The Best Gaming Projectors of 2025


There’s nothing cooler than connecting a Nintendo Switch or a PC to a projector and adding a cinematic layer to your experience. A gaming projector will give you that while still providing a smooth gameplay experience.


What to Look For in a Gaming Projector

When it comes to a projector’s traditional uses, such as watching movies, you only have to worry about throw distance, color accuracy, and resolution. But for gaming, there’s much more involved.


For starters, input lag should be one of your biggest concerns, just like it is with gaming monitors. That’s the time it takes for your action to register on screen. If it’s too high, you might notice an ever-so-slight disconnect, which can present a problem in competitive games. Anything less than 20ms will be great, but the lower, the better.

Only a projector’s refresh rate can match input lag if we discuss the most important features. However, unlike input lag, you want a higher refresh rate. That means the image generates more frames (assuming your hardware can handle it) and creates a smoother image. The baseline is 60Hz, but 120Hz is golden, though several gaming projectors on this list go up to 240Hz.

Beyond those two aspects, resolution comes next. If you want to project a massive screen, 1080p doesn’t look as good when blown up to 100 inches. That’s where having a gaming projector that outputs at 4K can come in handy, allowing you to project a larger screen and maintain image quality.


Speaking of maintaining a good image, throw distance should always be at the back of your mind. If you need a projector that can throw an image 40 feet away, but the projector itself is limited to 20, then you aren’t going to see much of anything.

Once you’ve narrowed down your wants and needs, you have to look at ports. HDMI is a given, and luckily, most gaming projectors have that option. But what if you want audio? You want at least a 3.5mm jack for hooking up external speakers or even Bluetooth speakers.

When that’s all said and done, you can consider niche features, like portability and mounting options. Not all projectors can be mounted to the ceiling or even be used at a sharp angle.

Best Gaming Projector Overall: BenQ TK700STi

benq tk700sti 4k projector

BenQ


Pros

Cons

3000 lumens

Limited port selection

Good contrast and color gamut

1080p and 4K resolution options

Can reduce latency to 4ms

What pushes the BenQ TK700STi into the front is its accommodating nature, not just the useful features and performance, which is rather hard to do with a short-throw projector.

Take the available resolutions, for example. The BenQ TK700STi has 4K and 1080p resolutions, which are great for gaming. However, playing at 1080p will net you a maximum refresh rate of 240Hz, whereas 4K will be limited to 60Hz. More importantly, 1080p is better suited for competitive play due to its 4ms response time.


And how about the projection itself? The BenQ TK700STi has digital keystone correction and a maximum projection distance of 14 feet, which is pretty generous for a short-throw projector. With digital keystone correction, you don’t have to get the projector’s position perfect. It’ll adjust the image digitally if it isn’t dead center.

benq tk700sti

Best Gaming Projector Overall

BenQ TK700STi

The BenQ TK700STi has everything you need, from features to performance, like a fast refresh rate and low latency. More importantly, the choice between 60Hz and 240Hz is a godsend for smoother gameplay.

viewsonic PX701HDH 1080p projector

ViewSonic

Pros

Cons

Max throw distance of 35.9 feet

One 10W speaker

SuperEco+ mode extends lamp light

Can be ceiling-mounted

When you are kicking back with a game, the ViewSonic PX701HDH Projector can retain a good image whether projecting a 30-inch screen or to its maximum of 300 inches. What’s particularly nice is that two HDMI ports allow you to keep two consoles (or a PC) plugged in at all times.


The ViewSonic PX701HDH Projector’s longevity is due to its SuperEco+ mode. It extends the projector’s lamp life to 20,000 hours. If you play a couple of hours a day, the projector could last well over a decade.

Although the ViewSonic PX701HDH has just a handful of ports, you have the most essential options, namely the two HDMI ports. These allow you to connect two consoles or PC at a time. And with the addition of 3.5mm and USB-A, you can plug in a good pair of speakers rather than use the built-in 10W speaker.

viewsonic PX701HDH

Best Budget Gaming Projector

ViewSonic PX701HDH

The ViewSonic PX701HDH not only excels at being a solid gaming projector, but longevity. It’s designed to last for many years to come, which is rather hard to come by in budget projectors.

Best 4K Gaming Projector: Optoma UHZ55

Optoma UHZ55 4k projector

Optoma

Pros

Cons

Can adjust color to best match the wall

Pricey

Digital keystone correction

A lot of ports to use


Gaming on a big screen is nice, but if the resolution is low, it can look too blurry. Just try stretching 1080p across a 100-inch screen. To avoid that, the Optoma UHZ55 can throw a picture up to 4K, which still looks great even when you reach the projector’s maximum screen size.

What goes particularly well with the Optoma UHZ55 Project’s 4K resolution is the addition of HDR and color gamut. Its high contrast ratio helps retain the detail in darker areas. In fact, it has a Wall Color setting, letting you make slight adjustments to the image based on the color of your wall to ensure the best clarity.

For gaming, you’ll love that the Optoma UHZ55 is pretty flexible with its ports and refresh rate. You have three HDMI ports at your disposal, so there’s plenty for multiple gaming consoles and computers. More importantly, the projector can output 4K at 60Hz or 1080p at 240Hz, and if you use the latter, the response time drops from 16.7ms to 4ms. That’s well within the range of competitive gaming!


Optoma UHZ55

Best 4K Gaming Projector

Optoma UHZ55

The Optoma UHZ55 doesn’t just offer 4K, but a high contrast ratio and HDR, and when combined, it’s a killer option for gaming and entertainment as a whole. In fact, it has a bunch of ports for connecting multiple devices.

Best Portable Gaming Projector: BenQ X300G

benq x300g
BenQ

Pros

Cons

Supports 1080p, 1440p, and 4K

Lacks a built-in battery

Can lower input lag to 4ms (at 1080p)

SettingsXchange is handy for improving image quality

Built-in foot for adjusting project angle

Although the BenQ X300G is incredibly portable, it doesn’t drop any useful features you’d want out of a gaming projector. It also features multiple gaming modes that aim to improve genres, like a low input lag option for competitive titles.


One standout aspect of the BenQ X300G is its resolution options. You don’t just have access to 1080p and 4K, but 1440p as well, opening up the ability to increase the size of the projection without going comically large. What’s most impressive is that 1440p supports 120Hz, 1080p supports 240Hz, and 4K at 60Hz.

Another is the SettingXchange feature, which aims to improve overall image quality. While the default contrast, color gamut, and accuracy are all great, SettingXchange allows you to download image settings from other gamers and, most importantly, experts. And you can download profiles for specific games too, offering the best experience no matter what you’re playing.

benq x300g

Best Portable Gaming Project

BenQ X300G

Despite its size, the BenQ X300G offers a variety of resolutions and refresh rates, including 4K. But what’s most impressive is just how small it actually is, with its longest side being just 8.35 inches.

Best Short-Throw Gaming Projector: BenQ X500i

The BenQ X500i Projector on a table.
Andrew Heinzman / How-To Geek

Pros

Cons

Supports 1080p (at 240Hz), 1440p (at 120Hz), and 4K (at 60Hz)

Fans are audible

Includes an Android TV dongle

Installing the dongle is a bit of a pain

Supports eARC and S/PDIF


The BenQ X500i is everything you’d want in a short-throw projector, from resolution to brightness and cinematic-level colors. You won’t just enjoy the look of your games, but they’ll look and sound good, too.

For starters, the BenQ X500i covers 84% of the DCI-P3 color space, along with support for HDR10 and HLG. In practice, it won’t just be the colors that look good, but also the darker areas. It’ll come off closer to black than gray. In fact, the X500i has HDR tone mapping and SSI Dynamic Black technology, which adjusts the light automatically to provide the best picture.

What shouldn’t be overlooked is audio quality, and the BenQ X500i supports both eARC and S/PDIF. In fact, it supports 7.1-channel and Dolby Atmos audio, so with a soundbar or a home theater system, you can elevate your gaming experience with immersive audio.

benq x500i

Best Short-Throw Gaming Projector

BenQ X500i

$1250 $1699 Save $449

The BenQ X500i achieves a minimum 4ms of latency and a 240Hz refresh rate. It’s one of the few gaming projectors to match the quality of a proper gaming monitor, though its noisy operation and short throw distance may be a turn-off for some.

FAQ

​​​​​​​Can I use a projector for gaming?

Yes, you can use a projector for gaming. However, whether to use a projector for gaming should be your follow-up question.


Will there be any lag with a projector?

Yes, but even TVs have lag. Unless you’re playing a competitive title, input lag won’t be a big issue, especially with gaming projectors.

Do I need a projector screen to use a projector?

Nope, but it certainly helps. Projector screens are designed to reflect the light better than a matte wall, creating an overall better image.



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