A cheap gaming monitor can also be a great way to get your hands on a display for console gaming; if you’re willing to play on smaller screens, a gaming monitor can be even cheaper than the most budget-conscious TVs. I’ve gathered up some of the best cheap gaming monitors from top brands like Samsung, MSI, and Acer. And I’ve broken down their features to help you find a new screen that fits your budget as well as your gaming needs.
Also: Best gaming monitor: Prepare for a world of hertz
The Samsung Odyssey G5 27-inch monitor is not only affordable, it still packs in plenty of features to elevate your gameplay. It produces excellent 1440p resolution with HDR10 support for enhanced color and detail. It also has a 144Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium compatibility for smoother playback and an ultra-fast 1ms response time for near-instant reactions to your inputs. The curved screen helps reduce glare from ambient light as well as makes longer play sessions more comfortable by reducing eye strain.
The HP X32 is a budget-friendly large screen monitor built from the ground up for gaming. It features a 165Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium support for buttery-smooth gameplay and 1440p with HDR400 support for better color and detail. The 32-inch display gives you plenty of room to see, and the built-in blue light filter helps reduce eye strain during long play sessions. The HP X32 is also compatible with the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch, so you can use it for console gaming as well as PC.
If you’re working with a really limited budget, you can still get a great display with the LG UltraGear 27-inch monitor. It’s compatible with both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync to reduce screen tearing and stuttering, and the 144Hz refresh rate ensures smoother gameplay. The IPS panel produces 1080p resolution and up to 99 percent of the sRGB color gamut for more lifelike images, while the 1ms response time gives you near-instant reactions to your mouse clicks or keyboard inputs. It also has support for HDR10 for better detailing, even without UHD resolution.
A higher refresh rate means that your gameplay will stay smooth, even during intense action scenes. And the MSI Optix MAG251RX has one of the best refresh rates you can get from a budget display. If you connect the monitor to your rig via DisplayPort, you can get up to a 240Hz refresh rate for silky-smooth action for both on and offline play. And if you prefer HDMI connectivity, you’ll still get up to 144Hz, and consoles can get up to 120Hz. It also has a 1ms response time, giving you an extra edge in twitchy shooters and precision platformers. While the screen gives you 1080p resolution, it still supports both HDR10 and HDR400 for better detailing and contrast and it produces up to 84 percent of the DCI-P3 color spectrum for better images. This monitor also supports Nvidia G-Sync for variable refresh rates, to keep your playback consistent across genres and platforms. You can also charge wireless mice and keyboards or mobile devices with the USB-C input.
Not all games perform the same, so you need a monitor that can keep up. And the Omen 25i is designed to adapt to whatever your favorite game is at the moment. It works with both Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro to ensure a minimum refresh rate of 120Hz (and you can overclock to 165Hz) as well as HDR400 support for enhanced detailing. By allowing for adaptive refresh rates, your monitor can match your game’s ideal frame rate for optimal performance. You’ll also get excellent color volume since the display can produce up to 90 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and it features a Game Remaster Mode to automatically enhance the graphics of older games.
