Find a Great Monitor for the Xbox Series X

The Xbox Series X has the potential to deliver games in 4K 120Hz, or 3840 x 2160 in 120 frames per second. That’s a huge increase compared to Xbox One. While currently most games run in up to 4K 60Hz, we believe 4K 120Hz will become more common place in the next couple of years. That’s why we mentioned futureproofing.

The smart thing to do is go for a gaming monitor with 144Hz or 165Hz panels, as those are becoming more available now. Of course such a monitor covers the 120Hz support of the Xbox Series X (and PS5), plus it gives you headroom. Who knows? Maybe there will be a revised Series X version capable of 165Hz releasing later on. Or maybe you just want to hook up your PC to the same monitor. On PC, higher refresh rates like 144Hz and 165Hz are very popular thanks to the availability of powerful graphics cards. Therefore, opting for a high refresh rate monitor is the smart choice. You should not settle for a 60Hz monitor under any circumstance, and even monitors locked to 120Hz are now a bit obsolete as they don’t provide any room for increased frame rates as consoles and graphics cards continue to improve. 

Similar to refresh rate, having more is always good, since you get support for more standards. Resolution support only goes one way. If you get a 1080p monitor, you’re stuck with 1080p. But if you go with a 4K monitor, that’s a good investment as it also covers 1440p and 1080p, giving you more options.

With regards to the Xbox Series X, the console was specifically designed as a 4K device. Plugging it into a display that’s not 4K is fine, but really wastes the console's potential, and thus your money. A native 4K gaming monitor displays the many games that run on Xbox Series X in 4K 60Hz, and occasionally in up to 120Hz. At the same time, that monitor has no problem displaying the other common resolutions supported by Xbox Series X, namely 1440p and 1080p. And it’s not like there’s anything complicated about this. Set your Xbox Series X to 4K 120Hz in settings, and it’ll automatically switch to other refresh rates and upscale from other resolutions as needed. 

Starting in 2018, Xbox One consoles introduced support for AMD FreeSync and HDMI VRR. Those two are adaptive sync technologies designed to ensure smooth frame rates and frame pacing, syncing the console with the display to prevent image tearing, reduce latency, and minimize stutter. Previously, such technology was only found on PC.

Xbox Series X continues this tradition, with VRR support that covers a range of 20Hz-120Hz. This is equal to FreeSync Premium Plus, and is a must have for serious gamers, especially in competitive shooters. Getting a monitor without support for AMD FreeSync will deny you access to these features, but the good news is that almost every gaming monitor has some support for FreeSync. However, you should aim for a display with FreeSync Premium Pro to get the low frame rate compensation offered by Xbox Series X. By that we mean the full range of 20Hz to 120Hz. Some versions of FreeSync only start at 40Hz or even 48Hz.

We have another article about setting up VRR on Xbox Series X if you’re interested. 

Lots of people ask us whether HDMI 2.1 is really needed for Xbox Series X. Well, unlike PS5, on Xbox Series X features like VRR and 120Hz work great via HDMI 2.0, as they have in theory since 2018. However, the Xbox Series X has an HDMI 2.1 controller built-in and ships with an HDMI 2.1 port and cable. So again, using it on older tech would simply be a waste of potential.

If you’re shopping for a gaming monitor now, you should really get one with HDMI 2.1 even if it’s a little extra. Good gaming monitors now have dual HDMI 2.1 ports, meaning you can connect Xbox Series X and PS5 to the same monitor without missing out on their top-tier graphics features. To reiterate, on PS5 you must use HDMI 2.1 for stable and consistent VRR support.

If you’re looking for more advice on which HDMI version to go with, we offer additional insights on the topic you may want to check out.