A gaming monitor is basically the second most important thing for PC gaming after a gaming PC. Your display dictates how you'll see your games rendered whether that's resolution, wide screen or ultra-wide screen, or HDR color support. Of course, not all of us can afford the most banging 4K gaming monitors around with high-refresh rates, super high peak brightness, and local dimming technology built in. The good news is a ton of recent improvements in display technology have trickled their way into budget market.
While you might think sticking to a budget would leave you with very few options, there's actually plenty of sub $500 options. You'll find a variety of QHD displays, curved screens, and ultra-wide monitors too. The bar has never been higher, so this is a great time to pick up a cheap gaming monitor. We've found the best budget gaming monitors that hit the right balance between cost, features, and image quality – and click here to see them in the UK.
TL;DR – These are the Best Budget Gaming Monitors:
- AOC 27G2
- Asus TUF Gaming VG259QR
- Samsung Odyssey G3 Monitor
- Gigabyte G27Q
- Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q1A
- Asus ROG Swift PG329Q
- LG UltraGear 32GN650-B
- ViewSonic Elite XG270
- Monoprice 27" Zero-G Curved
- Acer Nitro ED270
- MSI Optix MAG301CR2
- Acer Nitro XV282K
1. AOC 27G2 Gaming Monitor
Best Budget Gaming Monitor
What do you think you can get for $300? If your guess was a fast, 1080p display that doesn't miss out on features, you'd be right. The AOC 27G2 may not be the most pixel-dense display given that it has a 27-inch panel with a 1080p resolution, but bumping up to 1440p is a quick road to inflating the price of your gaming PC as you dig deeper for a more expensive graphics card to run it. So, the AOC 27G2 sticks to 1080p to keep the price down, but it leaves little else out.
You get a 144Hz refresh rate to make your games look as smooth as ever, and you get FreeSync support to prevent tearing from ruining the visuals. AOC even uses an IPS panel for wide viewing angles. This screen is also ready to live at the heart of a multi-device setup with two HDMI 1.4 ports you can use for consoles and a DisplayPort 1.2 port you can use for a gaming PC.
2. Asus TUF Gaming VG259QR
Best Budget 1080p Gaming Monitor
A 1080p display for gaming isn’t hard to find, but a great one that comes with all the gaming perks is hit or miss. The Asus TUF Gaming VG259QR is a hit. This 24.5-incher costs $240, but it doesn’t skimp on quality features and technologies to help you get the edge on the competition in your favorite games. With two HDMI ports and a DisplayPort, the competitive edge it offers applies to both PC and console gaming alike.
So, about that competitive edge: the Asus TUF Gaming VG259QR will help you see everything clearly even in the most intense action thanks to its 165Hz refresh rate. Support for G-Sync will keep screen tears from interrupting the picture, and a 1ms pixel response time will help avoid any motion blur or distracting ghosting or coronas. The IPS panel makes it easy to see regardless of your viewing angle, and the 300-nit peak brightness certainly won’t hurt either. It even comes mounted on a flexible stand, though you’ll also get the option for VESA mounting if you already have a stand you prefer.
3. Samsung Odyssey G3 Monitor
Best Ultra Cheap Gaming Monitor
Samsung is offering a stunningly affordable entryway into a faster tier of gaming monitors with the Odyssey G3. It features a 24-inch display with a Full HD resolution, so it will look fairly sharp while also fitting easily into smaller gaming battle stations. So far, so good, but that's nothing specially suited to gaming yet. Where Samsung steps it up is in the speed.
You also get a VA panel with support for a 144Hz refresh rate and FreeSync Premium. That extra refresh rate can let you see more than twice as much information in fast-paced games as a typical 60Hz monitor. Meanwhile, the FreeSync support will ensure each screen refresh matches a frame coming from your gaming system so there's no distracting tearing. The display also has a fast, 1ms response time to ensure pixels are quickly switching between colors and not ghosting, which can make it hard to track targets and keep up with the action on-screen.
4. Gigabyte G27Q
Best Budget 1440p Gaming Monitor
Truly, 1440p is a sweet spot for gaming. You get a decently sharp image out of it, but it's also not too hard for graphics cards to run at high frame rates, so there's no shortage of 144Hz options to choose from with this resolution. The Gigabyte G27Q is compelling. It's got the resolution and fast refresh rate, and both come on an IPS panel that can offer better color support than you'll usually get from budget TN panels.
The Gigabyte G27Q hits a decently bright 350 nits and meets VESA's DisplayHDR400 spec. Plus, the panel can display 120% of the sRGB color space and 92% of the DCI-P3 color space. Gigabyte rounds this all out with FreeSync Premium support to ensure each frame looks clean. Surprisingly, it even includes USB 3.0 passthrough, three input options, and speakers, yet it only costs a little over $300.
5. Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q1A
Best Budget 4K Gaming Monitor
The Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q1A costs just $300 while providing a 28-inch display that’s simply packed with pixels to display at a 4K UHD resolution. It’s not just a sharp resolution that Asus is packing in at this price either. The Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q1A uses a bright and colorful IPS panel that offers a 10-bit color depth and can cover 90% of the DCI-P3 color space.
You'll want the Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q1A to see all the sharp details in RTS, strategy, and story-based games, as its 60Hz refresh rate won’t be as helpful in fast-paced games that can benefit more from a 144Hz refresh rate or even faster still. That said, it does offer a variable refresh rate to help avoid screen tearing and stutter if your system isn’t holding up a consistent 60fps at 4K.
6. Asus ROG Swift PG329Q
Best Budget HDR Gaming Monitor
Good HDR doesn’t come cheap, but the Asus ROG Swift PG329Q (read our review) makes it a bit more attainable at $699. The display jumps well above the dime-a-dozen DisplayHDR 400 panels out there by offering DisplayHDR 600, which hits a higher peak brightness to really let highlights dazzle you. The display’s 16 edge-lit zones can help improve the contrast of the display’s IPS panel, but the impressive color is really what will drive the HDR experience home for you. It offers a 10-bit color depth and can completely cover the sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces while also netting 95% coverage of the cinematic DCI-P3 space in our testing.
And, of course, you can take that picture quality into your games. The 1440p resolution helps keep details reasonably sharp on its 31.5-inch panel without coming with the same graphical demands that a 4K panel would. The display can also run at a speedy 175Hz refresh rate to let you enjoy a smooth HDR picture.
7. LG UltraGear 32GN650-B
Best Budget FreeSync Gaming Monitor
With the LG UltraGear 32GN650-B you're getting a true smattering of quality features for your money. It comes in at just $350, but there almost no aspect where you're not getting an upgrade over the standard baseline for a gaming monitor.
First of all, you're jumping right past the common 24- and 27-inch display sizes to nab a 32-inch display panel. You also leap over 1080p to land on 1440p. And, instead of stopping at 144Hz, the LG UltraGear 32GN650-B cruises ahead to 165Hz with FreeSync on board to keep your experience free from tearing. It even steps up its brightness just a bit to 350 nits. Good luck finding something else that's offers all these specs for a better price.
8. ViewSonic Elite XG270
Best Budget G-Sync Gaming Monitor
The ViewSonic Elite XG270 will make sure you're getting a lot for your money. For one, you're getting speed. Not settling for the plain Jane 144Hz you'll find on many other high-performance displays, this insteadjumps way over that goalpost and delivers a 240Hz refresh rate paired with FreeSync 2 and G-Sync compatibility for ultra-smooth, seamless frames.
What's more, it doesn't deliver that speed by making many sacrifices elsewhere. Rather than using an inexpensive TN panel, the ViewSonic Elite XG270 boasts a Fast IPS panel that offers excellent viewing angles but still keeps a low response time. It even boasts a 400-nit peak brightness that serves as an entryway into HDR. There's even the added bonus of a headphone holder and mouse cable anchor built in, as well as USB 3.1 passthrough.
9. Monoprice 27" Zero-G Curved Gaming Monitor
Best Budget G-Sync Compatible Gaming Monitor
Monoprice knows a thing or two about bargains, and the Monoprice 27-inch Zero-G Curved Gaming Monitor is proof of that. It costs well below $300, but comes with a lot of features that you'll rarely find combined for such a low price.
First off, it's a larger, 27-inch monitor, giving you a decent upgrade in screen real estate over the baseline of 24-inch gaming monitors that are common in the budget segment. It takes advantage of that extra size to pack in more pixels with a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution. And, to top it off, Monoprice has those pixels running at a fast, 144Hz refresh rate. The bright VA panel on this monitor also supports adaptive refresh rate technologies, like FreeSync and G-Sync, so you can enjoy tear-free gaming visuals regardless of your graphics card brand.
10. Acer Nitro ED270
Best Budget 240Hz Gaming Monitor
You can keep your budget low while letting your speeds soar high with the Acer Nitro ED270. Although this display comes in below $300, it offers a 240Hz refresh rate paired with FreeSync and G-Sync support for clean, high-speed gaming.
You’ll want to make sure you’re not gaming in too bright of a room, as the 250-nit peak brightness of the display may not be enough if you’ve got the sun shining right on the display. But it should otherwise offer a good degree of visibility in bright and colorful esports titles that let you take full advantage of the 240Hz refresh rate. While the design here is fairly simple, it conveniently includes built-in speakers as well as VESA mounting to let you swap stands as needed.
11. MSI Optix MAG301CR2
Best Budget Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
If you like to have your cake and eat it too, then you're going to dig this. The MSI Optix MA301CR2 gives you a ton for your money even though it costs less than $400. The biggest thing you'll notice about it is just how big it actually is. This beast is packing a 30-inch panel, so you can really show off your games.
The MSI Optix MAG301CR2 makes the most of that 30 inches, too. This is a VA panel, so it can offer a strong 3,000:1 contrast ratio that'll pair nicely with the 300-nit peak brightness and 10-bit color depth for some basic HDR. With the display's 21:9 aspect ratio, you'll also get more horizontal pixels to work with than a standard 1080p screen. This display is also built with some serious speed in mind. You might think that with all you're getting at this price you'll end up having to settle for 60Hz, but you won't. In fact, you're not settling for 120Hz or even 144Hz. This display can run at up to 200Hz, and it'll even offer FreeSync to prevent tearing.
12. Acer Nitro XV282K
Best Budget HDMI 2.1 Gaming Monitor
If you’ve got a gaming PC, you can pretty much take your pick of gaming monitors with the expectation that you can just plug into a DisplayPort connector and take full advantage of all its capabilities. The same can’t be said of the latest generation of game consoles. Many displays have HDMI 2.0 ports that bottleneck resolution, frame rates, and or color modes well below the panel’s full capabilities. But now HDMI 2.1 is here, and the Acer Nitro XV282K is delivering it and the resolution and speeds it offers at a fair price.
The Acer Nitro XV282K can support a colorful picture at 4K with a 144Hz refresh rate, and with HDMI 2.1 connections to the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, you’ll be able to aim for 4K/120Hz alongside VRR for a premium gaming experience. It also includes a bright IPS panel with a fast, 1ms response time, and it comes on a fairly flexible stand to help you fit it into your setup. There are also USB ports on the side to help you keep your desk tidy – something that can be especially tricky with a multi-system setup.
Where to Get the Best Budget Gaming Monitors in the UK
You don't always need to go above and beyond with your budget to ensure you're getting a decent gaming monitor. There are plenty of brilliant, and affordable, options available to those in the UK, with all the big brands set and ready to take your orders.
What to look for in a Cheap Gaming Monitor
Below I've sketched out what features are essential and what features can be cut to save a little money on a gaming monitor—something especially relevant if you're running an older rig that can't do 1440p or 2160p anyway.
Start your quest by selecting the right resolution for your platform and components, and your GPU's horsepower will guide this area of your decision making. Sure, 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160) is the current high end, but you'll need an RTX 2080 or RTX 2080 Ti for 4K gaming at high frame rates. If you don't already have a baller GPU you'll save a lot of money by going with a 1080p display. It isn't cutting edge, but it'll get the job done.
Once you've settled on a display resolution that's appropriate for your GPU, refresh rate and response time are critically important. Refresh rate tells you how many frames per second display can cycle through. Meanwhile, response time is how quickly it can react to your input (i.e. moving forward, throwing a punch, etc). Manufacturers' specs are usually representative of what to expect under ideal conditions so keep in mind that your mileage may vary depending on your hardware. Finally, make sure that you’re getting the right type and number of input ports for your GPU. These days you usually can't go wrong with DisplayPort, but not all monitors offer that, particularly on the low-end so be sure to do your research.
When it comes to the type of display to consider, the two most common panel types for gaming monitors are TN (twisted nematic) and IPS (in-plane switching). TN is the most common because they are the cheapest panels to produce and offer very low response times and high refresh rates. The only drawback to this type of panel is they typically have restricted viewing angles and don’t exhibit the greatest color accuracy.
In contrast (display related pun intended), the more expensive IPS panels provide more accurate colors at the expense of somewhat higher response times. The choice is yours and it boils down to price, response time, and color accuracy. If you're just going to be gaming, TN is fine, but you wouldn't want to do professional photo or video editing on them; that's purely an IPS panel activity.
You’ll also want to check out VA (vertical alignment) panels, which reside between TN and IPS panels. While some have 1ms response times, VA panels typically can't hit as high refresh rates to push extremely fast frame rates as TN panels. However, they offer better colors, higher contrast ratios, and deeper blacks than a TN that are more akin to an IPS. And all curved displays use VA panels.
There's also adaptive refresh technology to consider, which is either Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync. These technologies sync the refresh rate between the monitor and graphics card to eliminate frame tearing when the two are out of sync. Another option to look for is High Dynamic Range (HDR), which is coming to more and more screens to provide better brightness and color that pop when connected to equivalently equipped graphics cards and/or the most recent consoles.
One more consideration is screen size, and for the sub-$500 range, you’ll be looking at 40 inches and smaller. If you’re like most gamers, you’ll want the largest monitor that will fit both your desk and your price range. For this buyer’s guide, we only considered displays that are 24-inches or larger. You might want to look at smaller monitors to save money, although we would recommend this only as a drastic last resort.
Also, be sure to check out even more expert recommendations with our guide to the best 4K gaming monitors, the best graphics cards, and the best 4K TV for gaming.
Kevin Lee is IGN's Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam
Mark Knapp is a regular contributor to IGN and an irregular Tweeter on Twitter @Techn0Mark
