There’s all this talk about 4K gaming these days, but the one thing that everyone seems to avoid talking about is how much a proper 4K gaming display will cost you. Truth be told, that’s because the number can be quite daunting.
If you’re really curious what an upgrade to a 4K gaming display is going to cost, though, then consider the best-in-class options as representatives of their price range.
Super Cheap – 27 Inch LG 27MU67‑B Monitor (Less than $400)
If you want in on 4K right now and don’t care about the specifics (besides price), you’re going to have to look towards the world of monitors. At 27 inches, this LG model is actually quite large, but if you’re looking for a 4K option that is going to be the centerpiece of your living room, then you’ll have to move up a price tier.
The considerable benefit of this LG monitor (besides the price which has been hovering below the $400 mark) is that it’s actually a top-tier 4K display. It falls short of 120 MHZ abilities, but to be entirely honest, there’s no guarantee that 4K gaming consoles are going to be able to truly exploit full 4K abilities as even top gaming PCs have trouble doing that now. If you’re looking for a slightly less technically impressive but slightly more versatile option at this price range, the Samsung U28E590D is also a great option.
Average – 40 Inch Panasonic TX-40DX700B ($749.99)
If you’re committed to having a 4K TV in your living room for gaming as opposed to a monitor, then the question becomes: “What is a budget 4K TV price?” To be perfectly blunt, you can find a 4K television for around the $500-$600 range even before sales. The problem is that most of those don’t come equipped with HDR and other features you should expect to get for your investment. For that reason, you should expect to spend around $800 for a decent 4K TV.
Or, for a little less than that, you can get this Panasonic. What the Panasonic lacks in Ultra HD niceties it more than makes up for by being one of the most feature-heavy 4K options within a few hundred dollars of this price range. This price is for the TV’s 40-inch model, which is a pretty good size sweet spot for getting a full 4K display experience.
Of course, if you want to go a little higher in price, the Vizio M-Series 2016 is clearly superior at around $1,399 and comes with a free tablet.
The Absolute Best – 55 Inch LG OLEDB6P ($2,499.99)
Absolute best is a bit of a tricky argument given the variables between models and the fact that you could probably spend $10,000+ on a TV if you really wanted to, but for the sake of a reasonable argument, this LG represents a pretty high bar for gaming 4K TVs.
HDR, OLED, Ultra-HD…this thing is like an encyclopedia of 4K buzzwords. When developers and console manufacturers talk about how 4K is going to approve your graphics experience, they are talking about gaming on a TV like this. One of the great little intangibles about this television, as it relates to gaming, is that it’s particularly resilient against image burn-in issues. It’s perfect in every way, except for the price.
