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Best Budget Gaming Monitor – WePC | Let's build your dream gaming PC
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Best Budget Gaming Monitor

Our Buyer's Guide To The Best 144Hz, 165Hz, 1080p and 1440p Budget Gaming Monitors On The Market

WEPC best budget monitors 01
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Picking through all of the jargon and technical specifications when looking to buy a gaming monitor can be a difficult proposition. You have to consider panel specifications, response times, refresh rates, contrast ratios etc. On top of this, there are many competing brands and products out there and sometimes it can be hard to know which is the right one to go for.

If you’re operating on a tight budget this can become even more of a difficult task, as the unfortunate reality is you usually can’t get everything you want unless you’re willing to pay extra for it. The decision becomes about picking out what’s most important to you, and finding a screen that meets these priorities as closely as possible, whilst sacrificing other areas that matter least.

To make this job easier for you, we’ve selected a shortlist of what we feel are the best budget gaming monitors available on the market at this present time. Each monitor has its strengths and weaknesses that may make it more or less suited to your needs and we will ensure you have all the information you need in order to pick the one for you.

Anyway, enough chit chat, let’s get stuck in!

Our Top Picks

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WePC Awards Best In Class
A 144Hz FreeSync Monitor That Does It All For The Price
Find Out More
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A Whopping 32 Inches Of 144Hz FreeSync Monitor
Find Out More
03
Super Responsive 24 Inch 144Hz Gaming Monitor With FreeSync
Find Out More

Best Budget Gaming Monitor

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In-depth Review

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A 144Hz FreeSync Monitor That Does It All For The Price
WePC Awards Best In Class
Samsung Logo

SAMSUNG Odyssey G5 27 inch

Samsung Logo

SAMSUNG Odyssey G5 27 inch

Editor's Rating
★★★★★ 4.9/5
How we review
Pros
Cons

The Samsung Odyssey G5 comes in 27 inch and 32 inch models, though for the purpose of this guide we will be looking at the cheaper 27 inch version. All in all the Odyssey G5 is a very good budget gaming monitor. It has a 2560 x 1440p resolution (known as WQHD) and is based around a VA screen which is curved allowing for greater immersion. An impressive 1ms response time and low input lag (considering this is typically an area of weakness for VA panels) combined with its 144Hz refresh rate make it ideal for competitive gaming on a budget. The screen has full FreeSync support but also has G-Sync compatibility if you have an Nvidia GPU.

The screen has quite low viewing angles, but on a curved monitor of this size that’s arguably not much of a drawback as they’re designed with one user in mind. The adjustability of the monitor does leave a lot to be desired, with no swivel of height adjustment, and only a narrow tilt range.

In terms of contrast ratio the HDR10 functionality means the screen is capable of producing some deep inky blacks, though the peak brightness was fairly low, meaning we wouldn’t recommend using this monitor in a bright setting. The relatively narrow HDR color gamut means it is not suitable for professional graphic design work. That being said, this is a budget monitor designed for gaming, and in this area it excels. The resolution, refresh rate and response time of this screen make it definitely worth the asking price.

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A Whopping 32 Inches Of 144Hz FreeSync Monitor

AOC C32G1 32 inch

AOC C32G1 32 inch

Editor's Rating
★★★★★ 4.7/5
How we review
Pros
Cons

The AOC CQ32G1 is the 32 inch 1920 x 1080p variation of AOC’s 144Hz G1 series monitors. Other screen sizes and resolutions are available, but this is the best you can get for the sub-$300 price point. This is a capable curved gaming display, though at the 32 inch size some may find the pixel density offered by 1080p a little on the low side.

Nevertheless the VA panel of the AOC CQ32G1 gives it a great contrast ratio with high peak brightness, even without HDR support. The screen has great color accuracy straight out of the box and generally a very nice picture quality. The screen also comes with great viewing angles which are still appreciable despite it being a curved screen, as the curve is not as pronounced as in some models. As is typical in budget screens, adjustability is limited to a narrow tilt range with no swivel or height adjustment.

144Hz refresh rate at this price point is very nice, and the screen comes with full FreeSync support but also has G-sync compatibility. The input lag on this screen is very low, though you may see some motion blurring due to a lower than ideal response time – the black frame insertion settings does help combat this however. If you’re looking for a bigger sized, curved screen at the budget end of the spectrum, then the AOC CQ21G1 could be for you.

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Super Responsive 24 Inch 144Hz Gaming Monitor With FreeSync

ViewSonic XG2402 24 inch

ViewSonic XG2402 24 inch

Editor's Rating
★★★★★ 4.7/5
How we review
Pros
Cons

The ViewSonic XG2402 is a 24 inch model in ViewSonic’s 144Hz XG range. It is a 1920 x 1080 TN display with a non-curved screen, and is a very strong budget entry for those focused on competitive gaming.

As you’d expect from a TN screen, contrast ratio isn’t the strong point of this display, but if you’re in a well lit room some of this can be negated. In competitive gaming the monitor excels – there is very low input lag, a superb response time, and virtually no detectable motion blur.

The 144Hz monitor comes with FreeSync support, and though the viewing angles are not the best its adjustability features are above average at this price point: with height adjustability, a -45 degree to 45 degree swivel range and a tilt range of -15 degree to 5 degree. All-in-all the responsiveness of this monitor makes it a great choice for those whose priority is seamless, lagless gaming with no ghosting.

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165Hz 24 Inch Gaming Monitor With Backlight Strobing Technology And FreeSync
Asus Logo

Asus VG248QG 24 Inch

Asus Logo

Asus VG248QG 24 Inch

Editor's Rating
★★★★★ 4.7/5
How we review
Pros
Cons

The Asus VG248QG is a 24 inch monitor that can be set to a refresh rate of 165Hz via its overclocking feature, or alternatively used at 144Hz. The screen also comes with backlight strobing technology, which helps to reduce eye strain and motion blur in gaming, a relatively unusual feature at this price point.

The TN panel display means that this monitor is not the strongest when it comes to color gamut and contrast ratio out-of-the-box, though if you calibrate it you can get decent performance in these areas. The main strength of this screen is its high refresh rate and very respectable response time in gaming. Thanks to the backlight strobing, motion blur is effectively non-existent. The monitor comes with FeeSync support and also has G-Sync compatibility.

Unlike many other competitors in this price range, the Asus VG248QG has a decent degree of adjustability, with up to 130mm height adjustment, 90 degree pivot, -5 degree to – 33 degree tilt and +/-90 degree swivel. This adjustability helps to alleviate the fairly narrow viewing angles somewhat. When you take everything into account though this is a great 165Hz capable monitor, with great responsiveness and backlight strobing for a cheap price.

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Another Super Responsive 24 Inch 144Hz Gaming Monitor
BenQ Logo

BenQ Zowie XL2411K 24 Inch

BenQ Logo

BenQ Zowie XL2411K 24 Inch

Editor's Rating
★★★★★ 4.7/5
How we review
Pros
Cons

The BenQ Zowie XL2411K is a 24 Inch monitor based around a TN panel. The response time is superb for this price range, even for a TN screen, and the low input lag is equally impressive.

Despite this fast response time, the 144Hz screen does not support FreeSync or G-Sync, hence misses out on our “best response time” category, as for most people this sort of variable refresh rate technology comes into its own during competitive gaming.

The BenQ screen has fairly sub-par black uniformity, though it does have a respectable peak brightness, making it well-suited to brighter gaming environments. Adjustability on this product is limited and it doesn’t have the best viewing angels, but its still a solid gaming monitor for competitive use.

Final Word

This has been our run-down of the best budget gaming monitors currently available. The SAMSUNG 27-Inch Odyssey G5 is our best all round budget gaming monitor, though the other displays we have listed here all have their own merits, depending on your needs and requirements.

We hope this list has made it easier for you to choose the monitor which is right for you.

We will be updating this page as newer and better products become available so let us know if there’s a specific monitor you would like us to review by leaving us a comment in the section below!

The Author Who Worked On This Article

Charlie Noon
Monitor & PC Product Specialist
at
WePC

Charlie Noon

For as long as he can remember, Charlie has always been interested in computers and gaming. It all started with the Sega Mega Drive and then evolved into PC gaming in his early teens. CS 1.6 was his first go at competitive gaming which soon evolved into CS:Source and now CS:GO – a game that he still plays (almost exclusively) today. Throughout that period he has also been a keen PC builder and enthusiast – dedicating a large portion of his time to the craft. My current rig is an ASUS 5700XT with AMD’s Ryzen 3600X.

Independent, transparent, rigorous and authentic, our reviews are the most thorough and honest in PC gaming. Learn about our review process.


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