We'd all love a megabucks OLED panel but I'd happily have one of these cheap Prime Day gaming monitors on my desk from just $89
From $89 to $249 and 1080p to 34-inch ultrawide, there's something here for almost any budget.
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The sky-high cost of the best OLED gaming monitors versus OLED TVs is something of a conundrum, what with 27-inch 1440p OLED monitors being priced up with 48-inch 4K OLED TVs. But here's the thing. LCD monitors are still very good and can be had a startlingly low prices.
For proof, consider this quartet of extremely affordable gaming panels for Amazon Prime Day. Pricing kicks off at just $90 and even the most expensive option is $250. They're all high refresh with at least 144 Hz and you get a choice of resolutions and form factors from plain old 1080p up through 34-inch ultrawide.
Acer Nitro XV271U M3bmiiprx | 27-inch | 180Hz | 1440p | 0.5 ms G2G resposne | IPS | $289.99 $169.99 at Amazon (save $120)
This Acer monitor is a steal for all you prospective competitive gamers, hitting a high refresh rate and low response time sweet spot (0.5-1 ms gray-to-gray). It's the same price as the Odyssey G5 below but is better for those of you who prefer an IPS panel to a VA.
Price check: Newegg $281.99
MSI MAG342CQR Curved Gaming | 34-inch | 3440 x 1440 | 144Hz | VA | $299.99 $249.99 at Amazon (save $50)
At first glance, this looks like a dead reinger for the MSI ultrawide we already have listed. But this one ups the refresh to 144Hz from 100Hz and the brightness from 250 nits to 300 nits. In both cases, that lifts this screen from slightly skanky to much more acceptable all round. Oh, and it's slightly cheaper. It's still VA, of course, but it's an awful lot of screen for $250.
Price check: Newegg $423
Acer Nitro KC241Y | 23.8-inch | 1080p | 165Hz | VA | FreeSync | $172.99 $89.99 at Amazon (save $83)
Why do monitor model names need to be so confusing? It's an eternal mystery. But if you can decode this Acer, you'll find it's a cracking deal. A 165Hz gaming monitor for just $90. Yes, it's VA, but at this price point, something's gotta give.
Price check: Newegg $176.99
Acer Nitro XF243Y | 23.8-inch | 1080p | 180Hz | IPS | FreeSync | $199.99 $109.99 at Best Buy (save $90)
If you reckon IPS rather than VA tech is essential for a proper gaming panel, do not despair. This 180Hz Acer monitor rocks IPSm panel tech for a whisker over $100. Sure, it's only 1080p and 24 inches. But if you're looking for maximum speed for minimum money, this is an excellent deal.
Price check: Amazon $121
Arguably the best all-round deal of the bunch is the Acer Nitro XV271U. It's a 27-inch 1440p model, which remains something of a size, resolution and pixel density sweetspot for gaming, with a 1ms IPS panel and 180Hz refresh.
It's yours for just $170 from Amazon and it's a huge amount of monitor for the money. Of course, you're expecting a catch and if there is one, it's the 250 nit brightness rating.
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Now, that is a little disappointing. But it's worth remembering that in terms of SDR punch on the desktop, that means it's about on par with those megabucks OLED monitors. It's HDR highlights where OLED tech really sizzles.
As good a deal as that Acer 1440p panel undoubtedly is, however, my pick would actually be the MSI MAG342CQR for $250 from Amazon. It's a 34-inch ultrawide 3,440 by 1,440 pixel panel, which is my favourite among the real-world form factor and size options.
Personally, I find 34-inch ultrawide miles more immersive for gaming and I much prefer it for daily duties on the desktop. It's perfect for running two browser windows side-by-side, for instance.
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Specs wise, it's a 144 Hz model, which isn't the highest but I think is plenty in terms of fluid frames rates and decent latency. You only need something faster if you're seriously into esports, in which case you probably want a 16:9 panel, not an ultrawide, anyway.
At 300 nits the brightness is OK rather than a particular selling point and it is, inevitably, a VA rather than IPS panel. MSI rates the response at 1 ms MPRT, so it won't be terrible. But regardless of the response claims, a modern IPS panel will typically be a bit quicker.
Personally, I can accept slightly slower response in return for the size, form factor, pixel density and all-round immersion of this class of ultrawide monitor. And remember, an equivalent OLED panel will cost over three times as much, but won't be even remotely three times the monitor.
The two cheapest options here are both 24-inch 1080p panels. I'm not a huge fan of this form factor but they make sense for two use cases. Firstly, they're dead cheap and so it's great to be able to get a propoer gaming monitor with 165Hz refresh for under $100.
The Acer Nitro KC241Y currently clocks in at just $90 from Amazon, gives you that 165Hz refresh plus claimed 1ms response. At this price the VA panel tech is no surprise, this is about as cheaper a proper gaming display tech gets.
That said, I'd probably throw another $20 at the problem and grab its Acer sibling, the Acer Nitro XF243Y. For $110 from Amazon you get an upgrade to both IPS panel tech and 180Hz refresh.
The enough refresh to enable you to be competitive at esports to a pretty high level and all for a smidge over $100. When you think about how much even the crappiest current Nvidia gaming graphics card costs, that's an absolute steal.
Jeremy has been writing about technology and PCs since the 90nm Netburst era (Google it!) and enjoys nothing more than a serious dissertation on the finer points of monitor input lag and overshoot followed by a forensic examination of advanced lithography. Or maybe he just likes machines that go “ping!” He also has a thing for tennis and cars.