If your looking for an affordable gaming monitor but not sure where to start, this guide will got through the most afforable gaming monitors and cover the basic specs.
Such as Refresh rates and Adaptive Sync. If these terms don’t sound familiar to you, don’t worry! By the end of this article you will understand what these are and will be better equipped when buying a gaming monitor in the future.
There is also a list of gaming monitors that are good value for money that I recommend, and one of these monitors I actual own myself! Which I will point out later in the article.
Please note I will be only mentioning Full HD(1080p) monitors in this article, as these keep the price affordable! Without any more delays lets get started!
Refresh Rate
So what is a Refresh rate? A Refresh rate is the frequency of an image being updated on the display, this is measured in hertz(Hz)
For example if a monitor is 240(Hz) than the image on the display will be refreshed 240 times a second. The higher the Hertz the more smooth the image becomes on the screen. This is why competitive gamers are always seeking higher refresh rates.
Buying a high refresh rate monitor alone won’t be enough. You need a Graphics card and processor to be able to hit those refresh rates. So if your unsure which Graphic cards and processor to buy on a budget, to pair with a monitor, please check out the article “Best Value for Money Graphic cards“
Response time
You will often see responses time when shopping for a new monitor in miliseconds(ms). The lower the response times the better. So a monitor of 1ms response time is better then 5ms.
Response time is how long it takes for pixels to change colour. For example how long it takes for a pixel to change from white to black or a different shade of grey to another.
Although you won’t notice this shift as it happens so fast, it is crucial for high competitive games, wether it is a quickscope shot, or a fast paced fighter, every millisecond counts.
Adaptive sync
Adaptive Sync is used for displays to be able to synchronize with input frame rates to avoid tearing. This is to match the misplacement between the screens refresh rate and the games framerate.
Monitor Type
Flat
There are two type of monitor displays. Flat and Curved. Flat monitors are generally cheaper, and you can get a great deal for the price.
The downside to this you have alot more eye strain when using a flat monitor. If you only use your computer for browsing and don’t spend longer periods of time. Flat monitors are the way to go.
Curved
If your gaming, writing essays, video editing and spend long periods of time on the computer and want eye less strain. The curved monitor is the way to go! As I have always said once you go curved you don’t go back!
The advantage of curved monitors is there is less strain on the eye because your eye is naturally curved. Curved displays come in a variety of curvatures. These are 4000R/ 3000R/ 1800R / 1500R / 1000R. (The “R” Stands for Radius)
The lower number is the better one, and as you have probably guessed by now this determines the price of the curved montior.
1000R is the closet to your eyes curvature and thus will provide less strain. So you can game longer and have less breaks! (Well I don’t know if thats a good thing or not!)
Resolution
Screen resolution is the number of pixels on a display. The more pixels the sharper the image quality looks.
Screen resolution is written in the format of 1080 x 1920. This means the screen has 1080 pixels horizontally and 1920 pixels vertically.
The different display monitors are as shown in the chart below.
| Resolution | Pixels |
| High Definition / 720p | 1280 x 720 pixels |
| Full HD / 1080p | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| 2K | 2048 x 1080 pixels |
| QHD / QuadHD / 1440p | 2560 x 1440 pixels |
| Ultra HD / 2160p | 3840 x 2160 pixels |
| 4K | 4096 x 2160 pixels |
| 5K | 5120 x 2880 pixels |
| 8K / 8K | 7680 x 4320 pixels |
In this list I have included both flat and curved displays. With different refresh rates and response times.
List of Affordable Flat Gaming Monitors:
Acer Nitro KG242Y E 24-inch Gaming Monitor
This is a gaming monitor for those on a budget. It is 23.8 inches has 100(Hz) Refresh rate and a 4ms response time. It is currently on offer on UK Amazon for £84.
Acer Nitro KG241Y P3bip 23.8″
This gaming monitor has 180Hz refresh rate and a 2ms response time. It also supports HDR10 and AMD free sync technology. It is currently on newegg US for $99.99
MSI G255PF E2 Full HD 25″ IPS LED Gaming Monitor
This is a 25 inch monitor with an 180hz refresh rate and a 1ms response time. It also has built in speakers and is height adjustable
AOC 24G4X Full HD 24″ IPS LCD Gaming Monitor
This is a 24 inch monitor with a 180hz monitor with a 1ms response time. It is also adjustable and can be wall mounted. There is also a 27inch counterpart that has exactly the same specifications.
BenQ GW2490E 24 Inch Monitor
For those on a bit of a tight budget, but you don’t want to fork out too much for a gaming monitor. This is a really good deal. It has Full HD IPS display. It has eye care mode which can be toggeled on and off. It has a 100hz refresh rate and a 5ms response time.
Curved
Here are a list of affordable curved monitors:
AOC C27G2Z3/BK Full HD 27″ Curved
This is a 27″ Curved monitor, it has 1500R Curvature which looks really nice . It has a 240hz Refresh rate 0.5ms display. It is height adjustable and can be wallmounted. It also supports HDR10 and is a must for any competitive gamer.
This is the monitor I own, and for very good reason you can see why! This monitor is really nice, and the best price for the refresh rate and ms it offers! It is my first timing owning an AOC brand display.
They provide a software called AGON by AOC – G Menu. This is a really good feature as you can have different low blue modes as well as gaming colour modes. You can even customise these yourself or use other users settings within the G menu.
Z-Edge 24 Inch Curved Gaming Monitor
This is the Z-Edge 24inch curved monitor it has a 1650R Curvature with a 180Hz Refresh rate and 1ms response time.
Z-Edge monitors are gaining popularity. While offering very good spec gaming monitors at an affordable price.
MSI G24C4 E2 Full HD 24″ Curved
This is a 24 inch curved display, with an 180Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. This is a very nice monitor for the price. 24 inch i feel is a good size for a gaming set up especially when your on a budget!
This concludes the affordable gaming monitors with a decent spec and good value for money. You don’t have to break the bank to get a decent gaming monitor if you are looking to upgrade.
If your into competitive gaming I would highly recommend to go for a higher refresh rate monitor if your Graphics card can support it. As every second counts!
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