Best TV for gaming under £1000

Input lag is the most heavily weighted criterion because it directly determines how responsive a TV feels during gameplay. For competitive titles like Warzone, Fortnite, Apex Legends and fighting games like Street Fighter 6, even a few milliseconds of additional delay can mean the difference between winning and losing a gunfight or dropping a combo.

The LG OLED48C3 scores 10/10. In Game Mode at 4K 120Hz, it achieves approximately 9ms of input lag. This is effectively imperceptible to human reflexes and matches many dedicated gaming monitors. The C3 also supports ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), which automatically switches to Game Mode when it detects a console, so you never accidentally game with high-latency picture processing enabled.

The Samsung S90C scores 9/10 with approximately 10ms input lag at 4K 120Hz. The 1ms difference from the LG is negligible in practice, but the LG's G-Sync certification provides an additional layer of frame-pacing consistency for PC gamers.

The Hisense U8K scores 7/10 with approximately 14ms input lag. This is still very good and adequate for the vast majority of gaming, but competitive players may notice the difference in twitch-reaction scenarios. The TCL C845 scores 6/10 with approximately 16ms, which is acceptable for casual gaming but noticeably less responsive than the OLED options.

Refresh rate and VRR support are rated critical because modern consoles and PCs produce variable frame rates. Without VRR, when a game running at 60fps suddenly drops to 48fps during an explosion or dense scene, you see visible horizontal screen tears. VRR eliminates this entirely by synchronising the display's refresh rate to the GPU's output frame by frame.

The LG OLED48C3 scores 10/10. It supports all four HDMI 2.1 ports at native 4K 120Hz, plus NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible, AMD FreeSync Premium and standard HDMI VRR. This covers every gaming device and PC GPU on the market. The VRR range extends from 20Hz to 120Hz with LFC (Low Framerate Compensation) below the minimum, ensuring smooth performance even when games dip into the 30fps range.

The Samsung S90C scores 9/10 with four HDMI 2.1 ports at 4K 120Hz and support for FreeSync Premium and HDMI VRR. It lacks official G-Sync certification, though it works with most NVIDIA GPUs via the VRR standard. The Hisense U8K scores 7/10 with two HDMI 2.1 ports and basic HDMI VRR. The TCL C845 scores 6/10 with two HDMI 2.1 ports and basic VRR that occasionally exhibits flickering at the lower end of its range.

Picture quality is rated important because it determines how visually impressive game worlds appear. While input lag and refresh rate affect gameplay mechanics, picture quality affects immersion and the emotional impact of story-driven titles.

The LG OLED48C3 and Samsung S90C both score 9/10 for picture quality. The LG produces perfect blacks and infinite contrast, which is transformative in dark game environments. Exploring Elden Ring's underground caverns or navigating Dead Space's dimly lit corridors feels genuinely atmospheric on OLED. The Samsung counters with higher colour saturation and brightness courtesy of its QD-OLED panel, making sunlit open-world games like Zelda or Horizon look more vibrant.

The Hisense U8K scores 7/10 with its Mini-LED panel. Local dimming zones produce good contrast for a non-OLED TV, but blooming around bright objects in dark scenes is visible. The TCL C845 scores 6/10 with fewer dimming zones than the Hisense, resulting in less precise contrast control.

HDR gaming performance is rated important because an increasing number of modern titles support HDR, and the visual difference between SDR and well-implemented HDR is dramatic. Sunsets in Red Dead Redemption 2, neon lights in Cyberpunk 2077 and explosions in Helldivers 2 all benefit enormously from high dynamic range.

The Samsung S90C scores 9/10 for HDR gaming. Its approximately 1300 nit peak brightness produces genuinely impactful HDR highlights. Specular reflections on water, lens flares and fire effects all pop with a realism that lower-brightness panels cannot match. The QD-OLED panel maintains wide colour volume even at high brightness levels.

The LG OLED48C3 scores 8/10. Whilst its approximately 800 nit peak brightness is lower than the Samsung, the C3 compensates with Dolby Vision gaming support on Xbox Series X. Games like Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite use Dolby Vision's dynamic metadata for scene-by-scene tone mapping, which can produce a more nuanced HDR picture than static HDR10. The perfect black levels also mean the effective contrast range is vast even at lower peak brightness.

The Hisense U8K scores 7/10 with approximately 1100 nits and support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10+. The TCL C845 scores 6/10 with approximately 900 nits. Both Mini-LED panels produce adequate HDR but lack the per-pixel contrast control of OLED.

At approximately £899, the LG OLED48C3 scores 8/10 for value. It delivers genuine OLED gaming performance with the lowest input lag in this group whilst remaining under the £1000 budget. The Samsung S90C at approximately £949 scores 7/10, offering QD-OLED quality but sitting at the very top of the price range with less room for accessories like a soundbar or extra controller.

The Hisense U8K at approximately £549 scores 9/10 for value. It delivers 120Hz gaming, VRR and strong HDR brightness at a price that leaves significant budget for a gaming headset or additional games. The TCL C845 at approximately £499 also scores 9/10 for value, offering the cheapest entry point into 120Hz gaming, though its higher input lag and less consistent VRR implementation make it the weakest overall performer.