In a hurry? Here are the best affordable 1080p and 4k gaming monitors at a glance!
A good monitor for gaming can come in all shapes and sizes, and there are many features to choose from. To make things easy, here are the most important specs to keep in mind when you pick yours.
Gaming monitors these days come in two types: 1080p full-HD resolution and 4K Ultra HD. While 1080p is the current standard, 4K is more future-proof.
Monitor sizes are measured in inches, taking a diagonal measurement across the screen. It is an important factor to consider since it will impact your overall enjoyment of the product.
The dynamic range of a monitor is a measure of the ratio between the darkest and the brightest aspects of the image. In general, a wider range is better.
Response time is the amount of time it takes for a given image request to respond. In effect, it is a measure of the time required for a pixel to change. A fast response time is crucial for gaming.
How many inputs a monitor has speaks to its versatility. The more inputs it has, the more can be connected to it. Choose a screen that has enough appropriate inputs for your needs.
While monitors are generally measured diagonally in inches, it is important to take into consideration the overall dimensions of the product to make sure it fits on your desk or wall.
Quickly find an affordable PC and console gaming monitor with this simple overview:
It is easy to get overwhelmed by the number of monitors available on the market. Hundreds are vying for your attention, and knowing which one to select can be a tricky process.
No worries, that is what we are here to help you with! So without further ado, here are the best cheap monitors for gaming.
Looking to max out your other gaming gear? Check out our buying guides which show you how to shop for the top gaming headsets, gaming mouse, gaming chairs, gaming laptops.
This new ASUS monitor combines state-of-the-art tech with an incredibly affordable price, making it our clear top pick.
You get 1080p full HD, 1ms response time, FreeSync/Adaptive Sync, and ASUS Eye Care technology with flicker-free and blue light filter to minimize eye fatigue. The monitor is available both in 24" and 27" models, see the link below.
Both models perform extremely well for both PC and console gaming. The dual HDMI connectivity means you can hook up two consoles or a console and your PC at the same time for easy switching.
In short, if you're looking for a fast, reliable, and affordable gaming monitor - this is it! You won't find a better monitor with 1ms response time and 75HZ at this price point. Give it a try, it's hard to beat.
With an astonishing four times the pixels of 1080p Full HD, the new Samsung UJ59 delivers generous 32" screen space and amazingly life-like UHD images.
For gamers, the 4K monitor offers seamless upscaling of movies and games (e.g. old Nintendo devices), so you can go from 1080p to 4K gaming easily. With 8.3 million pixels supporting a wide range of colors, this monitor gives you a wider field of view for a truly immersive gaming experience.
Samsung supports AMD FreeSync which synchronizes the refresh rate of your PC graphics card and the monitor itself, to reduce image tear and stutter. this leads to much smoother gaming. the product also offers the so called "Low Input Lag Mode" which minimizes the delay between mouse, keyboard, or joystick input and onscreen response for lower lag.
Lastly, we really love the very slim bezel and Y shaped stand which together mean a lot more room on your desk or gaming battle station. All in all, this is the best bang for your buck you can currently get for a 4K gaming monitor. Highly recommended!
HP's Pavillion 22CWA offers incredibly sharp, detailed images at any angle. Thanks to IPS in-plane switching technology, you will see the same high-quality colors across any portion of the screen.
The monitor's thin profile with advanced color technology enhances bright and dark regions, and the open WEDGE stand gives you easy access to input ports.
Offering full-HD 1080p resolution, the monitor produces images of outstanding quality thanks to the incredible dynamic contrast ratio and quick response time. Even very fast paced FPS games look smooth and amazing.
In short, the HP Pavillion 22CWA is an excellent budget gaming monitor due to its incredible viewing area and dynamic color resolution.
The new Acer R240HY displays brilliant colors and vibrant hues that make games look stunning. The lack of a bezel (frame) on the monitor gives it outstanding depth and definition, and the color seems to spill over the edges.
Games and videos look stunning because of this technology. Every detail of the monitor’s design is high-quality, and it is a lot of fun to look at.
One of the very best monitors for gaming, the Acer offers full 1080p HD resolution and an incredible 100 million to one contrast ratio to give you the best possible picture quality. A full suite of inputs increases the versatility of the monitor, letting you connect it to a lot of different components.
Acer's R240HY is the perfect gaming solution when you need incredible picture quality. We highly recommend it. In fact, it's one of the best budget gaming monitors for sale.
With its super-thin bezel and classic black finish, the Dell SE2416HX delivers unparalleled color quality that many other cheap gaming monitors just can't match.
The stylish design offers incredibly vibrant colors from any viewing angle, so you can enjoy deep blacks and brilliant whites that competing monitors cannot compete with.
Featuring Dell's PowerNap feature that reduces screen brightness when not in use, it is also the perfect energy-efficient monitor – saving you money automatically. The Dell SE2416HX brings excellent picture quality and color contrast to the table.
The ASUS VS228H-P delivers stunning 1080p resolution in a very slim design. Select a preferred display type thanks to the Aspect Control Function that lets you choose between a full display and 4:3 aspect ratios without any image distortion.
This comes in handy when you stream 4:3 web videos, play retro games, and more. ASUS’ new Smart View Technology is on hand to adjust color parameters to give outstanding image quality at any angle.
The ASUS VS228H-P is an excellent choice for any gamer due to the stunning aspect ratio and color brilliance. Most importantly, it offers top HD gaming performance at a great price.
The BenQ RL2455HM monitor offers incredible performance thanks to an ultrafast 1ms response time. Featuring 1080p HD quality, the monitor also incorporates a Black eQualizer to provide visual clarity in dark scenes, a must-have feature for any serious gamer looking for cheap gaming monitors.
The Flicker Free technology is guaranteed to reduce eye strain during gameplay, and the monitor will automatically fine-tune itself for optimal gaming.
BenQ's RL2455HM is the perfect gaming solution thanks to superb image quality and high-end visual clarity.
The LG UltraWide 34UM57-P delivers outstanding 1080p resolution in a slim and affordable gaming monitor. The 34-inch display is large enough to capture all of the action, while an in-plane switching (IPS) system delivers amazing color contrast and dynamic range. The 21:9 aspect ratio is just stunning, allowing you to see all of the gaming action in perfect quality.
Offering excellent resolution and great contrast, the LG UltraWide 34UM57 is one of the top cheap monitors for gaming.
Seiki may not be an extremely recognizable name in the field of gaming monitors, but don't let that fool you. The Pro SM28UTR delivers outstanding 4K UHD resolution married with fast 60fps visual acuity to take your gaming to the next level.
Vibrant color is the name of the game with this monitor, as are the crisp graphics and videos. A 4K resolution, of course, also means that this monitor is future proof for years to come.
The Seiki Pro offers amazing graphics thanks to its 60fps UHD display. It is an excellent choice.
With powerfully brilliant 4K UHD resolution and ASUS's Flicker Free technology, the MG24UQ is an excellent monitor ruggedly designed for even rigorous gaming. IPS and Adaptive-Sync tools will ensure brilliant and uncompromising visual quality, and fantastic color schemes are on offer.
You also get the 5-Way OSD joystick that delivers the ability to manage settings on the fly easily. The monitor tilts, swivels, and pivots to offers a variety of very comfortable viewing angles, and it also includes easy wall-mounting capability.
The MG24UQ has everything you would need in a top 4K gaming monitor. It offers both a brilliant display and ASUS' high-end technology.
First off - find out more about our Top Pick, the ASUS VG245H in this in-depth video review.
Three easy steps to choosing the perfect monitor for your needs!
All monitors can be used for any task, whether you’re a hardcore gamer or a freelance video editor. But monitors are built with more focus on certain departments – e.g. refresh rates, color production, resolution, and many, many more factors – to fulfill a PC user’s needs.
A gamer might prioritize faster refresh rates and response times over contrast ratio, whereas a multimedia editor will need a screen that produces the truest colors (also known as RGB accuracy).
General-purpose PC users like office workers who use spreadsheets and word processing programs might just be happy with a larger screen that can also be turned vertical for longer documents.
Knowing your PC usage is the first step in finding the right monitor. If you know what you need, you’re one-third of the way there.
Without the best monitor, you won't be able to enjoy the maximum potential of your gaming PC. While hunting for the right model, the next thing you should know is whether you need a CRT, LCD, LED, or OLED monitor.
This is one of the most advanced pieces of display technology at the present. LCD (Liquid Crystal Diode) monitors achieve their lifelike display effects through a series of monochrome pixels, electrodes, polarizing lights, and a layer of liquid crystals.
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LEDs (light–emitting diodes) are a relatively new piece of back-lighting technology. As you can imagine, they use LED lights instead of cathode fluorescent (CCFL) found in traditional LCDs. LEDs are supposedly much more energy-efficient, thereby making it safer for the environment.
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Organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) monitors are the newest entry in the monitor market. The main difference between LED and OLED back-lighting is that OLED uses light-emitting films rather than bulbs. This allegedly makes them more power-efficient than regular LEDs which is A-OK in our book.
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While researching which type of monitor to get, we’re sure you’ve come across the terms TN displays, VA displays, and IPS displays. Without getting too technical, here is what each of these display panels can offer.
TN is the oldest of the available LCD technologies. This type of display is the quickest of the three in terms of response time and refresh rate. However, the average TN panel will not show true-to-life colors, and their viewing angles are the weakest. TN panels are the go-to option for competitive gamers, but not so much for professional video and image editors.
Many people consider VA displays to be slightly better than IPSs. This argument is valid if you consider it takes bits from both TN and IPS without any extraordinary bads. VA displays can show true-to-life colors – black being the most profound – while also offering wider viewing angles compared to TN displays.
Although their refresh rates and response times are considerably slower than TN, modern VA displays are slowly closing the speed gap.
The main selling points of IPS (In-Plane Switching) displays are vivid colors and the best viewing angles. Their slow refresh rates and response times theoretically make them the worst choice for gaming.
But with advances in display technology, these time figures are rapidly decreasing, so much so that manufacturers are using IPS panels in ultra-wide and curved monitors designed for gamers.
There’s no point of getting a gaming monitor if it doesn’t come with features that blow your eyeballs back into their sockets. Take a look at these features and decide which work best for you.
Take advantage of unused desk space by getting an ultra-wide monitor. These monitors offer a better FOV in certain games, and their larger display area makes them perfect for multitasking. However, you’ll need a pimped-out computer to power the higher-resolution screen.
Curved monitors let you see games in three dimensions, unlike flat screens that shoot their images straight into your eyes. This supposedly creates a supposedly more immersive experience as the screen gently expands and curves into your peripheral vision.
Screen tearing, or stuttering during intense, graphically demanding parts in a game, is a common problem that NVidia’s G-Sync and AMD’s FreeSync aim to solve. A limited number of monitors use G-Sync, whereas FreeSync is more widely available, from entry-level to high-class monitors.
Choosing between an NVidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync compatible monitor depends entirely on the manufacturer of your graphics card. Double check before going monitor shopping.
Blue and purple lights have shorter wavelengths which can damage photoreceptors quicker than red, yellow, and green. If you’re in front of computer all day and/or night, you should consider checking out monitors with an optional Low Blue Light or Blue Light Filter feature that tones down blue and purple tones. This will tamper with the monitor’s color production, but there’s really no other way to save your eyes from inevitable destruction other than limiting your gaming/editing/word-processing sessions.
Although this feature works best for photo and video editors, gamers might also want to view their games in the most vibrant colors. Color Accurate monitors are a bit on the pricy side, but there several budget-friendly models worth looking at, albeit with huge hits in overall quality.
The audio quality blasting from the monitors with built-in speakers ranges from “What did the main character say?” to “I can understand the guy speaking in the background!” The biggest benefit that built-in speakers offer is saving space and reducing stress since you won’t have to fiddle with external speaker volume knobs or look for your headphones. If you’re satisfied with your current audio setup, then built-in speakers may not be worth the extra cost.
If you’d like to keep your monitor out of harm’s way (spilling drinks on your computer desk), then consider getting a monitor that’s compatible with a pivoting monitor arm and/or vertical mounts. Monitor arms allow you to swivel and tilt the monitor, whereas vertical mounts simply keep it off the desk’s surface.
If you like the idea of floating monitors, then find a monitor that is compatible with a wall mount. Not only do wall mounts save desk space, but they also allow you to be creative and keep unsightly cords out of sight. You may need to drill through drywall to achieve a cordless setup.
Glossy screens show produce better colors, are easy to clean, and reduce reflections in certain conditions, but they’re not built to combat glare. Matte screens reduce glare, reduce the intensity of reflections, and hide dust and grease extremely well. The downsides of matte screens are their dulled colors, less image sharpness, and they are much harder to clean.