The Best Gaming TVs of 2025

I’ve been a gamer for as long as I can remember, and over the years, I’ve watched in awe as video games have evolved from simple 8-bit side-scrollers to massive 3D open-world adventures. But as video games have grown more advanced, so too have the TVs needed to display them in all their glory. The best gaming TVs are a far cry from the tiny tube TVs of yesteryear. Top models now feature high-resolution 4K screens, bright HDR images, and fast refresh rates capable of buttery smooth motion.

Certain display features are essential if you want to get the most out of a modern console or PC. With that in mind, I’ve used my expertise as a professional TV reviewer to test the best gaming TVs for different budgets. The Samsung S90D earns my highest recommendation for most needs. This midrange OLED TV offers impressive image quality, low input lag, wide viewing angles, and access to Xbox Game Pass streaming. For gamers on a budget, I recommend the less expensive TCL QM6K, which is one of the most affordable TVs available with a high 144Hz refresh rate.

All of my picks for the best gaming TVs have HDMI 2.1 support, which enables advanced features when paired with a PS5, Xbox, Switch 2, or PC. If you’re unfamiliar with key gaming specifications and terminology, you can learn more in the FAQ section of this guide.

Our top picks for the best gaming TVs

Best overall: Samsung S90D – See at Amazon

Best budget: TCL QM6K – See at Amazon

Best anti-glare: Samsung S95D – See at Amazon

Best high-end: LG G5 – See at Amazon

Best overall

The Samsung S90D is the best gaming TV overall. This midrange OLED balances price and performance better than any other TV in its class, offering all the essentials gamers need for a great experience.

With HDMI 2.1 support on all four of the TV’s ports, the S90D offers plenty of connections capable of unlocking the full capabilities of modern gaming consoles. This set offers all of the key features a gaming TV should have: VRR, ALLM, a fast response time, and a refresh rate of up to 144Hz. When paired with sources that can take advantage of those perks, the results are smooth gameplay without any troublesome stuttering, tearing, flickering, blurring, or input lag.

In addition, the S90D simply offers fantastic image quality, enabling gorgeous colors, sharp detail, and perfect black levels. Thanks to the TV’s OLED panel, the S90D has an infinite contrast ratio. This means the set can control its light output on a pixel level, which prevents uneven patches of brightness, blooming, and other backlight issues that often pop up on QLED and LED TVs. Instead, the S90D is able to produce inky black levels that disappear into a dark room and pinpoint highlights that pop from the screen.

Unlike similarly priced LG OLEDs, the S90D also benefits from a color technology called quantum dots. This feature allows the TV to produce a brighter image while maintaining rich saturation at high luminance. On an industry-standard test pattern, I measured a peak of about 1,240 nits, which is excellent for an OLED in this price range. This allows games to deliver more impact when played in HDR (high dynamic range), with more intense contrast. However, it’s important to note that only the 55-, 65-, and 77-inch versions of the S90D have quantum dots. The other sizes use a regular WOLED panel, so they can’t get quite as bright.

I also love the S90D’s viewing angles, which are wide with barely any loss of quality when you sit at an angle. This is great for gamers who have to sit off-center from their TV, or for local multiplayer matches where you have friends seated around the room.

Samsung TVs like the S90D also stand out for their robust cloud gaming support. Samsung’s Tizen smart TV interface includes a dedicated gaming hub with access to apps like Xbox Game Pass, Nvidia GeForce Now, and Amazon Luna. These paid services allow you to play games via streaming without a console or PC. All you need is a Bluetooth gamepad, and you’re good to go. That said, cloud gaming performance is highly dependent on your internet speed and connection strength, and I’ve found these services are best for casual titles rather than blockbuster releases.

Buyers should note that Samsung also sells a 2025 version of this TV, the S90F. The newer model can get a bit brighter but otherwise offers very similar performance. Since the S90D can still be found for less money, it remains the better value. You can learn more in our Samsung S90F 4K TV review.

Visit our guides to all of the best TVs and the best Samsung TVs.

Best budget

TCL’s QM6K QLED TV offers a full suite of advanced gaming features at a budget-friendly price. The 65-inch model is often on sale for $650 or less, making it one of the cheapest 144Hz TVs on the market.

Like all of my best gaming TV picks, the QM6K has full HDMI 2.1 support with VRR and ALLM. But this set only supports HDMI 2.1 via two of its four HDMI ports, so it’s not quite as stacked when it comes to connectivity as pricier options from Samsung and LG.

Still, given its relatively low cost, the QM6K punches way above its class. The set can enable 4K/120Hz support on a PS5 or Xbox Series X and can even display 4K/144Hz with a PC. Those capabilities are rare to find on a TV in this tier, and they enable smoother motion when paired with compatible sources.

The QM6K uses a QLED screen with a Mini LED backlight. This means the TV has narrower viewing angles and lower contrast than that of an OLED. However, the QM6K still performs quite well for a display of this type. It has local dimming to adjust its backlight across multiple zones, which enables solid black levels and minimal blooming. Black levels don’t disappear into a dark room the way they do on an OLED, but the QM6K does a good job of minimizing uneven patches of brightness.

That said, the QM6K is notably dimmer than pricier TVs. During my review, I measured 557 nits on a 10% HDR test pattern and 736 nits on a 50% test pattern. Those aren’t bad numbers for a budget-friendly HDR TV, but they’re under the 1,000-nit mark that most HDR content is mastered for. This means bright HDR games won’t look quite as punchy and impactful as they would on TVs with higher luminance. Likewise, QLED TVs like the QM6K have slower response times than OLED TVs, which causes games to look a bit blurrier in motion.

But even with those limitations, I was still impressed with the QM6K’s colorful images while swinging around New York City in “Marvel’s Spider-Man” on PS5 with VRR and 120Hz enabled. The picture is a bit duller and not quite as sharp as I’ve seen on more expensive sets, but that’s to be expected given the price difference.

For smart TV navigation, the QM6K uses the Google TV interface, which is one of my favorites thanks to its intuitive design and seamless integration with Google services. On the downside, though, Google TV does not have built-in access to the Xbox or Luna app, but it does support Nvidia GeForce Now.

Read our TCL QM6K 4K TV review.

Visit our guide to all of the best TCL TVs.

Best anti-glare

The Samsung S95D OLED stands out from every other TV in this guide thanks to its unique matte screen. Most competing TVs use a glossy panel, which is great at preserving contrast but not so great at reducing reflections. But the S95D’s matte coating nearly eliminates troublesome glare, which makes it the best gaming TV for people who struggle with lots of ambient light in their room.

While testing the S95D in a bright living room setting, I didn’t see any of the typical mirror-like reflections that glossy TVs are plagued by. It also helps that the S95D is exceptionally bright for an OLED TV. With the TV set in its most accurate mode, I measured a peak of around 1,700 nits, which gives HDR games a rich, bold sheen. And like the S90D, this model uses quantum dots to enhance its colors.

Beyond its brightness and anti-reflective screen, the S95D supports all the usual suspects gamers look for, including HDMI 2.1 support with VRR, ALLM, and 4K/144Hz on all four ports. Likewise, the TV’s Tizen operating system has a dedicated gaming menu and integrated access to cloud streaming services, including the Xbox app.

However, as impressive as the S95D is, the display’s matte screen does have one negative side effect that users should be aware of. The anti-glare filter disperses light in such a way that it causes black levels to look a bit hazy and elevated when viewing dark scenes in a bright room. Black levels still look nice and inky with the lights off, but perceived contrast takes a hit when light scatters on the screen.

I don’t consider this a big deal for gaming during the day, but it is more noticeable when watching certain movies and TV shows in a bright room. Ultimately, whether you prioritize minimizing reflections over getting deep black levels comes down to your viewing needs. But if glare is a constant headache in your room, the S95D’s slight loss in contrast is likely an acceptable tradeoff.

Samsung also sells a 2025 version of this TV called the S95F OLED, which has a similar matte screen, an even brighter picture, and a faster 165Hz refresh rate. If you’re a big enthusiast willing to pay a bit more, the S95F is a better TV, but I think most gamers will be satisfied with the cheaper S95D while it remains in stock.

Check out our Samsung S95D 4K TV review and our Samsung S95F 4K TV review.

Visit our guide to all of the best 4K TVs.

Best high-end

LG’s G5 is one of the best gaming TVs for premium image quality. Though all of the TVs in this guide deliver a good picture, the G5 is a step above. Of course, it has an equally high price tag to match its high-end performance.

Like the Samsung OLED TVs I recommend, the G5 has an infinite contrast ratio, wide viewing angles, and support for HDMI 2.1 on all four of its ports. This enables VRR, ALLM, and 4K gaming at up to 120Hz with a PS5 or Xbox Series X. But while those other Samsung TVs max out at a refresh rate of 144Hz, the G5 can support up to 4K/165Hz. This is only beneficial for PC gamers with systems powerful enough to play games at frame rates higher than 144 FPS, but it’s a cool perk for those who can take advantage of it.

The other key area where the G5 shines (literally) is peak brightness. In fact, this is the brightest OLED TV I’ve tested. Though the G5 doesn’t use quantum dots like Samsung’s OLEDs, it uses a four-stack OLED panel design to achieve a similar boost in luminance. During my review, I measured a peak of around 2,400 nits. When coupled with the TV’s pixel-level contrast, this high brightness enables some of the most impressive HDR performance I’ve seen.

While playing various titles like “Cyberpunk 2077,” “The Last of Us Part 1,” “Spider-Man,” “No Man’s Sky,” “Dragon’s Dogma 2,” and “Baldur’s Gate 3,” I was floored by the G5’s excellent image quality, with sharp textures, vibrant colors, and bold highlights. Using a PS5 with 120Hz enabled, the TV offered smooth motion, and I didn’t encounter any ghosting or flicker when playing VRR-compatible games.

When the G5 first launched in the spring, the TV suffered from issues with false contouring and posterization when displaying certain types of HDR content, including some games. This resulted in some gradations of colors looking blocky rather than smooth, particularly in skies and light sources when playing certain titles. I never ran into any egregious instances of false contouring during my testing, but those worried about the issue will be happy to hear that LG has since released a firmware update to correct it. No TV’s picture performance is perfect, but the G5’s image quality gets about as close as I’ve seen.

The G5 uses LG’s webOS smart TV interface, and this platform is solid. I don’t love how the homepage highlights shopping recommendations by default, but it offers access to all the best streaming services, and there’s a dedicated gaming section with cloud streaming apps. Most notably, LG is the only TV brand other than Samsung that supports the Xbox app through its smart TV system.

The TV also stands out with its elegant design and thin profile. It includes a wall mount that lets you hang it with virtually no gap. On the downside, the G5 doesn’t actually come with a traditional pedestal stand, so if you can’t mount the display, you’ll need to buy a TV stand separately.

Read our LG G5 4K TV review.

Visit our guide to all of the best LG TVs and the best OLED TVs.

How we test gaming TVs

To find the best gaming TVs, our team of experts reviewed several top models using a testing methodology informed by more than a decade of experience covering home entertainment products.

To narrow our selection down, we focused on TVs that support important gaming-specific features, including HDMI 2.1 capabilities. We evaluated image quality, motion, and lag while gaming using various systems, including a PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. Tests involving 120Hz output and VRR performance were primarily conducted using a PS5 with compatible titles.

In addition to gaming-related functions, we also assess overall picture performance, smart TV capabilities, and general value. After all, a great gaming TV should also be a great all-around TV for various uses.

To measure peak brightness and color, we use meters and industry-standard test patterns. We also use a selection of demo clips to evaluate picture elements like contrast control, HDR highlights, color smoothness, and upscaling. In addition to specific tests, we live with each TV we review for several weeks, using it on a day-to-day basis as we would any TV we own. This allows us to spot glitches that might otherwise be missed.

Gaming TV FAQs

What features should you look for in a gaming TV?

High refresh rate – TVs with high refresh rates can present smoother motion when playing video games that support high frame rates. Entry-level TVs have 60Hz screens, which are enough to display games at 60 frames per second (FPS). However, some PS5 and Xbox Series X games are capable of rendering at higher frame rates, with both consoles supporting an output of up to 4K at 120Hz. So, to take full advantage of their capabilities, you need a 4K TV with a 120Hz refresh rate.

All of the best gaming TVs in this guide support at least 120Hz, and some models even support 144Hz and 165Hz. Those latter refresh rates are only beneficial if you have a powerful gaming PC that can render games at frame rates above 120 FPS.

Variable refresh rate (VRR) – In addition to a high refresh rate, it’s also beneficial to get a gaming TV that supports a variable refresh rate. This means that the TV can adjust its refresh rate to match shifting frame rates while you’re playing a game. This results in reduced stuttering and screen tearing, which can otherwise occur when frame rates fluctuate during gameplay.

Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) – All of the best gaming TVs feature a specific gaming mode that provides lower latency, so there’s less of a delay between gaming inputs and what you see on screen. If a TV also supports ALLM, it will automatically recognize gaming sources over HDMI and switch to this mode, so you don’t have to do anything manually.

Gaming bar menu – Many TV brands have a dedicated gaming pop-up menu that can be toggled on their TVs when they’re connected to a gaming source. These handy menus offer convenient access to gaming-specific features and a quick view of gaming-related display details, including the current resolution and frame rate. All of our picks for the best gaming TVs have this feature.

Cloud streaming – Some TVs now include built-in access to cloud gaming services, like Xbox Game Pass, Nvidia GeForce Now, and Amazon Luna. These services allow members to play games via streaming without needing a console or PC. LG and Samsung both offer the most robust support for these services.

Are QLEDs or OLEDs better for gaming?

QLED TVs and OLED TVs both have pros and cons regarding gaming performance, so which is best depends on your specific needs.

OLED TVs provide the best contrast, black levels, and viewing angles, all of which contribute to the most impressive overall image quality. This type of display is also known for having very low input lag, which ensures that the TV’s video signal responds quickly when you press buttons on your gamepad. Top OLED TVs are also capable of delivering great brightness, but midrange OLEDs tend to be dimmer than midrange QLED TVs.

OLED TVs are also technically susceptible to burn-in, which can cause static images to get permanently stuck on the screen. However, burn-in is rare, and OLED TVs have unique features designed to prevent it, including pixel-shift modes and logo dimmers. In general, those with typical viewing habits shouldn’t worry about burn-in.

QLED TVs, on the other hand, present no risk for burn-in. That said, QLED TVs can’t control their contrast as precisely as OLEDs, which can lead to inconsistencies in black levels and patchy brightness. Top QLED TVs with advanced local dimming can greatly reduce those issues, but even the most expensive QLED displays can’t quite match the infinite contrast ratio of an OLED. Likewise, QLED TVs typically have slower response times than OLEDs, which can cause some games to look blurrier in motion than they do on OLED TVs.

On the plus side, top QLED models can get brighter than even the most advanced OLED TVs. This can make high-end QLED TVs a better fit for people who game in rooms with lots of windows and ambient light.

For more details about the benefits and drawbacks of different display types, visit our QLED vs. OLED comparison.

Should you use the HGiG setting when playing HDR games?

Yes, if your TV supports HGiG or a similar function, you should use it when playing HDR video games.

HGiG is a gaming setting on some TVs. If selected, it disables the TV’s tone-mapping when displaying high-dynamic-range (HDR) video games. Deactivating tone-mapping is essential if you want to get an accurate HDR image with a PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or Nintendo Switch 2. With tone mapping off, you can use each console’s HDR setup wizard to properly adjust contrast levels to match your TV’s capabilities. If tone mapping were left on, these setup wizards would not work correctly, resulting in an image that’s too bright or too dark.

LG and TCL specifically label this setting as “HGiG,” but other TV manufacturers have similar functions under different names. For instance, you can deactivate tone mapping by changing the Game HDR setting to Basic on a Samsung TV.

What is HDMI 2.1?

HDMI 2.1 is a standard for transmitting digital video and audio. The best gaming TVs all feature HDMI 2.1 inputs, and many gaming devices feature HDMI 2.1 outputs. The HDMI 2.1 specification offers a bandwidth of up to 48Gbps and is required to enable full support for gaming features like VRR, ALLM, and 4K at 120, 144, or 165Hz.

What cables do you need to get 4K/120Hz?

You need an Ultra High Speed HDMI cable to send and receive 4K/120Hz signals. These cables are rated for a bandwidth of 48Gbps, which is enough to send the data needed to display 4K/120Hz video properly. For cable recommendations, check out our guide to the best HDMI cables.

What size gaming TV is best?

The best gaming TVs are all available in various sizes, with the most common options being 55, 65, and 77 inches. Some models, like the LG G5 and TCL QM6K, are also available in larger 83-, 85-, 97-, or 98-inch sizes. Meanwhile, other models, like the Samsung S90D, are also made in smaller 50-, 48-, 43-, or 42-inch sizes.

Which is best for you depends on your room’s size and your budget. Generally speaking, larger TVs cost more than smaller versions of the same model. If you have the funds and space to work with, bigger TVs offer the most immersive experience. On the other hand, smaller gaming TVs can also work well as computer monitors.

For size-specific display recommendations, check out our additional TV buying guides: