We polled our tech-savvy readers about the PC peripherals they like most, zeroing in on the absolute best brands in every category. This year’s winners may surprise you.
PC peripherals can be categorized in a number of ways—so many that the situation can be confusing for even the most hard-core computer enthusiast. Depending on the source, the market for add-ons and internal components for PCs in the US alone ranged from $8.72 billion to $12 billion in 2024. But no matter how you tabulate, hardware such as input devices and displays is a big business—one sure to be impacted by the tariff situation.
Since 2022, we have asked PCMag readers about their favorite PC peripherals as part of our desktop computer survey. This year, we spun monitor, keyboard, and mouse brands their own more detailed survey. We hope this change yields results that make your purchasing decisions that much easier.
For more top PC add-on brand picks, read our survey results for the top PC component brands for upgraders and DIY builders, including graphics cards, CPUs, storage, motherboards, and cases.The Top Monitor Brands for 2025
Over the 13 years we’ve been asking readers about their favorite monitor brands overall, six companies have come to the top on multiple occasions: Apple, Asus, BenQ, LG, Samsung, and ViewSonic. This is the first year MSI takes the main prize.
(Note: Click the arrows in our interactive charts to view various elements of our survey results.)
Buoyed by the stellar scores it earns for its gaming monitors—where it traditionally shines—MSI also wins for displays overall. “MSI has proven itself as a dependable brand for gaming monitors,” PCMag analyst Zackery Cuevas says. “MSI’s recent OLED offerings have found clever ways of differentiating themselves from leading brands, while still delivering top-of-the-line performance.”
Readers are effusive about MSI. “Best vibrant colors I have ever seen on a monitor,” one says. “I would say this is my endgame,” offers another, adding, “The QD-OLED quality is amazing!” (If you didn’t know, QD-OLED screens use quantum dots to replace color filters.)
Meanwhile, AOC—another display brand focused on gaming—equals MSI for overall satisfaction. Acer ties with MSI for ease of use and triumphs over all competitors for setup, reliability, and ease of use. But Acer falters a bit when it comes to the all-important satisfaction and recommendation scores.
MSI’s strength is its gaming-specific monitors, which support Nvidia’s proprietary G-Sync tech and AMD’s similar FreeSync, both of which prevent stutters and latency. MSI wins across all gaming displays, thanks to high overall satisfaction scores. But Acer and Dell both hold their own in this arena.
Likewise, when it comes to G-Sync and FreeSync-capable displays, MSI is ahead of Asus and LG, but narrowly. MSI scores highest for display quality and gaming performance—what really matters on a G-Sync or FreeSync screen.
“Although MSI tops our reader survey as best overall monitor brand and wins in two additional categories on the strength of its gaming expertise,” PCMag senior analyst Tony Hoffman says, “it should not be forgotten that it also makes fine productivity and portable displays as well as a smart monitor that integrates Google TV. MSI may rule gaming, but their monitor offerings go well beyond it.”
In terms of extra-large-scale displays—ultrawides with aspect ratios 21:9 or larger—LG overtakes last year’s winner, Dell, to earn the 2025 Readers’ Choice award. Dell and LG tie for overall satisfaction, display quality, and likelihood to recommend, but LG takes home the prize thanks to higher scores for cost and reliability.
