Guide to the Best Gaming Monitor Under $200

What is the Best Gaming Monitor Under $200? In this guide, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the top gaming monitors on a budget of $200 and below.

We will also be exploring some different high refresh rate monitors ranging from 75hz to 165hz. However, for the best gaming experience (and overall value), we’d highly recommend going with a 144hz gaming monitor.

In addition, we’ll be taking a look at each monitor individually. Then, we’ll go over the features, performance, and pros/cons of them. And finally, in the end, you should have a good idea of which gaming monitor will work for your setup!

Gaming monitors are great for gamers who want to elevate their competition to the next level. Or, perhaps just pick it up a bit more with friends who have already upgraded their setups. Whatever your reasoning is, any one of the monitors on this list will get the job done for your high-refresh rate gaming!

What is a Gaming Monitor?

A gaming monitor is typically defined as monitor designed specifically for one intention, gaming. These monitors will often have high refresh rates (144hz, 165hz, 120hz, 240hz, 360hz), high resolutions (1080p, 1440p, 4K), and other gamer specific modifications (such as style, designs or mount-ability).

ALSO READ: Guide to the Best MSI Gaming Monitor

What to Look for in a Gaming Monitor?

When looking for gaming monitors there are a few features you should consider.

• Refresh Rate: Having a high refresh rate (75hz, 120hz, 144hz, 165hz, 240hz) is important for gaming because it helps increase your situational awareness, reaction speed and gaming experience.
• Screen Size: Screen size is important for obvious reasons, however bigger isn’t always better. Depending on what type of gaming experience you want and what your setup allows for is important to consider.
• Pixel Response Time: Response time involves how fast pixels can change colors. This helps to improve your reaction time, gaming experience and works with refresh rate to improve fast-paced gaming situations.
• Screen Curvature: Curved screens were hugely popular a few years ago. Now, you barely find them except for in monitors. In our experience, there isn’t much of a difference in monitors except if you’re considering an UltraWide monitor. With standard aspect ration (16:9) monitors, you won’t really notice curved vs non-curved.
• Screen Resolution: The resolution is the number of pixels that you can expect to see when using your display. Whether you want a FHD (1920×1080) or UHD (4K Display) or even 2K display (2560×1440), is up to you. However, make sure your graphics card will run whatever screen resolution and games you want to play!
• Variable Refresh Rate Technology: You should consider if the monitor uses AMD FreeSync or NVIDIA G-Sync technologies to match the monitors refresh rate to your games FPS (Frames Per Second).

Do You Need a Gaming Monitor?

To stay competitive, a lot of professional gamers recommend at least a 120hz display (but, we highly recommend at least 144hz refresh rate). This higher refresh rate helps drastically in gaming situations. It can help improve your response time to things happening, and greatly increase the smoothness of visual effects.

5 Best Gaming Monitors for Under $200

Acer Nitro VG240Y 24-inch 144hz Gaming Monitor

Starting the list off with the Acer Nitro VG240Y 144hz Gaming Monitor. This 24-inch monitor from Acer is part of their Nitro gaming line. It comes in several different variants, ranging from 1080p 240hz to 1440p 144hz.

However, for under $200 we’d recommend the 1080p 144hz model. It is officially 23.8-inches with a 1920×1080 display. In addition, the Nitro VG240Y features 1ms response time, a zero frame design (very small edges around the display), and many input choices.

Finally, the Nitro VG240Y has an LED display that is extremely bright. And, it provides good color accuracy if you’re interested in watching movies or doing creative work.

Acer KG241Q 24-inch 144hz 1ms Gaming Monitor

Next up is the Acer KG241Q 144hz Monitor. This monitor has a full 1080p display with a response time of 1ms. In addition, it features an LED TN panel with 144hz refresh rate. Acer also implements their VisionCare technologies to protect your eyes during extended gaming periods.

Additionally, with Radeon FreeSync you can game even more competitively. FreeSync allows you to basically reduce stuttering and tearing. This gives you one of the best on-the-market gaming experiences.

Finally, the LED’s of the display are bright, fairly color accurate, and provide a clear 6-axis standard color adjustment.

Pixio PX248 Prime S 24-inch 165hz 1ms Gaming Monitor

Our next pick is from a company that you might not have heard of before, Pixio. This is the Pixio PX248 Prime S 24-inch Gaming Monitor. Why would you want to buy a monitor from a brand you’ve never heard of? Well, because Pixio gives you 165hz of high refresh rate goodness for a very reasonable under $200 price.

In addition to 165hz, you also get a 1080p IPS 1ms display. It also features AMD FreeSync and a 24-inch diagonal size. Additionally, Pixio uses flicker free and low blue light technology to help protect your eyes over long gaming sessions.

Finally, they give you a VESA mount for the wall, several different input options (along with audio), and a premium anti-glare screen.

Sceptre C248B-144R 24-inch Curved 144hz Gaming Monitor

The Sceptre C248B-144R Curved Gaming Monitor is an awesome option for under $200! Why? Because it features a curved 144hz 1080p display with built-in AMD FreeSync and a really attractive looking stand.

The 1800R curve helps to give you more immersion in any game you’re playing or even a movie you’re watching. Sceptre also gives you a 3ms response time with an anti-ghosting/blurring technology.

Additionally, you get an audio passthrough, a 120hz HDMI port, 144hz DisplayPort, DVI port and audio 3.5mm out.

Dell S2421HGF 24-inch 1ms 144hz Gaming Monitor

And finally to round off our top picks, we have the Dell S2421HGF 144hz 24-inch Gaming Monitor! What’s so special about this Dell? Well, it features an LED Edgelight System. This system helps not only illuminate the screen brightly, but helps prevent hot spots, preserve color accuracy and improve your gaming experience.

Along with an LED edgelight, the S2421HGF also features a 144hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, AMD FreeSync Premium, full height and tilt adjustability, and a 3-year warranty. In addition, Dell also has a pretty sleek and stylish design to accompany the gaming arena.

Finally, you can wall mount this monitor or use the included stand. And, you can easily get two of these monitors to make a dual-monitor setup because of it’s slim bezels.

BONUS: Asus VG275Q 27-inch 1ms 75hz Gaming Monitor

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, what is our top pick for the Best Gaming Monitor Under $200? What are the best 144hz monitors under $200?

Well, when choosing, you should consider what is most important to you. For example, if aesthetics of the actual monitor are important, then you might sway towards Acer. But, if all you care about is having the highest refresh rate for the least amount of money, then the Asus might be a better option.

All of the monitors on the list should make a pretty big impact to your gaming setup, especially if you’ve never experienced high refresh rate gaming before!