MonitorArms.coMonitors Monitor Arms ⭑ #1 on Reddit with 3.7k votesan Amazon Associate, we earn from
qualifying purchases.
It has been some time since PlayStation 5 has been released, however due to global stock shortages, there are many users barely getting their console and setting up their gaming rigs.
In this article, first we will go over many things you need to be aware of when buying a monitor for PlayStation 5 and then we will review the best gaming monitors for the PlayStation 5 based on all the information.
PS5 Graphics and Technical Specs
Sony has a great page with a lot of details about the new PlayStation 5’s specs. We will use that information to narrow down best monitor options. Here are the main specs of the new PS5:
- CPU: AMD 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz
- GPU: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz with RDNA 2
- RAM: 16GB GDDR6
- Storage: 825GB SSD
- Expandable storage: NVMe SSD
- Optical drive: 4K Blu-ray drive
Additionally, Sony has released a technical talk on YouTube. Mark, their lead system architect, talks about new technologies and features coming to PS5.
Can PlayStation 5 Connect to Ultrawide Monitors?
As Ultrawide monitors are getting extremely popular for gaming, we expect that PlayStation 5 will no issue supporting 34-Inch, 38-Inch and 49-Inch ultrawide curved monitors.
However, recently there has been some debate about whether games will support ultrawide or not, as in some cases developers might just prefer to show black bars to avoid giving advantage to players using ultrawide monitors.
For example Valorant, Riot's latest big hit, even though It's currently only on PC, developers stated that, the game won't support ultrawide monitors with extended FOV (Field of View).
PlayStation 5 with 4K Monitors
4K resolution is 3840 × 2160 pixels and It started to appear on the market around 2015. Based on analysts reports, nearly %44 of the U.S. households have a 4K-capable TV already.
On the other hand, PS4 Pro has introduced support for 4K resolution years ago however there was a catch. It's performance was capped at 60 fps (frames per second). That's a deal break for most competitive gamers.
That's the reason, It is no surprise that Sony has the 4K support the front and center of PlayStation 5 with a higher refresh rate for competitive gaming in 4K resolution.
Make sure to enable 4K support on your PlayStation 5 by going to Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output. Sony also published a great guide about 4K resolution support on PlayStation 5
Does PlayStation 5 Support 1080p and 1440p Monitors?
Actually It is very interesting question to ask "If high performance gaming console supports a lower quality resolution?", but actually It is more complicated than you might think.
Interestingly, native resolution support is difficult to achieve and graphics units or gaming consoles can't be optimized for very many resolutions at the same time.
For PlayStation 5, the focus is all about the high resolution 4K support, and most TVs are either 1080p or 4K resolution. 1440p is mostly used for computer monitors, however 1440p is one of the most used widely adopted resolution for monitors.
Unfortunately PlayStation 5 doesn't natively support 1440p resolution. Sony has made announcement about future software upgrades to enable this however this hasn't happened in 2 last years. And we still don't know when PlayStation 5 will support 1440p resolution natively with a software update.
The fact that PS5 doesn't natively support 1440p resolution doesn't mean that It won't work with the monitors. It will display the picture however you will be getting 1080p output that is scaled to 1440p resolution which is not great at all.
In this case, If you aren't looking for a 4K monitor, we would highly suggest picking a lower resolution (1080p) monitor with probably higher refresh rate and lower response time and better price for the PlayStation 5.
Does PlayStation 5 Have 8K Resolution?
Currently 8K monitors are sold at very premium prices and due to that It’s not preferred by many consumers. However If we look at PS4 lifespan, It was released in late 2013, 7 years ago.
We can safely assume that during the lifespan of PlayStation 5, nearly 5-7 years, 8k monitor prices will become more affordable.
According to the PlayStation 5 specs and early hands-on reviews, we now know that PS5 is capable of supporting 8K high resolution TVs. However, the refresh rate is capped at 60Hz because of the cable technology.
Even though PlayStation 5 isn't targeted for 8K gaming, there are very credible leaks that are mentioning PlayStation 5 Pro with native 8K support with higher refresh rate and fps for competitive gaming. It is expected to be released at the end of 2023.
Why is the New HDMI 2.1 a Deal Breaker for PS5?
HDMI 2.1 is the newer version of industry standard HDMI 2 connection technology. It's all about the data transfer between the console and the monitor.
The more pixels displayed on the monitor, more data needs to be sent to the monitor. Two things that increase the data requirements are resolution and the refresh rate.
Resolution is how many pixels are in a frame, and the refresh rate is how many frames are sent to screen every second. Increasing one of them, increases the whole bandwidth required for the monitors
That is why in some cases, gamers sacrifice resolution in favor of getting more frames to the screen. The new HDMI 2.1 port is capable of transmitting 48.0 Gbits per second, which is enough to run 8K ultra HD monitor with 120Hz refresh rate.
PS4 and Xbox One only offers HDMI 1.4 which has a lot lower transition rate, while Xbox One X uses HDMI 2. It is officially confirmed that PS5 will feature the latest version of the HDMI standard. So this is definitely something to look forward to.
What's The Best Refresh Rate for PS5? 120Hz, 144Hz or 240Hz?
Covering 4K resolution support and going over the new HDMI connectivity brings us the second most important factor of gaming monitors, which is the refresh rate or fps (frames per second).
Very high-end gaming PCs are capable of producing high fps such as 240Hz, However PlayStation 5's maximum fps or refresh rate is 120Hz which should be more than enough for many gamers.
Refresh rate support is variable based on the resolution of the monitor so we have listed all the combinations bellow:
- 60Hz for 8K resolution
- 120Hz for 4K resolution (requires HDMI 2.1 monitor)
- 120Hz for 1440p resolution (non-native)
- 120Hz for 1080p resolution
It is important to note that 120Hz refresh rate with 4K resolution will require a monitor with HDMI 2.1 technology. For these reason, when picking a monitor for PlayStation 5, we don't see a need to pick a monitor with a higher refresh rate than 120Hz.
Additionally, to get 4K resolution with 120Hz refresh rate, you will need to enable the Performance Mode within the settings of PlayStation 5.
Does PS5 Use NVIDIA G-Sync or AMD FreeSync?
PlayStation 5 is obviously capable of delivering high refresh rate performance, however just having a high refresh rate monitor isn't the whole story in this case.
Refresh rate isn't a set number through out the gaming session, just like the fps (frames per second), It constantly fluctuates every millisecond based on what's displayed on the screen.
This variability is caused by many factors that can effect the performance, usually It doesn't cause big drops or spikes, but there is something important to pay attention to.
Due to these fluctuations, monitor and graphics cards manufacturers came up with a technology called variable refresh rate (VRR).
This technology enables graphics cards and the monitor to continuously sync their current refresh rate, so that the two pieces of hardware can work in sync.
And there are two mainstream implementation for this technology. G-Sync Technology from NVIDIA and the FreeSync Technology from AMD.
PlayStation 5 uses AMD CPU and Custom RDNA 2 architecture for the GPU, given these specs It is no surprise that AMD FreeSync capable monitors would be first choice for the PlayStation 5, However currently FreeSync isn't supported by PS5.
For additional details, make sure to check out this Reddit discussion about variable refresh rate and FreeSync support for the PS5.
Can You Connect PS5 To USB Type-C (USB-C) Monitor ?
With all these improvements to HDMI standard, there is another port that also started to gain adoption for monitors, and that is the new USB Type-C port.
Many productivity and business monitors already include USB-C and It's usually their primary connectivity method as users can connect and charge their laptops with a single cable.
Even though PlayStation 5 has USB-C ports in front of the console for connecting USB devices. PlayStation 5 doesn't support connecting a monitor through USB-C ports.
Given this, we suggest narrowing down the monitor options to ones with-out USB-C ports as those monitors are tend to be more expensive than HDMI ones, since they also include power supply as laptop charger.
Does PlayStation 5 Support HDR (High Dynamic Range)?
HDR is a feature that enables high contrast ratio visuals to be displayed on the monitor and PlayStation 5 supports HDR10.
However, If you look at the monitor specs, you will often notice that there are different versions or levels of HDR certifications.
Those different HDR versions, such as HDR 400 or HDR 1000, are all sub-levels of HDR 10, meaning that PlayStation 5 supports all of them.
On the other hand, each HDR level has a different quality of output, and the number after the HDR specifies the minimum peak luminance. For example, DisplayHDR 1400, has brightness of 1400 cd/m2.
In some cases, HDR support on PlayStation 5 might not be enabled by default, so make sure to enable the HDR support in settings by going to Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output > HDR.
And to adjust the HDR support in PlayStation 5 go to Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output > Adjust HDR.
Can You Connect PlayStation 5 With DisplayPort?
DisplayPort is a high bandwidth display connectivity that supports advanced features such as daisy chaining multiple monitors.
DisplayPort is a standard very common in computer monitors, almost all modern computer monitors have a DisplayPort but this isn't the case for TVs.
Given that gaming consoles have started with using TVs as a monitor, so far we haven't seen DisplayPort connectivity in PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro.
On the other hand, Sony wants PlayStation 5 to become part of the competitive game scene with It's high refresh rate capabilities and low latency, this is way many of us were thinking that DisplayPort can be a good option with It's high bandwidth.
However, we now know that Sony PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital does not have DisplayPort and only has HDMI video output.
Native DisplayPort connectivity might be missing from the new PlayStation but It is still possible to use the DisplayPort on the monitor to connect the PS5.
All that is necessary is one of these HDMI to DisplayPort adapters and monitor should work as It is.
What Are The Best Monitors For PS5?
Based on the technical aspect of the new PlayStation 5 gaming console and It's resolution and refresh rate support, we have reviewed some the best gaming monitors for PlayStation 5 that are on the market.
Alienware manufactures some of the top gaming monitors on the market, and this 25-Inch gaming monitor is no exception with It's incredible 240HZ refresh rate.
This monitor features a unique monitor stand design, and custom Gaming OSD to provide as much competitive advantage as possible to gamers.
more info
Watch Official Release
Our Highlights
Sceptre 24-Inch Gaming Monitor combines the best features gamers love in to a value package without any compromises.
It's panel has 1800R curvature and AMD FreeSync with anti-flickering technology to create an immersive gaming experience.
more infoOur Highlights
MSI Full HD Monitor is able to combine many features gamers desire in to a 32-Inch large monitor including super low response time and high refresh rate.
In addition to great technical specs, MSI 32-Inch gaming monitor comes with built-in RGB lighting on the back side of the panel which changes colors as well.
more infoWatch Official Release
Our Highlights
ASUS 28-Inch Gaming Monitor offers 4K gaming experience with incredible 1ms response time, great for games that offer detailed graphics.
It comes with 3-year manufacturer replacement warranty and FreeSync technology for variable refresh rates
more infoOur Highlights
Our Highlights
Our Highlights
Dell 27-Inch S-Series Monitor is one of the Dell's rare gaming monitors with rare overclocked 155Hz refresh rate.
It features QHD resolution with AMD FreeSync almost twice as many pixels than Full HD monitor.
more info
