Check the AVR's spec page for the HDMI generation and features on its inputs, and check how many of the ports actually carry them. That second half is where most gaming disappointments start.
What current consoles use: 4K at 120 Hz passthrough, VRR (variable refresh rate, so frame drops do not tear the picture) and ALLM (auto low latency mode, so the TV switches into game mode without you touching a remote). Together they are what the industry loosely calls the HDMI 2.1 gaming feature set. The problem is that on many AVR models only some inputs are full-bandwidth. An AVR can truthfully advertise 4K/120 support and have it on one input out of six. Read the port map, not the headline.
Confirm the TV side too, because the chain is only as capable as its weakest port and cable. The TV needs a port with the same features, and the cable between everything should be a certified Ultra High Speed HDMI cable, because a 4K/60 cable will sometimes negotiate down to a lower mode with no error message and you will simply get 60 Hz and wonder why the game feels the same. Handshake failures at 4K/120 are almost always cable or port, in that order.
The alternative that many gamers prefer: console straight into the TV's best port for the lowest latency and the cleanest video path, and audio back to the AVR over eARC. Video never touches the AVR, so the AVR's HDMI capabilities stop mattering for gaming. The cost is that you rely on the TV's eARC implementation to carry the audio format you want, and on the TV having enough good ports for everything else.
Both routes work. Which is better depends on your specific TV and AVR: how many full-bandwidth ports each has, whether the TV's eARC passes what you need, and whether you have one console or three. There is no general answer, only a model-number answer.
Send us the model numbers of TV, AVR and console and we will map the ports for you. Ten minutes of reading spec sheets before purchase beats returning an AVR after.
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