Top HDR Gaming Monitors at 144 Hz and 4K Display Supporting HDR10

Are you looking for top HDR gaming monitors? HDR which stands for “High Dynamic Range” promises to expand the color gamut and contrast range of today’s video displays far and beyond. Surprisingly, there are only a few of them available on the market. The specifications do need to be top to support HDR. For example, a brightness of about 1000 “nits” and HDMI 2.0a high bandwidth interface. It is a much larger upgrade from the existing gaming monitors that only support about 300-400 “nits” of brightness and HDMI 1.4 interface. Here are the high-level features that an HDR gaming monitor and related technologies:

• Needs to support a minimum of HDMI 2.0a or Display Port 2.4
• HDR (HDR10) specifications require a minimum 1000 cd/m2 (or nits of brightness)
• Needs to comply with the new “Ultra HD Premium Standard.”
• Either 10 Bit or 12 Bit of color space per channel
• Support for “Wide Gamut Color”
• Graphics cards like Nvidia 900 Series and above or AMD Polaris 370, 470, 570, 580 and others in this category
• Native support for HDR in games supporting the extra broad support of the color spectrum

There are 2 HDR standards currently available in the market.

1. Proprietary Dolby Vision with 12-bit color depth and support for dynamic metadata (For Colors)
2. Open standard HDR10 with 10-bit color depth and static metadata

Currently, all the manufacturers are adopting the HDR10 standard to avoid the proprietary specs of Dolby vision and high licensing costs. Going forward, we can expect to see the HDR10 standard evolve and catch up with Dolby Vision specs. This combined with native support from the software side, we hope to see much more room for evolution in this segment. The Xbox One S or the PlayStation 4 is already on track to provide HDR for mass market console gaming. The latest gaming titles from modern studios are also expected to jump on the HDR bandwagon.

With that being said, let’s look at the top HDR gaming monitors available in the market.

Top HDR Gaming Monitors

1. LG 32UD99-W 32″4K UHD IPS Monitor (HDR10):

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It is one of the latest monitors from LG which supports the HDR10 standard with a 4K UltraHD display. It combined with a thin bezel (1.3mm) gives a near infinity display experience. The monitor also supports the DCI-P3 95% Color Standard. 

Here is a quick look at its top features:

2. Dell UltraSharp HDR UP2718Q 4K UHD monitor:

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Dell recently joined the HDR bandwagon with its UltraSharp HDR UP2718Q display. With support for more than 1000 nits and Rec 2020 color space. Dell is targeting this monitor at content creators and gamers alike. Dell is expected to start shipping in May 2017, and there is a lot of buzz on the internet waiting for this monitor to hit the streets.

Here is a quick look at its top features:

3. Acer Predator XB272-HDR gaming monitor:

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Acer surprised everyone with this HDR monitor. While the world was focussed on LG, Samsung or LG offerings, Acer released its masterpiece featuring the world’s first monitor to feature Nvidia G-Sync, HDR 10, 4K UHD resolution, and a refresh rate of 144Hz. Acer is not releasing one, but two monitors on the market, details of which are sketchy at this time.

Here is a quick look at its top features:

4. Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ 27″ Gaming Monitor

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Asus displayed their first HDR monitor at CES 2017 supporting the HDR 10 standard, as well as Nvidia G-Sync. Touted as the world’s first 4K HDR display system with a refresh rate of 144 Hz using a quantum dot film technology. The IPS display supports IPS display DCI-P3 color gamut for visual realism. Pricing information is not available at this time. However, we expect this to cost no less than $2000 US.

Here is a quick look at its top features:

5. Dell U Series (U2718Q) 27″ LED-lit Monitor Screen 

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Yes, this monitor comes with the HDR10 open standard. However, like others on this list, this Dell HDR monitor will require HDR10 enabled content input from a compatible source like your service provider, a Blu-ray disc or an HDR game. We can, however, verify that you DO get the option to enable HDR in Windows 10 when connecting this monitor to an HDR supported the graphics card. The monitor also comes with a VESA mount.

The monitor comes with four USB ports, which includes two fast charging ports for charging your smart devices. We always find this is useful since USB ports are insufficient on most laptops these days. So you save some bucks spending on a USB hub, and we certainly appreciate the new hub on the desk. We like the Dell stand which happens to be more flexible and allows it for vertical orientation which is always useful when doing page layout work in landscape mode, especially posters. This monitor has a slightly higher contrast ratio which is suitable for editing. You will have to do your calibration, to see better results.

Here is a quick look at its top features:

6. G-STORY 27″ IPS Ultra 4K UHD (AMD FreeSync @ 5ms) 27″ LED Monitor

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One of the cheapest HDR monitors from the list, the G-Story monitor ticks all the right boxes when it comes to 4K gaming and HDR output. With multiple connectivity options and AMD FreeSync support, this one is targeted at gamers and content creators. This HDCP 2.2 complaint monitor can easily run 4K games on XBOX flawlessly.

Here is a quick look at its high-level features:

Conclusion

We hope you like our compilation of the Top HDR Gaming Monitors currently available or upcoming in the market. We would be proactively updating the list, as on when manufacturers add HDR capable monitors to their product catalog. Comments or suggestions are below down below in the comment section. Cheers!