While we are all familiar with gaming on a monitor and/or television screen, something not a lot of people have tried is gaming on a projector. This is a cool, unique, and potentially very useful way to game for reasons that you will see in this article later on.
For the moment, we want to talk about finding a good gaming projector. See, much like not all TVs are meant for gaming, so too are all projectors not meant for gaming.
In this article, we are going to help you out a lot by telling you what the best projectors for gaming are; we will also be reviewing each one.
If you want to skip all that and just get a straight product recommendation, we say to get the Optoma GT5600 Ultra Short Gaming and Movie Projector.
A Spotlight On Some of The Best Projectors for Gaming 2021:
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Optoma GT5600 Ultra Short Gaming and Movie Projector
To start off our best projectors for gaming list, we want to take a look at a projector from a brand that you are going to be seeing quite a bit of on this list, which is Optoma. They make a lot of projectors that are specifically designed to be compatible with modern gaming systems, while still being able to be used for movies and things like that.
The first projector from them that we want to take a look at on this list is the Optoma GT5600 (which is a pricey model, but also surprisingly not their priciest model). Make no mistake about it, this is easily one of the highest quality projectors that you can get on the market.
The thing that really makes this projector so good is its lumens rating. To give you the short version, a projector’s lumens rating has an absolutely huge impact on how well a projector does at displaying high-quality video imaging.
So, in addition to being a 1080p projector, the Optoma also has a 3,600 lumens rating, which helps it to produce really high-quality video, which is obviously good for video gaming and watching movies. As an added bonus, it can also display 3D images as well, which is more of a movie thing at the moment, but that could potentially be big for gaming going forward.
As we said at the start of the review and as we will say again, the biggest issue with the Optoma has to do with its tremendous cost. Simply put, this is an extremely expensive projector and there is no real way around it. It will end up costing you somewhere above $1200 to buy and install this projector. Is it worth it? Well, that ultimately depends on your own personal opinion on whether you think the quality of the Optoma justifies such a price.
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- 3,600 lumens rating.
- Can display 3D images.
- Consistent 1080p quality.
- Fairly compact for such a high-end projector.
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- At $1500, this is one of the most expensive projectors out there.
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YABER Y31 Video Projector
One thing that you will no doubt have picked up on if you have been looking at the prices of the projectors on this list is that gaming projectors tend not to be inexpensive items.
We will admit that finding projectors that are both budget friendly and that also provide the sort of video imaging that you need to reliably game can be tricky. As such, we only have a few such budget options on our list, one of which is the YABER Y31 Video Projector. This is probably one of the better options, if not the absolute best option, for when it comes to getting a budget projector on a decent price.
Let’s start off the review by talking about the cost of this projector, rather than its price. While this may seem odd at first, remember that the cost of the YABER Y31 is one of its biggest selling points.
At a price of under $300, the Y31 is definitely a lot cheaper than one would expect it to be if you just looked at the quality that it offers. Don’t get us wrong, this isn’t going to blow you away or anything like that, but the quality is relatively high for such an inexpensive projector.
Speaking of which, we should now address the video quality of the Y31. In terms of pure video quality, the Y31 is capable of projecting up to a maximum of 1280p video quality. Is this the absolutely best video quality that one can find? No, it isn’t 4K for example, but it is still good given the price range that the projector is in.
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- Very affordable, given the quality.
- Quick and painless setup.
- Good video quality; 1280p projection.
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- Latency isn’t as good as on some other gaming projectors.
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BenQ TH671ST Gaming Projector
The next product that we want to review on this list is yet another very high-quality gaming projector in the form of the BenQ, which is another brand that you see a lot alongside options like Optoma.
The BenQ has all of the features that you have seen on this review list and that you have no doubt come to expect from high-quality gaming projectors. This includes things like high video quality, a high lumens rating, and much more. While the video quality could be slightly better given the price, it is still very good.
Pros:
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- Decent video quality.
- Good lumens number.
- Overall decent quality on par with Optoma.
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- Video quality could be a bit higher given the price.
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Optoma HD146X High Performance Projector
Based on what you have seen so far on our review list, you probably associate the name Optoma with cost, given the cost of the last one that we reviewed, you would be right to assume that all Optoma projectors are extremely pricey.
However, they do actually make some surprisingly inexpensive gaming projectors to go along with the more expensive ones that they offer. A prime example of this is the Optoma HD146X High Performance Projector. This is both a high-quality projector and also one that isn’t going to impact your wallet too much, so what’s not to love about it exactly?
Without a doubt, the biggest thing to note about the Optoma HD146X is its price. The last product from them that appeared on this list ran you a whopping $1,200, if not more. The Optoma HD146X, however? Well, that can be had for under $600. That is an 50% decrease in price. So, to say that this particular projector is a good deal more affordable would be something of an understatement.
Now, the elephant in the room whenever you are dealing with a cheaper product is exactly how much it sacrifices in terms of quality to achieve the lower cost.
Well, we are happy to say that the Optoma HD146X sacrifices relatively little; in fact, we would go as far to say that this projector has the majority of features that one would find on the far pricier models. For example, the HD146X has a lumens rating of 3,600, which puts it on par with many more expensive projectors. It is also capable of projecting good quality (1080p) images as well.
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- Good image quality.
- High lumens rating.
- Far less expensive than other Optoma projectors.
- Can be used for both movies and gaming.
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- Slightly tricky setup process.
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VANKYO LEISURE 3 Mini Projector
To end off our best projectors for gaming review list, we want to do a review of a proper miniature projector. Why? Well, as many of you no doubt know, there are going to be some times where you want to carry your gaming projector around to other places. However, basically every other entry on our list was extremely ill-suited to this due to the simple fact that they were too large. We aim to fix this with our last review, which is the VANKYO LEISURE 3 Mini Projector.
As you can probably see from the title alone, this is one of the more portable projectors out there and it is easily the best option to invest in if you want something that is extremely portable. This is so easy to carry precisely because it is so incredibly small. As an added bonus, because of its small size, it is easily one of the absolute cheapest options around, costing under $100.
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- Small size makes it easy to transport.
- Most portable option.
- Low cost to go along with small size.
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- Not as high-quality as larger projectors.
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Game Projector Buying Guide
In the next part of this article, we are going to be explaining everything that you could possibly need to know about gaming projectors. No doubt many of you will recall that at the start of this article, we talked about how when compared to things like monitors and TVs, people don’t really have as much experience when it comes to buying gaming projectors.
This is something that we aim to help you with in our buying guide. We will be explaining all the info that you, as a consumer, need to make a good, informed purchase when it comes to gaming projectors.
What Gaming Projectors Are Good For
The first question that we want to answer is what exactly gaming projectors are good for. This may not seem like a question that needs answering at first, but you have to recall that when compared to gaming TVs and monitors, gaming projectors are just not the best option for gaming. They just won’t be able to project the same quality or have the same latency as TVs and monitors.
So, why would you ever bother investing in a gaming projector? Well, the first thing that we want to note is that projectors are good for obviously projecting a very large image.
If you have never played on a projector before, then you will no doubt be amazed when you do it for the first time as there is really nothing to rival the experience of seeing your favorite games projected on the big screen.
Secondly, we will note that gaming projectors are an absolutely must-have for any sort of gaming party. Rather than everyone trying to huddle around a TV or a monitor, you can set up your gaming projector and everyone can enjoy playing on an extremely large screen.
Finally, as you saw from our review list above, while gaming projectors will never be able to truly compete with gaming monitors and TVs, there are some extremely good gaming monitors out there that really help to minimize the differences.
What To Look For In A Gaming Projector
The next section of our gaming projector buying guide is going to go over exactly what you need to be looking for when you are shopping for a gaming projector. To a certain extent, we imagine that quite a few of you will already have a clue of what to look for just based on the various product reviews that we did above.
Latency
By far the most important concept to understand if you are shopping for a gaming projector is the concept of “gaming latency.” While many gamers out there are already no doubt familiar with the concept, for those of you who aren’t that familiar with it, the concept is quite easy to understand.
Latency refers to the delay between you pressing a button on your controller and the impact of that occurring on the screen. Latency is rarely high enough to be noticeable on all but the absolute worst screens; in fact, it is typically measured in fractions of a second.
While latency is always problematic when dealing with video games, it really only becomes an issue when you are trying to play games that require instant reactions and twitch reflexes. The two biggest examples that come to mind are first person shooters and platformers. Also, it probably goes without saying that any game played online is heavily impacted by latency due to the extra latency inherent from transmitting data over the internet.
So, given all that we have just said, one of your top priorities when it comes to buying a projector for gaming is to invest in one that doesn’t have a very high latency. You will never completely get rid of latency, no matter how high the quality of your chosen projector is. However, you can go a long way towards minimizing it. Likewise, a low latency is probably the single biggest thing that you can do to try to create a parity between your gaming projector and a gaming monitor or TV.
Video Quality
Unlike latency, we are sure that everyone reading this article knows about the importance of video quality. While graphics are definitely not everything, you also don’t want to play games that look bad either; this is especially the case when you remember that a lot of games these days really place a big emphasis on their graphics, so you don’t want to miss out.
Obviously, what is considered “good” graphics is constantly evolving and it can be tricky to explain what you should be looking for. Rather than go too in-depth on that, we will instead explain the minimum of what you should be looking for.
Ideally, you want a generator that offers a minimum of at least 1080p in terms of video quality. Anything less than this is a sign of either an outdated projector or a bad option. We will say that the current best video quality that you can get is true 4K.
Price
We are not going to mince words, high-end video game projectors are extremely expensive products. As you saw from the above review list, truly high-end models can cost you upwards of $1000. Even cheaper models can still run you above $500 when all is said and done.
So, be prepared to open up your wallet if you are buying a projector for gaming. At the same time, we will say that one can find some budget options out there. We actually included one or two of them on our best projectors for gaming list. However, one can’t expect the budget options to compete with the pricier options when it comes to quality.
Input
This one is another fairly obvious category, but it is one that we wanted to mention again for the sake of making sure that this buying guide is complete. Input is obviously extremely important for determining whether your particular gaming setup can work with a projector.
Since most people exclusively use HDMI these days, it isn’t as big of a deal. On the other hand, you will want to check if you are using an older console since they may not have supported inputs.
Concluding The Article
If you still happen to be unclear about any aspect of our review list, we would encourage you to leave us a comment down below letting us know what you thought about our article, as well as any questions that you still have about finding the best projectors for gaming.
