pounds/dollars chalked off the asking price to bring to where it’s now above £1000 / $1000. That’s an excellent deal for a TV of its skill.

It is the entry-level Neo QLED model in the 2023 TV range, and we don’t feel it sacrifices much in terms of performance to earn that status. It features a dedicated Game Hub that comes with cloud gaming options such as Xbox Game Pass and Utomik, and there’s also a Game bar that overlays on the screen to show the user all the vital info such as input lag, VRR performance and HDR.

We measured input lag at an impressive 9.4ms at 1080p resolution, which is one of the best out-of-the-box performances you can get. For a smoother picture, Game Motion Plus can be activated but we found input lag reduced to 25ms

HDMI 2.1 is supported across all the QN85C’s inputs with support for ALLM, VRR, and 4K/120Hz frame rates to get a top-tier performance from current-gen gaming consoles. There’s official support for AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro VRR technology and uncredited support for Nvidia G-Sync to get the best performance from PC gaming titles.

We found the QN85C really impressed as a gaming display. Our reviewer measured brightness at 1096 nits on a 10% window, which is more than enough to produce a bright, punchy, and colourful performance with the right settings. Playing Overwatch in 4K 120fps was a smooth and detailed performance, though we found you’ll need to manually activate HDR in the Game Picture Expert menu, setting Game HDR to on, and Basic. We found that when left off, the average picture level was overly bright.

We also found the audio quality to be extremely good for a flatscreen TV, painting a large soundstage and a good deal of panning across the front of the soundstage. We recommend giving the AI sound mode a wide berth as it can sound strident.

Reviewer: Steve May
Full review: Samsung QE65QN85C

If you’re gaming on a PS5, Sony’s own Bravia TVs serve as offering the best integration in terms of performance with a number of features that are exclusive to the TVs.

And from its 2023 range of TVs, the A80L is the set we’d currently recommend as the best option for PS5 owners. Those ‘exclusive’ features aren’t necessarily any different from what you’d find on other TVs, though. Auto Genre Picture mode is essentially ALLM, to automatically switch the TV in and out of its game-ready state so the A80L isn’t stuck in game mode all the time.

Auto HDR Tone Mapping enhances the HDR performance of the A80L’s screen for best brightness and contrast. Dolby Vision Gaming is not supported either by the PS5 or the A80L but 4K/120Hz and variable refresh rates (VRR) are, and they’re available across two HDMI 2.1 inputs (one of which is shared with the eARC port). We measured input lag at 16.4ms before VRR is applied, which is solid, but TVs such as the LG C2 can achieve a quicker performance out of the box.

The Sony A80L is short of other gaming features for PC gamers, so it’s not as versatile as the LG is. It also pitches itself as more of a home cinema telly, so once you’re done playing games on the PS5, you can enjoy the impressive picture and sound quality. While it’s not as bright as the LG C-series OLED, we found it to be a much more nuanced, and balanced image that produces a very natural look. Upscaling is also of very high quality, boosting detail and clarity while preserving the look of the source. Motion processing is excellent, smooth and with very few noted issues such as judder.

The sound quality is punchy, dynamic, and loud; good enough that we wouldn’t rush out for a new soundbar, though if you did, the likes of the HT-A5000 would be a good partner (if you have space for it). A cheaper option is Sony’s X85L LCD TV, but that doesn’t offer as good a picture or sound performance as the A80L.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Sony A80L