Decent gaming monitor for $200-250?

MightyUnclean

A friend of mine wants to get a monitor for casual gaming.  Is it possible to get a decent one in the $200-250 range?  If so, any suggestions?

Thanks!

Mendel

Sure.  You won't be pushing 4k resolutions, but there's plenty of great monitors running 1920x1080.  That's probably all you need for casual gaming.  My ACER 23" was about $120 (US) when I replaced it in 2017.

Quizzical

It depends on what you consider decent, but I'd say probably.  A cursory look found this:

https://www.newegg.com/black-acer-vg270u-bmiipx-um-hv0aa-005-27/p/N82E16824011340
2560x1440 resolution
75 Hz refresh rate
IPS panel
27" diagonal
FreeSync support
$235, including shipping

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16824012016
1920x1080 resolution
144 Hz refresh rate
IPS panel
27" diagonal
FreeSync support
$210 with promo code

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16824569005
2560x1440 resolution
144 HZ refresh rate
VA panel
32" diagonal
FreeSync  support
$245, including shipping

You can also go somewhat cheaper if you're willing to accept smaller sizes or lower refresh rates.  Don't get a TN panel, though.  Just don't.

Ridelynn

I’d recommend IPS panel in whatever screen size they want as a main priority. Refresh rate with Freesync a second (although anything over 144 is pretty meh), and the overall screen resolution as a last consideration. 

Between those three factors you can net a decent monitor. Resolution is where you will start to really pay some money.

finefluff

ASUS - TUF Gaming VG249Q 144Hz 23.8” IPS LCD FHD 1ms FreeSync Gaming Monitor is a good one. I think it is normally $250, but it was recently on sale for $170 at BestBuy. Appears to be sold out now. I got it and am happy with it, especially for the price. Here is a video going over it's features: 

Cleffy

I will shock everyone. If you are going 24" or less for a monitor. Pick a VA panel. Viewing angle doesn't matter too much with a screen that small. The color accuracy isn't important unless your workload requires it in which case there are OLED options at 22". They will have better contrast and will refresh faster. They are also cheaper in general. When increasing refresh rate on IPS panels, they tend to suffer a little in areas it's strong in.
Here are a couple from AOC from $150 ~ $250: AOC C24G1, AOC G2490VX
Here are a couple from MSI for $200~$250: MSI Optix MAG240CR, MSI Optix G24C

Vrika

Cleffy said:

I will shock everyone. If you are going 24" or less for a monitor.

I'd recommend getting a bit larger than just 24 inch unless you're so limited in space that you can't get a larger one.

Ridelynn

Cleffy said:

I will shock everyone. If you are going 24" or less for a monitor. Pick a VA panel. Viewing angle doesn't matter too much with a screen that small. The color accuracy isn't important unless your workload requires it in which case there are OLED options at 22". 

I will admit I haven't looked specifically at the monitors your talking about, but my general beef with VA for computer monitors is that they tend to look pretty muddy with fast moving scenes because of ghosting.

It's all a matter of tradeoffs:

- TN is the fastest and cheapest, but has the worst viewing angles and color

- IPS has the best color and viewing angle, but suffers from backlight bleed and poor dark images, and relies heavily on backlight zoning

- VA shoots the middle between TN and IPS, but has issues with ghosting

- OLED has the best contract and dark levels, but can suffer from image retention / burn-in, and isn't readily available in most common sizes

- MicroLED isn't available yet.

Gotta take the good with the bad - none of them are perfect.

Ridelynn

I would say OLED is a better option than it has been in the past, but I wouldn't go in so far as to say it's better than anything else out there, as it still has some pretty big caveats.

Either the screen is pretty small (like 21"), or pretty big (48"+++), and your going to pay a good deal (high hundreds at the least) just to get in.

That said, something like the LG CX is definitely starting to turn some heads as a gaming option. They are marketing it more so for the consoles, but all the same things that make it a good console screen also make it good for PC gaming. It just isn't terribly great as a PC monitor for tasks other than gaming.

Jensyn

Mine is coming in this week-I'll let you know how it performs.