The Best Cheap Gaming Monitors for 2023 (2023)

FAQs

Is 165Hz better than 144Hz? ›

The simple answer to that is no, not a big difference. Since 165fps is just 21 frames per second more than 144. That's just a 13% increase. Most people aren't likely to notice those extra frames, but the clincher is that if you're getting a new monitor for gaming, you should know that 165Hz is basically the new 144Hz.

Answer: If you're playing competitive games, a 144Hz gaming monitor is definitely worth it. Not only does it provide you with a more enjoyable and responsive gaming experience, but you also get an advantage over your opponents who have regular 60Hz displays.

The best gaming monitor we've tested is the Dell Alienware AW3423DW. It's an excellent ultrawide gaming monitor that doesn't have the highest resolution or refresh rate compared to other monitors, but it's known for its incredible motion handling and remarkable picture quality.

So, a 240Hz monitor is four times faster than a 60Hz monitor and 70% faster than a 144Hz display. That's quite a leap forward. The biggest benefit of higher refresh rates comes in the form of more responsive and accurate gaming, with lower input lag.

That said, some monitors are better suited for specific fields than others and in the field of gaming, the 27-inch screen is the most sought-after. This is because it has a larger field of vision, thus making for a more immersive experience.

It is hard and terrible for the human eye to detect a difference between 144 Hz and 240 Hz. As such, 240 Hz monitors won't suit to an average person, but if you can see the difference and you find that it helps you more in gaming side. Therefore 240 Hz monitor will be worth your expense for it.

Curved gaming monitors offer a more immersive gaming experience compared to flat monitors. They do this by bringing the sides of the screen more within your field of vision.

60 Hz is the bare minimum, but 144 Hz will give a boost to performance. 240 Hz is nice but is unlikely to give as large a jump in performance as the 60-144 Hz jump. You need graphics powerful enough to run games at these frame rates to benefit fully from a fast monitor.

So, the answer to 'does monitor affect FPS or not' is, yes, it does. Upgrading your pc alone will not improve your gaming experience if you do not upgrade your monitor.

The human eye can physiologically detect up to 1000 frames per second. The average human, tasked with detecting what framerate he/she is looking at, can accurately guess up to around 150 fps. That is, they can see the difference in framerates all the way to 150 fps. Human eyes cannot see things beyond 60Hz.

Is 360 Hz good for gaming? ›

Best for: Competitive, esports gamers. 360Hz monitors have only been around for a short time. They're limited to a 1080p resolution for now, but we expect to see higher resolution models appear soon. They're best suited for competitive esports gamers who need the lowest possible input lag.

2K displays are those whose width falls in the 2,000-pixel range. More often than not, you'll find 2K monitors with a display resolution of 2560x1440, that's why it's often shortened to 1440p. However, this resolution is officially considered Quad HD (QHD). As such, many monitors claim their resolution as 2K QHD.

Curved Monitors Are More Comfortable for Your Eyes

Essentially, the curvature of the monitors allows our eyes to take in everything at once, without strain. This comes in opposition to flat screens, which, depending on the size, may cause eyestrain if the screen exceeds a viewer's natural field of view.

These studies have included both stabilized and unstablized retinal images and report the maximum observable rate as 50–90 Hz. A separate line of research has reported that fast eye movements known as saccades allow simple modulated LEDs to be observed at very high rates.

It depends on your gaming priorities. If you're a competitive gamer who plays fast-paced games, where every millisecond counts, a 360Hz monitor can offer a notable advantage. However, if you play slower-paced games or aren't a competitive gamer, you may not see as much benefit from a 360Hz monitor.

The difference between 240Hz and 360Hz is subtle, to the point where most people will not notice a difference unless both displays are kept next to each other, but if you need to improve your performance and gain the maximum advantage, 360Hz is the way to go.

Is 1440p bad for competitive gaming? The best gaming resolution for competitive players is 1080p. In other words, although the game may appear better on a 1440P or 4K display, the overall experience is better if the refresh rate is increased rather than the screen resolution.

So, for aspiring esports pros, a refresh rate of 144Hz and up is important – but not necessary if you just want to hop on a relaxing gaming session. When casually playing, a refresh rate of 60Hz is completely enough.

It's generally accepted that 27in is the sweet spot for 1440p monitors, but anywhere down to 24in is also perfectly good for working or casual gaming. WQHD gaming monitors will almost always measure 27in across the diagonal. It's simply a matter of preference and available space.

Does 240Hz increase FPS? ›

It is not necessary to have a 240Hz monitor to run 240 FPS. However, having a monitor with a high refresh rate can enhance the gaming experience and provide smoother visuals. A higher refresh rate allows the monitor to display more frames per second, reducing screen tearing and input lag.

A 120Hz display refreshes twice as quickly as a 60Hz display, so it can display up to 120 fps, and a 240Hz display can handle up to 240 fps.

If you have a 300 Hz display and can reach a stable 300 FPS, then all the more power to you. But for everybody else, you can aim for lower frame rates and still reap the benefits of a high refresh rate display which will be the more likely scenario on a laptop.

While some find 24-inch monitors to be the ideal size, others may think that even a 27-inch display is too small. For most people, monitors larger than 32 inches are too big for gaming. Whatever display size you prefer, you should always keep the screen resolution in mind as well.

Gamers need a monitor that can keep up with the speed and intensity of today's games. We recommend at least Full HD resolution, a response time of 5 ms or faster, a refresh rate of 60Hz or faster, and a horizontal viewing angle of 178° or more.

A 60Hz monitor displays up to 60 frames per second. Many games see this as a requirement for gaming. You don't need an expensive video card to produce 60 Full HD frames per second. That's why a 60Hz monitor is great for the novice gamer.

A 3060 card can definitely run on 240 hz. That is if you play Esports Titles like Csgo, Fornite, Valorant, etc. Though if you are playing high demand games you might not reach the 240 FPS + and game will be choppy.

This is measured in Hertz (Hz). For example, if your display has a refresh rate of 144Hz, it is refreshing the image 144 times per second. When paired with the high frame rates produced by a GPU and CPU working together, this can result in a smoother experience and potentially higher FPS.

The higher the number, the smoother the screen will appear to the human eye. This means that a 120Hz display – which updates itself 120 times a second – will look noticeable slicker and more natural than your average 60Hz screen which only updates itself 60 times a second.

Yes, it still is 120 FPS if it is running on a 60 hertz monitor, however it is going to come with issues such as ghosting and screen tearing, possibly stuttering.

Does 60Hz mean 60 FPS? ›

A loose definition of Hz is “per second”. A 60Hz monitor can display any framerate up to 60fps with no issue. Anything above 60fps still looks exactly the same as 60fps, though screen tearing (fast-moving objects may have half of them flash or not appear correctly).

Yes, a better gaming monitor does improve your gameplay. It provides you with a clearer, crisper, smoother, and generally much better image and video quality than an average monitor.

The term 8K doesn't really apply to how eyes work, but if we reduce the complex nature of sight down to this marketing buzzword then yes, the human eye can see in 8K and beyond. The reason for this hesitation is that eyes don't see in pixels, or use resolutions - no optician has ever said you can only see in 720p.

Introducing the monitor with the world's fastest refresh rate of 500Hzⁱ, the Alienware 500Hz Gaming Monitor (AW2524H), a CES 2023 Innovation Award and Best of Innovation winner, delivers the world-class speed today's champions demand.

The World's Fastest Esports Displays

NVIDIA^® G-SYNC^® displays deliver unparalleled 360 Hz gameplay, making them the choice for esports enthusiasts everywhere. Experience the lowest system latency for faster reaction times, practically no ghosting, and the smoothest motion to help stay on target.

This high 4k resolution helps deliver sharp images, and while 4k @ 240Hz gaming is still hard to achieve and you'll likely need to lower the resolution to hit the max refresh rate, it's at least future-proof for when 4k @ 240Hz gaming becomes more accessible.

Depending on your resolution, games and settings it is certainly capable of reaching 240 FPS to match 240hz monitor at 1080p and maybe 1440p on the less demanding games.

With a mobile RTX 3070 card inside, this system should provide very strong frame rates in 1080p games. No matter how fast the card spits them out, the 1080p screen will keep up as it can operate at up to 360 Hz.

Is 1440p better than 4k for gaming? No, 1440P is not better than 4K for gaming. The winner is largely dependent on your personal preference. 4K offers better imaging quality but 1440p, or 2K, is better for efficiency such as a high refresh rate and frames per second.

Can the human eye see the difference between 1440p and 4K? The answer is yes, but only if you are sitting very close to your monitor. If you are sitting more than 3 feet away from your monitor then basically you can't tell the difference anyway.

Should I play in 4K or 1440p? ›

This is dependent on several criteria, one of which is your budget and the kinds of games you wish to play. 4K resolution is the way to go if you want the finest picture quality possible. However, 1440p is still a very good option that will be less expensive and offer decent framerates in most games.

If you're looking for a monitor to use at your desk, a 27-inch model is the sweet spot. They're big enough to see everything on the screen, but not so big as to take up too much space. They also have a nice, wide range of resolutions, so you can easily transition between tasks without having to zoom in and out.

The viewing angles are more limited — you really need to be sitting dead-center. Because of the bigger screen, the image on a curved monitor is more prone to get stretched out and distorted (especially on cheaper models). And they don't really lend themselves to multiple monitor setups.

If that monitor has a 3000R monitor curvature, then you would want to ensure that you're positioned no more than 3 meters away from the monitor screen. If you happen to exceed that number, your viewing experience may be less than perfect.

Having two screens is almost necessary if you plan to do Twitch streaming. This way you are able to play on a primary monitor and use streaming tools on a secondary monitor. You can easily view a chat and respond to your viewers in real time.

A gaming monitor is the best choice for game performance. Their combination of low input lag and high refresh rate makes for unparalleled responsiveness. A gaming monitor is best for games on a desk or in a space where you'll be just a few feet from the display.

The PS5 can't take full advantage of its fast 165Hz refresh rate, but with its HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, you can play 4k games up to 120 fps on the PS5 without issue. When gaming at 120Hz, this monitor delivers a fantastic gaming experience, with almost no noticeable blur in busy scenes and incredibly low input lag.

Gaming Performance

A 75 Hz monitor will improve the motion resolution, offer better responsiveness, and reduce ghosting and tearing. So, you can guess how fun your games will get after you have them all together.

Although high-refresh-rate monitors are becoming more popular and more accessible to buy, 144Hz monitors are still useful for entry-level gamers whose graphics cards can't reach high frame rates. There are also more 4k @ 144Hz monitors coming out, which is great if you want to play high-resolution games instead.

The best cheap 144Hz monitor at the moment is the Acer XFA240. If you're looking for a little bit more performance, the Sceptre E255B-1658A and its 165Hz refresh rate are also worth considering.

How much should I spend on a budget monitor? ›

Price: You don't need to spend more than $150 to get a good monitor. Monitors cheaper than $100 tend to be too small or to use inferior display technology that isn't as nice to look at.

Higher refresh rates are better. 60 Hz is the bare minimum, but 144 Hz will give a boost to performance.

No, a 60Hz monitor can only display up to 60fps. Same goes for a 75Hz monitor displaying up to 75fps, or 144Hz displaying 144fps and so on.

The only people who might benefit from a 240Hz monitor or above are professional gamers who want as much of a competitive edge as they can get. It's hard to beat the in-game responsiveness you can get with these monitors.

4k 144Hz gaming monitors deliver the holy grail of gaming as they combine high pixel resolutions with a high refresh rate for a smooth and immersive gaming experience. You need a premium graphics card that supports higher bandwidth for these monitors though.

It's not overkill and is a worthy upgrade from 144Hz and certainly from lower refresh rates like 120Hz and 60Hz. In general, refresh rates on monitors are “the more the merrier”. Having a 240Hz panel can't hurt, it can only enhance your gaming and in this article we'll look at why that is the case.

Answer: For undemanding competitive games where you can easily reach around 144FPS, a 144Hz monitor is the way to go. If you care more about better graphics and visuals, and you mainly play new games, getting a 60Hz monitor with a better panel or a higher resolution may be a better route for you.

144Hz is a very popular refresh rate that manufacturers continue to use, even when much faster panels are available. It provides a significantly smoother and responsive experience over 60Hz, whether for gaming or general desktop use.