A Monitor for the PS5 in the UK: HDMI 2.1, 120Hz and VRR Explained

What the PS5 actually sends down the cable

Start with the console, because it decides what a monitor can do for it. The PS5 has a single video output, an HDMI port, and PlayStation's support page states that the console "supports the HDMI 2.1 specification" and 4K at 120Hz over it. The Video Output menu (Settings, then Screen and Video) holds the three resolutions that matter for a monitor: 1080p, 1440p and 2160p, which is 4K, with 8K added on the PS5 Pro. Left on Automatic, it picks the highest resolution the connected screen reports.

Three switches in that menu matter to a monitor buyer.

• 120 Hz Output. Turn it on and the console sends 120Hz "for your TV and games that support 120 Hz frame rate". At 4K that is an HDMI 2.1 feature: the 2.1 specification raised the link's bandwidth to 48Gbps, which is what carries 4K at 120Hz and 8K at 60Hz. PlayStation's checklist for a blank screen at 4K 120Hz: does the display claim 4K 120Hz, is it an HDMI 2.1 port, and is the cable an Ultra High Speed HDMI cable rated for 4K 120Hz.
• VRR. Variable refresh rate lets the screen "adjust in real time" to the frame rate the game is producing, so a game that cannot hold 60 or 120 frames per second stops stuttering and tearing (HDMI.org's wording: it "reduces or eliminates lag, stutter and frame tearing"). PlayStation's requirement is a "VRR-compatible HDMI 2.1 display". It works at 1080p and 4K, and at 1440p since a 2023 system update.
• HDR. On When Supported gives HDR games HDR output and leaves the rest in SDR; Always On converts the lot. The console will send HDR to any screen that accepts it; only a panel with local dimming does anything worthwhile with it, which is the point our monitors page makes about HDR400 stickers.

A fourth, ALLM, drops the display into its low-lag game mode automatically; PlayStation notes that not every HDMI 2.1 display has it.

Why a 1440p 144Hz PC monitor is not automatically a PS5 monitor

Most people are weighing up a 27-inch 1440p gaming panel at 144, 165 or 180Hz, and it can be a very good PS5 screen. Three things on the box do not mean what a console owner assumes.

DisplayPort is irrelevant. The console's only output is HDMI, so a DisplayPort input does nothing for it, and many PC panels quote their top refresh rate over DisplayPort while accepting less over HDMI. Dell's specification for the Alienware AW2725DM is a clean example: 180Hz over DisplayPort 1.4, and "up to QHD 2560 x 1440, 144 Hz" over its two HDMI 2.1 inputs. That is still more than a PS5 can use, which is the point: read the HDMI line, not the headline.

144Hz is not a mode the PS5 has. PlayStation talks about 60Hz and 120Hz displays and nothing in between, so a 144Hz, 165Hz or 180Hz panel runs a PS5 at 120Hz, provided its HDMI input accepts 1440p at 120Hz. PlayStation's stated requirement for 1440p is a display that supports "1440p/60Hz, or 1440p/60Hz and 120Hz", and the console's Test 1440p Output reports whether the connected screen takes 60Hz, 120Hz, HDR and VRR at that resolution.

A FreeSync logo is not the VRR the console asks for. PlayStation specifies HDMI 2.1 VRR. Neither AOC's nor Samsung's specification page for the two 1440p panels below says anything about VRR over HDMI, and both list an HDMI 2.0 input. The logo is not a statement about HDMI 2.1 VRR; the console's own test is.

The trade-offs that actually matter

Desk or sofa. A 27-inch panel is a desk screen; from a sofa it is small. The 32-inch Samsung is the only pick that starts to work across a room, with the caveat our monitors page makes: 1440p spread over 32 inches is noticeably less sharp than 1440p at 27.

4K or 1440p. 4K gives the sharpest version of the games that render at 4K, and desktop text to match. 1440p gives up some of that for 120Hz at a lower tier: on our list the 4K 120Hz option is in the premium tier and the 1440p gaming panels in the value tier.

IPS, VA or OLED. None of the seven picks is OLED, so the choice here is the one from our buying guide: IPS for colour and viewing angles, VA for deeper blacks, and a Mini LED backlight with local dimming for HDR that means something.

Speakers or a headset. A TV has speakers; many monitors do not. Dell lists two 5W speakers on the S2725QC, AOC lists only an audio output on the Q27G3XMN, and Samsung's page does not state speakers for the Odyssey G5. If you will not be wearing a headset, find that line in the specification.

HDMI ports, for a PC too. A PC can take the DisplayPort or USB-C input and leave HDMI to the console. Two consoles need two HDMI inputs, which the Dell S2725QC and the Alienware have and the AOC and the Samsung do not.

What changes with a PS5 Pro

PlayStation's page for the Pro describes "support for 60Hz and 120Hz displays" and play at "60fps, or up to 120fps, with 4K output", the same output as the standard console; the faster GPU and PSSR upscaling change what games look like inside those numbers, not the numbers. Three video-menu items are Pro-only. 8K output needs a screen that supports 8K at 60Hz with Display Stream Compression, and VRR is disabled during 8K, so it is irrelevant to every monitor here. Enhance Image Quality for PS4 Games requires a 4K or 1440p screen. Enhance PSSR Image Quality is on by default and improves certain PSSR games. The monitor advice is unchanged: HDMI 2.1 if you want 4K at 120Hz or VRR.

Which of our picks fits

Seven monitors sit on our monitors list, chosen for desks rather than consoles, so the fit is uneven. Port details are from the makers' specification pages; everything else is from the list.

The Dell 27 Plus S2725QC meets every requirement. It is 4K at 120Hz, Dell lists two HDMI 2.1 inputs with a 48Hz to 120Hz range, FreeSync Premium and two built-in speakers, and the USB-C input takes a laptop while leaving both HDMI ports for consoles. Its HDR is entry-level, so it is the all-rounder here rather than the HDR pick. Dell's page does not say whether its variable refresh reaches the console as HDMI 2.1 VRR; the console's Video Output menu will.

The Alienware AW2725DM is the 1440p pick with the right port: two HDMI 2.1 inputs taking 1440p at up to 144Hz, which covers the console's 120Hz, on a Fast IPS panel with G-SYNC Compatible certification. Dell quotes VESA DisplayHDR 400, which by our buying guide's reckoning is HDR in name only, and lists no speakers. No 4K.

The AOC Gaming Q27G3XMN is the HDR one: DisplayHDR 1000 with a 336-zone Mini LED backlight, 1440p at 180Hz. AOC lists one HDMI 2.0 and one DisplayPort 1.4 and says nothing about what that HDMI input accepts at 1440p, or about VRR over it, so the console's Test 1440p Output is the way to find out.

The Samsung Odyssey G5 32-inch is the same story on a bigger, curved VA panel: 1440p at 165Hz, one HDMI 2.0 and one DisplayPort 1.2, FreeSync, HDR10 and a stand listed with tilt only. It is the sofa pick, with the sharpness caveat of 1440p at this size.

The other three are not console screens: the BenQ PD2705U and BenQ MA270U are 4K panels with no high refresh rate, built for colour work and for MacBooks, and the Dell P2722H is a Full HD office monitor at 60Hz. A game's 120Hz mode has nothing to drive on any of them.

Do I need a 4K monitor for the PS5?

No. The console selects the best resolution the screen reports and runs at 1440p or 1080p without complaint, and PlayStation's note when it added 1440p was that a game rendering above it is supersampled down, which improves anti-aliasing. What 4K buys is the sharpest version of games that render at 4K. What it costs on our list is choice: the Dell S2725QC is the only 4K panel here that also does 120Hz.

Is 120Hz or 144Hz better for PS5?

They are the same thing to a PS5, because the console never sends 144Hz. PlayStation's figures are 60Hz and 120Hz, so a 144Hz monitor runs a PS5 at 120Hz; the higher figure only matters for a PC on the same desk. What matters more is which input the figure applies to: read the maker's HDMI line, not the DisplayPort headline, and at 4K make sure the port is HDMI 2.1.

Does the PS5 support 1440p?

Yes. It arrived in a system software update in 2022, and VRR at 1440p followed in 2023. PlayStation's requirement is a TV or monitor that supports 1440p at 60Hz, or at 60Hz and 120Hz, and the console's Test 1440p Output checks SDR and HDR at both refresh rates plus VRR. PlayStation's instruction is "To use 1440p output, set your Resolution to 1440p."

Sources

• PlayStation Support: How to change PS5 console resolution (HDMI 2.1, 120 Hz, 1440p, VRR, 8K)
• PlayStation Blog: PS5 system software update with VRR support for 1440p
• HDMI Forum: HDMI 2.1 specification release (48Gbps, 4K120, VRR, ALLM)
• Dell UK: Dell 27 Plus 4K USB-C Monitor S2725QC specifications
• Dell: Alienware 27 Gaming Monitor AW2725DM specifications
• AOC: Q27G3XMN specifications