OLED monitors are truly the stuff of dreams. If you’re after crisp, beautiful colors, deep inky black tones, phenomenal response times, and top-tier refresh rates, no other panel tech even mildly comes close to delivering all those elements in one go. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14APH8 pairs exactly that with an exceptionally low price tag, meaning this laptop offers extraordinary value already.

It’s not without fault, of course. Lenovo has certainly cut some corners to facilitate that heavy investment, particularly given that this OLED screen also comes with an impressive 2,880 x 1,800 resolution as well. For the money, though, the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 is one of the best gaming laptops out there today.

Who’s it for then? Simply put, a gamer who’s not looking to waste any cash. The less budget you have, the more valuable that budget becomes, certainly when it comes to putting it in the right place. It’s a balancing act, making sure you don’t accidentally buy a laptop that has an obvious bottleneck, and Lenovo has worked hard to ensure that’s not going to happen.

There is one big caveat to that statement, but I’ll touch on that in the benchmark section. I’ve been testing the Legion Slim 5 for around two weeks now, using it as my daily driver at times, gaming on it at others, and have run it through all manner of benchmarks. I even managed to sneak in a few hours on Baldur’s Gate 3 with it as well.

Now, straight up, let me just say, I might be in love with the BenQ X500i. It’s true, I’ve tested a huge amount of projectors and monitors in my time, but the X500i hits the sweet spot for pretty much everything. Price, performance, image quality, form factor, it ticks all the boxes.

It’s perfectly balanced, and if you’re looking for one of the best gaming projectors with 4K out there right now, there’s no doubt in my mind that this could well be it. It’s close to convincing me that I need to sling my 21:9 ultrawide monitor away for good, it’s that impressive. 

It’s not flawless. It has a few minor issues, but on the whole, for a fairly respectable $1699/£1,499 fee, what you’re getting for that investment is seriously epic. Let’s take a step back for a moment though. If you’re new to the projector scene, I’m guessing your first question is going to be “Well why?”, why get a projector to begin with?

It is without a doubt, a luxury item. If you’ve already picked up the best gaming monitor, then going for something like a projector isn't warranted. These are halo products, for nerd dens, and evenings with your buds or your family, sitting back, enjoying your beverage of choice, and just crashing out with a bit of casual gaming, or movie entertainment on a 150-inch display. It is, just such an absolutely enjoyable thing to be able to do.

Before you make this your primary display for all things, bear in mind you will still find better specs with dedicated gaming monitors and displays. After all, projection has come a long way, but so too have PC screens, and it’s hard to compete with the refresh rates, color accuracy, and pixel densities dished out by some of the latest and greatest OLED tech. But, both of these products are designed with very different use cases in mind, and that’s ok.

One thing to add, like most things in the PC space, the more you invest, usually, the better the product. But there is a sweet spot, that some (not all) projectors inhabit, and thankfully I can say the X500i sits itself in that gap quite nicely.

The best gaming projectors can give you a huge and immersive picture without having to invest in a TV or monitor. Unlike home cinema projectors, projectors for gaming need to have a low input lag (we recommend under 30 milliseconds) to keep gameplay smooth and your responses fast with the best PC games.

Getting a projector is an investment in immersive HD, with dynamic color and contrast that brings a whole new dimension to your play, so that you can see every detail with absolute clarity. Some projectors also have the benefit of being portable, and as long as you have a large enough wall to project onto, you can take the big-screen experience with you. 

Start with budget – how much have you got to spend? Then look at resolution – 4K projectors like the BenQ X3100i are optimum, while a portable 1080p option like the XGIMI Halo+ lets you game and watch for less. With the contrast ratio, the higher the better for deeper blacks and increased grayscale detail. Then there’s the refresh rate for smooth play, connectivity options, and, depending on the space you have available, the throw ratio.

Most gaming projectors also feature auto keystone correction, autofocus, and obstacle avoidance, so they more or less set themselves up, leaving you free to focus your attention on whatever console or PC game you’re in the massive display mood for.