In summary:
- PCWorld highlights the top 10 PC monitors from CES 2026, featuring breakthrough technologies like Samsung’s 1,040Hz Odyssey G6, Acer’s 6K ProDesigner PE320QX, and LG’s massive 52-inch UltraGear gaming display.
- Key innovations include 5th-generation QD-OLED panels with improved text clarity, Nvidia G-Sync Pulsar technology, and AI-enhanced features like 5K upscaling and burn-in prevention sensors.
- These monitors target both gamers and professionals with prices ranging from $649 to $2,799, launching throughout 2026 with advanced connectivity and unprecedented refresh rates.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is always a big deal for consumer and gaming monitors, and 2026 was no exception.
The highlights this year included a new type of Samsung QD-OLED panel with improved text clarity, which has found its way into several new monitors. That same panel technology will also bring a wave of new 34-inch ultrawide OLED monitors with a 360Hz refresh rate.
That’s not all from Samsung. The company also introduced the world’s first 1,000Hz monitor (actually up to 1,040Hz). Though it’s regrettably not an OLED display, and can only achieve that at 720p resolution, it’s a sign of where monitors are going. Refresh rates are up across the board, and 120Hz is starting to look like the new 60Hz.
LG also went hard, though it put an emphasis on resolution with several new 5K2K ultrawide monitors. Dell also had several huge displays, including a gigantic 52-inch Ultrasharp display with support for Thunderbolt and Ethernet.
I got to see it all on the show floor and there were some clear winners among them. Here are the best monitors at CES 2026.
Acer ProDesigner PE320QX: 6K resolution at a reasonable price
Matt Smith / Foundry
Acer came to CES 2026 with the ProDesigner PE320QX, a 31.5-inch 6K display for creative professionals and prosumers who want superb pixel density. It packs an IPS-LCD panel with 6016×3384 resolution. That works out to almost 220 pixels per inch, which is a massive upgrade over the roughly 140ppi of a 32-inch 4K display.
The monitor also has excellent connectivity thanks to a USB4 port with 100 watts of power delivery. That connects to downstream USB4 with 15 watts of power delivery. Other features include dual 5-watt speakers and a proximity sensor that can dim or turn off the monitor when you step away. It’s also VESA DisplayHDR 600 certified.
Acer says the monitor will retail for $1,499.99 when it arrives in North America, though it won’t hit stores until Q2 2026.
Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27UCWM: Tandem OLED at 4K and 240Hz
Matt Smith / Foundry
The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27UCWM is the company’s new flagship tandem OLED gaming monitor. It has a 26.5-inch tandem OLED panel with 3840×2160 resolution. It’s also a dual-mode display with support for a refresh rate up to 240Hz at 4K, or up to 480Hz at 1080p.
If you’re thinking “Wait, didn’t Asus just release a tandem OLED monitor?”, you’d be right. PCWorld’s review of the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W went up right before CES 2026. That monitor sticks to 1440p resolution, however, and offers a higher refresh rate up to 540Hz at 1440p, or 720Hz at 720p. The new PG27UCWM targets lower refresh rates but offers the crystal clarity of 4K.
The new PG27UCWM also offers a USB-C port with up to 90 watts of power delivery, a feature that wasn’t often found on Asus’ ROG monitors in 2025. Other features include a Neo Proximity Sensor (which can dim or turn off the display when you’re away to prevent OLED burn-in) and DisplayPort 2.1a video input.
While most of the monitors on this list are wider or larger, the humble 27-inch monitor is the practical choice for many gamers. And if that’s the size of monitor you want, the PG27UCWM will be hard to beat.
Pricing and availability remains to be announced.
Asus ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDN: A new ultrawide with all the tricks
Matt Smith / Foundry
If you want a wider monitor than 27 inches, Asus has you covered with the new ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDN. It has a 34-inch ultrawide OLED panel with 3440×1440 resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 360Hz. That’s a nice bump from prior generation OLED ultrawides, which often topped out around 240Hz.
That’s not all. The PG34WCDN has Samsung’s new 5th-gen QD-OLED panel with RGB Stripe. This changes the QD-OLED subpixel arrangement from its prior triangular shape to a more traditional striped arrangement (with the red, green, and blue subpixels in a row) to improve clarity of some objects and fine text—a struggle for past QD-OLED monitors.
I saw the monitor first-hand and, to my eyes, it was a noticeable improvement. I didn’t see obvious color fringing around text, and while small text still wasn’t crystal-clear, that appeared to be due to the limits of 1440p resolution rather than any issue inherent to the QD-OLED panel.
Like its 27-inch cousin, the PG34WCDN will have a USB-C port with 90 watts of power delivery, DisplayPort 2.1, and a Neo Proximity Sensor. This monitor’s pricing and availability remains to be announced.
Dell Ultrasharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor (U5226KW): The ultimate command center
Michael Crider / Foundry
Dell’s Ultrasharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor is a command center for multitaskers who have nearly as many devices on their desk as tabs open in their web browser. My colleague Michael Crider even thinks it might replace his triple-monitor setup altogether.
To that end, it includes an impressive Thunderbolt 4 hub. Connectivity spans a Thunderbolt 4 port with 140 watts of power delivery, as well as two more USB-C ports with 27 watts each. The hub also includes USB-A ports, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, and a KVM switch for up to four PCs.
The monitor also has an IPS Black panel with 6K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Other features include an ambient light sensor. Interestingly, the monitor lists support for not only Windows and macOS but also Linux Ubuntu and ThinOS.
Dell’s Ultrasharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor will be available on January 6th, 2026 and will retail for $2,899.99 with an adjustable VESA stand, or $2,799.99 without the stand.
Dell Ultrasharp 32 4K QD-OLED (U3226Q): An OLED for creative professionals
Matt Smith / Foundry
The majority of QD-OLED monitors target gamers, but an increasing number now also target professionals and prosumers.
The Dell Ultrasharp 32 4K QD-OLED (U3226Q) joins these ranks. It has a 31.5-inch 16:9 QD-OLED panel with 4K resolution and a refresh rate up to 120Hz. Because it’s meant for professional creative work, the monitor includes an integrated colorimeter, customizable “direct keys,” and Dell’s color management software, among other features.
It’s also a Thunderbolt 4 hub. It has a single Thunderbolt 4 port with 140 watts of power delivery, as well as a 27-watt USB-C port and 10-watt USB-A port. 2.5Gbps Ethernet is available, too.
The monitor is compatible with Windows and macOS. It’ll launch globally on February 24th, 2026 for $2,599.99.
LG UltraGear EVO 52G930B: It’s even bigger than you think
Matt Smith / Foundry
Did you ever look at a 49-inch super-ultrawide gaming monitor and think “Hmm, that’s too small”? The LG UltraGear EVO 52G930B is for you. This is a 52-inch monitor with a 21:9 aspect ratio—a stark contrast to the 32:9 aspect ratio used by typical 49-inch super-ultrawides like the Philips Envia 8000.
Three extra inches might sound trivial but, due to the difference in aspect ratio, it’s actually a huge deal. The UltraGear EVO 52G930B offers a roughly 56 percent gain in display area. Most of that is vertical display space, as the 52G930B is about 7 inches taller than a 49-inch super-ultrawide. That’s good news if you want a big, immersive display for simulation and first-person games.
Size aside, the EVO 52G930B uses a vertical alignment (VA) LCD panel with a maximum resolution of 5120×2160 (which works out to about 106 pixels per inch) and a refresh rate up to 240Hz. It’s definitely not as attractive as an OLED monitor, but it provides decent color performance and better contrast than most IPS-LCD monitors.
LG has yet to announce price or availability.
LG UltraGear EVO AI 39GX950B: A 5K2K ultrawide for gaming
Matt Smith / Foundry
The UltraGear EVO AI 39GX950B is LG’s new flagship gaming monitor and, if you ask me, the best gaming monitor at CES 2026.
It has a 39-inch curved ultrawide tandem OLED panel. The monitor can reach a pixel-packed 5120×2160 resolution at a refresh rate up to 165Hz, or a more modest 2560×1080 resolution at up to 330Hz. The 5K resolution mode crams about 142 pixels into every inch, a huge upgrade over the roughly 110ppi of a typical 34-inch 1440p ultrawide.
LG has thrown a few AI features into the mix. The monitor can upscale lower-resolution content to 5K for improved sharpness, and LG claims the process doesn’t introduce additional latency. The monitor also has built-in speakers with an AI sound enhancement for enhanced clarity.
Really, though, this monitor is all about the pixel-dense ultrawide OLED panel. You’ll need a beefy GPU to handle 5K2K resolution, but if you’ve got it, I think you’re in for a treat.
Pricing and availability not yet announced.
MSI MPG 341CQR X36 QD-OLED: MSI’s new ultrawide flagship
Matt Smith / Foundry
The MSI MPG 341CQR X36 has a 34-inch ultrawide panel with 3440×1440 resolution and a refresh rate of up to 360Hz. Like the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDN, the MSI MPG 341CQR X36 has Samsung’s new 5th-generation OLED with V-Stripe, which improves text clarity. It also has a new type of glossy finish (called DarkArmor) that reduces glare and should make the display surface more scratch-resistant.
MSI emphasized HDR performance. The MPG 341CQR X36 quotes up to 1,300 nits of HDR brightness, and MSI also provides extensive HDR control features which can be used to adjust the HDR curve to a customized setting (or to one of several preset HDR modes). I suspect this could prove rather useful because HDR content on the PC is often far less optimized than HDR content on an HDTV.
The monitor also has a USB-C port with up to 98 watts of power delivery and an AI Care Sensor that can automatically dim, adjust, or darken the display when you turn away or walk away to prevent OLED burn-in.
MSI says the MPG 341CQR X36 will be available for $1,099.
MSI MPG 272QRF X36: Bringing Nvidia G-Sync Pulsar to the masses
Matt Smith / Foundry
The MSI MPG 272QRF X36 is a 27-inch widescreen gaming monitor with 2560×1440 resolution and a 360Hz refresh rate. Its real claim to fame, though, is support for Nvidia’s G-Sync Pulsar.
Nvidia G-Sync Pulsar is a backlight strobing technology. Backlight strobing is a popular technique used to improve motion clarity, but it’s not usually compatible with variable frame rates. Nvidia G-Sync Pulsar solves this, allowing use of backlight strobing (which MSI calls MPRT) with G-Sync engaged. MSI claims a 4x improvement in motion clarity.
MSI’s MPG 272QRF X36 wasn’t the only G-Sync Pulsar display at the show, but earned its place on this list with a second feature: an ambient light sensor. MSI says the sensor can be used to automatically adjust screen brightness and color temperature in both SDR and HDR—a rather handy feature on any display, but often absent on gaming monitors.
The MPG 272QRF X36 will hit stores at $649.
Samsung Odyssey G6 (G60H): Gaming at 1,040Hz
Samsung
If you told me 5 years ago that we’d have a legit 1,000Hz monitor in 2026, I wouldn’t have believed you. But Samsung’s latest Odyssey G6 (G60H) is one of several new monitors that make it a reality.
There’s a catch, though. The Odyssey G6 is a dual-mode display and it can only achieve 1,040Hz at 720p resolution. That’s definitely going to limit its appeal, but the monitor can still hit up to 600Hz at 2560×1440 resolution, which is nothing to laugh at.
Refresh rate aside, the monitor’s specifications are typical for a mid-range gaming monitor. It has a 27-inch IPS-LCD panel and offers support for both AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync. The monitor also supports HDR, HDMI 2.1, and DisplayPort 2.1.
The price was not announced but, given the monitor’s cutting-edge refresh rate, I don’t think it will be cheap.