The best 4K gaming TVs

If you've got a Sony PS4 Pro or Microsoft Xbox One X, you already know that 4K gaming has arrived. A few choice games deliver glorious 4K resolution and even support HDR and high frame rates, but all that eye candy is wasted on a subpar TV. Of the dozens of TVs we review each year, only a few are well-suited to gaming at 4K.

Our favorite 4K gaming TV is the Samsung Q60 QLED TV. This $1,199 QLED set delivers eye-popping colors, rich blacks and amazing detail along with ultra-wide viewing angles.

For those on a budget, the TCL 43S517 Roku Smart 4K TV is a fine bargain at $299. It boasts a short lag time and produces 99 percent of the color gamut. We just wish it had an extra HDMI port.

Check out our other top TV picks below for 4K consoles as well as 4K-capable gaming PCs. Our picks include a small 40-inch 4K set that’s great for bedrooms (and dorm rooms) and Sony's gorgeous OLED TV.

But the gaming landscape is always changing, and TVs (and other devices for gaming in the living room) are evolving. The latest LG OLED TVs are getting Nvidia G-Sync and Alienware's 55-inch OLED gaming monitor isn't a TV, but it does a good impression of one. Keep an eye on our coverage for all the latest TV and gaming news.

(Image credit: Samsung)

(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung Q60 QLED TV

Our favorite TV for Gaming

Specifications

Screen Size: 65 inches
Display Technology: QLED
Refresh Rate: 120Hz
Lag Time: 16.3ms
HDR Support: HDR10, HLG, HDR10+
HDMI Ports: 4

Reasons to buy

+
Great color performance and motion handling
+
Excellent smart-TV features
+
Plenty of HDMI ports
+
Superb gaming support

Reasons to avoid

-
Unimpressive backlight and HDR performance
-
Limited viewing angles
-
Middling sound quality

For a premium 4K TV that offers excellent performance for gaming, look no farther than the Samsung Q60 QLED TV, our favorite TV for gaming. The 65-inch display offers superb color (Delta-E rating 1.6, color gamut 99.96%), excellent motion handling and a polished smart TV experience with built-in voice assistant. It's a solid TV in its own right.

But on the gaming front, it's got everything you want: Short lag times (16.3 milliseconds), an impressive 120Hz refresh rate, plenty of HDMI ports and robust HDR support. It even has automatic game console detection that switches you to game mode the moment you power on the console. If you want the best TV for gaming, this is it.

TCL 43S517 Roku Smart 4K TV

TCL 43S517 Roku Smart 4K TV

Best Value

Specifications

Screen Size: 43 inches
Display Technology: LCD
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Lag Time: 15.3
HDR Support: HDR10, Dolby Vision
HDMI Ports: 3

Reasons to buy

+
Super affordable
+
A slick design
+
Great color reproduction and accuracy
+
Dolby Vision support
+
Dolby Atmos support
+
Better-than-average Roku experience

Reasons to avoid

-
Inconsistent backlight
-
Limited port selection

The TCL 43S517 Roku Smart 4K TV is our recommendation if you want a 4K TV that doesn't cost several times what you paid for your gaming console. The 43-inch set offers 4K resolution, a 60Hz panel, and impressive performance, with a wide color gamut (99.8 percent) and excellent color accuracy, with a Delta-E rating of 1.7 (closer to zero is better).

LG UK6300 43-Inch 4K TV

LG UK6300 43-Inch 4K TV

Fast Response Time

Specifications

Screen Size: 43 inches
Display Technology: LCD
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Lag Time: 11.2ms
HDR Support: HDR10, HLG
HDMI Ports: 3

Reasons to buy

+
Affordable 4K smart TV
+
Decent port selection
+
Wide color gamut
+
HDR support

Reasons to avoid

-
Middling color accuracy
-
Remote is basic
-
No mic for voice interaction

If lag time is your greatest enemy, then the LG UK6300 43-Inch 4K TV is your strongest ally. With blisteringly fast time of 11.2 milliseconds in our lab testing, the LG UK6300 is the fastest TV we've reviewed. The LG impressed us in lab tests, with a color gamut of 99.8 percent and reasonably precise color, a Delta-E rating of 3.6 (closer to zero is better).

But you'll give up a bit of extra functionality in your quest for speed. The 60Hz display supports HDR for most media, but not gaming. And the sets 3 HDMI ports may leave you feeling constrained if you try to hook up multiple gaming consoles alongside a Blu-Ray player or HDMI-connected cable box.

Sony Master Series A9F OLED TV

Sony Master Series A9F OLED TV

Best Color

Specifications

Screen Size: 65 inches
Display Technology: OLED
Refresh Rate: 120Hz
Lag Time: 27.5ms
HDR Support: HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, IMAX Enhanced
HDMI Ports: 4

Reasons to buy

+
Superb OLED display
+
Impressive HDR performance
+
Acoustic Surface Audio+ sound system is amazing
+
Android Oreo improves smart TV experience.

Reasons to avoid

-
Pricey, even for a premium TV
-
Lean-back design is awkward
-
Disappointing remote control

If fantastic color and wide HDR support matter more to you than blistering response times, then the Sony Master Series A9F OLED TV is definitely the TV you'll want. The OLED looks fantastic, and delivers the widest color gamut of anything we've tested (130.8 percent), excellent 10-bit color support for gaming, along with HDR10 and Dolby Vision support for consoles.

On top of this, the Sony A9F has the latest version of Android TV, which includes a built-in Google Chromecast, broad support for HDR content, and a rich selection of apps from the Google Play store. It's also got incredible sound, thanks to Sony's Acoustic Surface Audio+ and a dedicated mode that's optimized for Netflix streaming content. And with a top notch OLED display, the Master Series A9F has some of the best picture quality you'll see on any current smart TV.

Sony X950G Android TV

(Image credit: Sony)

Sony X950G 75-Inch Android TV

Best Big Screen

Specifications

Screen Size: 75 inches
Display Technology: LCD
Refresh Rate: 120Hz
Lag Time: 22.4ms
HDR Support: Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG
HDMI Ports: 4

Reasons to buy

+
Sleek design with built-in cable management
+
Strong feature set
+
Built-in Chromecast
+
Android TV 8.0 is excellent
+
Improved remote control

Reasons to avoid

-
Backlighting shows prominent halos
-
Volume and bass are on the weak side

Go bigger with your games on the Sony X950G Android TV. The 75-inch smart TV is the largest we've ever reviewed, but it manages to be a pretty big deal thanks to solid picture quality, a great feature set and wide viewing angles. Sony has improved the smart TV experience with the latest version of Android TV and a new remote design, along with built-in Chromecast and thousands of apps. Combine that with 22.4 millisecond response time, support for 10-bit color, Dolby Vision and gaming at 60Hz in full 4K resolution, and it's easy to recommend the X950G for big-screen gaming. If you want to game on a view-filling 75-inch screen, it's one of the best options available.

Brian Westover

Brian Westover is currently Lead Analyst, PCs and Hardware at PCMag. Until recently, however, he was Senior Editor at Tom's Guide, where he led the site's TV coverage for several years, reviewing scores of sets and writing about everything from 8K to HDR to HDMI 2.1. He also put his computing knowledge to good use by reviewing many PCs and Mac devices, and also led our router and home networking coverage. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he wrote for TopTenReviews and PCMag.