Best TV for gaming: Top televisions for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and every other console

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have ushered in an era of graphical console power unlike anything we’ve seen before. If you want to experience the thrill of 4K gaming at silky smooth 120Hz refresh rates, then you’ll want the biggest and best TV for gaming that you can physically fit through your front door.

If you’re yet to upgrade to a current-gen console, now is still a great time to look into levelling up your gaming TV. The PS4 and Xbox One X are capable of outputting 4K and HDR content, and top-notch 4K HDR TVs with gaming-friendly features are getting more and more affordable each year.

To help you choose the right one, we’ve put together a list of the best TVs for gaming we’ve tested. No matter your budget, our favourite TVs range from affordable models which are perfect for the bedroom through to flagship TVs using cutting-edge display technology. Underneath all that, we’ve got a buying guide to take you through all you need to know before you make a purchase.

How we test gaming TVs

All of the televisions listed below have had their SDR and HDR performance tested using a calibrator, pattern generator and the Portrait Displays Calman colour calibration software.

Input lag is tested using a Leo Bodnar Video Signal Lag Tester and we use the TVs we test extensively in real-world conditions – watching films, playing games etc. – to see how they measure up.

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The best TVs for gaming you can buy

1. LG C4 OLED: Best gaming TV for most people

Price when reviewed: From £849 (42in) | Check price at Amazon

The C4 offers everything you need for current-gen gaming. Its OLED panel delivers excellent picture quality, each of its four HDMI ports is of the 2.1 specification, supports refresh rates of up to 144Hz, ALLM and VRR, and input lag is lightning fast. Meanwhile, LG’s Game Optimizer mode provides access to a great selection of ways to customise your gaming experience.

It’s also available in a wide range of screen sizes, making it a great pick for a wide range of gamers. Those looking for a monitor replacement will be drawn to the compact 42in and 48in models, while people in search of a TV to place at the heart of their living room and watch films on as well as play games on will naturally gravitate towards the larger options.

Read our full LG C4 review

2. TCL C745: Best-value TV for current-gen gaming

Price when reviewed: From £575 (55in) | Check price at AO

The TCL C745 offers every gaming enhancement option imaginable and does so at an incredibly competitive price. Its quantum dot LED panel supports VRR up to 144Hz when connected to a PC and handles 4K@120Hz on next-gen consoles without breaking a sweat. Input lag in Game mode is extremely low and this, combined with effective local dimming and decent contrast ensures a smooth and easy-on-the-eye gaming experience.

TCL’s pop-up gaming hub provides key information on the TV’s gaming status, including frame rate data and whether ALLM and VRR are on, while also allowing users to easily take screenshots, adjust the shadow levels and even engage an aim assist for shooters.

If you can stretch your budget a little further, the TCL C845 offers better picture performance thanks to its brighter Mini LED backlight, but if funds are tight, the C745 is the best gaming TV available at its price point.

Read our full TCL C745 review

3. Sony A80L: Perfect for PlayStation

Price when reviewed: From £1,299 (55in) | Check price at Amazon

We were big fans of both the Sony A80J and A80K and the 2023 model continues where its predecessors left off, delivering a combination of premium design, impressive SDR and HDR images and fantastic picture processing.

Sony is the manufacturer of the PlayStation 5 and few OLEDs are a better companion for that console than the A80 series. A pair of HDMI 2.1 ports facilitate 4K gaming at 120Hz and there are two “Perfect for PlayStation” features supported: Auto HDR Tone Mapping optimises HDR settings when you first connect your console, while Auto Genre Picture Mode detects whether you’re using your PlayStation for gaming or streaming and switches picture modes accordingly.

Sound quality is first-rate too, with Sony’s Acoustic Surface Pro+ technology transforming the TV’s panel into a centre audio channel with great success. Google Assistant is built-in, one of the many perks of the Google TV operating system that features all the key streaming applications like YouTube, Disney+, Prime Video and Netflix.

Read our full Sony A80L review

4. Samsung QN95D: Best Mini LED TV for gaming

Price when reviewed: From £1,099 (55in) | Check price at Amazon

The QN95D’s quantum dot-powered Mini LED panel is free from the risk of OLED screen burn and has an exceptional roster of gaming features at its disposal. Samsung’s Motion Xcelerator Turbo Pro enables PC gamers to enjoy 4K gaming at 144Hz, there’s support for FreeSync Premium Pro and ALLM, and input lag in the dedicated Game mode is pleasingly low. Samsung’s Game Bar functionality allows you to quickly view technical data and adjust settings, while its AI Auto Mode can be engaged to automatically optimise picture settings based on the type of gaming you’re playing.

Picture and sound quality are first-rate, too. The QN95D hits very impressive levels of brightness and covers a huge gamut of colours accurately while the in-built 4.2.2-channel audio system works in combination with Samsung’s Object Tracking Sound Plus technology to deliver an immersive sonic experience that lends itself perfectly to gaming.

Read our full Samsung QN95D review 

5. Philips OLED809: Best Ambilight gaming TV

Price when reviewed: From £999 (42in) | Check price at Amazon

Ambilight technology helps Philips TVs stand out in a crowded market and enables the OLED809 to deliver a unique gaming experience. LEDs built into three sides of the panel illuminate the wall behind the TV and change colour according to what’s on the screen. This enhances gaming immersion considerably but the LEDs can also be set to neutral white to act as a bias light, improving contrast and making viewing in darker rooms more comfortable.

Ambilight aside, the OLED809 delivers outstanding picture quality and supports VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision HDR gaming across two of its four HDMI ports. Tone mapping can be a little aggressive when gaming in HDR and the the sound produced by the OLED809’s speakers could do with being a little louder at maximum volume but this TV offers a unique and joyous gaming experience overall.

Read our full Philips OLED809 review

6. LG G4 OLED: Best gaming TV for wall mounting

Price when reviewed: From £1,899 (55in) | Check price at Currys

Most, if not all, of the TVs on this list can be wall-mounted, but the LG G4 was specifically designed with that purpose in mind and looks incredible when installed on a wall. It’s got all the specs necessary to thrive as a gaming TV, too. Its refresh rate is as good as it gets, input lag is low, there’s support for every key current-gen gaming feature and LG’s proprietary game-enhancement options are the icing on the cake.

The G4 is as attractive to home cinema fans as it is to gamers. The panel’s blazing brightness is a wonder to behold, blacks are deeper than deep and there’s very little judder evident when handling fast-moving content. If you like the look of the G4 but don’t fancy wall-mounting it, LG sells an alternative version that comes with a stand in the box, which is the model we reviewed.

Read our full LG G4 OLED review

7. Samsung QN900D: Best 8K TV for gaming

Price when reviewed: From £2,888 (65in) | Check price at Amazon

There may not be much native 8K resolution content available, but the QN900D will ensure you’re futureproofed for years to come. Its highly advanced panel has a quantum dot layer illuminated by a Mini LED backlight and this can deliver some of the most detailed images we’ve ever seen from a consumer TV.

Every gaming feature imaginable is supported, including FreeSync Premium, Samsung’s Motion Xcelerator Turbo Pro 144Hz, 4K@120HZ and ALLM. Input lag is minimal, motion handling is first-rate, and those who like to tinker will find the Samsung Game Bar both handy and very easy to use. The true power of the QN900D remains untapped until 8K games become the norm, but this a TV that’s ready for whatever the future holds.

Read our full Samsung QN900D review

8. TCL C855K: Best huge-screen TV for gaming

Price when reviewed: From £2,218 (85in) | Check price at Amazon

If you’re the type of gamer who believes bigger is definitely better, the TCL C855K is the gaming television for you. It can be picked up in a variety of sizes – all of which are very aggressively priced – but we’d encourage you to strongly consider the 85in model (if you’ve got the room for it). It’s crammed full of state-of-the-art gaming features and gaming on a panel that big is supremely immersive.

Dolby Vision Game mode is present and correct alongside support for all of the major HDR formats, and TCL’s Game Bar provides useful functionality such as being able to view frame data, take screenshots, adjust the level of shadow detail and toggle an on-screen aiming aid. Input lag of course varies across the various picture modes but can go as low as 6ms, which is very rapid and more than quick enough for anything other than competitive fast-twitch shooters.

Read our full TCL C855K review

How to choose the best TV for gaming for you

There are numerous factors to consider when buying a TV for gaming. Below, we’ll break down the key things to think about before making a purchase.

What type of TV panel is best for gaming?

There are two main types of modern TV panel – those that have a liquid-crystal display illuminated by light-emitting diodes (LCD LED) and those that use self-emissive organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). Both have pros and cons so which you choose will ultimately come down to your budget and which performance aspects you deem most important.

LCD LED: These are generally the cheaper option but tend to be bulkier as they require a backlight to illuminate the liquid crystals in their panel. This backlight allows LCD TVs to achieve higher peak brightness than OLEDs but comes at the cost of energy efficiency.

You’ll find a few LCD TV variants, all of which use an LED backlight. Quantum Dot LED TVs feature a layer of microscopic quantum dots that emit colour in reaction to light, enabling the panel to reach higher levels of peak brightness than normal LED panels. Similarly, LG’s NanoCell TVs add a layer of nanoparticles to filter out unwanted light wavelengths to improve the purity of certain colours.

In 2021, we started to see Mini LED TVs come to market. These use LEDs about one-fortieth the size of regular LEDs, enabling more of them to be squeezed into a panel of the same size. The increased number of LEDs allows for greater control over local dimming, which in turn results in better black levels, contrast and peak brightness.

Quantum Dot, Mini LED and NanoCell aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, premium LCD TVs like LG’s QNED90 incorporate all three technologies.

OLED: OLED panels use an organic material that emits light when a current is passed through it. Each pixel acts as its own light source, and pixels can also turn off completely to achieve perfect black. This means that OLEDs can achieve superior contrast compared to their LCD counterparts. They also offer better viewing angles, more vivid colours and are thinner and lighter. However, they cost a fair bit more than most of their LCD LED options.

OLEDs also run the risk of incurring permanent image burn-in. This happens when certain LEDs in a display are used more regularly than others and become dimmer faster, resulting in a “ghost image” that persists on the screen no matter what you’re watching

Burn-in only occurs when an image stays on the same part of the screen for long periods of time – we’re talking many hundreds of hours. In normal use, it shouldn’t be a concern, but if you don’t want to take the risk, you’re better off with an LCD option

What gaming-specific features should I look out for?

In recent years, we’ve started to see mid-range and premium televisions adding support for a number of exciting “next-gen” gaming features, and they’re well worth knowing about if you want to get the best out of your new console or high-end PC. Some of these are only available if your TV has an HDMI 2.1 port that supports them, which is why those ports are so sought after by gamers.

VRR: Unlike films and TV shows, gaming frame rates fluctuate depending on the amount of processing required by the GPU. That’s where variable refresh rate (VRR) comes in: it allows the TV to adjust its refresh rate to match that of the game’s, thus minimising judder, lag and frame-tearing for smoother, more fluid gameplay. AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync are two well-known forms of VRR

ALLM: TVs supporting auto low-latency mode (ALLM) will automatically switch to a low-latency mode when compatible consoles are connected, helping the TV to deliver the fastest possible response times. Picture quality will take a small hit in low-latency modes because the TV has to dial back its picture processing to speed up response times

4K at 120Hz: The PS5 and Xbox Series X are able to output games at 4K resolution at up to 120Hz. Simply owning a 120Hz TV doesn’t guarantee you can take advantage of this – you’ll need to ensure it has an HDMI 2.1 port that supports 4K at 120Hz otherwise you’ll be limited to 4K at 60Hz.

What is input lag and why is it important?

Input lag is the delay between executing an action (such as pressing a button) and the actual result manifesting itself on the TV screen. In terms of numbers, the higher the input lag, the more sluggish the game will feel. This obviously affects gameplay, especially for fast-paced games such as racing and first-person shooter titles.

Modern smart TVs come with complicated picture-processing algorithms that can increase input lag significantly, with everything from motion enhancement to deinterlacing having some impact. As a result, a lot of TV manufacturers now include a specific Game mode that minimises input lag.

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