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Best Gaming Monitors for the Money (2023)

Latest Recommendations for All Resolutions / Budgets (& How to Choose a Monitor)

Last Updated: May 29, 2023

After weeks of research into the majority of popular and/or well-reviewed gaming monitors across all resolutions and budgets - while also considering some lesser-known models as there's sometimes the odd display diamond in the rough from a lesser known brand that works out to be better value than the big names - along with analyzing and comparing as many reputable technical reviews as possible (and customer reviews as a supplement), below I share what I believe to be the current best gaming monitors if you're upgrading your setup this holiday season.

When you build or upgrade your gaming PC, you don't want to let it down with a mediocre monitor that gets in the way of the experience. You also want to fine-tune your monitor selection so it pairs well with the particular hardware that you're rocking (especially the GPU, though the CPU plays a part in monitor selection too as high refresh-rate screens are more taxing on the processor). But not all monitors are created equal, and since this is an investment that you'll probably be wanting to keep for years to come, it pays to do your research when choosing a monitor so that you don't end up regretting your purchase.

See Also: Recommended Custom PC Builds 

But the thing is, it's all too easy to get lost when hunting for a slick screen as you're bombarded with a plethora of different specs and features. There's also tons of models to choose from, many of which being quite similar on paper, price, and/or model numbers/names. When you stumble upon a nice monitor you like the look of, the moment you start investigating and sizing it up as a potential purchase is the moment another dozen or so similar-looking models divert your attention and you're back to square one. Throw in the marketing hype that's difficult to decode if you don't spend a ton of time researching monitors, along with the minefields of misinformation and skewed perceptions that customer review sections can sometimes be plagued with, and you have a recipe for mass confusion. 

Not saying this guide is your saviour, but I'll do my best to help simplify your decision if you're after the best monitor for gaming for a particular resolution, refresh rate, and/or budget. We'll also get into what some of the specs mean, but first let's get straight into the recommendations; below are what I've found to be some of the best gaming monitors in terms of overall value for money right now, with many of these also doubling-up nicely as solid work/productivity monitors too (though not all; see the FAQ at the end to see what I mean). Oh and if you have any feedback to share on this guide or have a quick question about choosing the right monitor for your particular computer, feel free to ask in the comments at the end and I'll personally get back to you as soon as possible to help out where I can. Good luck and hope this guide helps a little in your research.

See Also: Recommended Prebuilt Gaming PCs

The Best Value Gaming Monitors (Main Chart)

Affiliate Disclosure: Links to products below are affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission on any purchases made through these links (at no extra cost to you). This has no affect on my recommendations which are 100% independently decided. Learn more here.

Reminder: Don't forget to go into NVidia or AMD control panel (right click on the main Windows desktop screen to access) to manually set the refresh rate of your display. Oftentimes it will just default to 60Hz, even if it's a 144Hz+ screen.

Note: I'm not a technical monitor reviewer, so while I strive to bring you the most accurate, nuanced, well thought-out recommendations possible, always do your own research and don't just take my word for it. Everyone has slightly different needs and preferences when it comes to a monitor. See the FAQ at the end of the guide for a list of trustworthy, credible monitor review sources.

How to Choose a Gaming Monitor (What to Look For)

You might look over our list of recommended gaming monitors above and be even more confused than when you started your hunt. That's understandable, as there's many different options in terms of resolution and refresh rate. Here's a quick overview of the key basics to know, but if you're already tech-savvy you might want to skip this section.

Choosing a Resolution (Image Detail)

The monitor recommendations above are split into the following 4 different resolutions:

• 1080p (Budget and/or eSports): Full HD, also known as 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels), is still the most common PC gaming resolution, and recommended for gamers on a budget rocking cheap gaming PCs, or for competitive eSports players who rather have higher refresh rates of 144Hz or 240Hz instead of higher image quality (ideal for FPS/shooters). Nothing wrong with some good 1080p 60FPS action if you're just a casual gamer.

• 1440p (Higher Quality): A higher quality image, 1440p (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution requires more powerful hardware to take advantage of, especially if playing AAA games on high settings. But it's not that much more demanding than 1080p, and a good mid-range GPU can serve you well (but make that upper mid-range to high-end if you want 1440p 144FPS+).

• 4K (Ultimate Quality): The best PC gaming experience possible right now is 4K resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels) but as you can imagine it will require a very capable graphics card to make the most of (ideally an RTX 2070 Super or faster GPU).

• 8K (Insane Quality): This ridiculousness of a resolution is still super new to the gaming scene, and won't become anywhere near popular for a long time (even 4K is still finding its feet). But for the small handful of enthusiasts forking out a seriously fat stack for the cutting edge RTX 3090 or RX 6900 XT, an 8K display is on the menu (though you won't achieve 60FPS in demanding games). Personally, I'd rather 4K 144Hz (or VR with high SuperSampling).

Choosing a Refresh Rate (Image Speed)

The monitor recommendations are also split into different refresh rates, which relates to how "fast" your monitor is:

• 60Hz/75Hz (Standard): Allows you to see up to 60/75 frames per second. The common standard for PC gaming, and just fine for a very smooth experience in many game genres. Recommended for most casual gamers, unless you're a diehard FPS, Battle Royale, or racing gamer in which case you should ideally go for 144Hz. 1080p 60Hz gaming is just fine for many types of games, and besides, there's a chunk of the population who wouldn't even notice the difference between 60Hz vs 144Hz anyway.

• 144Hz (Very Fast): Allows you to see up to 144 frames per second (if your hardware is powerful enough). 144Hz screens are more expensive, but they make fast-paced action games smoother, but the good news is there are some good affordable models these days. Some monitors will have less common refresh rates of 165Hz or even 100Hz.

• 240Hz (Super Fast): For those wanting the absolute fastest visuals possible to gain every little edge you can in competitive play, and who are willing to pay a premium for it (and who have an extreme PC to reach 240FPS). Only recommended for hardcore/pro gamers.

• 360Hz (Lightning Fast): Yes, 360Hz monitors are upon us, but such lightspeed-like visuals are really only worth considering if you're an actual pro gamer wanting every single millisecond of a millisecond of an edge that you can get in the heat of battle (and willing to pay in kidneys).

Choosing a Monitor Size

The size of monitor you can choose from depends on the resolution of the screen, with larger resolutions typically coming in larger sizes. It also depends on your budget too, as bigger screens will generally be more expensive. Here's a general guideline of which monitor size is right for you based on resolution and/or usage.

• Best Monitor Size for 1080p: 23-25 inches is the sweet spot if you will, but you can go smaller (21) or larger (27) if you prefer. Some people do notice a loss of quality with 1080p on a 27 inch monitor though, so keep that in mind.
  

• Best Monitor Size for 1440p: A 27 inch monitor is perfect for 1440p resolution, but larger sizes up to around 34 inches are still absolutely fine.

• Best Monitor Size for 2160p/4K: 27 inches also works well with 4K resolution, but with so many pixels being rendered you have the luxury of going as big as you want, with even massive 55 inch 4K TVs looking just great in 4K.

• Best Monitor Size for eSports/Pro Gamers: For competitive players, a medium size of around 24 inches is your best bet, as with larger screens it may be harder for your eyes to instantly track everything that's going on on-screen (including taking in stats and HUDs etc). You rarely (if ever) see serious eSports players gaming on anything bigger than a 25 inch for this reason.

Hopefully you now have a better understanding of resolutions, refresh rates, and sizes. Now let's narrow down all of the best gaming monitors that I recommended in the main table above into just a few that I feel offer the best overall bang for buck right now in a few key price categories.

Note: Any prices mentioned below are in USD, and were only correct at the time of writing (and may have changed since).

FAQ

Get Help / Your Feedback

Enjoyed the guide? Disagree with one of my recommendations? Have a question about choosing a monitor? Feel free to let me know by leaving a comment below. Anyway, hope the guide helped a little in your research, and good luck.

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