Gaming from your couch requires a good TV with specific qualities, namely low input lag. I’ve been reviewing TVs (and gaming devices) for more than 15 years. I’m also a certified TV calibrator, and I test every TV I review with special equipment to get hard numbers I can use to compare models. I also watch movies and play games on them, too, because numbers aren’t everything. I’m here to help you find the best TV for gaming. The Hisense U8N sits at the top of our list for its excellent picture quality, gaming features, and overall value. If money is no object, we also recommend the LG G4 Evo OLED, which has an incredible picture and an input lag of less than a millisecond. Whatever your budget is, you’re sure to find a TV on this list that works for you.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
- Incredibly bright picture with strong contrast
- Wide colors
- 144Hz native refresh rate with VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro
- Supports Apple AirPlay, Google Assistant, Google Cast
- Blacks aren’t as deep as they can be on OLED TVs
- Gaming mode can cause clipping in highlights
The Hisense U8N isn’t the fastest TV on the market but, with a response time of 7.4 milliseconds, it still beats the 10ms threshold we use to determine eligibility for this roundup. Its 144Hz variable refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro are also strong points in its favor, along with its simply fantastic picture quality, incredibly bright panel, and very reasonable price.
This is an excellent TV with strong gaming performance. It doesn’t have Nvidia G-Sync, but AMD-based PC gamers should enjoy the FreeSync Premium Pro support, and everyone can use the 144Hz standard VRR. The input lag should be fine for most console gamers. And it also looks great whenever you just want to watch TV or movies.
Panel Type
LED
Screen Size
65 inches
Resolution
3,840 by 2,160
Video Inputs
HDMI, USB, Composite, RF
HDR
Dolby Vision, HDR-10
HDMI Ports
4
Streaming Services
Yes
Screen Brightness
2755 nits
Black Level
0.01 cd/m^2
Contrast Ratio
393,571:1
Refresh Rate
144 Hz
Input Lag (Game Mode)
7.4 ms
AMD FreeSync
FreeSync Premium Pro
Learn More
Best Premium OLED TV
LG Evo G4 OLED TV
- Bright picture
- Vibrant, accurate color
- Excellent gaming performance
- WebOS smart TV platform is loaded with features
- Includes a table stand
- Expensive
- Slightly clunky remote
If you want the absolute lowest input lag in a TV, you should reach for a modern OLED. The Evo G4 joins the C3 and Samsung S95D in showing sub-millisecond latency. It also has plenty of features, including a useful Game Optimizer mode with a quick menu for making sure you’re getting all the frames you should be getting.
This is an expensive TV for gamers with deep pockets. It has the best picture quality on this list, but also the highest price. If you can afford it, though, it’s worth it.
Panel Type
OLED
Screen Size
65 inches
Resolution
3,840 by 2,160
Video Inputs
HDMI, RF, USB
HDR
Dolby Vision, HDR-10
HDMI Ports
4
Streaming Services
Yes
Screen Brightness
1103 nits
Contrast Ratio
Infinite
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Input Lag (Game Mode)
1 ms
AMD FreeSync
FreeSync
Nvidia G-Sync
G-Sync Compatible
Learn More
Best Cheap TV
Hisense U6N
- Excellent color performance
- Very strong contrast with deep blacks
- Feature-packed Google TV interface
- Supports Apple AirPlay and Google Cast
- Hands-free Google Assistant voice control
- Affordable
- Irritating LEDs when the microphone is muted
The Hisense U6N is the best budget-friendly TV we’ve tested. You can get the 65-inch version for well under $1,000, and for that, it offers excellent colors, strong contrast, and loads of useful features like Apple AirPlay 2 and hands-free Google Assistant. It’s only 60Hz and it doesn’t have a lot of PC-oriented gaming tricks like AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync, but its input lag is still very low.
The U6N is for budget-minded gamers who want a big screen. It’s affordable and responsive, and its picture looks great. Even without formal PC graphics features, it still has a variable refresh rate (VRR), so it can at least keep up when your games fluctuate between 30 and 60fps.
Panel Type
LED
Screen Size
65 inches
Resolution
3,840 by 2,160
Video Inputs
HDMI, Composite, USB, RF
HDR
Dolby Vision, HDR-10
HDMI Ports
4
Streaming Services
Yes
Screen Brightness
700 nits
Black Level
0.01 cd/m^2
Contrast Ratio
233,333:1
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Input Lag (Game Mode)
3.6 ms
AMD FreeSync
None
Nvidia G-Sync
None
Learn More
Best Midrange OLED TV
LG Evo C3 OLED TV
- Fantastic color and contrast
- Incredibly low input lag
- Slim, sleek design
The LG C3 OLED has less than a millisecond of input lag and offers excellent picture quality. LG’s webOS smart TV interface and Dolby Vision support are additional highlights. It has a 120Hz refresh rate and is compatible with both AMD FreeSync and (unofficially) Nvidia G-Sync.
Like the G4 and Samsung S95D, this is one of the most responsive gaming TVs we’ve tested. It offers a dimmer picture than either of those models, but it is also significantly less expensive and just as gamer-friendly thanks to its sub-millisecond input lag. It’s being replaced by the Evo C4, but that means you can probably get a C3 for a deep discount where it’s still in stock.
Panel Type
OLED
Screen Size
65 inches
Resolution
3,840 by 2,160
Video Inputs
HDMI, RF, USB
HDR
Dolby Vision, HDR-10
HDMI Ports
4
Streaming Services
Yes
Screen Brightness
651 nits
Black Level
0 cd/m^2
Contrast Ratio
Infinite
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Input Lag (Game Mode)
0 ms
AMD FreeSync
FreeSync
Nvidia G-Sync
G-Sync Compatible
Learn More
Best Sound System
Panasonic Z95A OLED TV
- Incredibly bright for an OLED TV
- Wide, generally accurate colors
- Spatial audio speaker system
- Robust Amazon Fire TV interface
- Hands-free Amazon Alexa and Apple AirPlay
- 144Hz VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium
- Expensive
- Only available in 65 inches
- No ATSC 3.0 at launch
Panasonic’s flagship Z95A TV is second only to the LG Evo G4. It doesn’t have the super-slim design of the similarly expensive Evo G4, but its big advantage is a 4.1.2-channel speaker system with front, side, and upward drivers, allowing it to deliver spatial audio.
If you’re looking for a premium OLED TV with a powerful sound system, the Panasonic Z95A is the one for you. It holds additional appeal for Alexa fans because it uses Amazon’s Fire TV platform and supports hands-free virtual assistance.
Panel Type
OLED
Screen Size
65 inches
Resolution
3,840 by 2,160 pixels
Video Inputs
HDMI, RF, USB
HDR
Dolby Vision, HDR-10
HDMI Ports
4
Streaming Services
Yes
Screen Brightness
1376 nits
Contrast Ratio
Infinite
Refresh Rate
144 Hz
Input Lag (Game Mode)
4.7 ms
AMD FreeSync
FreeSync Premium
Learn More
Best Outdoor TV
SunBriteTV Veranda 3 Series
- Ruggedized for outdoor use
- Wide, accurate colors with Dolby Vision support
- Android TV provides phone mirroring, streaming media, and voice control
- Low input lag
- Expensive
- Doesn’t include a stand
- High black levels
Playing video games outdoors sounds like fun but, unless you’re willing to haul your TV in and out every time, you need some serious weatherproofing. Outdoor TVs are much more expensive than most other TVs, but that’s because they can handle heat, cold, and rain without breaking. They also tend to have screen treatments that reduce glare and make the TV viewable in sunlight, or at least in shade with sunlight nearby.
The SunBriteTV Veranda 3 is the best outdoor TV we’ve tested so far because it hits all of those notes, plus offers fairly strong picture quality and gaming performance. It gets reasonably bright and shows wide, accurate color. Furthermore, it features a Google TV interface, which means you get access to a variety of streaming services and other useful features. It only has a 60Hz refresh rate, but it supports AMD FreeSync and has low input lag.
This is the TV to get for gaming in the backyard, on the patio, or near the pool. You can get better-looking, more responsive TVs with more gaming features, but none of them can survive the being rained on outside.
Panel Type
LED
Screen Size
55 inches
Resolution
3,840 by 2,160
Video Inputs
HDMI, Composite, RF, USB
HDR
HDR-10, Dolby Vision
HDMI Ports
4
Streaming Services
Yes
Screen Brightness
722.53 nits
Black Level
0.2 cd/m^2
Contrast Ratio
3,631:1
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Input Lag (Game Mode)
8.6 ms
AMD FreeSync
FreeSync
Nvidia G-Sync
None
Learn More
Best Fire TV
Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED
- Bright picture with balanced color and strong contrast
- Hands-free Alexa integration
- Supports Apple AirPlay 2
- 120Hz with VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro
- Color gamut isn’t as wide as competitors
- Can suffer from light bloom
The Fire TV Omni Mini-LED is Amazon’s best Fire TV, with over three times the peak brightness of the Fire TV Omni QLED. It’s also the first Amazon TV with a refresh rate higher than 60Hz. Its 120Hz native panel supports VRR with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro at up to 144Hz.
If you want an affordable TV that doesn’t use Google TV as an interface like our Hisense and TCL picks, the Fire TV Omni Mini-LED is a great alternative, especially if you already use Alexa or other Amazon services.
Panel Type
LED
Screen Size
65 inches
Resolution
3,840 by 2,160
Video Inputs
HDMI, RF, USB
HDR
Dolby Vision, HDR-10
HDMI Ports
4
Streaming Services
Yes
Screen Brightness
1623 nits
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Input Lag (Game Mode)
6.4 ms
AMD FreeSync
FreeSync Premium Pro
Nvidia G-Sync
None
Learn More
Most Affordable Small Screen
Vizio M-Series Quantum X TV (50-Inch)
- Wide, balanced colors
- Fast 120Hz panel with low input lag and several desirable gaming features including 1080p240 mode
- SmartCast supports both Apple AirPlay and Google Cast
- Doesn’t get particularly bright
- Colors sometimes look slightly oversaturated
- Shadow details can appear washed out
Vizio’s 50-inch M50QXM-K01 is a solid TV with just one weakness that holds it back from greatness. It has incredible color performance, great gaming performance and features, and the flexibility of both Apple AirPlay and Google Cast. Its contrast is pretty mediocre, though. That’s not great for films, but its tendency to blow out shadow details can actually help out in video games by letting you see what might be hiding in the darkness. Most importantly, it’s one of the most affordable 120Hz TVs available, with AMD FreeSync Premium and 6.7ms input lag to boot.
The M50QXM-K01 is ideal for gamers looking for a very big monitor or a modest gaming TV. It’s inexpensive for a 120Hz model and its AMD FreeSync Premium support should please Radeon owners. The Vizio SmartCast smart TV platform is also functional and unobtrusive. Finally, the TV’s wide colors should really help games pop. There are larger Vizio M-Series Quantum X TVs, but their stated peak brightness levels are much higher. We need to test them separately but, if their brightness claims are accurate, the 65- and 75-inch models might be a better bet than this 50-inch model.
Panel Type
LCD
Screen Size
50 inches
Resolution
3,840 by 2,160
Video Inputs
HDMI, RF, USB
HDR
Dolby Vision, HDR-10
HDMI Ports
4
Streaming Services
Yes
Screen Brightness
443 nits
Black Level
6 cd/m^2
Contrast Ratio
8,054:1
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Input Lag (Game Mode)
6.7 ms
AMD FreeSync
FreeSync Premium Pro
Nvidia G-Sync
None
Learn More
Best 8K TV
Samsung QN900D 8K QLED TV
- Excellent picture quality for 4K content
- Upconversion from 1080p to 4K looks quite good
- Full of features including Apple AirPlay and hands-free Alexa
- Fantastic gaming performance
- Expensive
- 8K content still isn’t readily available and upconversion to 8K isn’t much better than native 4K
- Tizen smart TV OS is frustrating
- No Dolby Vision
We still don’t recommend 8K TVs to, well, anyone. There’s very little content available at that resolution, so most of what you might want to watch needs to go through an upconversion process. But if you really want to be on the cutting edge, the QN900D is your best option. It offers an excellent picture for a premium price, along with a strong array of gaming features, including AMD FreeSync compatibility and very low input lag
If you’re a (very) early adopter or have a top-of-the-line PC that can push games at 8K, the QN900D is worth considering. Otherwise, stick with 4K.
Panel Type
LED
Screen Size
85 inches
Resolution
7,680 by 4,320
Video Inputs
HDMI, RF, USB
HDR
HDR-10
HDMI Ports
4
Streaming Services
Yes
Screen Brightness
1096 nits
Contrast Ratio
Infinite
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Input Lag (Game Mode)
2 ms
AMD FreeSync
FreeSync Premium Pro
Nvidia G-Sync
None
Learn More
Buying Guide: The Best Gaming TVs for 2025
Are TVs Good for Gaming?
Up until a few years ago, fancy gaming features and syncing compatibility were solely for gaming monitors. Now, TVs are getting into the action and many of those same features are available over HDMI (rather than DisplayPort, something very few TVs offer). They include Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Nvidia G-Sync, and AMD FreeSync.
TV Tips For New TV Buyers
ALLM is a simple but useful feature for gaming with a PC, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X/S. When you start to play a game, it sends a signal to the TV for it to automatically switch into the gaming picture mode and turn on any other gaming features. And, when you stop playing, it automatically exits that mode and turns off the related features.
TV shows and movies almost all have consistent frame rates, but game frame rates can vary wildly. As a result, TVs with refresh rates fixed at 60Hz or 120Hz can struggle to display action smoothly. VRR means the TV can adjust its refresh rate on the fly to match the video source. It can reduce or completely remove choppiness and screen tearing from your games.
Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync are other frame rate- and refresh rate-syncing features. They let a display sync directly with a PC’s graphics card (GeForce and Radeon, respectively) and help reduce screen tearing. Depending on your GPU, either of these features is useful if you plan on connecting your PC to your TV.
How PCMag Tests TVs
What TV Has the Lowest Input Lag?
Input lag is the amount of time between when a TV receives a signal and the display updates. Fighting games, action games, and other titles that require precise timing work best when input lag is very low. It can make the difference between feeling like you have total control over everything happening and needing to constantly compensate for what amounts to very tiny pauses that can throw off your game.
Input lag generally ranges between 2 and 120 milliseconds for TVs, with the biggest differences not between different TVs but between any given TV’s game mode and other picture modes. For example, if you play in the Theater picture mode on even the fastest TV, you are likely to experience lots of lag.
We consider less than 20ms to be acceptable, but for a TV to qualify for this roundup, the input lag must be under 10ms. We previously used 20ms as our best-for-gaming threshold, but we’ve seen significant drops in input lag over time and adjusted accordingly.
We test input lag using an HDFury 4K Diva 18Gbps HDMI matrix with an Xbox One X as a source. The matrix processes the source video to 4K, then transmits the picture to the TV with a black box overlaid on the center of the screen. A light sensor we place on the screen measures the box as it flashes, determining how long the TV takes between when the signal is sent and the picture changes, down to the tenth of a millisecond. The test has a floor of 1ms, and we’ve recently seen a few TVs that reach below that.
The Diva can measure input lag with both 1080p and 4K pictures, and so far, we’ve seen deviations between the two resolutions to be negligible. Resolution doesn’t appear to affect input lag when image processing features are turned off (you should turn any of these off if you want the lowest possible input lag).
LG Evo G4 OLED TV (Credit: Will Greenwald)
We record lag times with the TV’s game mode active because input lag is most important for gaming. We also note input lag in other picture modes for reference.
The Best TVs for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X
4K is currently the standard for most new TVs. Whether your games have true 4K resolution or high dynamic range (HDR), contrast, and color depends on the platform you use and the game you play.
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X (and Series S) and Sony’s PlayStation 5 support 4K resolution (3,840 by 2,160) with HDR. Games on these systems typically look sharper and more vibrant than those for previous-generation consoles such as the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro (and much sharper than the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One S, which don’t support 4K gaming at all). The new systems also support graphical features like raytracing that their predecessors don’t. You should look for a TV that supports 4K HDR so you can fully enjoy the latest games.
Refresh rates (the number of times a screen draws a picture per second, measured in Hz) are also important for gaming. All TVs are at least 60Hz, but some are 120Hz (capable of showing twice as many frames per second), or can even hit 144Hz. The newer game consoles support frame rates of up to 120fps (though this is still rare). Nonetheless, fast frame rates paired with a TV with a high refresh rate result in ultra-smooth performance.
5 Simple Tweaks to Get the Best Picture Settings for Your TV
Should You Get a Gaming Monitor or a TV?
If you want extremely low input lag and much wider support for various refresh rates and VRR, you need to turn toward smaller screens. By that, we mean dedicated gaming monitors. These are specifically designed for gaming and emphasize responsiveness at least as much as picture quality. Input lag below 4ms is common on high-end gaming monitors. They can also include PC-friendly features that further improve performance, such as adaptive refresh rates with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync. However, we’ve seen TVs get closer and closer to these numbers in recent years; many have begun to offer features like G-Sync and FreeSync too, so, eventually, the distinction between the two might become moot.
The biggest drawback with gaming monitors is that you need to spend much more per square inch. Monitors are generally smaller than TVs and are designed for use from only a foot or two away. They have fewer inputs, don’t always feature speakers, and rarely have any kind of remote control. If you want to game from your couch, a gaming monitor simply isn’t feasible. But if you’re ready to play from your desk, check out our list of the best gaming monitors.
If you simply want the best picture available, meanwhile, look at our roundup of the best TVs, the best 65-inch TVs, and the best 75-inch (and up) TVs. And if you want to save some money, head over to our list of the best cheap TVs, which highlights some models that are still good for gaming.
For more buying advice, see our story on what TV model numbers and SKUs actually mean.
